| Kimin Kim will be making his debut as Mercutio on 17 December. On 18 December Ivan Sitnikov will appear as Tybalt for the first time. Andrei Arseniev will also be making his debut as Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin and friend (17 December). 18 December will see a new performer of the role of the Troubadour – David Zaleyev who recently joined the company – while Soslan Kulaev will be making his debut as Capulet. Olga Belik (17) and Galina Rusina (18) will perform as Servants while the young Alina Krasovskaya will be appearing in the Folk Dance for the first time (17 December). | |||||
| Leonid Lavrovsky’s Romeo and Juliet is a masterpiece of Soviet “drama ballet”. The images created in this ballet in 1940 enchanted more than Soviet audiences. Shakespeare’s compatriots wrote of how, having seen the production, the ballet was “an exact transposition of the words of Shakespeare into the language of true poetry.” The composer Sergei Prokofiev, the choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky, the Stage Director Sergei Radlov and the premiere cast were all involved in recreating these Shakespearean passions on the ballet stage. In addition to the title roles (performed by Galina Ulanova and Konstantin Sergeyev), the premiere had a stellar cast. The role of the insanely furious Tybalt was performed by Robert Gerbek, a dancer noted for his powerful temperament and acting skills. In this production the foil to Tybalt’s histrionic and passionate nature comes with the refined Mercutio, the very embodiment of theatricality and playfulness. Lavrovsky formed the steps for this character on the basis of folk dance – according to the choreographer this “matched his nature as a man who loved life, a merrymaker and someone always present at folk festivities.” The role of Mercutio was formed around the brilliant character dancer Andrei Lopukhov, always acclaimed onstage for his incredibly subtle gestures. The first performers of the lead roles in the ballet ceded nothing in terms of expressiveness and depth to the more dramatic artists, and this has, to a great extent, defined the production’s lasting success. Twenty-five years following the premiere the same choreography was being danced by a new generation of artists; Lavrovsky, on seeing the performance, wrote with sadness that “Here there is neither acting nor dancing.” The dancing in the performances on 17 and 18 December will, of course, depend on the present-day cast. It will depend upon whether Kimin Kim, whose repertoire to date has included numerous virtuoso roles, has the required acting talents as Mercutio. It will depend on Ivan Sitnikov’s temperament as Tybalt. And it will depend on Soslan Kulaev’s gestures and poses as Capulet... | ||||
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Scene from the ballet Romeo and Juliet
