08 May 2020 (Fri), 19:00 - Evening of one-act ballets: "Carmen", "Bolero", "Sleeping Beauty" (Classical Ballet) - Moscow theatre "New Opera"

The premiere of “Carmen Suite” by Rodion Shchedrin took place at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1967 starring Maya Plisetskaya, with Cuban choreographer Alberto Alonso being the choreographer. Since then, the triumphal procession of the work on the world’s theater stages has continued to this day. The music of the famous ballet became a bestseller of the repertoire of symphony orchestras.
The plot by Prosper Mérimée and the image of Carmen, which became a household name, are known to all thanks to the brilliant opera by French composer Georges Bizet.
Rodion Shchedrin had an idea of creating the musical transcription in order to “reveal a new attitude to the familiar material retaining the personality of the author, of course.” A unique work was born – a timeless story where the characters are read as symbols of love, passion, destiny, death and will. The ballet draws us not only the picture of real life, but also spiritual wanderings and agitations. The love triangle: Carmen – José – the Torero, breaks the conflict between the freedom of the will of a proud gypsy and the traditions and customs of the “mask” society, that is people-puppets, who horrifies all manifestation of the spirit of independence and any “otherness” on them.
The work is a wonderful distillation of feelings, expressed through the content of the novel and the composers’ music.

Maurice Ravel felt like a citizen of the world: his mother was a Basque descendent, his father was Swiss. The composer was born in Spain near the Pyrenees, studied and lived in Paris, was influenced by E. Satie, C.Debussy, N.Rimsky-Korsakov. He orchestrated the “Pictures at an Exhibition” by M.Mussorgsky, adapted to stage “Khovanshchina” (together with Igor Stravinsky).

During the World War II, he was recognized unfit for service, but he managed to get to the army as a medical nurse, then as a driver. Later, he gave a lot of concerts as a pianist and conductor, toured through Europe, lived and worked in the United States. By Diaghilev’s order he created a choreographic symphony – the ballet called “Daphnis and Chloe”, the libretto was written by M.Fokine. In 1925, he wrote the opera “The Child and the Spells”. He became famous as the author of the following orchestral works: “The Rapsodie Espagnole”, “La Valse” and “Boléro”.

It is known that the idea to write “Boléro” occurred after the composer had visited a large plant with its production lines, deliberate movements of mechanical gauges and the car clatters. But as often repeated Ravel, “great music always comes from the heart.” “Boléro” is one of the most sensual works of the world classical music. Here reign the enchanting folk motifs of the southern regions of Spain, Africa and Mauritania.

In 1889, Tchaikovsky decided to create a “genre masterpiece” in the ballet Sleeping Beauty. Carefully following the stage plan of the famous choreographer Marius Petipa, Tchaikovsky composed a work in which the music became the main, determining, and the choreography obeyed the musical and symphonic beginning.

The dancing characteristics of fairy-tale heroes and pictures of magical transformations are woven into a dramatic and holistic action. At the same time, each of them - the good fairy of the Lilacs, the evil fairy of Carabos, the dreamy prince Desiree and Aurora herself, the graceful child that flourishes for love and happiness - is very specifically outlined in large, internally completed episodes.