The recent night of " Sleeping Beauty " performed by famous visitors Diana Vishneva and Vladimir Malakhov was a special treat for the Bolshoi theatregoers, which they have been longing for for ages.
On the stage there were two masters reigning the whole evening. The two stars able to radiate a sensation of miraculous happiness of their being on the stage, the pleasure of dancing together, the pleasure of dancing at the Bolshoi, just dancing! They generously shared it with the spectators, the supporting cast, everyone in the hall.

Their interpretation of the painfully familiar "Sleeping Beauty" turned out so interesting and exciting to watch that at times it caused a feeling of a new version of the old ballet.

Diana Vishnevà’s first Aurora in Moscow appeared almost three years ago in November, 2001, during "Bolshoi – Mariinsky" brief mutual tours, organised by the " Golden Mask " Association. That time she became a true (and the only!) heroine of the Petersburg version of " Sleeping Beauty " bravely restored by Sergey Vikharev. The ballerina breathed new life into the old ballet. Her vivid dancing added charm and colour to this out-of-date pale production. She made everyone crave for a miracle and warmed up the whole performance with her radiant smile.
As for her recent Aurora, this was the part in the Moscow version of Yury Grigorovich’s "Sleeping". And besides, she for the first time danced at the Bolshoi in a duet with Vladimir Malakhov, while at the

State Opera in Berlin they have been a well-established duet for the last two years.
The first few minutes of Vishneva-Aurora’s dancing, truly speaking, were a bit puzzling. There was something unexpectedly "hasty” in her Aurora’s dancing. Probably, the musical tempo was a bit too fast and prevented her movements from being done precisely, to detail. A second later, though, her ecstasy from the music and process of dancing changed the impression. In each of her comings on stage Vishneva’s Aurora radiated inexplicable exulting pleasure and joy. The ballerina perceived all the performance as a gift and spread around the sensation of a never-ending feast, the feeling so rare and so important. The dance of her Aurora sounded as clear, ringing, cheerful laughter, echoing in the remote parts of the ancient castle. In the first act Vishneva glorified all-triumphant youth, which has no doubts, which is frightened by no obstacles.

In the second act, in the Nereids scene her Aurora was displayed in an absolutely different way - she was a princess under some magic charm. Her filigree dance, full of lyricism and painful premonition captured by surprising grace of poses. The way she fixed her steps and movements resulted in perfect and impeccable poses. And the third act performed by Diana Vishneva was a triumph of classical style in dancing. In her finale pàs då dåux she was technically perfect and irresistibly feminine, triumphant and radiant with joy of hopes that came true.

Vladimir Ìàlakhov’s previous dancing in Moscow, at the Bolshoi theatre, took place three years ago, in September 2001. He did Vladimir Vasiliev’s version of "Giselle" in partnership with Svetlana Lunkina. But it is in " The Sleeping Beauty " that Moscow had never seen him dancing. With the very first Desire’s appearance on stage Malakhov brought dramatic disharmony into the Moscow performance. Firstly, caused by his fitting like a glove costume, black with some sprinkles of gold, which fell out of tune with the colour range and stylised historical accuracy of the sets and costumes. By wearing it he immediately violated Simon Virsaladze’s artistic concept of the production’s design and, moreover, all the existing theatre rules: if you take part in a production of an alien theatre company even as an invited star, try to observe its rules ... When in Rome do as the Romans do ...

Probably, Malakhov’s refusal of the main character costume designed by the outstanding theatrical artist is pardonable since all the costumes ever made for Desire and available in the theatre closets didn’t fit Malakhov, being either too loose or too tight, and there probably wasn’t enough time to have them altered. Still, he might have, surely, felt it was more comfortable to dance wearing his own outfit, made to measure, rather than dressed in somebody else’s one. But Desire clothed in black could not appear on stage according to Virsaladze’s idea! A romantic prince, not Hamlet, Desire in black didn’t match this light fairy-tale world, the black colour couldn’t have been less apt for a positive hero: it’s not by chance that the evil Fairy Carabosse was supposed to be the only character in the production dressed in black...

Besides his Desire’s inside world didn’t match the production’s idea either: his Prince was lonely among the refined ladies and courtiers, during their entertainments and amusements. The Lilac Fairy (Ìària Allash) showed him Aurora, summoning her vision. And due to a romanticism aura of his character he perceived her endowing his world with a dream as a rescue, as a magic sign of destiny, as the greatest award. This encounter seemed an escape from his desperate loneliness, an end to his life separated from the whole world. All this was convincingly performed by the outstanding dancer though his legendary weightless jump seemed to lack some of its grandeur, air and length, if compared with what it used to be. His dance amazed with its internal fullness and exclusive filigree of movements, to say nothing of clearness of poses, amazing softness of arms, rare expressiveness of his well-shaped feet with huge instep. Each movement, gesture and sight reflected serious understanding of the role, conveyed his deep reverence for the music, choreography and his partner.

Then Malakhov refused to put on the Desire magnificent snow-white costume, designed by Virsaladze for the wedding scene and richly decorated with magnificent sleeves with silk bands fixed above elbows and with long graceful lace cuffs making arms look longer. So, in the wedding scene he again appeared in his own much less effective costume (white with gold), again dropping out of the general style of the performance.

In the ease of Malakhov’s dancing, in his virtuoso, complex supports, in slightly refined elegance of the fixed poses certain dignity and serenity were felt, at times his dancing was slightly mannered and narcissistic, mincing at times. Diana Vishneva and Vladimir Malakhov in the Moscow "Sleeping" were so strong and sparkling that it made all the supporting cast dance better.

And to do justice to the spectators, the ballet won their instant and unanimous reaction, with the auditorium completely packed. The whole thing was reminiscent of the times when the performances with outstanding dancers starring in them were real feasts. The hall used to react vividly and spontaneously: " the claque" were silent, and the spectators arranged long standing ovations, conveying their admiration and involvement in overall celebration. And there was no end to flowers which reminded of the times when after Plisetskaya’s or Maksimova and Vasiliev’s performances the admirers threw them onto the stage from above, from the right dress circle, and the shower of bunches made the floor look a bright, picturesque meadow... It is a pity that similar performances with participation of the invited ballet stars of global scale are so rare and scarce at the Bolshoi theatre: they are important both for the spectators and the actors of the Bolshoi to be taught a serious attitude to the profession.