|
Royal Ballet presents guest performances at the BolshoiRussian mass media continue to publish reviews about the Royal Ballet guest performances that have closed at the Bolshoi Theatre An article about the world premiere of the ballet "The Taming of the Shrew" that will take place at the Bolshoi The Bolshoi Theatre Chief Conductor was born and raised in the North Caucasus Facebook: we uploaded a video from the rehearsal of "The Taming of the Shrew", choreographed by Jean-Christophe Maillot Olga Smirnova on the cover of the June issue of "Dance Magazine" June 27 and 29 - "Don Carlo". Guest soloist: Dimitri Pittas (tenor) Historic Stage - rehearsal day New Stage - rehearsal dayLopatin and Krysanova and the costume fitting during a rehearsal of "The Taming of the Shrew". Photo: Katerina NovikovaBach's music is the best for dancing The Royal Ballet had not performed in Russia for eleven years. When the company finally came, the four productions it brought convinced even those members of the Newsletter Eric Underwood, Zenaida Yanowsky. Photo: Bill Cooper/ROH It was this ballet that demonstrated the total unity of innovative choreography that is surprising in its twisted and grotesque figures and mathematical graphics of late Bach that demonstrates the top level of the counterpoint mastery in canons and fugues of his last large-form cycle. If we add pointedly ascetic arrangement created by Michael Berkley and the light ornament, designed by Tauba Auerbach, which is plain, but as expressive in its bright geometry, we will get a bright and precise sound and visual score. It is very simple when there are one or two dancers in "space" leotards, and very sophisticated, when all 10 of them appear. It is a great pity that after a series of scandals at the Bolshoi Theatre a year and half ago McGregor refused to stage his idea for "A Rite of Spring" in Russia; this production could have become a much bigger event then the ballet by Tatiana Baganova, which was staged in a hurry to close the gap in the playbill and has too many symbolic meanings and deliberate brutality. Edward Watson, Natalia Osipova. Photo: Johas Persson As for the success that the British company had with the audience, it was rather predictable that the three-act ballet "Manon" by Kenneth MacMillan, another classic of the British choreography, would have the greatest success. First of all, this is a melodrama, based on a very understandable plot, which is something that the audience always likes more than anything else. Second of all, there is the wonderful music by Massenet, taken from different scores of this composer and compiled by a dancer and a musician Leighton Lucas. Thirdly, the choreography is really expressive, especially when it comes to pas de deux of Manon and Des Grieux, which demonstrate, how their feelings developed from the first mutual provocation that was not very serious in the beginning, through tender passion and anxiety to the final tragedy. The "Trud" reporter was lucky enough to see this drama on the last day of guest performances; the cast starred Carlos Acosta and Natalia Osipova, who has been the Royal Ballet prima ballerina for a year. Their performance was breathtakingly expressive. There was such virtuosity and sincerity, that even though some parts in the finale were too pathetic, the general impression remained very positive. I guess, Kenneth MacMillan could not have dreamed of a better performance. .trud.ru/article/24-06-2014/1314831_pod_baxa_tantsuetsja_luchshe_vsego.htmlMass media about the TheatreThe creation of a perfect couple Tatiana Kuznetsova writes about the world premiere of the ballet "The Taming of the Shrew" that will take place at the Bolshoi Theatre Photo: Elena Fetisova This is the case when the time-worn phrase "world premiere" is not a cliché from a typical press-release. The thing is that if we put a Russian equivalent of the word "creation" on the playbill, people will laugh at us, because this word will look really strange in such a context. Nevertheless, all over the world the term "creation" gives an event a higher status. It means that we are talking not about just one more "premiere" (meaning that this is a production that had already been staged and is performed at other theatres as well); it means that a ballet is being born, a ballet that has never existed before is being created for a certain company bearing in mind its individual characteristics. Leading theatres hunt for such exclusive productions and their authors, since "creation" is not just a symbol of their creative sustainability and originality. A good production of such kind is a new step for the company; it has a chance to go down in history and even to become a certain symbol of its time, as, say, "Spartacus" by Yuri Grigorovich at the Bolshoi Theatre during the Soviet era or "Le Park" by Angelin Preljocaj at the Paris Opera. It happened that during the most recent times creations that were momentous for the Bolshoi Theatre were staged by the French (and by a Russian choreographer Ratmansky, whom the Moscow theatre did not manage to make stay in his native country). However, Pierre Lacotte, who staged a wonderful "Pharaoh's Daughter" in 2000, was a pioneer; this was a full-length fantasy, based on the plot by a Petipa's ballet that had become ancient history. The date of its premiere marked the birth of a new ballet generation - open to the world and ready for changes. Three years later a one-act ballet "The Queen of Spades" by Roland Petit was staged at the Bolshoi, and "the iron curtain" disappeared completely. The ballet was on everyone's lips all around Russia; the French choreographer was the first foreigner to receive a State Prize, German and the Countess (Nikolay Tsiskaridze and Ilze Liepa) received State Prizes as well, and the production was given lots of "Golden Mask" Awards. However, the Bolshoi Theatre demonstrated real Russian carelessness and did not save its French treasures: both productions disappeared from the theatre's playbill (for different reasons). Now the Bolshoi Theatre has another chance: Jean- Christophe Maillot, the artistic director of Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and one of the best French choreographers, is now working on "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Bolshoi. This is an unprecedented case: the choreographer, who had refused to stage anything at any other theatre, including the Paris Opera, left his native company for the first time in 20 years in order to do this risky business with unpredictable Russians, whom he does not really know that well. Or maybe he does. Maillot took a look at the Bolshoi's artists in his native Monaco, where he invited them to dance "Swan Lake": the iconic Russian "white" act and the "black" pas de deux were incorporated into his own, absolutely non-Orthodox version of the ballet. It was back then, in 2011, that the Bolshoi artistic director Sergei Filin convinced the choreographer to stage a ballet in Moscow. He convinced him to stage a plot-based two-act ballet - the new "The Taming of the Shrew" will be the first full-length production, created by a modern Western author, in Russian history. Maillot June, 30 2014Newsletter decided on the title at once. As he admitted, he had been thinking about "The Taming of the Shrew" by Shakespeare for a long time: "I have always wanted Bernice Coppieters, the prima ballerina of my company, to dance the main part in it". But while the choreographer was thinking, his muse Bernice finished her dancing career and today works at the Bolshoi together with the choreographer - - even though she is in great shape, she is only Maillot's assistant. She uses her body to explain to the artist what the author wanted to express. The music issue was solved quickly as well: it is Dmitry Shostakovich, whom Maillot is in love with and whose music he has already used for many of his productions. However, the Bolshoi's repertoire has already had all three ballets to the music by Shostakovich; therefore, the choreographer used the composer's music for films. "I discovered his music for films, which I had not known very well before. This music is unique, it demonstrates all his grotesque and satirical nature. It is like a deep breath of fresh air that he could not afford to have in his symphonies". Maillot discovered that the composer, harassed by the Soviet government, was similar to the main heroine of this ballet, based on the play by Shakespeare: both of them are not what other people think they are. Even the "housekeeper" that does not exist in the Shakespeare's play, will find someone to couple with It is not the Renaissance setting and twisted plot, but the psychology of the characters that makes this most erotic of all Shakespeare's comedies attractive for Maillot. Of course, there will be no Renaissance Italy in the production: Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Maillot's permanent set designer, built a snow-white staircase that can transform into a square, a palazzo hall, a church or a country road. The costumes are designed by Augustin Maillot, the choreographer's son. They are half- transparent; they free the body but also give an idea of the historical period. It is the first time that Maillot's son is working by himself, although he has learned not only from his father's ballets, but from Karl Lagerfeld as well. Jean-Christophe Maillot does not consider "The Taming of the Shrew" to be a macho play about dealing with some stupid claims of the weaker sex. Petruchio and Katharina are an ideal couple for him because both of them are exceptions to the rules: both of them are extreme lovers when it comes to emotions and both of them do not want to follow generally accepted rules. However, Maillot's production will not be a ballet for two with some secondary characters: the choreographer found four different male characters and as many female ones. So in this "Taming of the Shrew" there will be Bianca and Lucentio, Hortensio and Gremio, the fiancés, Katharina's young father and a widow, who is trying to look younger than she really is. Even the "housekeeper" that does not exist in Shakespeare's play will find a couple. Perhaps, the ballet will have so many characters due to the Bolshoi's artists, who are great actors with wonderful plastique and remarkable technique, who are ready to accept any suggestions of the author. The cast stars the Bolshoi's best young ballerinas, headed by Ekaterina Krysanova (Katharina) and Olga Smirnova (Bianca) and the Bolshoi's brightest dancers - Vladislav Lantratov, Denis Savin, Semyon Chudin, Vyacheslav Lopatin, Igor Tsvirko and Alexander Volchkov. As the rumor has it, the choreographer and the artists try to outshine each other and cannot stop laughing. Taking into account Maillot's great choreographic humor and his unique ability to tell stories using human bodies, we can expect the ballet to be really funny - in case he has enough time to put into life everything he has thought of, and the artists have enough time to learn everything he stages. The Bolshoi Theatre traditionally treated world premiere in a rather careless way, which is difficult to explain: when the rehearsals were in full swing, the theatre sent the company to perform in the USA and filled the playbill with difficult ballets that star many people, including all those that dance in "The Taming of the Shrew". In a nutshell, the production process is rather hectic. On the other hand, "creation" is always about risk and passion: this is a roulette, and both the theatre, the author and the dancers have bet their skills and reputations on one single number. The 4 of July. The Bolshoi Theatre Chief Conductor was born and raised in the North Caucasus A student like no other Alla Gazatseva, an Honored Cultural Worker of the Republic of the North Ossetia and Alania, a high achiever, recognized by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and a pedagogue at a musical college (today it is the college of arts, named after Gergiev), says: - In 1992 Tugan, who was 15 years old at that time, came to my class; he played the national accordion. I also taught him to play the chromatic accordion. We often participated in different competitions; one of those competitions took place in Nalchik, and we listened to symphonic orchestra musicians. Tugan told me: "The trombones played this part. And French horns - that one". I took notice of that: the boy heard the difference in the scores of the same piece! It was the first time something like that happened in my experience. The teachers of the college decided to arrange a meeting with the luminary Anatoly A. Briskin, the teacher of Valery Gergiev, for this teenager, who had such unique skills. "We elaborated the strategy how to come up to him and to ask him about it. We had to be very brave or very impudent in order to ask this legendary person to listen to a young lad, who conducted an orchestra of folk instruments!" Nothing like this had ever happened in the history of the college before. Conductors traditionally came from piano classes; this is the way it happened with the genius Gergiev, while Tugan played accordion. When he was in the second year of studies, his teachers let him work with the orchestra (according to the curriculum, this happened when students were in their fourth year of studies). As people at the college remember, Briskin was so impressed with the young man's talent that he gave him individual lessons. Gazatseva says: - He was a unique student; I had not had such a student before, and did not have such a student after. All of my students are gifted, and I love them very much, but Tugan was very hard-working and goal-oriented from the very beginning. In the end of 1990s-beginning of 2000s. Photo: from a personal archive/Alla Gazatseva She has taught so many talented young people; she has listened to all of them and put her soul into all of them. She did not count them; for 45 years she was simply teaching them everything she had been taught at the music school in her native city Beslan many years ago. It was in this music school that she started teaching children to play chromatic accordion at. Later she started to teach at her alma mater; this was her life-long passion. There was the Gnesin Institute and the conservatory; the girl with the chromatic accordion absorbed knowledge in order to give it to her students. The swan song - You should write that very many people supported our Tugan - from the minister to simple pedagogues. The atmosphere at the college was very creative, and it played its role as well. They believed in his talent; people adored Sokhiev, he is incredibly charming! But hard work is the most important thing. He worked with scores and arranged symphonic and piano pieces for folk instruments; the first arrangement of this kind that appeared at the college was made by him especially for students of Gazatseva. Here are those scores; the young man glued pieces of paper with the music stand and kept writing… They are not just carefully stored here; people still use them to play. There are not than many pieces for the national accordion, so Sokhiev worked to change this situation. He was extraordinary, mobile and curious; he spent a lot of time in class - he did not just come to his lessons, but also listened to others. He is a very curious person; his life is about music only. Briskin once said: "Gergiev is a genius and he is sought-after in every country of the world, but Tugan is my swan song". To see and to hear When Sokhiev had his first exam in conduction, tons of people came; there were lots of them in the class and in the hallway as well. They asked him lots of questions, and June, 30 2014Newsletter Digest has been compiled by The Bolshoi Theatre Press Office Photos: Damir Yusupov and Mikhail Logvinov Design layout: Vladimir AndrusenkoAll materials used in the digest are the public domain of information agencies, mass media, civil society organizations and government he gave brilliant answers. It was like it was not a challenge, but rather a concert or an exhibition performance. He passed his final exams ahead of schedule and went to St. Petersburg to enter the conservatory; his goal was to get into the class of the great Ilya A. Musin, the teacher of Gergiev and Temirkanov. This was the rarest case when someone entered the faculty of symphony conducting at the age of 19! Tugan was in his third year of studies when Musin passed away; he finished his studies with the famous Yuri Temirkanov, a People's Artist of the USSR. Gazatseva says: - He is a virtuoso performer. He was awarded the Grand Prix at the competition "The Star of Ossetia"; in Rostov people came to the gala-concert to listen to him, and the jury gave him a round of applause. They even reproached me for not having told them that I had brought a young genius. Parents of other students were jealous, because I devoted so much attention to this boy. This is a teacher's secret - he/she should be able to see and hear that a person has talent, and then to guide him. A young lad, playing the national accordion, has become a famous symphonic conductor and toured the whole world. He is now the chief conductor of The Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; in 2014 he was appointed the chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre. On the Bolshoi Theatre official pages in the social networks we uploaded the following information: Video with Jean-Christophe Maillot and his rehearsals of "The Taming of the Shrew". We give you a chance to look at the maestro's work from the inside. Olga Smirnova on the cover of the June issue of "Dance Magazine"; there also is her portrait inside. The American audience is looking forward to the ballerina's return in July, when the Bolshoi Theatre will present its guest performances in the USA. Olga Smirnova. Photo: Dance Magazine Theatre in the Internet
|
Main Stage
1 Teatralnaya ploschad (1 Theatre Square), Moscow, Russia
New Stage
Bol'shaya Dmitrovka Street, 4/2, Moscow, Russia