The programme for the evening of ballets to music by Igor Stravinsky includes the legendary Le sacre du printemps with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. The performances commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the production first presented to the public on 29 May 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées as part of Sergei Diaghilev’s Saisons russes.
Nijinsky’s ballet was first staged at the Mariinsky Theatre in 2003, when the revival was supervised by choreographer Millicent Hodson and designer Kenneth Archer. The team admitted that “During the revival of the ballet we undertook something almost resembling detective work: we found the 1913 rehearsal score, we found costumes, and costumes which had been lost we recreated from sketches. At times our work was like that of archaeologists. It was as if we were turning over the earth to discover items from a past but beautiful era.”
Hodson and Archer have returned to St Petersburg to revive the ballet together with senior coach Vyacheslav Khomyakov. The production team also includes the revival’s set designer Boris Kaminsky, revival costume technologist Tatiana Noginova and lighting designer Sergei Lukin.
Le sacre du printemps will be the final premiere performance of the XX Stars of the White Nights Music Festival as it draws to a close. The role of the Chosen One will be performed by Alexandra Iosifidi (13 July) and Anastasia Petushkova (14 July).
The programme for the evening also includes another ballet from Diaghilev’s saisons – Michel Fokine’s The Firebird. On 13 July the role of the Firebird will be danced by prima ballerina Viktoria Tereshkina for the first time and on 14 July by Yulia Stepanova, also making her debut.
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