Danses in September

The enthralling Boléro, the spine-tingling Danse macabre, the passionate Carmen – Igor Kolb, the principal choreographer of the theatre, Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation, invites you to the evening of one-act ballets Danses on 7 September. These performances will mark the opening of the ballet season of the Bolshoi. The programme features works by Maurice Ravel, Camille Saint-Saëns and Georges Bizet.

The masterminds behind this production include Igor Kolb as choreographer, author of the concept and libretto, People's Artists of the Republic of Bashkortostan Artem Makarov as musical director and conductor, Olga Melnik-Malakhova as designer, Evgenii Lisitsyn as lighting designer, Viktoria Zlotnikova as computer graphics and video designer, Oleg Khodosko as arranger of the ballet version of Carmen, People's Artist of Belarus Nina Lomanovich as chief chorus master.

On 7 September, the leading roles in Boléro will be performed by Alina Rudenko, Vladislav Koliada, Maryia Muzaleuskaya, Denis Shpak, Diana Bagatova and Konstantin Belokhvostik. Danse macabre will feature Vladislav Koliada and Anton Kravchenko. Liudmila Khitrova, Andrei Bariev and Ivan Kamyshov will star in Carmen. The roles of Destiny and Fate will be performed by opera soloist Daria Gorozhanko and Anton Kravchenko.

Body, soul, death... The use of these three concepts in ballets serves as a reminder that life is not just a series of disconnected moments, but rather a continuous journey, each step of which is imbued with significance.

The central motif of the set design for the production was an image of a thistle in full bloom. It is a symbol of beauty that is both prickly and mesmerizing. Much like the growing rhythm of Boléro, this flower, like a living character, grows through the action, reflecting the story of the Player in The Danse and the tragic story of Carmen. The thistle entices and wounds, its withering at the end serving as a metaphor for the demise of passion. Designer Olga Melnik-Malakhova appears to have transferred the thorns and petals of the flower onto the stage, creating a tragic harmony that is both beautiful and doomed.