Ballet "Chopiniana": content, video, interesting facts, history

Ballet "Chopeniana"

This ballet is completely different, it is very unlike those performances that we used to see on the stages of musical theaters. There are no dizzying pirouettes and impressive na. The viewer enjoys only a soaring dance, which spreads like a light haze, recreating the magical world of dreams, with the enchanting Beauty reigning in it. It differs from other ballets by the fact that it was created for music, as many were perplexed, which was absolutely not intended for ballet choreography. Nevertheless, the Russian choreographer - experimenter Mikhail Fokin staged such a performance, choosing the romantic music of the great Frederic Chopin for his ballet. The performance was named "Chopiniana" and this is true, because the choreographer is an innovator who masterfully masters the subtleties of ballet technique and created such dances that they are perceived by all as revived, now visible music by a genius composer.

Summary of the ballet "Chopiniana" and a lot of interesting facts about this work read on our page.

Content

"Chopiniana" is a ballet without a plot, that is, there is no narration in it about any events involving the characters of the performance. As soon as the curtain rises, the audience enters the world of the young poet's romantic dreams. The author in the play revives the world of dreams that appear in the imagination of a young man, and these visions are personified by lovely virgins - sylphs, whose airy image originates in the mind of a dreamer. Helps to recreate the whole magical world of the music of the great Frederic Chopin. Her inherent romantic reverie and melancholic sadness, but at the same time bright and radiant joy perfectly conveys the various nuances of feelings and feelings of the protagonist. The last edition of Chopiniana includes eight works by the great Polish composer. "Polonaise" A-dur performs the role of a solemn overture. The ballet itself begins with the Nocturne As-dur, and then continues to the sounds of the Waltz by Ges-dur, Mazurki by G-dur, Mazurka by D-dur, Prelude by A-dur and Waltz by cis-moll. The play ends with B-dur's Big Brilliant Waltz.

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Interesting Facts

• "Chopiniana" is a plotless performance, which is based on the so-called aerial dances performed to the accompaniment of a delicate melody. Such a choreography in the 19th century was called ballet blanc (white ballet). This term was introduced by the French poet and critic of the romantic school Theophile Gautier.
• Mikhail Fokin was not only a talented choreographer. He knew how to draw well, and besides, he mastered such musical instruments as the balalaika, violin, mandolin, domra and piano.
• It should be noted that Mikhail Fokin staged many ballets. In addition to "Chophenians", he was the author of the famous "Sheherazade" dances by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, "Parsley" and "The Firebird" by I. Stravinsky, as well as the fiery "Polovtsian dances" from A. Borodin's opera "Prince Igor" and the legendary choreographic miniature to the music of C. Saint-Saens "Dying Swan", created personally for A. Pavlova.
• In addition to A. Glazunov, such composers as S. Taneyev, A. Lyadov, N. Cherepnin, I. Stravinsky, J. Gershwin and V. Rieti were engaged in the instrumentation of the works of the great Polish composer for the ballet "Chopiniana" and, in 1960, on tour in Soviet The New York-based American Balle Tietr Union used the orchestration of the remarkable English composer Benjamin Britten.
• In 1958, the Lenfilm studio was staged at the Leningrad Theater of Opera and Ballet. CM. Kirov, was shot television movie "Chopiniana". The main performers in this performance were such magnificent ballet dancers as V. Semenov, I. Kolpakova, L. Alekseev and N. Petrov.
• The brilliant Galina Ulanova, having graduated from the Leningrad Choreographic College in 1928 and joining the Kirov Theater, made her debut for the first time in “Chopiniane”, which became the harbinger of future ballerina’s success in translating complex images of lyrical heroines. The sincerity and inspiration of Ulanova in the performance of ballet parties have always won the hearts of the audience.
• The ballet "Chopeniana" changed its name many times. Initially, the author called it "Romantic Dreams", then in the posters the play was called as "Ballet to Chopin's Music" or "Grand Pas to Chopin's Music". And since Sergei Dyagilev in Paris called him “Sylphs”, it is precisely this name that has become firmly established in the repertoire list of foreign ballet companies.
• In 1972, Alexandra Danilova, an American ballet dancer and choreographer of Russian origin, performed an interesting experiment in the New York City Balley. In the production of Sylphs, she used Chopin's piano music, not symphonic. In addition, all the dancers were in black tight-fitting suits such as "swimsuit". It was the so-called demonstration in pure form of Chopin's music and Fokin's choreography.
• Initially, many contemporaries of Mikhail Fokin gave doubt that his idea to create a real ballet to the music of Chopin’s works would be feasible, and the performance would be a success. But after the release of "Chophenians" to the big stage, other choreographers began to create "Listian", "Mozartian", "Strausian" and even ballets on the themes of revolutionary songs. At present, choreographic compositions to the music of various instrumental and symphonic works by classical composers can be seen on the theater stages.

History of creation

It is safe to say that the history of Chopinian began from the moment when a graduate of the Petersburg choreographic school, Mikhail Fokin, was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. It seemed that the young man everything should develop well, because he became a ballet dancer, bypassing the corps de ballet, and was involved as a soloist in popular performances. Nevertheless, Michael was constantly depressed by the feeling of annoyance: he did not receive satisfaction from the classical dance that he had to perform. Fokin’s discontent, and then Fokin’s irritation, reached such a limit that thoughts began to come to him about changing his field of activity. But the young man did not give up and constantly pondered how to transform the choreography. The mood of the dancer changed dramatically after in 1902 when he was invited to engage in teaching in the female class of the ballet school in which he studied himself. This proposal inspired Michael, as he now had the opportunity to realize the ideas he was proposing to modernize classical dance. The first productions of Fokin’s ballets, which did not meet academic traditions, were performances in which students of the school danced. The critics attending these performances were kind to the choreographer's innovations, appreciating his style, taste, and bright individuality.

In 1907, Victor Dandre, patron of the celebrated ballerina Anna Pavlova, asked Mikhail to stage a performance, which was to be shown at one of the charity events. When choosing music for staging, the attention of the choreographer attracted the attention of a suite from the works of the great Polish composer F. Chopin, orchestrated for symphony orchestra by A. Glazunov. Each piece: "Polonaise" in A major, "Nocturne" in F major, "Mazurka" in D minor, "Tarantella" in A major, and subsequently Waltz in C sharp minor, which Fokin additionally asked Alexander Konstantinovich to orchestrate, the choreographer originally presented as dance pictures , the plot is not related. The performance began with a polonaise, to the sounds of which ballet dancers in the background of the decoration depicting a ballroom, solemnly paraded in Polish national costumes. The hero of the second issue, voiced by the music of the nocturne, Chopin himself. In the ruins of an ancient temple, he fought terrible visions that appeared to him in the form of monks dressed in white shrouds. Musa came to the aid of the composer: she wrapped Chopin in her arms and sent light dreams to him. Mazurka told how a young girl would be forced to marry a rich man of old age, but the bride ran away from the wedding to her poor lover. Then came the waltz, which was presented in the style of the famous XIX century choreographer F. Taloni. The young man tries to overtake the light-winged Sylph - a ghostly dream that flutters through the magical garden, constantly trying to elude him. The diverticulum was completed by an incendiary tarantella performed by corps de ballet men dressed in Italian folk costumes.

The first performance of the play took place on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater on February 10, 1907. The audience met the performance very enthusiastically, but the fourth number - a waltz, performed by dazzling Anna Pavlova and Mikhail Obukhov, caused a real shock to her. The dancers without tricks and pirouettes created such magic on the stage that they fascinated all those present in the auditorium with the aerial flight of movements. Fokin, also under the strong impression of what he saw on the stage, began to reflect on how interesting the ballet performance would be, which was completely staged in a manner from the past when poetry reigned in the art of ballet. Born again, "Chopiniana", which the choreographer himself gave the name "Romantic Dreams", was supplemented with new numbers. The second edition, unlike the first version, includes not five, but eight works of the great Polish composer. The orchestration of the added Chopin works was made by the conductor M. Keller. The author of the costumes was the artist A, Benoit. In the updated "Chopiniane" there were no disjointed genre scenes. She appeared before the Petersburg audience as a single choreographic composition in style, and the whole world soon saw her like this.

Productions

The premiere of the updated version of the "Chopinians" was held March 8, 1907. On the posters, he was called - "Ballet to the music of Chopin." The performance, which was clearly choreographed from what was previously staged on the stage, was a great success and soon won many world scenes. Less than a month later, the ballet was again presented at the Mariinsky Theater, but already named as "Grand Pas for the Music of Chopin". The performers of this performance were graduates of the choreographic department of the drama school. In the winter of the following 1909, the performance under its present name "Chopiniana" entered the repertoire plan of the Petersburg Imperial Ballet. In the same year, M. Fokine’s ballet was chosen by S. Dyagilev for display in Paris as part of the Russian Seasons. The works of F. Chopin, not orchestrated by A. Glazunov, were instrumented by S. Taneyev, A. Lyadov and I. Stravinsky. Outstanding dancers shone on the stage in the performance: A. Pavlova, T. Karsavina, A. Baldina and V. Nijinsky. The Paris press vied with one another to express admiration for the ballet, to which S. Dyagilev again changed his name, calling it “Sylphide” this time.

In 1911, the Sylphs were shown at the English Royal Theater Covent Garden, and in 1916 in New York.

In Moscow, "Chopeniana" was first staged at the S. Zimin Private Opera House in 1916. The performer in the performance was Mikhail Fokin himself, as well as his wife Vera.

Subsequently, ballet productions were resumed many times in various cities, for example: in 1923 in Petrograd, in 1928 and 1931 in Leningrad, in 1932, 1946 and 1958 in Moscow, and in 1955 in Minsk.

"Chopiniana" played a large role in the history of not only Russian, but also the entire world ballet, since it was she who pointed out to choreographers about the possibility of using classical music to create various choreographic compositions. Moreover, this performance is still one of the most sought-after ballets and is included in the repertoire of many musical theaters around the world, continuing to conquer the viewer in all corners of the globe.

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