05.07.2017
The first Cinderella
The new ballet season will open on 14 September with a premiere of Cinderella. Inspired by the much-loved fairy tale, its vibrant and evocative score was written by Sergey Prokofiev in 1944. Since that time, a multitude of choreographers have treated us to their choreographic interpretations of this wondrous and delightful story. This time, the Mikhailovsky Theatre has decided to return to the ballet’s very first incarnation — the version staged by Rostislav Zakharov in 1945.
The task of restoring the original choreography has been undertaken by Ballet Master in Chief Mikhail Messerer, who strongly believes Cinderella to be a key passage in the history of Russian ballet. Mikhail Messerer met Rostislav Zakharov as a young boy. The Messerer family, who were living in the artists’ home of the Bolshoi Theatre, shared an entrance with the Zakharovs, who lived on the floor below. „I remember vividly how my passion for water-based activities aroused Zakharov’s displeasure,“ Messerer laughs. „I flooded them from above, and he came running up, indignant and angry, to complain.“
„Zakharov, in his own words, considered himself the successor of Alexander Gorsky,“ Messerer explains. „The production is solidly executed; you can feel a master’s hand at work. The ballet features a profusion of dances, not only for the lead roles, but for solo parts throughout.“
Fate would reunite Messerer with the renowned choreographer at a later stage, when the former arrived to train as an instructor and ballet master at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts. Zakharov headed the ballet faculty at that time. „I gained a lot from my time with Zakharov — he had a great many interesting and wise things to share. You couldn’t agree with all of his ideas, but that he was a truly exceptional human being was certainly true,“ he recalls.
The premiere of the ballet Cinderella will take place at the Mikhailovsky Theatre on the 110th anniversary of this outstanding master’s birth.
The task of restoring the original choreography has been undertaken by Ballet Master in Chief Mikhail Messerer, who strongly believes Cinderella to be a key passage in the history of Russian ballet. Mikhail Messerer met Rostislav Zakharov as a young boy. The Messerer family, who were living in the artists’ home of the Bolshoi Theatre, shared an entrance with the Zakharovs, who lived on the floor below. „I remember vividly how my passion for water-based activities aroused Zakharov’s displeasure,“ Messerer laughs. „I flooded them from above, and he came running up, indignant and angry, to complain.“
„Zakharov, in his own words, considered himself the successor of Alexander Gorsky,“ Messerer explains. „The production is solidly executed; you can feel a master’s hand at work. The ballet features a profusion of dances, not only for the lead roles, but for solo parts throughout.“
Fate would reunite Messerer with the renowned choreographer at a later stage, when the former arrived to train as an instructor and ballet master at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts. Zakharov headed the ballet faculty at that time. „I gained a lot from my time with Zakharov — he had a great many interesting and wise things to share. You couldn’t agree with all of his ideas, but that he was a truly exceptional human being was certainly true,“ he recalls.
The premiere of the ballet Cinderella will take place at the Mikhailovsky Theatre on the 110th anniversary of this outstanding master’s birth.
