Conrad in ‘Le Corsaire’ was one of the first leading roles Ivan Vasiliev performed at the Bolshoi as a soloist.
Seeing him dance, one can’t help smiling out of sheer pleasure!
Here he is partnered by Nina Kaptsova in the main Pdd. Variations can also be seen from another angle.
In 2009, Ivan won the Benois Prize for his roles as Conrad and Philip in Flames of Paris, to nobody’s surprise…
In her review of ‘Le Corsaire’, when the Bolshoi toured in London (2010), Sarah Crompton wrote:
“In contrast, the fabulous Ivan Vasiliev made Conrad the most dynamic character on the stage. His variation – stripped off to tight-fitting scarlet – was predictably sensational, with jetés and tours en air so high you catch your breath. But what made his performance so wonderful was that he actually tried to make his character real, a rough-diamond who has got a girl way beyond his dreams.”
In the ABT production, Ivan Vasiliev performed both Ali and Conrad. As Ali, luckily, we have records. Once more (as in their Coppelia), the cluttered ABT stage was too small for him as can be seen at the end of First Solo. This video is from 2012.
In 2013, he performed with Xiomara Reyes and Hernan Cornejo (so wonderful to see this two awesome dancers side by side), in a Pas-de-Trois.
Now he will give us performances of Conrad in productions by both the Mikhailovski and ENB. Let’s hope for videos. We will update this post with whatever material is published. Indeed, we will form a pas de trois at one of the performances!
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Related links
Le Corsaire Pdds danced in Galas, and slowed down videos… they are lovely!!!
IVAN VASILIEV 