The Mariinsky Ballet and Orchestra presented the full-length version of “Raymonda” at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in September. Rarely performed in the United States, the three-act ballet has a slight story–about Raymonda’s love for her betrothed, Jean de Brienne, who is away at battle, and the sinister Saracen chief Abderakhman who wants to kidnap Raymonda. But the ballet owes its longevity to Marius Petipa’s elegant choreography. Photographer Michael Khoury showcases two different casts in this gallery, with Victoria Tereshkina, Vladimir Shklyarov, and Konstantin Zverev, as Raymonda, Jean, and Abderakhman, respectively; and Oxana Skorik, Andrei Yermakov, and Yury Smekalov.
