Bolshoi Ballet – Romeo and Juliet

29 & 30 June 2013

Running time: 2h25 with 1 intermission (approx, subject to change)

BALLET IN 2 ACTS

Libretto by Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Radlov, Adrian Piotrovsky after the play of the same name by William Shakespeare in Yuri Grigorovich’s version
Music: Sergei PROKOFIEV
Choreographer: Yuri GRIGOROVICH
Assistant choreographer: Vasily VOROKHOBKO
Scenery and costumes: Simon VIRSALADZE
Lighting designer: Mikhail SOKOLOV
Music director: tbc
With the Orchestra of the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia
With the Bolshoi soloists and the Bolshoi Corps de Ballet

Based on the play by William Shakespeare,  Romeo and Juliet is one of the most popular ballets in the world. Nevertheless, its creation was difficult. Originally commissioned by the Leningrad Kirov Ballet in 1934, Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet did not premiere at the Kirov stage until 1940 and at the Bolshoi until 1946. Indeed, the 2 companies first refused the theme, then the steps, which ballet dancers declared indansable and finally, the partition, deemed inaudible. Today, this ballet is now considered to be Prokofiev’s most valued piece of work because of the high melodic inspiration, the great variety of rhythms and the memorable main characters. In 1978, Yuri Grigorovich revived Sergei Prokofiev’s production for the Paris Opera, which opened later at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1979. Today’s choreographic version is a revival of this first production. It premiered on April 21, 2010 at the Bolshoi Theatre. In this version, Shakespeare’s tragedy has become extremely abstract. Shakespeare’s world has been generalized, cleared of everyday matters liberating the stage of any details not connected with the main theme. Grigorovich developed the main character from his personal memories of Natalia Bessmertnova, his very first Juliet (1978), and main inspiration.

To Prince Escalus’ dismay, the rivalry between the Capulets and Montagues brings bloodshed to the city of Verona. Romeo, heir of the Montagues, is distraught as his love for Rosaline is not returned. To console him, his friend Mercutio persuade him to attend the ball Capulet has organised to find possible suitors for his daughter Juliet. Romeo attends the ball incognito at the Capulet house. However, when Romeo meets Juliet, the two fall instantly in love with each other. They are overwhelmed when they discover they belong to two rival families..

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Bolshoi Ballet – Esmeralda

11 & 12 May

Running time, 2 hours 45 minutes (approx, subject to change)

Please note: Esmeralda replaces Wayne McGregor’s new version of The Rite of Spring due to the horrific attack on Bolshoi Ballet Artistic Director Sergei Filin in January 2013.

BALLET IN 3 ACTS

Esmeralda: Maria ALEXANDROVA
Pierre Gringoire: Denis SAVIN
Phoebus de Châteaupers: Ruslan SKVORTSOV
Fleur de Lys : Ekaterina KRYSANOVA
With the Bolshoi Corps de Ballet

Music : Cesare PUGNI
Libretto : Jules PERROT after the novel “Notre Dame de Paris” by Victor HUGO
Original choreography : Marius PETIPA (1886)
Scenography and new choreographic version : Yuri BURLAKA and Vasily MEDVEDEV (2009)
Sets : Alyona PIKALOVA
Costumes : Yelena ZAYTSEVA
Lights : Damir ISMAGILOV
Musical direction : Pavel KLINICHEV
With the Orchestra of the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre

Inspired by Victor Hugo’s famous novel “Notre Dame de Paris”, Esmeralda was first presented in London in 1844. It was then choreographed again by Marius Petipa in 1886 for the Bolshoi. Today’s choreographic version is from Yuri Burklava and Vasily Medvedev and was first presented at the Bolshoi in December 2009.

Poet Gringoire, sentenced to be hanged, is saved in extremis by beautiful Esmeralda who agrees to marry him. Archdeacon Frollo, torn between his love for God and his obsession for the gypsy girl, sends his henchman Quasimodo to capture her. Esmeralda is rescued by Phoebus, the captain of the guard, who gives her his scarf as a souvenir. Later, alone, Esmeralda, starts dreaming about the handsome captain…

Bolshoi Ballet – La Bayadere

30 & 31 March

Running time: 3h30 with 2 intermissions (approx, subject to change)

BALLET IN 3 ACTS

Music : Ludwig MiNKUS

Libretto: Marius PETIPA and Sergei KHUDEKOV
Choreography: Marius PETIPA
New scenic version: Yuri GRIGOROVICH

With scenes from productions by: Vakhtang CHABUKIANI, Nikolai ZUBKOVSKY, Konstantin SERGEYEV
Sets after sketches by designers of the 1st production (1877) revived by: Valery FIRSOV, Nikolai SHARONOV

Costumes after sketches by designers of the 1st production (1877) revived by: Nikolai SVIRIDCHIKOV
Supervisor of scenery and costumes revival: Valery LEVENTAL
Music director: tbc

With the Orchestra of the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia

With the Bolshoi soloists and the Bolshoi Corps de Ballet

Marius Petipa’s seminal work La Bayadère was first performed at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St.Petersburg in 1877 in a grandiose production portraying a mysterious India and the impossible love between the sacred dancer Nikiya and the warrior Solor. A scene from the ballet, known as The Kingdom of the Shades, is one of the most celebrated excerpts in all of classical ballet, and is considered to be one of the first examples of abstract ballet. Although a major work in Russian tradition, the ballet remained unknown for a long time in the West.

Young warriors led by Solor are hunting. Before entering the forest, Solor sends a fakir to tell bayadère Nikiya (a “Temple Dancer”) that he will meet her later at night. When Nikiya and Solor meet, they swear eternal fidelity to each other.They are unaware that the High Brahmin also in love with Nikiya, overhears them and decides to take revenge. He rushes to reveal this secret to the Rajah who has selected Solor to be the fiancé of Gamzatti, his beloved daughter. Nikiya, unaware of the arrangement, agrees to dance at the couple’s betrothal celebrations.

The jealous High Brahmin -in an effort to have Solor killed and have Nikiya for himself- tells the Rajah that the warrior has already vowed love to the bayadère over. But the Rajah, rather than becoming angry with Solor, vows that Nikiya must die. Gamzatti, who has eavesdropped on this exchange, summons Nikiya to the palace in an attempt to bribe her into giving up her beloved. As their rivalry intensifies, Nikiya picks up a dagger in a fit of rage and attempts to kill Gamzatti. Nikiya is stopped at the last moment and flees in horror at what she has almost done. As did her father, Gamzatti vows that the bayadère must die…

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Bolshoi Ballet – The Pharaoh’s Daughter

16 & 17 February 2013

Running time: 2h55 with 2 intermissions (approx, subject to change)

BALLET IN 3 ACTS

Libretto by Jean-Henry Saint-Georges and Maurice Petipa after the novel Le roman de la momie by Theophile Gautier, version by Pierre Lacotte
Music : Cesare PUGNI
Author of the score’s version: Alexander SOTNIKOV
Choreographer: Pierre LACOTTE (after the ballet of the same name by Marius Petipa)
Designer: Pierre LACOTTE
Music Director: tbc
With the Orchestra of the Bolshoi State Theatre of Russia
With the Bolshoi soloists and the Bolshoi Corps de Ballet

First choreographed by Marius Petipa, The Pharaoh’s Daughter premiered in 1862 in a grandiose show -the likes of which had never seen before- at Petersburg’s Bolshoi Theatre. Immensely popular with the public, The Pharaoh’s Daughter was given several revivals. In 1864, the ballet was transferred from Petersburg to Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre. But in Soviet times it was considered to be ideologically immature and, dropped from the repertoire, it was virtually forgotten. In 2000, Pierre Lacotte was exclusively commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre to resurrect Petipa’s mighty Egyptian fresco and he successfully succeeded in giving a new life to this forgotten masterpiece.

Young Englishman Lord Wilson is traveling through Egypt with his servant, John Bull. At the foot of a pyramid, they meet a caravan of Arab merchants who kindly invite them into their tent. Suddenly, a powerful storm breaks out. Travellers and merchants are forced to take shelter in the nearest pyramid. The caretaker requests his uninvited guests to watch the noise they make as Aspicia, the daughter of one of Egypt’s most powerful Pharaohs, lies in a tomb nearby. Settling down in a corner, the merchants light up their opium pipes. Lord Wilson also asks for a chibouk… He falls asleep and begins to have fantastic dreams. The Pharaoh’s daughter, Aspicia, becomes alive and lays her hand over his heart. Lord Wilson is instantly transported into the past where he becomes Ta-Hor, an ancient Egyptian. Ta-Hor and Aspicia fall in love, but she is betrothed to a Nubian king…

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Bolshoi Ballet – La Sylphide

10 & 11 November 2012

Running time: 2 hours with 1 intermission (approx, subject to change)

BALLET IN 2 ACTS

Music: Herman Severin LØVENSKIOLD
Libretto: Adolphe NOURRIT and Filippo TAGLIONI
Choreography: August BOURNONVILLE
Production and new choreography: Johan KOBBORG
Sets and costumes design: Peter FARMER
Lighting designer: Damir ISMAGILOV
Music director: tba
With the Orchestra of the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre
With the Bolshoi soloists and the Bolshoi Corps de Ballet

La Sylphide is one of the world’s oldest surviving romantic ballets. August Bournonville’s version is an adaptation of an 1832 French ballet of the same name, which showcased the technique of the great 19th-century ballerina Maria Taglioni, and ushered in a new Romantic era of dance. Bournonville was the first choreographer to recreate La Sylphide and it is his version that has survived – it has been performed regularly by the Royal Danish Ballet since its premiere in 1836 and remains one of his most celebrated works. In La Sylphide, the human realm of a small Scottish community – evoked by traditional folk songs in Herman Løvenskiold’s score – meets the spiritual realm of the otherworldly sylphs. James, a classic Romantic hero, is utterly bewitched by a beautiful sylph: although he is unable to touch her, he movingly echoes her movements in his. Bournonville placed a greater emphasis on the narrative in his version of the ballet and developed the characters of the embittered witch and James (a role he danced himself). The Royal Ballet’s production is staged by the Danish choreographer Johan Kobborg, himself steeped in the Bournonville style.

In a Scottish manor-house, on the morning of his wedding, James wakes up  that that, ss and that of hifrom a dream to discover  a beautiful winged sylph before him. Entranced by the vision, he attempts to capture her  but she escapes him and vanishes. During the wedding preparations, James hardly notices Effie; instead she is wooed by Gurn whom she ignores. James joins in the preparations but gradually realizes that his dreams go far beyond the walls of the manor-house and that his obsession with the winged creature risks his own happiness and that of his fiancée Effie.

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Ballet 2012: Raymonda

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July
(Check with your local participating cinema for any additional screenings)

Performed by Bolshoi Ballet at the newly restored Bolshoi Theatre of Russia

Choreography and direction: Yuri Grigorovich with original scenes choreographed by Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky
Music: Alexander Glazunov
Set design: Simon Virsaladze
Lighting: Mikhail Sorokin
With the Orchestra of the Bolshoi State Theatre
With the Bolshoi soloists and the Bolshoi Corps de Ballet

Ballet in 3 acts

Founded in 1898 at the Mariinsky Theatre, the last ‘grand ballet of the 19th century, Raymonda is a masterpiece which is symbolic of a key period for classical ballet. Although the collaboration between Marius Petipa and Alexander Glazunov was difficult (Petipa was by then an experienced choreographer whilst Glazunov was a novice at creating music for ballet), Raymonda became an overnight success in Russia. This new choreographic version from Yuri Grigorovich dates back from 2003.

Running time: Approximately 4 hours (with 2 intermissions)

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Ballet 2012: Roméo et Juliette

Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 June
(Check with your local participating cinema for any additional screenings)

Performed by l’Opéra national de Paris
Choreography and direction: Sasha Waltz (Opéra national de Paris, 2007)
Music: Hector Berlioz
Set design: Pia Maier-Schriever, Thomas Schenk and Sasha Waltz
Costumes: Bernd Skodzig
Lighting: David Finn
With Etoiles, Premiers Danseurs and Corps de Ballet
With Paris Opera Orchestra, conducted by Vello Pähn

Symphonie Dramatique, Op. 17 (1839
Text by Emile Deschamps after William Shakespeare

The legend of the martyred lovers of Verona, immortalised by Shakespeare, is revisited for the Paris Opera Ballet by one of the key figures of contemporary dance, Sasha Waltz. To Berlioz’s dramatic symphony, combining music, song and dance, the choreographer evokes all the emotion inherent in this tragic love story.

Running time: 2 hours

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Ballet 2012: Le Corsaire

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 April
(Check with your local participating cinema for any additional screenings)

Performed by Bolshoi Ballet at the newly restored Bolshoi Theatre of Russia

Choreography and direction: Original choreography by Marius Petipa, new choreographic version by Alexei Ratmansky
Revival:Alexei Ratmansky and Yuri Burlaka
Music: Adolphe Adam, with libretto by Jules Henri Vernoy de Saint Georges and Joseph Mazilier and edited by Marius Petipa
With the Orchestra of the Bolshoi State Theatre
With the Bolshoi soloists and the Bolshoi Corps de Ballet

Ballet in 3 acts and one epilogue

Inspired by a poem by Lord Byron, The Corsair (1814), this ballet was originally created in 1856 for the Paris Opera by Joseph Mazilier. In 1858, Jules Perrot presented his version at the Bolshoi Theatre, the version in which Marius Petipa danced. When he became a choreographer, Marius Petipa remained in charge of all choreographic versions until the beginning of the 20^th century. In 2007, Alexei Ratmansky and Yuri Burklava created a new choreographic version which remains to this day, the most sumptuous of all.

Running time: Approximately 3 hours (including 2 intermissions)

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