As part of Igor Stravinsky’s ballets soirée, the Mariinsky II will host the premiere of Jeu de cartes choreographed and staged by Ilya Zhivoi on 30 April. Costume design: Sofia Vartanian.
The world premiere of Jeu de cartes featuring the American Ballet dancers under the baton of Igor Stravinsky took place at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1937. The libretto for the “ballet in three deals” was written by the composer himself (in collaboration with M. Malayev), who confessed that he always was an avid card player. The production for the first Stravinsky Festival at the Metropolitan Opera was staged by George Balanchine. Both the choreographer and the composer were in the United States by that time. The premiere was well-received by the spectators and Jeu de cartes went on to be staged multiple times in the United States and Europe. The ballet is less known in Russia. This is the Mariinsky Theatre’s first production of the ballet.
“While creating the concept of the ballet, we decided to do away with direct references to casinos and card games as it would have been too easy. However, we decided not to exclude this theme altogether. Our version has references to Stravinsky’s original libretto and the overall structure remained intact. We were inspired by Rothko’s paintings; that is why we have minimal details and geometry present in our stage design, as well as bright-coloured costumes. Jeu de cartes is a story not only about poker, it is a story about relationships between the three main characters, where Queen, King, and Joker are ordinary people. Each of them, just like in a card game, has their own value and meaning,” said choreographer Ilya Zhivoi.
The programme of Igor Stravinsky’s ballets soirée includes Les Noces, choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska and featuring Alexandra Iosifidi (the Bride) and Vadim Belyaev (the Groom) in the lead roles, and Pulcinella choreographed by Ilya Zhivoi and featuring Philipp Stepin (Pulcinella) and Viktoria Tereshkina (Pimpinella) in the lead roles. Conductor: Arseny Shuplyakov.
| user_name | | Exit |
