01.06.2016
Summer of Ballet
In the midst of St. Petersburg’s ghostly white nights, the art of ballet gets a new lease of life. Timeless classics take on a stirring timeliness and modern productions acquire new scope and depth. It has become a tradition at this time for the Mikhailovsky Theatre to present a very special ballet marathon. The Summer of Ballet has become a true hallmark of our theatre.
In June and July, local and visiting theatregoers alike will have a chance to see the cream of the ballet repertoire in St. Petersburg. The playbill this summer includes six classic productions, two works by Nacho Duato, and a new ballet which was premiered right here at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in late May.
The Summer of Ballet kicks off with a flick of the baton from conductor Mikhail Tatarnikov. The maestro will take the helm of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet three times: on 1, 2, and 3 June. Based on the belief that Prokofiev’s score is “the most tremendous ever written for ballet”, choreographer Nacho Duato’s expressive staging alternates poignant duets from Shakespeare’s iconic star-crossed protagonists with set pieces reminiscent of the commedia dell’arte form, while also throwing rousing crowd scenes into the mix.
Although known as the ‘cheerful classics’, Le Corsaire (8 and 9 June) and Don Quixote (11 and 12 June) are rather distinguished by their characters’ passion, resolve, and recklessness. These performances are being staged by Mikhail Messerer, whose revised classics are noted for their “high culture and respect for the heritage of classical choreography.”
A new ballet, “I Love You, Peter’s Great Creation... ” will run twice, on 16 and 18 June. This freestyle symbolic fantasy was based on themes from Pushkin’s narrative poem The Bronze Horseman. In a digital age, where material concerns are increasingly immaterial and the boundary between the mind and reality ever more blurred, this poem takes on entirely new meanings and sounds surprisingly modern. Thus, rather than follow the story literally, choreographer Lar Lubovitch and production designer George Tsypin strive to capture the ethereal and elusory nature of Pushkin’s lines.
One highlight of the Summer of Ballet season will be a production of The Sleeping Beauty by Nacho Duato. This performance, which was a triumph at the Hong Kong Arts Festival this March, will grace our stage from 21 June to 8 July. The legendary Farukh Ruzimatov’s performance in the role of the Carabosse Fairy under the commanding baton of maestro Mikhail Tatarnikov is much anticipated.
The Summer of Ballet programme will continue throughout July with La Bayadère, one of the oldest Russian ballets; Giselle, ou Les Wilis, a story of love which treads the fine line between reality and fantasy; and Laurencia, an outstanding example of Stalinist classicism, given a modern interpretation. The theatre season will close with Swan Lake. As the great George Balanchine once quipped, “We should call every ballet Swan Lake, then the audiences will come.”
In June and July, local and visiting theatregoers alike will have a chance to see the cream of the ballet repertoire in St. Petersburg. The playbill this summer includes six classic productions, two works by Nacho Duato, and a new ballet which was premiered right here at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in late May.
The Summer of Ballet kicks off with a flick of the baton from conductor Mikhail Tatarnikov. The maestro will take the helm of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet three times: on 1, 2, and 3 June. Based on the belief that Prokofiev’s score is “the most tremendous ever written for ballet”, choreographer Nacho Duato’s expressive staging alternates poignant duets from Shakespeare’s iconic star-crossed protagonists with set pieces reminiscent of the commedia dell’arte form, while also throwing rousing crowd scenes into the mix.
Although known as the ‘cheerful classics’, Le Corsaire (8 and 9 June) and Don Quixote (11 and 12 June) are rather distinguished by their characters’ passion, resolve, and recklessness. These performances are being staged by Mikhail Messerer, whose revised classics are noted for their “high culture and respect for the heritage of classical choreography.”
A new ballet, “I Love You, Peter’s Great Creation... ” will run twice, on 16 and 18 June. This freestyle symbolic fantasy was based on themes from Pushkin’s narrative poem The Bronze Horseman. In a digital age, where material concerns are increasingly immaterial and the boundary between the mind and reality ever more blurred, this poem takes on entirely new meanings and sounds surprisingly modern. Thus, rather than follow the story literally, choreographer Lar Lubovitch and production designer George Tsypin strive to capture the ethereal and elusory nature of Pushkin’s lines.
One highlight of the Summer of Ballet season will be a production of The Sleeping Beauty by Nacho Duato. This performance, which was a triumph at the Hong Kong Arts Festival this March, will grace our stage from 21 June to 8 July. The legendary Farukh Ruzimatov’s performance in the role of the Carabosse Fairy under the commanding baton of maestro Mikhail Tatarnikov is much anticipated.
The Summer of Ballet programme will continue throughout July with La Bayadère, one of the oldest Russian ballets; Giselle, ou Les Wilis, a story of love which treads the fine line between reality and fantasy; and Laurencia, an outstanding example of Stalinist classicism, given a modern interpretation. The theatre season will close with Swan Lake. As the great George Balanchine once quipped, “We should call every ballet Swan Lake, then the audiences will come.”
