Diana Vishneva
What does fate promise a young ballerina if she reaches the Mecca of the ballet arts, the Mariinsky Theater, straight after school, and almost immediately becomes a soloist? Unbelievable success and deserved fame, victories in international contests and invitations from the leading ballet theaters of the world. That is what happened to Diana Vishneva, prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theatre. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Diana Vishneva began dancing at the age of six, and studied at the acclaimed Vaganova Ballet Academy. 1994, her final year at the Academy, was a rigorous one: she won the Grand Prix Gold Medal at the International Ballet Competition in Lausanne, and also started working at the acclaimed Mariinsky Theatre, rising quickly to soloist, and becoming a principal in 1996. Her repertoire with the company includes the title roles in Giselle and Manon, Kitri in Don Quixote, Masha in The Nutcracker, Nikiya in La Bayadère, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Clemance in Raymonda, Gulnare in Le Corsaire, the third movement in Symphony in C, Terpsichore in Apollo, “Rubies” in Jewels and Tchaikovsky’s Pas de Deux and Grand Pas Classique, among others.

In the summer of 2000, the Mariinsky Theatre made a triumphant grand tour to London, presenting 18 ballets and 16 opera performances and becoming the first foreign troupe to perform on the Covent Garden stage after its reconstruction. Vishneva opened the tour with Sleeping Beauty and then danced the solo roles in "Rubies,” Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet and Sheherazade. In March, 2001 Vishneva received the prestigious Golden Mask Award for her solo role in Balanchine's "Rubies." That same month, she debuted as Nikiya in La Bayadere. In May 2001, the Russian President signed a decree awarding State Prizes of the Russian Federation for Achievements in Literature and Arts – the highest theatrical prize of Russia – in 2000. Vishneva received the prize for roles in the Mariinsky Theatre performances of The Sleeping Beauty, Manon, Le jeune homme et la mort and Sheherazade. In 2003 Diana debuted at the Metropolitan Opera House in McMillian’s Romeo and Juliet, followed by the long-awaited premier of Swan Lake at the Berlin Staatsopera. That same year, she was awarded the "Spirit of Dance" prize by Ballet magazine.

In 2005, she became a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, where she has danced leading roles in Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Swan Lake, La Bayadere, among others. Also in 2005, the Mariinsky Theatre opened its 223rd ballet season with Swan Lake, with Vishneva dancing the lead in this ballet the first time on her native stage. In 2006, Vishneva made a triumphant appearance with Paris Opera Ballet, where she danced Rudolf Nureev’s Swan Lake to great acclaim.  She then danced Yury Grigorovich's Swan Lake at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Her performance was cause for much praise and discussion in the press. That same year, she received the People’s Artist of Russia award – the highest artistic title for any Russian performer, and debuted in the ABT production of Dream as well as the Matiinsky Theatre’s production of Legend of Love.

Vishneva has appeared on most of the world’s great stages, including La Scala, Opera de Paris, the London Coliseum, Covent Garden, the Kennedy Center, the Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Opera and the Megaron Theatre in Athens. Her prizes and awards include the International Ballet Competition in Lausanne (1994), Benois de la Dance prize (1995), La Divina (1995) as best dancer of the year, the St. Petersburg theatrical prize Golden Sophit (1996), the BALTIKA prize (1998), the State Prize of the Russian Federation (20001), the Golden Mask – the highest theatrical prize of Russia (2001), was named “Best in Europe” by Dance Europe magazine in 2002.

 

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