Libretto, choreography and staging: Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation Igor Kolb

Musical director: Honoured Art Worker of the Republic of Belarus Nikolai Koliadko

Set designer: Olga Melnik-Malakhova

Costume designers: Olga Melnik-Malakhova (Act 1), Lyudmila Tarakanova (Act 2)

Computer graphics: Julia Pintsak

Lighting designer: Igor Fomin

Conductors: Yuri Karavaev, Vladimir Ovodok

Premiere: 2, 3 December 2023

Девушка – Оксана Скорик (Мариинский театр)

Illusions of Love

Ballet in two acts and six scenes to the music by Dmitri Shostakovich, Frédéric Chopin, Leonid Shirin

‘Life is an illusion produced by human perception and created by it at every moment of the existence. You can change it exactly at the moment when you decide to change it yourself…’ From public Internet sources

Act I

The first illusion.

Scene 1. Early summer morning, the station of the resort town of N, where the Girl arrives. She is a ballet teacher. Arrived people with suitcases and bags, greeters and farewells, children and parents, porters and idle strollers are on the platform. In this hustle and bustle, the Girl does not notice the young man - the Young Man, who cannot take his eyes off her.

Scene 2. City beach, heat, sea, sun loungers, umbrellas, changing rooms, showers, vacationers. A group of pioneers stands out among the vacationers. There is also a ballet class, where the Girl gives classes and studies herself. In the changing series of pictures of the ordinary life of the resort town, young people appear, clearly and grossly violating this habitual way of life. Among them is the Young Man who recognizes the Girl and wants to take the first step towards her, but his behavior only pushes her away from him. She doesn't want to listen to him and runs away. 

Scene 3. Evening falls over the town, it starts to rain, people run away, the beach is empty. And the variety show – on the contrary – is filled with the public, both habitues and new faces.  An entertainer and a singer appear on the stage, they try to entertain visitors, including the Girl. A habitue of the variety show (the Lover) at first does not believe that the Girl is here at first. And yet it's her! The Girl and the Lover get to know each other.

Time passes. The same variety show where the loving couple came again. The former friends of the Lover also visit it. An intense conversation between men escalates into a fight, by a weird accident, the Young Man dies and the Girl stays alone.

Act II

The second illusion.

Scene 4. 

Winter. The city theatre, where its Director and the Girl come in. She is the leading actress of this theatre. Every evening she basks in flowers and champagne, in the applause of the audience and adoration of admirers, she is indifferent to the gossips of envious people, because she is a star, directors write plays specifically for her. But the only thing is always in her thoughts: in all this glory and splendor, in a constant succession of lovers and admirers, there is no one, who would be really close to her. Every evening, even if she does not fall asleep alone, she stays alone.

The third illusion.

Scene 5. 

In a crowd of admirers, the Girl meets one charming Young Man. He loads her with flowers and gifts, he writes her sincere confessions and she wants to read the word "love" in his eyes. What if this is the real feeling? What if it's not a fake?.. She throws herself into this relationship. But she is deceived in her expectations again.

Scene 6.

Final.

The girl remembers the moments of her life. She was loved and adored, every relationship was as necessary as the air she breathes, not only for her, but also for her surroundings. But something was always missing. Maybe time... Maybe a single conversation instead of proud silence could help... Maybe it was necessary not to run away, but to stay and look each other in the eye... Is there light in the darkness of loneliness?...

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