BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/08/2006

Virtuoso performances

Bangkok's 8th International Festival of Dance and Music presents three ballets

JENNIFER PARKS

One of the mainstays of Bangkok's International Festival of Dance and Music, now in its eighth year, is classical ballet. The Festival takes great pride in presenting the very best on the Bangkok stage. Every year companies entrenched in the traditions of Russian ballet present their art. And every year the performances leave the audience asking for more.

A true representative of this Russian tradition is the Belarusian National Ballet Theatre which will stage three award winning ballets: Romeo and Juliet, Spartacus and The Nutcracker.

While ballet reached Belarus only in the second half of the 18th century it was carefully nurtured by feudal lords who built theatres and ballet schools. In 1933 this tradition was strengthened when Minsk got its own State Opera House and eventually the Belarusian National Ballet Theatre. They set themselves the task of creating a repertoire in keeping with the exacting traditions of Russian ballet. This was to reflect not only local talent but also the works of Adan, Pugni, Minkus and Tchaikovsky. Today, they embody different epochs and styles and the company boasts many award-winning dancers and choreographers in its ranks.

Not surprisingly the Belarusian National Ballet Theatre is well-travelled and has performed in a large number of countries.

All three ballets - Romeo and Juliet, Spartacus and The Nutcracker - to be staged have been choreographed by Valentin Elizariev, who is also the artistic director. Elizariev is one of three choreographer to be given the title "People's Artist of the USSR", and it is not surprising that all three ballets won the award for best ballet in the year of their original production.

Elizariev is also a Laureate of the State Premium of the Republic of Belarus and People's Artist of Belarus, and a professor of the State Academy of Music. In Moscow in 1993, he was awarded a special prize for best choreography at the International Ballet Competition, and in 1996, in Paris, Elizariev was awarded the "Benois de la Danse" for the ballet Passions. His profound knowledge of the classics and his familiarity with the contemporary stage has ensured that the company has found new expression.

The talented conductor Nikolai Kolyadko (a Merited Artist of the Republic of Belarus) will lead the Symphony Orchestra of the National Opera House of Belarus for Romeo and Juliet and Spartacus, while Viacheslav Chencho will take the baton for The Nutcracker.

The very first ballet in this year's festival is Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet on September 5 and 6. The Kirov Theatre in Leningrad (as St Petersburg was then known) approached Prokofiev for a ballet. But when the composer proposed Romeo and Juliet, the theatre decided against it. As Prokofiev later explained, the company's problem lay with the ending, because "living people can dance, the dying cannot". The composer then worked on it for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, but once again came up against the same objection, the Bolshoi declared it "undanceable".

Eventually the extensively revised ballet premiered in 1938, at the Brno Opera House in the then Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). Its enthusiastic reception then encouraged both the Kirov and Bolshoi companies to present it soon after.

Prokofiev's magically expressive score, with an inherent airiness was a counter-point to Tchaikovsky's highly-charged drama (Tchaikovsky has also scored music for Romeo and Juliet). There is aggressive drama when the composer is confronted by the warring families, there is also pomp; but most appealing is the depiction of the young, skittish heroine. All this is overshadowed by death, yet even then the score is delicate. Expect all this in the Belarusian National Ballet Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet.

Next, on September 7 and 8, is Spartacus by Khachaturyan. This ballet, written more than 40 years ago, is characteristic of its composer. The ballet was first staged at the Bolshoi Theatre in Minsk in 1964 and was resurrected in 1980 by Elizariev in cooperation with designer Eugeny Lysik. The new Belarusian production was more than well-received, being declared the best ballet in the USSR that year.

The work follows the exploits of Spartacus, the leader of a slave uprising against the Romans. The ballet relates the tale of a Thracian slave, Spartacus, from his purchase by a trainer of gladiators and the revolt he leads against the Roman Empire in the years 73 to 71 BC to his eventual crucifixion on the order of Crassus. The music portrays the oppression of the common people by a cruel and corrupt imperial regime. Expect drama, and lots of it.

The Nutcracker will drive all thoughts of oppression from your mind as Tchaikovsky's score follows the adventures of Drosselmeyer's Nutcracker, the young Masha and the King of Mice. A favourite with both adults and children alike, the ballet is based on Hoffman's fairytale. In 1982 the ballet celebrated its rebirth at the Minsk Bolshoi Theatre with choreographer and librettist Elizariev and stage designer Lysik. That year it was declared the best ballet in the USSR.

These three ballets mark just the beginning of this part of Bangkok's 8th International festival of Dance and Music.

The festival is presented by American Express, the 'Bangkok Post', BMW, Credit Suisse, Dusit Thani Hotel, iTV Public Company Ltd, Siam Cement Group, Thai Airways International and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, supported by the Ministry of Culture.

Source:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/Outlook/19Aug2006_out001.php