- Ballet of Boris Eifmanto the music of PI Tchaikovsky, A. Schnittke, J. Bizet
- Artist: Vyacheslav Okunev
- Light: Boris Eifman
The choreographic fantasy of Boris Eifman perpetuated the story of the great Russian ballerina Olga Spesivtseva, who fell into the maelstrom of the events of the era of revolutionary terror. Forced emigration and personal dramas exacerbated the emotional torments of the heroine, which led to a tragic ending. Extremely expressive choreography, inexhaustible director's fantasy, a great stage decision attract new spectators to this performance. The choreographer himself notes that "Red Giselle" is one of the most important steps in his creative ascent.
Boris Eifman: "Our performance is dedicated to Olga Spesivtseva, one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. I was shocked to learn the details of her life: a unique actress, praised by fame, idolized by fans and critics, spent 20 years in a clinic for the mentally ill under New York, being absolutely lonely and disenfranchised! And those tragic emotions that I experienced, became an impetus for the creation of the play. This is not an illustration of the biography of Spesivtseva, but an attempt to generalize her fate and the fate of many talents forced to leave Russia and survived the tragic outcome. Spesivtseva was a genius Giselle. The ballerina was so deeply immersed in the world of her character that she no longer had the strength to return back to real life: Giselle's fate became her destiny. But the fateful role in Spesivtseva's life was played by the fact that, being a prima ballerina, she was involved in the bloody events of revolutionary Petrograd, and this red sign, as a sign of fate, pursued and tormented her. Emigration brought not only disappointments - both creative and personal - but also filled Spesivtsev's life with even greater tragedies, which ultimately led to disaster. In creating this play, we wanted the ballet theater to pay tribute to Olga Spesivtseva - a great ballerina with a tragic fate. "
LIBRETTO
ACT ONE
Revolutionary Petrograd. In a ballet studio at a former imperial theatre, a lesson in classical dance is in progress. Among the dancers the harsh and meticulous Teacher chooses the one, whose perfect dance and a slightly mysterious image embody his ideal of the beauty.
A shiny gilt-decorated auditorium. Ballerina's performance wins general applause. Among her admirers is a representative of the new authorities, Checkist . He is attracted to Ballerina not only by her exquisite art. Chekist’s harsh attack and powerful embraces suppress Ballerina’s will.
Chekist brings Ballerina to his world, unknown to her, where the wild rampage of the revolutionary mob turns into a mad carnival of annihilation. She reigns over this carnival, having forgotten, for a moment, the behests of the Teacher. However, the spiritual values he had instilled in her prove to be stronger than the intoxication of the annihilation. Ballerina returns to the ballet studio, to the Teacher. A new, cruel, and aggressive regime now reigns in the theater; it crushes everything standing in its path. White ballerinas are to become the obedient instrument of the red ideology. The Teacher is in despair. The reality is unbearable, but he is unable to change anything.
Ballerina and Chekist are bound by a complex relationship. There is attraction and repulsion, passion and non-understanding. Chekist allows Ballerina to join the emigres who are leaving Russia forever.
ACT TWO
Ballet class at the Grand Opera in Paris. A famous dancer and choreographer conducts the rehearsal. The dancing technique that he shows is unfamiliar to Ballerina, but his creative inspirational talent captivates her. The dancer becomes her Partner, and they share a triumphant success. >Ballerina’s growing feelings for her Partner are not reciprocated. The unrequited love and loneliness in the world that is alien to her aggravate her mental state and push her toward a nervous breakdown.Ballerina tries to lose herself in the merriment of Paris. But the phantoms of the past haunt there as well.
The red flashbacks of the Revolution do not leave her in peace. Chekist appears to her in a nightmarish hallucination.Nor can Ballerina forget herself in her favorite role of Giselle, in which she used to amaze the audience and won the world fame. She is sentenced to Giselle's fate— to the betrayal of her beloved and the eventual madness. Mirrors refract the morbid consciousness of the great Ballerina. Madness appears as the salvation, or the departure into the flickering world of ‘the other side of the mirror glass.’
Casts & Credits
- Home
- |
- Tours
- |
- Day tours
- |
- Rail tours
- |
- Shore excursions
- |
- My trip
- |
- About
Group Tour Packages
Company Information
US office
3422 Old Capitol Trail Suite 1252,
Wilmington DE, 19808 USA.
US toll-free: 1-888-845-8877
Russian office
Ligovsky pr. 57, Office 19,
191040, St. Petersburg, Russia
tel: +7-812-309-5339
© 2001 – 2024 by Northern Crown, Ltd. uVisitRussia and uVisitRussia.com are registered trademarks. Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy
Why Do You Need Our Travel Expert
Contact our experts, and they will help you to plan your best trip to Russia, with attention to every detail!
Our Experts have been in the travel industry for many years, guarantee to offer first class customer service, excellent value for money and unbiased advice. They are standing by to find and build your dream holiday to one of the world's most fascinating destinations - Russia.
Your personal Travel Expert will guide you through each stage of the travel process, from choosing a program that fits you best to support during your trip.
Just tell us your e-mail, and we'll take care of everything!
Ask a Travel Expert
Leave your phone number
Your tour request has been received. Thank you !
We have sent you the confirmation message to [email]
Please make sure that you receive this message (sometimes e-mail messages may go to the spam/junk mail).
If you did not get this message, it means you will not get message with the tours' selection as well. If you use a Yahoo!, Gmail, AOL or Hotmail, we recommend to add request@uvisitrussia.com to your address book.
We recommend to leave your phone number. If we will not heard back that you received the e-mail with the tours' selection, we will contact you by phone.
And you will not miss the best tour for you.
Thank you ! Your request for Travel Expert assistance has been sent. We will e-mail you within 1 hour.