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Possokhov "Hero of Our Time"


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Bolshoi has not published the libretto of this ballet. Although I love the novel, I really like to know the ballet Synopsis.

I have got visa to travel in Russia. Do you guys think it is fun to catch the premiere of this ballet in Moscow?

mmmm, little bit too much about ballet. BTW, the National Ballet of China is coming to New York around that time. ...


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Bolshoi has not published the libretto of this ballet. Although I love the novel, I really like to know the ballet Synopsis.
I have got visa to travel in Russia. Do you guys think it is fun to catch the premiere of this ballet in Moscow?
mmmm, little bit too much about ballet. BTW, the National Ballet of China is coming to New York around that time. ...
innocent.gif

Yes, go! If only because I have to go back to the US before it premieres, and I really wish I could see it. So I need to live vicariously through you.

I do agree that it will be interesting to see how they adapt the book into a ballet. I haven't read the whole thing (just excerpts for Russian class) but it seems kind of difficult to work with - how are they going to manage the multiple narrators?

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Yes, go! If only because I have to go back to the US before it premieres, and I really wish I could see it. So I need to live vicariously through you.

Thank you for your passionate suggestion! flowers.gif

Let me see how I would feel about Russia trip. Russia is a such huge country. When I look at the map, I cannot figure out how I would make a tour of Russia in 30 days. I had spent 40 days in Austria, Germany and Paris. But, all these adding together are smaller than Russia. Plus, I don't speak Russian.

I cannot make my mind for another reason. I have read the warning on the webpage of the State Department. "U.S. citizens most at risk are ... These U.S. citizens are also at risk for harassment by police authorities." - Well, that is pretty much true.

I love ballet! But, sometimes I am too sensitive. Unless I feel very easy to stay in Russia, I would not just go and stay for the premiere.

tiphat.gif

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Thank you for your passionate suggestion! flowers.gif

Let me see how I would feel about Russia trip. Russia is a such huge country. When I look at the map, I cannot figure out how I would make a tour of Russia in 30 days. I had spent 40 days in Austria, Germany and Paris. But, all these adding together are smaller than Russia. Plus, I don't speak Russian.

I cannot make my mind for another reason. I have read the warning on the webpage of the State Department. "U.S. citizens most at risk are ... These U.S. citizens are also at risk for harassment by police authorities." - Well, that is pretty much true.

I love ballet! But, sometimes I am too sensitive. Unless I feel very easy to stay in Russia, I would not just go and stay for the premiere.

tiphat.gif

I'm sorry to say that those are legitimate concerns about life in Russia. I also would not recommend traveling to places in Russia that aren't St. Petersburg and Moscow without speaking Russian. Even in those two cities you might get confused - though less so if you stayed in the center of the city in a nice hotel (where the staff would all speak English). At the same time, I do really enjoy being in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and my friends who have visited me in Moscow think it's a very exciting city.

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The Bolshoi's July gazette features more rehearsal photos, with Possokhov, Svetlana Zakharova and Ruslan Skvortsov on the cover, and more photos on pp. 6-9.

http://www.bolshoi.ru/r/0632D264-1015-4D5D-B4C1-AEA857A5B5FE/Bolshoi-7-2015.pdf

The cast list has also been posted.

"Bela"

Pechorin: Igor Tsvirko (July 22, 24, 26), Mikhail Lobukhin (23, 25) Vladislav Lantratov, Denis Rodkin

Bela: Olga Smirnova (July 22, 24, 26), Maria Vinogradova (23, 25) Ana Turazashvili

Kazbich: Alexander Smoliyaninov (July 22, 24, 26), Denis Medvedev (23, 25) Igor Tsvirko

"Taman"

Pechorin: Artem Ovcharenko (July 22, 24, 26), Vladislav Lantratov (23, 25) Artemy Belyakov
Undine: Ekaterina Shipulina (July 22, 24, 26), Maria Alexandrova (23, 25) Anastasia Meskova
Old Woman/Yanko: Vyacheslav Lopatin (July 22, 26), Anton Savichev (23, 24, 25) Yuri Baranov
Blind Boy: Georgy Gusev (July 22, 26), Ilya Artamonov (23, 25), Sergei Kuzmin (24)

"Princess Mary"
Pechorin: Ruslan Skvortsov (July 22, 24, 26), Vyacheslav Lopatin (23, 25), Andrei Merkuriev (24)
Mary: Svetlana Zakharova (July 22, 24, 26), Anastasia Stashkevich (23, 25), Ekaterina Krysanova (24)
Vera: Kristina Kretova (July 22, 24, 26), Daria Bochkova (23, 25), Anna Tikhomirova (24)
Grushnitsky: Denis Savin (July 22, 24, 26), Artemy Belyakov (23, 25), Semyon Chudin (24)

http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/813/roles/#all

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I found the following interesting as well from the press office (link below quote):

"It was the Bolshoi’s artistic director of ballet, Sergei Filin, who suggested choreographer Possokhov and director Serebrennikov should work together on a new ballet. 'Have a think about subject matter', he said to Kirill Serebrennikov. 'A Hero of Our Time', the latter answered straight off.

A Hero of Our Time is one of Serebrennikov’s favorite books. But however much one might love a book, not everyone is capable of bringing it alive in ballet. 'I find it surprising no one thought of doing it before', says Serebrennikov, 'it is a quintessentially poetical and inwardly musical work. And where there is poetry there is ballet.'"

http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/about/press/articles/2015/3392/

Not every new production from the Bolshoi captures my attention to such an extent, but this one--obviously--does. I am very much hoping it is a substantive work and a success.

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An AFP story on the ballet includes some pertinent information on Serebrennikov.

"Hero of Our Time" comes out as Serebrennikov, director of several critically acclaimed films and cutting-edge plays and operas, is rapidly falling out of favour with Russia's cultural authorities.

Last month, prosecutors asked to check seven of his productions for possible pornography, and Russia's culture minister denounced his adaptation of the classics as inappropriate.

Activists from conservative groups have protested against his state-funded theatre, Gogol Centre, once installing a naked cutout of the director outside.

Under fire at home, Serebrennikov this month was a rare Russian presence at the Avignon Festival, with his theatrical version of Lars Von Trier's 1998 film, "The Idiots."

He previously staged an opera at the Bolshoi in 2011.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/heroes-time-wheelchair-dancers-grace-bolshoi-135109606.html

I'm racking my brain now to remember a television interview with Vladimir Urin in which he expressed his dislike for Serebrennikov's production of The Golden Cockerel. (Or was it some Tcherniakov production?)

Personally, I suspect the longevity of the production will probably depend primarily on the quality of the music.

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