Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
12 evenings, 9 performances. Such a gift (retrospective of the Master's ballets) the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus will present to its artistic director Valentin Elizariev. The performances will feature the stars of the world and Belarusian ballet.
On 1 and 4 October we will see the immortal Shakespearean story of two lovers. On the International Music Day, Alina Rudenko (Juliet), Konstantin Belokhvostik (Romeo), Ivan Kamyshov (Tybald) will appear in the leading roles. On 4 October Liudmila Khitrova, Konstantin Belokhvostik and Yury Kavaliou will appear in these roles. Vladimir Ovodok will conduct.
‘In 1980 I staged Spartacus. There were already several editions of this ballet before: by Yuri Grigorovich, Leonid Yakobson, Igor Moiseev. I did not manage to see Moiseev’s production, but, as a child, I watched a live Yakobson’s Spartacus. I was enormously impressed by it! I eagerly took up the creation of my ballet. It always seemed to me that the slave rebellion could not fail because of a courtesan, although it was in the novel. I tried to create production about something else and eliminated the role of Aegina, because the inevitability of Spartacus’ defeat was historically predetermined. All the directors rely on what was done before them, while creating a ballet. However, it is very important to create a new one on the basis of the existing one and go further, rethinking situations and themes. This is the creative approach in performances where you are not the first...’
On 8 October, the performance will feature Anton Kravchenko as Spartacus, Victoria Trenkina as Phrygia and Vladimir Ruda as Crassus in Aram Khachaturian's legendary Spartacus. Nikolai Koliadko will conduct.
‘This production will be truly elegant and refined. And of course, she will be different, after all, I have changed over the years. I hope the audience will see the view of the choreographer of the 21 century,’ said Valentin Elizariev in 2022, when he was preparing the premiere of The Sleeping Beauty.
For the first time this production appeared at the Bolshoi in 1954 (conducted by Joseph Abramis, choreography by Konstantin Muller). Ballet legends Nina Mlodzinskaya, Alexandra Nikolaeva, Tamara Karavaeva, Basia Karpilova, Lydia Ryazhenova, Tamara Uzunova, Evgeny Glinskikh, Semyon Drechin, Valery Mironov performed the leading roles in that production. In 1970 conductor Tatyana Kolomiitseva and choreographer Nina Fedorova presented their production. It featured Lyudmila Brzhozovskaya, Nina Davydenko, Klara Malysheva, Yury Trayan, Olga Lappo, Viktor Sarkisyan. In 1990 conductor Alexander Anissimov and choreographer Irina Kolpakova invited the audience to the fairy tale again. This time, no less renowned Natella Dadishkiliani, Inessa Dushkevich, Tatyana Ershova, Vladimir Dolgikh, Veniamin Zakharov, Tatyana Shemetovets appeared in the leading roles. In 2001, conductor Nikolai Koliadko and choreographer Valentin Elizariev worked together on this production, and Olga Gaiko, Lyudmila Kudryavtseva, Igor Artamonov, Alexander Furman, Marina Vezhnovets, Ruslan Minin appeared on stage. This production lives in the Bolshoi for 22 seasons. It is a lot. ‘But The Sleeping Beauty should always be in “shape”,’ Valentin Elizariev stressed at the artistic council. The designer of the new production is Vyacheslav Okunev. The People's Artist of Russia worked on two previous productions at the Bolshoi. This time, the set design and costumes refer us to two beautiful and so different eras: on the one hand, it is luxurious Baroque, on the other – strict Classicism.
On 11 and 13 October, Nutsa Chekurashvili and Belarusian Viacheslav Gnedchik (Hungarian National Ballet) will perform the leading roles. Vladimir Ovodok will conduct.
In the evening of 11 October, the honoring of Valentin Elizariev will take place before the performance, because on 10 October (50 years ago), Elizariev officially began his work at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus.
The music for The Creation of the World was written by the composer Andrey Petrov in 1967. ‘When I reviewed the musical material, it seemed surprisingly deep to me. And I was thinking how can I reveal this topic globally, giving it a universal character. How to dare and tell about humanity as a whole, what awaits us in the future…’ the artistic director said.
On 15 October, Liudmila Khitrova and Konstantin Belokhvostik will perform a philosophical parable. Nikolai Koliadko will conduct.
On 18 and 20 October, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake will be performed by invited soloists Eva Sergeenkova and Artemy Belyakov (Bolshoi Theatre of Russia), Angelina Vorontsova and Ernest Latypov (Mikhailovsky Theatre). Vladimir Ovodok will conduct.
This is the 7th production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake at the Bolshoi, the fairy tale came to life in May 2021. The production contains choreography by Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa, Alexander Gorsky, Asaf Messerer and Valentin Elizariev. Vladimir Ovodok is the musical director, Vyacheslav Okunev is the designer of sets and costumes.
Valentin Elizariev staged Swan Lake only in Tokyo, and in 1986 he was the artistic director of the Belarusian production. So, he is working on the embodiment of this production on the stage of his native theatre for the first time.
On 22 and 25 October, premiere of the last season Minkus’ Don Quixote will feature Dmitry Sobolevsky (Russia), as well as the stars of the Bashkir Opera and Ballet Theatre Valeriya Isaeva and Rustam Iskhakov. Nikolai Koliadko will conduct.
This production is one of the most popular classical ballets in the whole theatrical world. It was staged six times on the stage of the Belarusian Bolshoi. In the spring of 2023, the audience saw the seventh version: a cheerful, light, incendiary story of two lovers Kitri and Basil came to life in new scenery and new costumes.
On 27 October, vocal and choreorgaphic performance Carmina Burana to the music by Carl Orff will be performed. The performance will feature Konstantin Belokhvostik, Liudmila Khitrova, Vladislav Kolyada, Nadzeya Filipava. Nikolai Koliadko will conduct.
On 27 October, Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite will be performed. The performance will feature Maryna Vezhnavets, Anton Kravchenko, Yury Kavaliou. Nikolai Koliadko will conduct.
On 29 October, The Nutcracker by Pyotr Tchaikovsky will be performed. Liudmila Khitrova, Konstantin Belokhvostik, Vladimir Ruda, Viktoryia Trenkina will appear in the leading roles. Nikolai Koliadko will conduct.
