Arensky. Ballet "Egyptian Nights" (Cleopatra)
The first season of the Russian Ballet in 1909 in Paris opened shortly after the end of the season at the Mariinsky. The performances were an unprecedented success. Everyone was shocked by "Polovtsian Dances" with the main archer - Fokine, "Cleopatra" with the monstrously seductive Ida Rubinstein, "La Sylphides" ("Chopiniana") with the airy Anna Pavlova and "Pavilion Armida", which revealed Nijinsky to the world.
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Mikhail Fokin "Polovtsian dances"
Fokine's ballet reform consisted of reviving male dance. Before him, dances were staged exclusively for ballerinas, and partners were needed only to support them at the right moment, to help them show their talent, beauty, and grace. The dancers began to be called “crutches.”
Fokin was not going to put up with this. Firstly, he himself wanted to dance, and the role of a “crutch” did not suit him at all. Secondly, he felt what ballet had lost by practically removing the dancer from the stage. The ballet has become cloying and fruity, completely sexless. It was possible to show the characters only by contrasting the female dance with an equal male dance.
In this sense, Nijinsky was ideal material for Fokine. From his body, superbly trained at the Theater School, any shape could be molded. He could dance whatever the choreographer had in mind. And at the same time, with his own talent, spiritualize his every movement.
Armida Pavilion
Alexandre Benois (1870-1960). Le Pavillon d'Armide, Scene design for Acts I and III, 1909. Watercolor, ink, and pencil. Howard D.Rothschild Collection
Mikhail Fokine choreographed Nijinsky's dances at the Armida Pavilion to showcase his technique in all its splendor while satisfying the discerning artistic world's fascination with 18th-century sophistication. As Vaclav later said, at the moment when he began to perform the first variation, a slight rustling ran through the ranks of the audience, which almost plunged him into horror. But after each jump, when the hall literally exploded with a storm of applause, he realized that he had completely captured the audience. When Nijinsky finished the dance and ran backstage, cries of “Encore!” were heard from all sides, but the rules of the ballet at that time strictly prohibited artists from appearing before the audience again, unless the role required it.
Anna Pavlova and Vaslov Nijinsky "Pavilion of Artemis"
The purpose of the divertissement “Feast”, which concluded the program, was to show the entire troupe engaged in national dances to the music of Russian composers. The march from Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Golden Cockerel,” Glinka’s Lezginkas and Mazurkas, Mussorgsky’s “Hopak,” and Glazunov’s Czardash were used here, and it all ended with a stormy finale from Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony. Nijinsky danced the padequatre with Bolm, Mordkin and Kozlov. This became a real triumph for Russian artists.
In the next season of 1910, Diaghilev's troupe presented new performances: Cleopatra, La Sylphides (Chopiniana) and Scheherazade.
Cleopatra
Although Armida's Pavilion showed clear signs of new trends and genuine Fokine mastery, it did not contain the sensational innovations of Cleopatra. Initially, “Cleopatra’s Nights” was prepared for the Mariinsky stage based on the famous story by Théophile Gautier, in which the Egyptian queen is looking for a lover who is ready to spend the night with her and die at dawn. Now, for his new performance, Fokine re-read “Cleopatra” and rummaged through the wardrobes of the Mariinsky Theater in search of costumes. The spears used earlier in Petipa's "Pharaoh's Daughter", the helmet and shield from "Aida", several dresses from "Eunice", slightly tinted and altered, looked amazing. He made a new edition of Arensky's music, introduced fragments from the works of Lyadov, Glazunov, Rimsky-Korsakov and Cherepnin and created a genuine tragedy in dance from the ballet. Instead of frozen smiles, the dancers' faces expressed genuine human desires and real grief.
Bakst completed sketches of new costumes and stage design. The scenery recreated the atmosphere of Ancient Egypt and, with its fantastic nature, acted on the audience like a light drug. The music further contributed to the creation of this mood, and when the dancers appeared, the audience was already fully prepared for the impression that the artists and directors were counting on. Between the huge red statues of the gods that flanked the high hall was the temple courtyard. The Nile glimmered in the background.
Lev Bakst. Scenery for the ballet "Cleopatra"
Vaclav, a young soldier, and Karsavina, a slave, holding a veil, entered the temple in a pas de deux. This was not an ordinary ballet adagio, it was love itself. The queen was carried onto the stage in a palanquin, shaped like a sarcophagus, covered with mysterious golden writings. When he was lowered to the floor, the slaves removed the veil from Cleopatra. A black panther man crawled under the sofa, intending to kill the young warrior who came out to meet the queen from the shadow of the temple. He was very attractive in his vulnerability. The role of Cleopatra was more of a mimic, not a dance one, and the young, courageous Ida Rubinstein was perfectly suited to this role.
Ida Rubinstein, Salome, Dance of the Seven Veils
The little slave, performed alternately by Karsavina and Vera Fokina, brought the action to the moment when Nijinsky appeared - impulsiveness and impetuosity embodied. Next came a procession of blacks, swaying overweight Jewish women with jewelry dangling from their necks and, finally, a frantic “Bacchanalia” of captive Greek women exploded (co-listeners Karsavin and Pavlov). It was only a dance in a ballet performance, but Pavlova later used its elements in her productions for many years.
Free, ideal control of the body, flesh seductively shining through the slits of the trousers, breasts swaying in the golden mesh, flowing black hair, rushing from side to side in time with the movements; the huge, incredible leaps of the Ethiopians, the intense dramatic action and the frantic acceleration of the tempo until the climax - all this was an achievement that constituted a separate chapter in the history of modern dance.
In Fokine's ballets there was no development of images and characters yet. They were snapshots of fictional situations. But there is as much passion and expression conveyed in dance as you like. Actually, this is what everything was built on. More passion, more dance, more complex movements, more virtuosity.
Scheherazade
Scheherazade was Bakst's undisputed masterpiece. Perhaps nowhere did he express himself as fully as in this performance, surpassing everything he had done before with an incomprehensible luxury of color. The emerald blue walls of the tent, into which the stage was transformed by the will of the artist, contrasted sharply with the floor, covered with a piercing scarlet carpet. This combination of colors excited and aroused the audience, creating a feeling of voluptuousness. The giant curtain shimmered with all shades of green, interspersed with blue and pink patterns. Never before has color been used so boldly and openly in ballet. Three massive doors, made of bronze, gold and silver, were visible against the blue background. Huge fancy lamps hung from the ceiling panels, piles of sofa cushions were scattered throughout the stage, and the costumes were fully consistent with the subtle, vibrant art of the East, which Bakst knew and loved so well. The ballet, inspired by the Arabian fairy tales “A Thousand and One Nights,” was performed to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov’s most famous symphonic suite, which suited the production perfectly. In this work by the composer, who was formerly a naval officer, much was inspired by memories of the sea, but only the first part was performed in the ballet - the tempo of the second part was too slow for dancing, which would have unnecessarily prolonged the action.
Ida Rubinstein "Scheherazade"
Ida Rubinstein in the role of Scheherazade - tall, with movements full of grace and plastic beauty, was delightful. Her gestures combined dignity and sensuality and expressed longing for love. The Golden Slave, danced by Nijinsky, was intended to convey animal, physical passion. When all the inhabitants of the harem and their slaves fall exhausted after a love game, Zobeida, the wife of the Shah, leans against the golden door, high as an obelisk, and silently awaits pleasure. A pause - and suddenly a beautiful golden beast soars up to a breathtaking height and in one movement takes possession of the queen. His leap is that of a tiger released from its cage and pouncing on its prey. He intertwines with her in a frenzied, violent act of love.
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Ida Rubinstein and Vaslav Nijinsky "Scheherazade"
Nijinsky was inexpressibly, voluptuously wild - now a caressing cat, now an insatiable beast lying at the feet of his beloved and caressing her body. He swayed from side to side, trembling as if in a fever, staring at the pale, delightful woman whom he passionately desired with every twitching muscle, every nerve of his tense body.
Vera and Mikhail Fokin "Scheherazade"
It seemed that this Golden slave soared upward like a red-hot flame, dragging the rest of the slaves with him, reigning supreme and dominating the orgy, the self-expression of the sensuality and insatiability of which he was. He is the first to see the Shah's return. A moment of paralyzing fear, then another incomprehensible jump - and disappearance. But at the moment of a frantic chase, he appears on the scene again. In the rapid flight, the golden sparks of his costume flashed, the blow of the guard's sword - and the slave's head barely touched the floor, and his entire springy body seemed to shoot into the air, reminiscent of a struggling fish thrown ashore, sparkling with iridescent scales. A fatal spasm cramps the muscles, another minute - and the Golden Slave falls face down dead.
In this role, Nijinsky's body was painted in a mesmerizingly rich purple color with a silver tint, amazingly contrasting with the golden trousers.
Carnival
The second ballet of the 1910 season was “Carnival” to the music of R. Schumann.
“Carnival” represented a kind of frame in which a motley succession of scenes, dances, masks, and musical portraits pass before the viewer: a sad, broken-hearted Pierrot, forever looking for his beloved; cheerful young Papilone flirting carefree with a sad clown; Florestan and Ezebius: the first is a dreamy romantic, the other is a temperamental, impetuous, frantic young man, reminiscent of Schumann himself; the old womanizer Pantalone, pursuing Columbine; the loser Harlequin and many other young girls and men - laughing, dancing, constantly teasing each other, falling in love and being loved. In "Carnival", as well as in "La Sylphide", movement, perhaps for the first time, was given a dominant place. This ballet is a pearl among Fokine's ballets, it is harmonious from beginning to end, and the Noble Waltz, performed by eight couples, remains a masterpiece of the waltz.
Bakst very successfully chose a curtain as a background. Now this is the most common form of decoration, but then such a design element was perceived as an innovation. On heavy royal blue velvet, the artist painted green garlands of leaves and bright pink bouquets of flowers, perfectly contrasting with the dark, mysterious depth of the silky background fabric. On each side of the stage, in the back, stood fancy Biedermeier sofas, upholstered in delightful striped red and green fabric.
The stage was filled with elegant men in colorful tuxedos, tall top hats, lace toads and white gloves; charming girls in small hats held fluffy steel-blue skirts. Everyone held black velvet masks in their hands, which they wore during the dance. Pierrot appeared in a loose white robe with tragic, endless, helplessly dangling sleeves and a huge ruffled collar made of black tulle, followed by Columbine in a fluffy skirt made of light taffeta with garlands of cherries painted by Bakst himself. The head of Karsavina, who performed this role, was decorated with the same wreath. Chiarina-Fokina, in a fancy dress with tassels, danced a pas de trois entirely on pointe with two other girls, and this was one of Fokine's most perfect and seductive creations.
Tamara Karsavina Colombina
But the best of all was the incomparable Harlequin - mischievous, sly, full of feline grace, a spoiled child of fate - in a white flowing crepe de Chine blouse, a neatly tied bow tie and a colorful tights, painted with red, white and green octagons. The artist showed outstanding skill in creating the costume - it was impossible to allow distortion of the ornament when the dancer moved, but Bakst turned out to be so skillful that on Nijinsky's Harlequin leg, every muscle was visible through the tights, as if the design was transparent.
Tamara Karsavina and Vaslav Nijinsky "Carnival"
And the work began. The composer and choreographer collaborated closely, analyzing phrase by phrase, complementing and enriching each other. When Stravinsky brought a cantilena for Ivan Tsarevich’s entrance into a fairy garden, where girls play with golden apples, Fokine sharply rejected it: “You make it look like a tenor. Break the phrase, let him simply stick his head through the tree branches on his first appearance. Bring the magical rustle of the garden into the music. And when the prince appears again, then the melody should sound in full force.”
Fokine did fantastic choreography. The movements were as varied, as light and mysterious as the fairy tale itself, especially in solo dances and those that imitate the flight of the Firebird.
Alexander Golovin's wonderful set - a magical garden with a palace in the background surrounded by trees - seemed as beautiful as a dream. Stylized, but so convincing in their emphasized unreality, they carried the viewer into another, fairy-tale world.
The costumes were made in the spirit of traditional folk motifs: caftans trimmed with fur, sundresses and kokoshniks decorated with gold and precious stones, and embroidered high boots.
By entrusting the music of “The Firebird” to Stravinsky, Diaghilev again proved his incomparable gift of the “magic wand” - the ability to discover talent wherever it is buried. As in the case of Vaclav, he gave Stravinsky the opportunity to fully reveal himself, realizing that he had found the genius of modern music. For this alone, Diaghilev deserves the eternal gratitude of his descendants.
Mikhail Fokin and Tamara Karsavina "Firebird"
The 1911 season could be called the most successful and fruitful. Fokine reached the peak of his activity as a choreographer. In addition to "The Specter of the Rose", the program included "Sadko" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Narcissus" by Nikolai Tcherepnin, "Peri" by Paul Dukas and "Petrushka" by Igor Stravinsky. The ballets, as always, are “from different lives”: antiquity, the East, Russian exotica.
Vision of a rose
A small choreographic miniature called “Vision of a Rose” to the music of Weber, inspired by the poetry of Théophile Gautier, became a pearl among Fokine’s compositions. Conceived as a divertissement to fill out the program and composed in a hurry, it was so exquisite that it became a classic production by the choreographer. A young girl, returning from the first ball, leans against the window and dreamily recalls the impressions of the evening. She thinks about Prince Charming and slowly kisses the rose pinned to her bodice that he gave her. Intoxicated by the spring air and the aroma of a flower, she sits down on a chair and falls asleep. Suddenly the soul of the rose, the materialized fruit of her imagination, appears in the moonlit window, appearing behind the sleeping girl in one leap, like a spirit carried by a gentle gentle wind. What is it: the smell of a rose or the echo of a promise of love? Before us is a slender, sexless creature, ephemeral, flexible. Not a flower and not a person, but maybe both. It is impossible to say who it is - a boy or a girl, or whether it is a dream or a dream. Graceful and beautifully red, like the stem of a rose, with the warm velvety of scarlet petals, pure and sensual at the same time, with boundless tenderness he looks at the sleeping girl, then begins to spin easily. This is not a dance, not a dream, this is a truly amazing, infinitely beautiful “vision” of a rose.
Reality and dream are inextricably intertwined here.
Tamara Karsavina Vaslav Nijinsky "The Vision of the Rose"
In one leap the dancer crosses the stage, carrying with him the embodiment of dreams - the smell of a garden on a June night, the mysterious light of the moon. He floats through the air, captivates the audience, suddenly stops near the girl, awakens her, and she finds her desires, her dreams, love itself. He carries her through the air currents, caressing, seducing, loving, offering himself with a chaste gesture and reviving the happy moments of the innermost experiences of a young heart at the first ball. And when the girl gently slides into the chair, she humbly falls at her feet. Then, with an incredibly light jump, he soars into the air and again dances around his beloved, revealing beauty in its highest manifestation. With a gentle kiss, he gives the girl a piece of unattainable happiness and disappears forever.
Bakst, as always, created amazing scenery. The girl's room was tall, light, and pale blue. Under a large muslin curtain there is a bed in an alcove, near the wall there is a cretonne-covered couch, a white table, on it is a white bowl with roses. On both sides and at the back of the stage there are huge open windows overlooking the night garden. Bakst made the initial sketch of the costume directly from Nijinsky, painting Vaslav’s shirt. The artist painted samples of silk in pink, dark red, lavender and countless shades of scarlet and gave Maria Stepanovna pieces of fabric for painting. Then I cut out rose petals in various shapes. Some were sewn tightly, others loosely, and Bakst personally instructed the costume designer how to sew them on so that the costume was created anew each time. Vaclav was sewn into this suit made of thin silk elastic jersey; it covered his entire body, except for part of his chest and arms, where bracelets of silk rose petals clasped his biceps. The jersey was embroidered with rose petals, which Bakst dyed each time as needed. Some petals drooped, withering, others resembled a bud, and others opened in all their glory. After each performance, Maria Stepanovna “revived” them with a special one. -iron. Vaclav's head was covered with a helmet made of rose petals, and their shades - red, pinkish-violet, pink and scarlet - shimmering, creating an indescribable color spectrum. Nijinsky's makeup was conceived to personify the rose. Vaclav looked like some kind of heavenly insect - his eyebrows resembled a beautiful beetle that was closest to the heart of a rose, and his lips were red like the petals of a flower.
Vaslav Nijinsky "The Vision of a Rose"
Parsley
Somehow everything came together in “Petrushka”: both time and people. The twentieth century with its main theme of freedom and unfreedom. “Eternal femininity” (Ballerina Karsavina), stupid masculinity (Arap Orlova), thirst for power (Magician Cecchetti) and “little man” (Petrushka Nijinsky) made their choice. The fair dancer, in Stravinsky’s words, “suddenly broke loose,” allowed us to look into his soul. The soul of a doll that has become human, in which there is so much pain, anger and despair.
The choreography of “Petrushka” is extremely complex. The street scene with the appearance of the coachman and nannies, gypsies and beggars, soldiers and men is an interweaving of fragments of a continuous action, against the backdrop of which pantomimes of the Aral Sea and the Magician, the Ballerina and Petrushka take place. Nijinsky immediately understood the limitless possibilities of the image of a living doll. When the Magician touched the three hanging puppets and they came to life, Petrushka made one convulsive movement, as if electrified. This pas de trois, performed at a frantic pace, is the quintessence of choreographic technique, and although Petrushka’s face did not express anything, his incomprehensible legs performed with unimaginable, sparkling virtuosity. Petrushka, a roughly made doll, suffers from the machinations of her master-magician, from infidelity The ballerina she loves, from the cruelty of her rival, Arab.
Alone in his room. Parsley falls to his knees and rushes feverishly, trying to break through the walls. A series of pirouettes and spare, expressive hand gestures are all the movements. But Nijinsky managed to convey so convincingly the sorrows of the unfortunate prisoner, his extreme despair, his jealousy, his desire for freedom and indignation at his jailer that Sarah Bernhardt, who was present at the performance, said: I’m scared: I see the greatest actor in the world!
Beginning with the 1912 season, relations between Fokin and Diaghilev became increasingly tense. Fokine ceased to be the only choreographer of Diaghilev's troupe, and he was very painfully worried about the fact that Diaghilev attracted the brilliant dancer Vaslav Nijinsky to the choreographer's work. After performing several productions (“The Blue God” by Hahn, “Tamara” by Balakirev, “Daphnis and Chloe” by Ravel), Fokine left Diaghilev’s troupe and continued working at the Mariinsky Theater as a dancer and choreographer. However, the official stage could not provide Fokine with the freedom of creativity to which he was accustomed from Diaghilev.
In 1914, Fokine again returned to collaboration with Diaghilev, staging three ballets for his troupe - Strauss's The Legend of Joseph, Steinberg's Midas and an opera-ballet version of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel. The success of all these productions was very moderate. Thus ended the most successful period of his work, which brought him European fame and vast experience.
Until 1918, Fokin continued to work at the Mariinsky Theater, performing many productions, including “The Dream” by M. Glinka, “Stenka Razin” by A. Glazunov, “Francesca da Rimini” by P. Tchaikovsky, and dances in many operas. The most successful ballets were Tchaikovsky's Eros and Glinka's Aragonese Jota.
The revolution interrupted the work of the choreographer not only at the Mariinsky Theater, but also in Russia. He chose to leave his homeland, initially planning to return. However, these plans were not destined to come true.
For several years Fokin worked in New York and Chicago. Homesickness gives rise to many productions of Russian music in his work, including Borodin’s “Thunderbird” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Russian Holidays.” Until 1933, he continued to perform as a performer. Back in 1921, Fokin, with the help of his wife, opened a ballet studio, where he worked until his death.
Mikhail Fokine's last major works were the ballets Paganini to music by Rachmaninov (1939) and The Russian Soldier by Prokofiev (1942). The desire to stage the ballet “Russian Soldier” was caused by concern for the fate of the distant Motherland. Fokin lived and died a Russian man. His son recalled: “Before his death, having regained consciousness and learning about the events at Stalingrad, Fokin asked: “Well, how are our people doing?” And, hearing the answer: “Hold on…”, he whispered: “Well done!” These were his last words."
“Egyptian Nights” is the only ballet for which the music was created by Anton Stepanovich Arensky. This happened in 1900 - the ballet was supposed to be staged during the visit of the Persian Shah to the Russian Empire. The fact that the choice of the Directorate of Imperial Theaters fell on A. Arensky is not surprising: although he had not previously created ballet music, he wrote many other works - romances, piano pieces, chamber and symphonic works - which enjoyed considerable success. He also had experience in the field of musical theater: P.I. Tchaikovsky called his “Dream on the Volga” “an excellent Russian opera,” and S. Taneev, a man by no means prone to sentimentality, admitted that A. Arensky’s opera “Raphael” touched brought him to tears... And now the composer had to create a ballet.
The novella “The Night of Cleopatra” by the French romantic writer T. Gautier, embodying the eternal theme of love and death, was chosen as the literary basis for the ballet. The libretto of the future ballet was developed by A. Arensky and L. Ivanov, who was to stage the performance.
Leon Bakst. Set design for the ballet
The plot revolved around a legend, reported by the Roman historian Aurelius Victor, that the famous Egyptian queen Cleopatra could give her love for one night - with the condition that the chosen one should lose his life immediately after that. In the plot of the ballet, this happens to the young Egyptian Amun, who is torn between passion for the queen and pity for his bride Berenice - but in the end rushes towards passion in order to die after satisfying it.
And the cruel queen does not even remember him, joyfully meeting Anthony, who defeated the Ethiopians...
This story is “told” by A. Arensky in clear, emotional melodies and bright orchestral colors, stylized in an oriental spirit, using several authentic oriental melodies.
Leon Bakst. Costume design for Cleopatra for Ida Rubinstein
The planned production in Peterhof never took place, and now one can only guess what it could have been like. According to contemporaries, it was assumed that M. Kshesinskaya and Maria Petipa, the daughter of a famous choreographer, would take part in it... The first choreographer to stage “Egyptian Nights” was destined to become not L. Ivanov, but M. Fokin.
Leon Bakst. Costume sketch for "Jewish dance" in blue and gold
Leon Bakst. Costume design for the "Jewish dance with tambourine" for the ballet
By 1908, Fokine had already become famous for his choreographic innovation. The irony of fate was that critics who wrote about the premiere of “Egyptian Nights”, presented in March 1908, forgetting about T. Gautier, associated the plot of the ballet with the work of the same name by A.S. Pushkin (it uses the same legend about Cleopatra, but this motif is developed somewhat differently). Costumes and scenery created specifically for this performance appeared only a year later - before that, prefabricated ones were used.
L. Bakst. Costume design for a Syrian dancer
In 1909, the ballet was presented in Paris in the Russian Seasons. The performance underwent changes - excerpts from the works of A. Glazunov, A. Lyadov, N. Cherepnin and N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov were included in the score, along with the music of A. Arensky, Berenice received the name Taor, even the title became different - “Cleopatra” .
Leon Bakst. Sketch of a musician's costume
In the choreographic solution of this ballet, M. Fokine abandons the canons of classical ballet technique and borrows poses from ancient Egyptian frescoes. This was a surprise for the public, a new word in art.
Modern video
Cleopatra made a particularly impressive appearance on stage: a sarcophagus was brought onto the stage, it was opened, a dancer was taken out, wrapped in blankets, like a mummy, and then this “mummy” was unswaddled - and the beautiful queen in an open robe and a blue wig appeared before the eyes of the audience. The artist L. Bakst came up with such a spectacular appearance, and I. Rubinstein performed the role of Cleopatra - it was her debut.
M. Fokin. 1909
The performance “Cleopatra” made her incredibly popular in Paris - and after that it was difficult to believe that at first S. Diaghilev did not want to take I. Rubinstein into the troupe at all, she was not a professional dancer, but M. Fokin, who taught her, supported by L. Baktom insisted on this - and he was not mistaken.
Her performance in the role of Cleopatra made an impression on the audience, even despite the brilliant partners she had: the role of Amun was performed by M. Fokin himself, the part of Taor by A. Pavlova, Cleopatra’s slave by V. Nijinsky, and the slave by T. Karsavina. L. Bakst called Cleopatra “Enchantress, Bringer of Death” in the interpretation of I. Rubinstein.
Ida Rubinstein as Cleopatra
A. Benois, in his article dedicated to the “Russian Seasons,” describes the triumph of “Cleopatra,” which, according to the artist, surpassed even the success of F. Chaliapin. Repeatedly during the performance, the audience burst into such applause that the performance had to be interrupted - even the orchestra members stopped playing.
L. Bakst. Costume design for a Syrian harpist
Leon Bakst. Sketch of a bacchante costume for a Greek dance
Mikhail and Vera Fokin
Leon Bakst. Costume sketches for the ballet
Syrian woman costume
Slave costume
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We present to your attention the libretto of the ballet Egyptian Nights in one act. Libretto and production by M. Fokin. Artists O. Allegri, M. Zandin.
Characters: Cleopatra, Egyptian queen. Mark Antony, Roman general. Berenice, Egyptian, servant of the temple. Amun, a young Egyptian. Priest. Slave of Cleopatra. Arsinoe, Cleopatra's slave. Egyptian dancers. Temple servants. Jewish dancers. Slaves. Roman warriors. Captured Ethiopians.
Bank of the Nile. The girls, led by Berenice, carry jugs of sacred water to the temple. Berenice stops. On the coastal rock is her beloved Amun. They rush towards each other. The priest joins the hands of Berenice and Amun, blessing their marriage.
Queen Cleopatra's slaves appear. Behind them, in a closed palanquin, surrounded by priestesses and dancers, is Cleopatra herself. Lazily parting the silk curtains, she steps out and heads to the temple.
Cleopatra's beauty amazes Amun. He rushes after her, but the guards do not allow him into the temple. When Cleopatra sits down on the bed prepared for her, Amun takes a bow and shoots an arrow at the tree where Cleopatra is located. The guards seize Amun, but the queen orders him to be released.
The young man's violent feelings are not new to her. Arsinoe reads to Cleopatra a papyrus strung on a fired arrow. Amun tells the queen about his love. Cleopatra warns that he must pay for love with his life. A moment of indecision, but love conquers fear.
Berenice appears and rushes to Amun, begging him to leave with her - after all, he belongs to her, their union is sanctified by the priest. Cleopatra looks at her rival with hatred. Unable to withstand the queen's menacing gaze, Berenice falls to the ground.
Two feelings are fighting in Amun’s soul: pity for Berenice and passion for Cleopatra. Passion wins.
The depressed Berenice goes into hiding. Amun falls at the feet of Cleopatra. The slaves strew their beds with flowers, raise the silk canopy, and dance, ringing bells and striking tambourines.
The hour of reckoning is coming. The priest brings a cup of poison: it contains the death of Amun. Blinded by passion, the young man does not believe in his death. He drinks the cup in one gulp and passionately stretches out his hands to Cleopatra. A searing pain pierces Amun and he falls dead. Cleopatra orders the corpse to be removed.
Dressed in new clothes, she hurries to meet Mark Antony. He arrived in Egypt as the conqueror of the Ethiopian king. In the presence of Cleopatra, he tears the crown from the head of the captive king and gives it to Cleopatra.
New slaves, conquered by Anthony, pass by the queen of Egypt. Cleopatra crowns the head of Mark Antony with a laurel crown. The ceremony is over. Having embraced Cleopatra, Antony takes her to the Nile, where a galley is waiting for them.
The square was empty. Looking around fearfully, unfortunate Berenice appears. At the temple she finds Amun's corpse and, broken by grief, falls on him.
Premiere performances of Gelsyat Shaidulova’s ballet “Cleopatra” on the stage of the Belarusian State Academic Musical Theater (BSAMT) will take place on June 9 and 10.
About this to the correspondent of the Minsk-News agency in the theater. According to the artistic director of BGAMT Adam Murzich, this choreographic production is the first and so far the only appeal of the Belarusian theater to the image of the fatal Egyptian queen.
But this is not the only thing that makes the premiere remarkable. The appearance of the ballet “Cleopatra” in Minsk was initiated by the Musical Theater of Belarus itself.
- Last year, together with the director of the theater Alexander Petrovich, we went to Moscow, where we met the magnificent composer - GITIS professor Gelsyat Shaidulova, says Adam Murzic. - The acquaintance continued with the production of Shaidulova’s musical “The Adventures of Kai and Gerda” (“The Snow Queen”) in our theater, which was timed to coincide with the winter school holidays.
Gelsyat Garifovna is a polyphonic composer who works in different genres. She is the author of symphonic and chamber works, composes songs, romances, choral cycles, she has a lot of music for children... But there have been no ballets yet. "Cleopatra" is the first.
- Having received an offer from the Minsk Theater to write such a ballet, I immediately agreed, - Honored Artist of Russia Gelsyat Shaidulova enters the conversation. - And almost immediately I became scared, because I had never worked in such a complex genre before. What gave me strength was the fact that the theater invited People’s Artist of Azerbaijan Medina Aliyeva, a recognized ballet master, formerly a dancer, and now a choreographer, to stage the ballet.
The composer told an amazing story. Since the age of ten, Gelsyat has lived in Moscow, studied here, and works. Her mother remained in Baku, who, having learned who would stage her daughter’s work on stage, said that she knew Medina well, since their families lived in the same house, but in different entrances. A composer from Moscow and a choreographer from Baku met for the first time in Minsk!
BGAMT began collaborating with choreographer Medina Aliyeva six years ago. Baku took part in the Belarusian-Azerbaijani project - the embodiment of the comedy “Wedding Bazaar” (“Arshin Mal Alan”) on the stage of the Musical Theater. At the beginning of 2013, Medina Aliyeva staged the ballet “A Thousand and One Nights” in Minsk, and it almost immediately became a standard, beloved, bright and unusual. And now - a new international project. The libretto for the ballet “Cleopatra”, as well as for “A Thousand and One Nights”, was written by Medina Aliyeva herself.
- Cleopatra is not just a historical, legendary character. This is a theme with variations. There were so many events in the life of the ruler of Egypt that they would be enough for several ballets. Which fragment to choose? Caesar's love for Cleopatra? Cleopatra's passion for Anthony? What is stronger in this woman: the desire for power or the thirst for love? Apparently, both- Medina Aliyeva tells how the idea was born. - I have been looking for a choreographic style for a long time so that the viewer would have associations with Egyptian frescoes. The so-called “broken poses” were chosen as the trademark of this performance.
The ballet “Cleopatra” was created by an international team. Luxurious decorations appeared at the stroke of the brush of the Azerbaijani artist Inara Aslanova. The conductor-producer was the Belarusian maestro Marina Tretyakova. The music was arranged by the Honored Artist of Russia, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, musician Mikhail Fadeev.
- I was invited by Gelsyat Shaidulova, with whom we once worked together in the music editorial office of the radio,- says Mikhail Fadeev. - I know her musical style well, filled with sun, wind, in a word, harmony. Gelsyat Shaidulova shows miracles of melodicism. When you have such a composer, your work is easy, but...
As Mikhail Fadeev noted, the orchestration of the ballet “Cleopatra” was not easy. He remade the Adagio of Caesar and Cleopatra five times! He introduced such rather exotic instruments as the alto flute, antique cymbals...
- We were fascinated by Shaidulova’s music and Aliyeva’s choreography, and for the appearance of a new performance this is the most important thing,- sums up the chief choreographer of the classical ballet of BSAMT Ekaterina Fadeeva. - The entire classical ballet, all 35 people, will be on stage - Amazons, shepherds, Bedouins, priestesses, Roman legionnaires, winegrowers, satyrs, vestals... The two main roles are assigned to young dancers - Alexandra Rakovskaya (Cleopatra) and Timofey Voitkevich (Antony). The role of Caesar is danced by the more experienced Sergei Glukh. We will perform with this lineup on June 9 and 10. The next performances of the ballet “Cleopatra” will take place in the fall, during the new theater season.
Photos courtesy of the theater
