Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 19 November 2019, a premiere of the dramatic ballet "Rasputin" by Sergei Polunin will be held at the State Academic Theater named after Alisher Navoi. The famous ballet dancer will present his new production for the first time in the capital of Uzbekistan.
“The distinguishing features of the human person is a complex thing. I just need to feel Rasputin with the help of choreography in order to find his attractive sides through intuition,” - so Sergey Polunin described the process of comprehending with him a vivid image of one of the most mysterious figures of Russian history.
The dramatic ballet Rasputin was created by Japanese choreographer Yuka Oishi specifically for Sergei Polunin. This year, the Palladium Theater in London hosted the world premiere of the play. The ballet, in which the famous Russian designer Ulyana Sergeenko made a costume designer, takes place on a chessboard, along which allegorical figures move, which largely represent the fate of the heroes of the performance.
“This is a story about a man with incredible charisma, strength and power. Some considered Rasputin a saint and mystic, many - the devil. But for me, people never share only the good and the bad: when I looked at black-and-white archive photographs, I tried to imagine what these heroes really were, in life, in color,” Yuka Oishi added.
“There are still many legends and rumors surrounding the controversial figure of a mad monk, but above all, he was a man,” said Yuka Oishi. I believe that he truly possessed mystical healing power. I read all the existing books on this topic, but each one told its own story with opposite versions. Ultimately, I choreographed the way I personally saw this story, trying to understand the feelings of each of the heroes and portray their clear images. ”
The ballet is divided into two acts, the first is dedicated to the ascent of Rasputin, his acquaintance with the royal family, the second - to the sunset of the 50-year-old "elder" himself and his crowned admirers.
“My own sense of history is not so transparent,” said Sergey Polunin, the performer of the role of Grigory Rasputin himself. I am not looking for information in books, I use intuition. I relied on Yuka because she knows how to bind things very well. I myself am just a tool that translates ideas into reality. The story of Rasputin, his personality completely depends on whose story you hear. "
According to composer Cyril Richter, who wrote music for the ballet, the first part of the play describes the appearance of Rasputin in the palace, and the second part describes the sunset of this person and the entire royal family. “I think it will be interesting to find at the end a quote from a very famous work that is directly related to the royal family. This is the hymn "God Save the Tsar", I was very interested in the semantics of the words "save" and "bury", because they mean very different things. The ballet finale is tragic, and these words have become some terrible synonyms for me, ”Richter said. Musical instruments will play their role,” the composer added. In particular, a large strike group and harp, which I considered in two guises - as "an attribute of the royal court" and a reference to the harp. "
The organizer of the ballet premiere in Tashkent is the Fund for the Development of Culture and Art under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan.