THE LITTLE HUMPBACKED HORSE. FOR THE FIRST TIME AT THE BOLSHOI

On 30 and 31 October, a fairy tale will come to life on the Bolshoi stage. The production team headed by choreographer Yury Trayan is preparing to present the ballet by Rodion Shchedrin to the audience. 

This early work of Shchedrin (at that time the composer was just over 20 years old) might not have appeared if it hadn’t been for the trip... to Belarus. Rodion recalled years later that a trip to the Belarusian wilds, to nature, where he listened to folk songs far from civilization, preceded the appearance of the music. This ballet became a truly important work in the composer’s life. Shchedrin dedicated the score to Maya Plisetskaya, who later became his wife. The acquaintance of the composer and the ballerina took place at the rehearsals of The Little Humpbacked Horse. In his interviews, the composer repeatedly said that thanks to this piece, he caught his unearthly Firebird in his musician’s hands.

The Little Humpbacked Horse will appear at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus for the first time. The creative team, headed by the principal ballet master of the theatre, People’s Artist of Belarus Yury Trayan, presented their ideas to the artistic council. The other creators include conductor Nikolai Koliadko, set designer Lyubov Sidelnikova, costume designer Ekaterina Bulgakova, lighting designer Irina Vtornikova, assistant choreographers Anna Fokina and Anton Kravchenko.

‘The main thing is to preserve the world, the atmosphere, the spirit of the Russian folk tale. To do this, we will try our hardest,’ Yury Trayan said, and added that the whole story will start from ... the stove. In the Russian fairy tale, this is perhaps one of the most important symbols, which hides a lot of signs and meanings.

The main character will have a lot of adventures and dangers, both among people and in fairy-tale worlds – the Underwater and the Kingdom of Firebirds. And all this will take place in the colourful scenery. ‘I was primarily inspired by the music of Rodion Shchedrin,’ Lyubov Sidelnikova admitted. ‘It was necessary to find harmony so that the designs of the production would accord well with the music. I tried to create not only a folk story, I looked for some motives in Russian art nouveau, I drew ideas from Vrubel's maiolica."

As costume designer Ekaterina Bulgakova added, two worlds will get along in the production – the world of people and of fairy-tale creatures that will help the main characters find their happiness.

‘For me, Ivan's friend and assistant, the Little Humpbacked Horse, is like Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker. It is the only one who knows what has happened and what will happen. It is the Horse who controls the event process. I dare say this is the main character in this production,’ Yury Trayan concluded.

Shchedrin's ballet will appear on the Bolshoi stage on 30 October. The second performance is on 31 October.

It is expected that the lead roles will be performed by leading ballet dancers of the theatre Irina Eromkina, Liudmila Khitrova, Konstantin Geronik, Oleg Eromkin, Egor Azarkevich, Anton Kravchenko, Yury Kavaliou, Kanstantsin Kuzniatsou, etc.