| 179th season | Saturday / Feb 4 |
A Classic Tale of Jealousy
On 9 and 10 February the Mikhailovsky Theatre is featuring the ballet The Moor’s Pavane and the opera Cavalleria Rusticana — two psychological dramas in one evening. The leading role in José Limón’s ballet will be performed by the celebrated dancer Farukh Ruzimatov. The outstanding Swedish opera singer Iréne Theorin is coming to St. Petersburg especially to sing the part of Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana. Cavalleria Rusticana was written in 1890 in the Verismo operatic tradition, a popular movement in the theatre at that time. The distinctive characteristic of Verismo is the extreme simplicity of the plots, which are taken from everyday life but are, as a rule, tragic. Pietro Mascagni’s opera is based on Giovanni Verga’s novella about all-consuming passion, treachery and repentance. The power of this simple yet profound work was so great that its composer instantly became famous and was able to live on the fame and income from productions of the opera for several decades. Reed more |
La Bayadère: Three Different Star Casts
15, 16, and 17 February La Bayadère, one of the masterpieces of Russian classical ballet, will be performed at the Mikhailovsky Theatre on three successive nights in February. The enchanting feature of the ballet is the magical contrast between the bustle of lavish festivities and the lofty aloofness of the famous Kingdom of the Shades. The solemn entrances of the priests, the colourful oriental dances, and the tender melancholy of the ‘white corps de ballet’ combine to create the wholly special atmosphere of this production. But the ballet hinges on Nikiya, the temple dancer spurned by her beloved – and, of course, the ballerina who performs the role. The part of Nikiya will be performed by different dancers on each date: 15 February — Irina Perren (Solor — Victor Lebedev); 16 February — Natalia Osipova (Solor — Ivan Vasiliev); 17 February — Ekaterina Borchenko (Solor — Mikhail Sivakov). Reed more |
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