Swan Song: Tchaikovsky ballet restored in Nizhny Novgorod
The main premiere of the season in Nizhny Novgorod, a new version of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, took place on the stage of the Pushkin Opera and Ballet Theater in Nizhny Novgorod. It differs from most existing ones in that the production is longer, as it is based on the score from 1877. And the ratio of the parties of the characters there is also not quite familiar. Izvestia visited the premiere and talked with the creators.
What is the difference between the 1877 version?
In the auditorium, guests are greeted by a curtain with swans. Two white swans are swimming on a lake flooded with a red sunset. It hides an ancient park. Young people celebrate graduation. Among them are Prince Siegfried, the future king, and Benno, his close friend. The fun is interrupted by the appearance of the Queen Regent, who reminds the prince that it is time for him to take the throne. But the prospect of becoming king and taking on the burden of responsibility scares him. He runs to the lake with thoughts of death as a deliverance. There he meets a swan girl, Odette, surrounded by her friends. Siegfried is fascinated. He swears eternal love, but does not know that trials await them.…
A choreographic version of Evgeny Spectorov's "Swan Lake" was previously performed at the Nizhny Novgorod Theater. The play was removed from the repertoire five years ago. And for the first time Tchaikovsky's ballet was staged here on June 19, 1936. At that time Nizhny Novgorod was still Gorky, Vladimir Kononovich was the choreographer.
The main conceptual feature of the new Nizhny Novgorod Theater production is that it is based on Tchaikovsky's 1877 score.
— In most theaters of the world there is a heavily cut version of Tchaikovsky's ballet, and it was shortened back in 1895 for production at the Mariinsky Theater by the great choreographer Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov based on the libretto by Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the composer's brother, — says the artistic director of the theater Alexey Trifonov. — Since then, Tchaikovsky's music has never been used in ballet productions in its full original form. We decided to treat Tchaikovsky with the utmost respect, and if possible, all the musical material was included in our performance.
The inserts, which have been artificially performed by conductor Riccardo Drigo since the premiere at the Mariinsky, have been removed from this version. The ballet uses only Tchaikovsky's music.
But there is also continuity with the textbook version of 1895. The main role in that historical production was performed by Pierina Legnani. She mastered the choreographic technique perfectly and captivated the audience with her 32 fuetas. Nizhny Novgorod also used these elements. However, the choreography from Petipa and Ivanov's play has not survived to the present day. Only a few paintings were preserved, and "Swan Lake" was gradually filled with the reflections of choreographers of different times.
Alexander Sergeev, the soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre, is responsible for the choreography in the new performance. He offered a fresh look at the classic love story of Odette and Siegfried.
— I treated the proposal to stage "Swan Lake" as a challenge, — says Sergeev. — First of all, I understand why the great Petipa and Ivanov made certain changes with the help of Drigo. On the other hand, it's a challenge to try to use all of Tchaikovsky's music. We started from the musical material to update the concept. Our performance is classic. Only in some places did I use neoclassical choreography. This applies to music that is not so familiar to us.
The choreographer shifted the focus from the ballerina to the image of Prince Siegfried. Alexander Sergeev has danced this part himself many times in St. Petersburg, Kazan, Japan and the USA.
"I've always been hurt and annoyed by the fact that Siegfried is a minor character,— Sergeyev admits. — Neither from the point of view of drama, nor from the point of view of choreography, the image is not revealed. I've always tried to bring my own. And at the Mariinsky Theatre, in the play, in the version of Konstantin Sergeev, there is an additional variation. She additionally reveals the prince.
In Nizhny Novgorod, the young choreographer had the opportunity to fill the prince's image with content himself. He imagined what he was going through, what could be going on in the head of a person who was on the verge of drastic changes in his life.
The directors divided the paintings and presented real scenes from Siegfried's life here and now and, conditionally, unreal ones — dreams, dreams of the prince, a parallel reality into which he moves.
Who's dancing at Swan Lake
Alexander Sergeev gathered his team for this production. The set design and costumes were handled by the production designer Leonid Alekseev. The light is Alexander Romanov. The musical director of the play was the winner of the Golden Mask, director Fyodor Lednev.
Siegfried was embodied by the leading soloist of the ballet company Andrey Orlov. Alexander Sergeev offered him a difficult task — to combine his author's choreography with the basis of Petipa. It turned out curiously: everything seems familiar, but all the time there are some "aberrations", and due to these subtle, almost imperceptible shifts, the ballet is interesting to watch for those who have seen it dozens of times. One can especially highlight the "Russian dance".
It is customary to see the same ballerina in the role of Odette and Odile. Alexander Sergeev's play has Odette in the program. But Odile is not! Instead, a Guest in black appears. This is from the first version in 1877, where two different ballerinas participated, with different physiology and psychophysics. The director deprived Odile of negative qualities, because she was betrayed by Siegfried. He has to answer for this, in this case, to himself.
Mayuka Sato performs the role of Odette. The ballerina was born in Tokyo. She graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, and danced in the Mariinsky Theatre, Saratov, Samara, and Astrakhan. And for the third year now, Mayuka Sato has been an artist of the Nizhny Novgorod Theater Ballet company. The guest in black is Anastasia Melnikova from Donetsk. Until 2023, she was the leading soloist of the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater named after A.B. Solovyanenko.
The design of the play became a challenge for the artists. It is clear that ballet is expensive. More than 250 suits were sewn. There are four full-fledged scenery changes on stage. And the set designer even decided to show the space of the backdrop closed to the audience. It was filled with a light projection, which immerses you in a fairy-tale world. Video and multimedia are used.
The artist Leonid Alekseev created expressive decorations inspired by the paintings of Kaspar David Friedrich, and costumes that emphasize the atmosphere of romantic drama.
— Our performance is about responsibility, — says Alexander Sergeev. — We are interested in two types of it: the question of honor and duty to one's subjects, and responsibility for one's actions, actions, and promises. When you make an oath, you can't just break it. And if you do that, you lose everything. And myself.
The next performance will take place on April 15th. All the tickets are sold out, of course.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
