{"id":4110,"date":"2017-05-10T17:13:58","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T15:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=4110"},"modified":"2017-05-10T17:13:58","modified_gmt":"2017-05-10T15:13:58","slug":"riveting-new-production-from-the-bolshoi-a-hero-of-our-time-dances-its-way-across-the-big-screen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2017\/05\/10\/riveting-new-production-from-the-bolshoi-a-hero-of-our-time-dances-its-way-across-the-big-screen\/","title":{"rendered":"Riveting New Production From The Bolshoi, A Hero Of Our Time, Dances Its Way Across The Big Screen"},"content":{"rendered":"

The magic of the Bolshoi Ballet comes to the big screen at Ster-Kinekor Nouveau<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me everything, it is still not enough.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A riveting new production from the Bolshoi Ballet company, seen for the first time in cinema, dances its way onto the Nouveau screens from Saturday, 13 May, for limited shows.<\/p>\n

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Ruslan Skvortsov and Kristina Kretova (c)Pathe Live Pierce Jackson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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A Hero of Our Time is based on the larger-than-life hero, Pechorin. The ballet has been adapted from Russian Mikhail Lermontov\u2019s literary masterpiece in three separate stories \u2013 Bela, Taman and Princess Mary, that each recount his heart-breaking betrayals. Is Pechorin a real hero, or is he just a man like any other?<\/p>\n

This brand new production for the Bolshoi Ballet company, choreographed by Yuri Possokhov with music composed by Ilya Demutsky, is a tragic poetic journey on pointes. The ballet\u2019s director, designer and author of libretto is Kirill Serebrennikov. A Hero of Our Time is one of Serebrennikov\u2019s favorite books. But however much one might love a book, not everyone is capable of bringing it alive in ballet. \u201cI find it surprising no one thought of doing it before,\u201d says Serebrennikov, \u201cas it is a quintessentially poetical and inwardly musical work. And where there is poetry, there is ballet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pechorin, a young officer, embarks on a journey across the majestic mountains of the Caucasus, on a path set by his passionate encounters. Disillusioned and careless, he inflicts pain both upon himself and the women around him\u2026<\/p>\n

In each one of the three parts of the ballet, Pechorin is quite different. He is changed by circumstance, age, the way in which he is presented \u2014 in Bela he is seen through the eyes of another character, while in Taman and Princess Mary, he \u2019speaks\u2019 for himself, via the chapters of his diary. In all these different guises, there can be no question of Pechorin being an integrated character. Each Pechorin has his own character, as revealed in his opening monologue or his own musical characterisation, as conveyed to the audience by a particular solo musical instrument, positioned directly on stage.<\/p>\n

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Svetlana Zakharova, Ruslan Skvortsov and Krisitina Kretova (c)Damir Yusupov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The lead roles in the three stories are danced by Igor Tsvirko (Pechorin) and Olga Smirnova (Bela) in Bela; Artem Ovcharenko (Pechorin) and Ekaterina Shipulina (Undine) in Taman; and in Princess Mary, Ruslan Skvortsov (Pechorin), Svetlana Zakharova (Mary) and Kristina Kretova (Vera). The soloists are accompanied by the Bolshoi Ballet\u2019s principal dancers and the corps de ballet.<\/p>\n

Each ballet also features musical solo performances on stage. In Bela, the two solo voices are mezzo soprano Svetlana Shilova and tenor Stanislav Mostovoy, with a bass clarinet solo by Nikolai Sokolov. Taman features a cello solo by Boris Lifanovsky, while Princess Mary features soprano Nina Minasvan, with a piano solo by Nadezhda Demyanova and an English horn solo by Vladislav Komissarchuk.<\/p>\n