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International Press

Le Corsaire (Bolshoi Tour in Paris, January 2008):

"Zakharova’s Medora is a treat, her technically radiant dancing has an ideal blend of steely brilliance and silken delivery. Temperamentally the role suits her really well and we are now able to enjoy with her the tongue-in-cheek plot machinations."
  Marc Haegeman in Dance Now, Spring 2008.

Le Corsaire (Bolshoi Tour in London, August 2007):

"Queen of it all is Svetlana Zakharova, more beautiful than ever, more serene in command of the dance, more beguiling in playing her role – she smiles, and the world is well lost – and more absolutely a prima ballerina than any other dancer I know at the moment."
  Clement Crisp in The Financial Times, July 31, 2007.

"That, and the 28-year-old wonder that is Svetlana Zakharova. Throughout this technically punishing, 210-minute melodrama, the line of this tall, beautiful Ukrainian, from the arch of her feet to the curve of her back and bearing of her head, was simply perfect, her flexibility and lightness astonishing."
  Mark Monahan in The Daily Telegraph, August 1, 2007.

Le Corsaire (Bolshoi Theatre, June 2007):

"Svetlana Zakharova, as the heroine Medora, was enchanting, witty and beguiling in step and manner, and she sailed with adorable grace through ferocious choreography."
  Clement Crisp in The Financial Times, June 25, 2006.

La Bayadère (Teatro alla Scala, Milan, May 2006):

"We already knew Zakharova is the supreme adagio ballerina, but there is no way to fault her in the allegro passages either, while changes in tempo are now beautifully controlled and musical. The short solo scene around the Sacred Fire before meeting with Solor was a pure marvel with her immaculate footwork and silken touch. The meeting itself, ravishing by its phrasing and musical grace, was a moment of pure bliss that one wanted to continue in spite of John Lanchbery’s sugary treatment of the score."
  Marc Haegeman in Danceviewtimes, May 2006.

Don Quixote and The Pharaoh's Daughter (Bolshoi Tour to New York, July 2005):

"(...) and a new gem of a prima-ballerina Svetlana Zakharova, from St. Petersburgs Kirov Ballet. It was Zakharova - sparkling, exquisite and perfectly poised - who led off as the village girl Kitri in Don Quixote (...).
On the first night, Zakharova shone as the ballerina (...)."
  Clive Barnes in Ballet2000, September 2005.

The Pharaoh's Daughter (Bolshoi Tour in London, August 2004):

"And only the Bolshoi can present, in Svetlana Zakharova and Sergey Filin, two artists with the technical bravura and the emotional allure to make the piece so attractive. (...)
Zakharova dances Aspicia with dazzling assurance and exquisite sensibilities. She brings such charm of manner to the role that we understand exactly why it was so revered by the old ballerinas."
  Clement Crisp in The Financial Times, August 9, 2004.

"Performances on Thursday were a triumph. The extravagantly talented Svetlana Zakharova is a total delight as Aspicia, the Pharaoh’s daughter. She is full of grace and poise, and dances the role as if she adores it."
  Debra Craine in The Times, August 7, 2004.

Swan Lake (Bolshoi Tour in London, August 2004):

"Svetlana Zakharova (...) has such extraordinary physical gifts that she seems, at times, quite other-dimensional. And so it was last Thursday, when the Bolshoi performed Yuri Grigorovitch's revised version of the ballet. Zakharova was an unearthly Odette, every fibre of her being yearning skywards, and a sumptuous vampire of an Odile."
  Luke Jennings in The Guardian, July 24, 2004.

"She trails her long arms like pinions, leg arched up behind in the shape of a swan in proud sail, always in motion. A refined Odette, Zakharova has blossomed at the Bolshoi into a grand dramatic diva, her Odile a flamboyant deceiver. Swan Lake truly belongs to the ballerina in her double role and Zakharova reclaims it as of right."
  Jann Parry in The Observer, July 25, 2004

The Pharaoh's Daughter (Bolshoi Tour in Paris, January 2004):

"Svetlana Zakharova était également la ravissante vedette de la première représentation de La Fille du Pharaon et une fois de plus avec un partenaire non prévu, Serguei Filin étant tombé malade à Moscou début janvier. Mais la divine étoile du Bolchoï, plus souriante, gracieuse et vivante que jamais, avait en Dimitri Belogolovtsev un partenaire attentif, grand et beau blond doué d’une présence exceptionnelle. Le couple fonctionnait à merveille et Svetlana Zakharova a détaillé avec soin toutes les finesses de la chorégraphie, éblouissant le public par la beauté de ses bras, la précision de ses petits pieds cambrés, portée avec élégance par Dimitri Belogolovtsev, lui même très applaudi dans ses deux variations virtuoses."
  René Sirvin in www.imagidanse.com, January 24, 2004

Swan Lake (Bolshoi Tour in Paris, January 2004):

"La distribution était dominée haut la main le premier soir par Svetlana Zakharova, étoile de Saint-Pétersbourg souvent applaudie à Paris (dans La Bayadère de Noureev notamment) qui appartient depuis peu à la troupe du Bolchoï dont elle est la perle rare. Sublime artiste aux ports de bras poétiques, elle incarne une douce Odette et une brillante et vivante Odile."
  René Sirvin in www.imagidanse.com, January 17, 2004

La Bayadère (Mariinsky Tour in Paris, October 2002):

"Svetlana Zakharova, qui avait dansé La Bayadère dans la version de Noureev à l’Opéra-Bastille la saison dernière (et Le Lac des Cygnes le mois dernier) a incarné le second jour une Nikiya de grande classe, particulièrement digne et éthérée dans l’acte des Ombres. Une artiste complète, et l’ une des gloire du Théâtre Mariinski."
  René Sirvin in www.imagidanse.com, November 5, 2002

Jewels (Mariinsky Tour in New York, July 2002):

In "Diamonds," Ms. Zakharova came into her own as a major Neo-Classical ballerina. Unlike the ensemble, she took a familiar idiom and redefined it into an unexpected dimension. Partnered with masculine grace by Danila Korsuntsev, she gave her dancing an eloquent flow, channeling every arabesque and high extension into a mythical image: a modern Diana.
  Anna Kisellgoff in The New York Times, July 20, 2002

La Bayadère (Paris Opera, December 2001):

"Tout est beauté et poésie dans sa danse, qui se distingue par des épaulés et des ports de bras d’un lyrisme et d’une élégance rare, tout comme la finesse de ses poignets. Elle est un exemple admirable du style franco-russe, hérité du XIX ème siècle et qui se perpétua jusqu’aux grands artistes du Kirov de Léningrad que l’on découvrit avec Noureev au début des années 60. Ce style noble et romantique ne s’est heureusement pas perdu comme on peut en juger avec Svetlana Zakharova, danseuse inspirée, qui exprime aussi bien avec son corps qu’avec son visage les émotions les plus secrètes ressenties par son personnage. Quand a la technique elle est stupéfiante, particulièrement dans les dégagés et les tours. On admire le jeu dramatique, la sensibilité, et l’émotion de cette artiste déjà mythique."
  René Sirvin in www.imagidanse.com, December 7, 2001

Giselle (Mariinsky Tour in New York, July 1999):

The first act in this production, by contrast, leaves out considerable transitional detail that would make its dramatic action plausible. Ms. Zakharova, it turns out, is a wonderful actress. As the village girl seduced by Albrecht, she was especially sweet but intense, eager for love. When Giselle's mother, portrayed by Nina Borchenko, warned that she might become a wili, or spirit, one could sense her dread as she crossed her arms on her chest. Her mad scene was especially vivid in its reliving of Albrecht's courtship. The same clarity colored her major solo in Act I, with its sharp arabesque and the hops on toe that the Kirov women execute so strongly.
  Anna Kisellgoff in The New York Times, July 5, 1999

Giselle (Mariinsky Tour in London, July 1997):

"Here was a Giselle of the most touching simplicity, of unaffected truthfulness, of musical grace, of rarest promise. Here, please Heaven, is a great Giselle for the next decades. (...) Most important, the idea of Giselle as peasant and wili was sustained, illuminated. She lived the part, and we lived it with her. I salute her unreservedly."
  Clement Crisp in The Financial Times, July 18, 1997.