Bolshoi Announces Cast Change

One day into its three-week Music Center engagement, the Bolshoi Ballet has announced a major cast change for its opening week and reported that six of the 22 performances are sold out.

Principal dancer Ludmila Semenyaka is reportedly recovering from a minor foot infection that kept her out of the Bolshoi’s performance of “Giselle” in San Francisco last Friday and will force her to cancel her appearance as Rita in “The Golden Age” tonight. She will be replaced by Alla Mikhalchenko, who was scheduled to dance the opening performance on Tuesday, and who will repeat on Thursday. According to a Bolshoi spokesman Tuesday, Semenyaka is tentatively scheduled to dance at the weekend highlights programs.

The sold-out performances are the highlights programs Friday and Saturday evenings; “Raymonda,” Aug. 22; “Giselle,” Aug. 28, and both performances on Aug. 29. Seating is very limited for the highlights matinee on Saturday, a company official said. Good seating is available for other performances.