Syuimbike: Maria Shirinkina
Ali Batyr: Alexei Timofeyev
Shurale: Ramanbek Beishenaliev
Featuring students of the Vaganova Ballet Academy
Premiere of the ballet Shurale: 12 March 1945, Tatar State Opera House, Kazan
Premiere of the second version of the ballet Shurale (under the title Ali-Batyr): 28 May 1950, Kirov Theatre of Opera and Ballet (Mariinsky Theatre)
Premiere of the revival of the second version of the ballet: 28 June 2009, Mariinsky Theatre
Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes
The performance has two intervals
Leonid Yakobson’s Shurale is a colourful ballet fairytale. The music, full of ethnic intonations, was written by the Tatar composer Farid Yarullin, while the libretto is loosely based on wise Tatar fairytales. On stage, birds magically turn into beautiful maidens, while the dense forest is crawling with all kinds of evil spirits – genies, shaitans, and witches – who entertain the evil master of the woods, Shurale, with dances. Meanwhile, the nearby Tatar village is hosting a grand wedding celebration…All the characters speak different choreographic languages: the world of Shurale and his monstrous subordinates in the forest kingdom is expressed through grotesque elements, the fantasy world of the bird-maidens is based on classical dance, while the folk scenes are mostly told using the expressive means of character dance. As the tradition of folk fairytales goes, goodness and love win over evil in Shurale. The evil and cunning master of the woods, Shurale, is defeated by the young, handsome, and righteous Ali-Batyr, who is fighting for justice and love. However, Shurale turned out to be victorious in the historic battle for having the ballet named after him. In fact, the original production staged in Kazan was later transferred to the Leningrad stage in 1950. The name of the production was changed from Shurale to Ali-Batyr as it was considered improper to name a Soviet ballet after an evil spirit. Nevertheless, the historical justice triumphed in the end and today the name of the evil spirit graces the Mariinsky Theatre playbill, inviting the public to see the impressive production with diverse dances and entertaining storyline.
The highlighting of performances by age represents recommendations.
This highlighting is being used in accordance with Federal Law N436-FZ dated 29 December 2010 (edition dated 1 May 2019) "On the protection of children from information that may be harmful to their health"