What can The Bronze Horseman tell us through the centuries? You will find the answer to this question in the premiere production of the Astrakhan State Opera and Ballet Theatre, which will be held with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives on March 25 and 26, 2023.
“Pushkin is our everything” - this is what the literary and theater critic Apollon Grigoriev declared more than 150 years ago. The literary heritage of Alexander Sergeevich unites many people indeed. Various critics responded to The Bronze Horseman differently, but they all came to the same conclusion that the poet was genius.
The Bronze Horseman has become a kind of pinnacle of the translation of the Pushkin theme on the ballet stage. The premiere at the Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theater interprets the production on the classical basis, close to Pushkin's story, but revealing the image of Peter to a greater degree.
The musical arrangement for the ballet was written by Reinhold Moritzevich Glière and is one of his best works. It is known that Glière always dreamt to compose music for Pushkin's poem. The work on the music was very difficult and long. Finally, amazingly colorful music was written. A variety of emotions aggravated tension in symphonic music.
The action of the ballet takes place in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 18th century, and then is transferred to the autumn of 1824. In the prologue on the stage, the outlines of the area where "the city will be founded" are seen. And then Peter, immersed in thoughts, is shown... This composition is considered an inexhaustible source from which the vital knowledge can be drawn. It is a subtle interlacing of history and modern age, the opposition of two forces: the state and the common man. Peter I is a symbol of the urgent social need for change, that ought to be essential, quick and efficient.
Why is The Bronze Horseman staged at the Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theatre so peculiar?
“In our production, the audience will see a new interpretation of Pushkin’s work. Our main goal is to create a new, dynamic, modern performance in 2 acts, adapted to the present time, but at the same time retaining all the loveliness of the Petrine epoch. We reveal the image of Peter not as a bronze horseman, but above all as a human who lives for his dreams of the future, with modern ships - a reliable Russian fleet, beautiful buildings of St. Petersburg. A man in the image of a prophet, who sees the future of Russia, a great country, a great empire. And certainly the images of the main characters, Eugene and his bride Parasha, who embody love, with their romantic and moving story, for they represent the forthcoming generation in its dreams and thoughts. The finale of the ballet can be defined by S. Turgenev's quote: “Love is stronger than death. It is only by it, only by love, that life moves!”
Choreography Director, the People's Artist of the Russian Federation Yuri Klevtsov.
The Conductor Director Valery Voronin, the Choreography Director, the People's Artist of the Russian Federation Yuri Klevtsov, the Theater Designer Oleg Molchanov and others worked on the creation of a unified score for drama and dance.
