25.09.2019
La Bayadère: the first premiere of the season
The Mikhailovsky Theatre has truly become renowned Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato’s Russian home: currently, eleven of his productions are in the Theatre’s repertoire, and his La Bayadère, based on motifs from the choreography by Marius Petipa and set to music by Ludwig Minkus, is about to become the twelfth. Now back in St. Petersburg after a break, Duato is once again turning to ballet’s classical heritage: a tale of the love between a temple dancer and a gallant warrior. The production will premiere on 4, 5, and 6 October.
“I want modern-day audiences to understand and share the emotions of the ballet’s characters, and not to have these feelings seem anachronistic or folksily two-dimensional,” explains Duato. “In that respect, I’m staying in the modern world — but at the same time, I’m in an internal dialogue with my predecessors from Petipa onward. They created this ballet and kept it alive for 150 years, which is why La Bayadère remains a part of history. However, while in the classical version Ancient India is nothing more than an artificial backdrop, I am using real-life elements of Indian culture, creating a vivid framework for the production’s most precious jewel: the dance.”
“Blending intricate Indian patterns with strict classical lines was the most interesting and remarkable thing about this project,” says costume designer Angelina Atlagich. “I was fascinated by the rich, bright colours of India, but I found the balance and the key to combining classical ballet costumes with Indian opulance. A few dozen elaborate, refined costumes were designed and created for the production, using lace and jewels. The set is more minimalistic, however based around transparent patterned panels.”
This venerable ballet first entered the Mikhailovsky Theatre’s repertoire in 2000 under Nikolay Boyarchikov’s direction. Its production history continued in 2012 with a staging by Mikhail Messerer. Messerer painstakingly recreated the staging by Ponomaryov and Chabukiani, who did so much to preserve the ballet for us today.
“I want modern-day audiences to understand and share the emotions of the ballet’s characters, and not to have these feelings seem anachronistic or folksily two-dimensional,” explains Duato. “In that respect, I’m staying in the modern world — but at the same time, I’m in an internal dialogue with my predecessors from Petipa onward. They created this ballet and kept it alive for 150 years, which is why La Bayadère remains a part of history. However, while in the classical version Ancient India is nothing more than an artificial backdrop, I am using real-life elements of Indian culture, creating a vivid framework for the production’s most precious jewel: the dance.”
“Blending intricate Indian patterns with strict classical lines was the most interesting and remarkable thing about this project,” says costume designer Angelina Atlagich. “I was fascinated by the rich, bright colours of India, but I found the balance and the key to combining classical ballet costumes with Indian opulance. A few dozen elaborate, refined costumes were designed and created for the production, using lace and jewels. The set is more minimalistic, however based around transparent patterned panels.”
This venerable ballet first entered the Mikhailovsky Theatre’s repertoire in 2000 under Nikolay Boyarchikov’s direction. Its production history continued in 2012 with a staging by Mikhail Messerer. Messerer painstakingly recreated the staging by Ponomaryov and Chabukiani, who did so much to preserve the ballet for us today.
