26.04.2013
The Flames Of Paris
Premières on 22–26 July
The Mikhailovsky Theatre is reviving the ballet The Flames of Paris. In the early 1930s, the events of the French Revolution inspired composer Boris Asafiev and choreographer Vasily Vainonen to create a ballet that became one of the greatest successes in Soviet musical theatre. Mikhail Messerer has revived this heroic historical fresco for the Mikhailovsky Theatre, with set design by Vyacheslav Okunev. More than 100 people are engaged in the production — almost the entire ballet company. The artists are required to find a very special means of existence on stage, in which dance and acting talent have to be fused into a single whole.
Mikhail Messerer, the Mikhailovsky’s Principal Guest Ballet Master, explains what prompted him to revive the legendary ballet:
“I believe that if you forget your history and know nothing about your past, it is more difficult to move forward. This applies to Russian ballet too. The Flames of Paris, with Vasily Vainonen’s choreography, is a production that we should hold particularly dear. I have worked in leading Western theatres for many years, and everywhere I have noticed the pride and esteem accorded to the productions of past generations. Antony Tudor and Frederick Ashton in Britain, Roland Petit in France, George Balanchine in the USA — their ballets are treated with respect and care, and they remain in the repertoire for new generations of performers. It really grieves me that in this country, a number of choreographic productions from the first half of the twentieth century that are valuable in artistic terms have virtually disappeared from the repertoire. That was the case with Laurencia — it was not performed anywhere in Russia. Three years ago we revived it at the Mikhailovsky Theatre and it is now one of the hits of our repertoire; it has been performed twice during our London tours. I hope that The Flames of Paris will also find a place in our repertoire and tour programme.”
The première is being sponsored by LenSpetsStroy, a company that has been a partner of the theatre for many years.
“Of course we cannot bring back the audiences that greeted the production with such rapture in the 1930s”, says Dmitry Astafiev, the company’s General Director and producer of the ballet. At that time, with no regard for theatrical protocol, they stood up on a common impulse and sang the Marseillaise along with the cast at the top of their voices. But if it is in our power to revive a production that was a symbol of the age of revolutionary romanticism while it has still not been completely forgotten, and there are people for whom it is virtually a ‘family matter’ — I mean Mikhail Messerer — we are obliged to do it. The values espoused by Europe today have their roots in the French Revolution. And if our country wishes to consider itself part of European civilization, let us pay tribute to its origins."
There is a special site devoted to the forthcoming première (Russian only).
You can read about the history of the ballet and about those who are working on its revival.
Mikhail Messerer, the Mikhailovsky’s Principal Guest Ballet Master, explains what prompted him to revive the legendary ballet:
“I believe that if you forget your history and know nothing about your past, it is more difficult to move forward. This applies to Russian ballet too. The Flames of Paris, with Vasily Vainonen’s choreography, is a production that we should hold particularly dear. I have worked in leading Western theatres for many years, and everywhere I have noticed the pride and esteem accorded to the productions of past generations. Antony Tudor and Frederick Ashton in Britain, Roland Petit in France, George Balanchine in the USA — their ballets are treated with respect and care, and they remain in the repertoire for new generations of performers. It really grieves me that in this country, a number of choreographic productions from the first half of the twentieth century that are valuable in artistic terms have virtually disappeared from the repertoire. That was the case with Laurencia — it was not performed anywhere in Russia. Three years ago we revived it at the Mikhailovsky Theatre and it is now one of the hits of our repertoire; it has been performed twice during our London tours. I hope that The Flames of Paris will also find a place in our repertoire and tour programme.”
The première is being sponsored by LenSpetsStroy, a company that has been a partner of the theatre for many years.
“Of course we cannot bring back the audiences that greeted the production with such rapture in the 1930s”, says Dmitry Astafiev, the company’s General Director and producer of the ballet. At that time, with no regard for theatrical protocol, they stood up on a common impulse and sang the Marseillaise along with the cast at the top of their voices. But if it is in our power to revive a production that was a symbol of the age of revolutionary romanticism while it has still not been completely forgotten, and there are people for whom it is virtually a ‘family matter’ — I mean Mikhail Messerer — we are obliged to do it. The values espoused by Europe today have their roots in the French Revolution. And if our country wishes to consider itself part of European civilization, let us pay tribute to its origins."
There is a special site devoted to the forthcoming première (Russian only).
You can read about the history of the ballet and about those who are working on its revival.
