The ballet Le Corsaire will be presented for the first time on May 17 and 18, 2025 on the Big Stage of the theater

Ascending slowly by the rock-hewn way,

To where his watch-tower beetles o’er the bay,

By bushy brake, the wild flowers blossoming,

And freshness breathing from each silver spring,

Whose scattered streams from granite basins burst,

Leap into life, and sparkling woo your thirst!

Love is told in the language of dance and filled with exciting adventures, romance, oriental motifs and magnificent choreography. The ballet Le Corsaire edited by the Chief Choreographer of the Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theater, People's Artist of Russia Yuri Klevtsov, will be presented for the first time on May 17 and 18, 2025 on the Big Stage of the theater.

Why, after more than 150 years, does Le Corsaire seem to be born again? The answer is simple: it's all about the dance the richness that the great Marius Petipa gave to the ballet.

The Choreographer Yuri Klevtsov, relying on the experience of many editions of Le Corsaire and his own practice, will present the audience with a completely new ballet, which has not previously been staged either on foreign or domestic theater stages, but at the same time the main classical heritage will be preserved.

Le Corsaire, first performed in 1856, will gain new life thanks to the changes in the libretto and choreography. In the new interpretation created by the theater team, the audience will see a dynamic performance in two acts and four scenes, including a completely new scene - a pirate island, with a new character - the leader of the pirates.

The Production Designer, the Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts and the member of the Union of Artists of the USSR and Russia Dmitry Cherbadzhi created fantastic scenery and design, including installations and video projections. Masterfully combining classical elements with innovations, he improved the overall visual picture of the performance.

Both by name and by the number of characters, Le Corsaire is men’s ballet: the noble Conrad and the insidious villain Birbanto, the voluptuous old man Seyd Pasha and Conrad's faithful friend Ali.

But what is a performance without love? At the center of the plot is Medora, Conrad's beloved. Her image is multifaceted: sometimes tender, sometimes playful, sometimes confused, sometimes determined, but always devoted to her chosen one.

The performance is very virtuosic for the performers, it has many variations, saturated with all types of technique, lyrical adagios, virtuoso codes, multi-genre mass compositions, as well as game scenes. The romantic and adventurous twists and turns of the plot, including kidnappings, escapes and saber battles, serve as an exquisite addition to the ballet.

Then—with each feature working from the heart,

With feelings, loosed to strengthen—not depart,

Yet ‘gainst that passion vainly still he strove,

And even in him it asks the name of Love!

You can buy tickets at the theater box office (phone 66-76-30), as well as on the WEBSITE of the Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theater