On October 14 and 15, the premiere of “Carmen Suite”, the unique gem of the XX century ballet art, choreographed by Alberto Alonso took place with great success on the stage of the Astana Ballet Theatre. The premiere was accompanied by the symphony orchestra of the theatre under the baton of chief conductor Arman Urazgaliyev. The soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre Timofey Lavrenyuk staged choreography of the ballet at the capital’s theatre, Delovoy Kazakhstan reports.
The premiere was attended by the Minister of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan Dauren Abayev.
The “Carmen Suite” ballet is a choreographic version of the famous opera by Georges Bizet in the transcription of Rodion Shchedrin. The image of Carmen in the performance becomes a symbol of love – honest and demanding love, love of a colossal flight of feelings that none of the men she met are capable of.
“I believe adamantly,” Shchedrin writes, “that choreography can express the full range of human feelings! Exciting a person is one of the most important tasks of any art, including ballet.” This statement of the composer explains his choice of the plot of “Carmen”, in which, along with deep tragedy, the composer’s lyricism becomes more emotionally open and expressive. It is hardly an exaggeration to claim that the “Carmen Suite” is rightfully one of the crown jewels of global art.
The events develop against the backdrop of the original scenery: acting space has been turned into a semicircular batten paddock, denoting both the place of the bullfight and the generalized metaphorical arena of life, where the tragedy of human existence occurs. “Carmen Suite” is inextricably linked to the unique personality of the great ballerina, and, at the same time, gains renewed momentum on the stage of the Astana Ballet Theatre.
“Alonso initially studied classical dance with Russian teachers, later he added a lot of national movements, nuances and features inherent in the Latin American and Spanish manner of dance, which are the highlight of his choreography, and it is very important to preserve them while staging the performance at the new venues. It is important to have a special temperament and acting skills in this ballet. “Carmen Suite” will always be different, because each performer brings something different, something new to his part. This ballet is loved all over the world, because it shows familiar ordinary human feelings, life situations, love, hate, betrayal, tenderness, anger at some moments, and impossible dreams. Every person, taking it to heart, experiences it together with the characters,” said the production choreographer Timofey Lavrenyuk.
Indeed, each part is unique. During rehearsals and learning there are elements of courtship, falling in love, gradual gaining an insight into the essence of the image, which concentrates all feelings.
“Carmen’s part is very special, vivid in its image and pleasant to perform for every ballerina. It is very important to reveal yourself in the character, you should not try to copy others, you need to feel and live this role, take it to heart. The ballet strikes the imagination with its frank and vivid sensuality and choreography which is completely unlike the usual classics, it is mixed with Spanish elements, arm and hand movements, there are also compositions only with the help of claps, and movements are unusual for our perception,” the leading soloist Ainura Abilgazina told.
The leading parts were performed by the following dancers of the Astana Ballet Theatre: Carmen – Ainura Abilgazina and Aizhan Mukatova, Jose – Sundet Sultanov and Weslley Carvalho, Torero – Baikhadam Tungatarov and Aidan Kalzhan.
The premiere was held with the assistance of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
