MINKUS, L.: Bayadere (La) [Ballet] (Mikhailovsky Ballet, 2019)
La Bayadere
Composer: Minkus, Ludwig
Ballet Company: Mikhailovsky Ballet
Choreographer: Duato, Nacho
Bronze Idol: Tchetverikov, Nikita
Dugmanta, Rajah: Kasyanenko, Andrey
Gamzatti, His daughter: Lassakova, Andrea
Nikiya, Bayadere: Vorontsova, Angelina
Solor, Warrior: Lebedev, Victor
The High Brahmin: Strelkov, Sergey
Orchestra: Mikhailovsky Theatre Orchestra
Conductor: Sorokin, Pavel
Television Director: Sommer, Andy
Lighting Designer: Fields, Brad
Set Designer: Atlagic, Angelina
Costumer Designer: Atlagic, Angelina
Date of Production: 11-2019
Venue: Mikhailovsky Theatre, St. Petersburg
Playing Time: 01:35:31
Catalogue Number: BAC182
UPC: 3760115301825
The purity of classical dance meets the opulant exoticism of the Maharajas' India in this 150-year-old ballet, glorified by Nacho Duato for the Mikhailovsky Ballet.
Of Ancient India, composer Ludwig Minkus made in his La Bayadere the shiny background of the tragic love story between a priestess and a warrior, unable to get together in this world or in the next. For this new production with the Mikhailovsky Ballet, of which he is the artistic director, Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato created a new version extremely respectful of Marius Petipa's original, preserving the traditional synopsis and the great coups de theatre of the libretto, and keeping the original choreography for the most famous scenes. But at the same time, he liberates the ballet from the weight of its own anachronism, removes the episodes of pointless pantomime, and relocates it in a extravagant, lavish and colourful set.
Before working on La Bayadere, Duato had already tackled some of the great classics of the Russian classical ballet school: his original versions of Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, both commissionned by the Mikhailovsky, have since then toured in the whole world and were met with tremendous success - from Milan and Berlin to Novossibirsk. For this new project, he surrounds himself with the excellent Principals Angelina Vorontsova and Victor Lebedev, but also with Andrea Lassakova, outstanding in the role of Gamzatti.
