Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
On 11 and 12 June the ballet by Polad Bülbüloğlu, Love and Death, will premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus.
The theatre will open the third edition of its annual festival, Ballet Summer at the Bolshoi, with the beautiful Eastern legend, ballet Love and Death. In its premiere shows, which will be given on 11 and 12 June, the creators and producers of the ballet will do their best to answer the eternal questions about life and death, fate and duty, happiness and grief, victories and defeats, and, which is the most important, about overpowering all-conquering love which forces mighty inevitable death to surrender.
The ballet is based on The Book of Dede Korkut, a monument of medieval heroic Oghuz epic written over 13 hundred ago. A creative interpretation of its stories, the ballet was composed by Polad Bülbüloğlu, a noted singer, composer, actor, People’s Artist of Azerbaijan, professor, politician, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Russia. The ballet, born by the composer’s talent who created incredibly colourful and vigorous music abounding in passionate charming melodies and energetic ethereal rhythms, is deeply national, on the one hand; on the other hand, as any genuine piece of art revealing eternal themes, it transcends time and national borders and limits.
Polad Bülbüloğlu calls Love and Death his best work. Its first production premiered in Baku in 2005 (revived in 2015), followed by another production in Yekaterinburg in 2008. Today the ballet expands its geography; choreographed by winner of international competitions Olga Kostel, it enters the Belarusian stage: “Love and Death are the main threads of the cloth of world culture: numerous myths, rituals, customs and works of art are dedicated to them. For a long history of mankind we’ve tried to realize these two phenomena through the images of pagan gods or modern scientific discoveries. The reality is that we cannot understand or control them, and it is the absence of control that makes people feel fear. The fear that we can stop existing or loving. Fear forces us to search for answers which lead us to the wisdom of former generations where we find consolation. It helps us realize that due to the power of love, which inspires us to do incredible things, the people who have passed away stay with us, they continue to live in myths and legends, rituals and artifacts. The wisdom of the past tells us that Love gives us the sense and direction of life. Like our forefathers, we intend to touch this power which brings immortality.
The search still goes on, especially in world culture which gives us new discoveries. The story of Azer and Baijan is among them.”
The production of Love and Death will be another exciting page in the history of traditional cultural relations between Belarus and Azerbaijan and also in the history of the theatre which already has an acclaimed masterpiece of Azerbaijani art, Kara Karaev’s Seven Beauties, in its repertoire. The production is also prepared by musical directors Ayyub Guliyev (Azerbaijan) and Andrey Ivanov (Belarus); set designer, recipient of the Francysk Skaryna Medal Alexander Kostiuchenko; costume designer Ekaterina Bulgakova; scientific adviser, Doctor of Art Studies, Professor Ulkar Aliyeva (Azerbaijan).
