It's impossible to fall in love: comedy from the time of the French Revolution will be presented in Moscow

One of the oldest ballets in the classical repertoire, Louis Herold's The Vain Precaution, returns to the capital's stage. It was first shown in Bordeaux just two weeks before the taking of the Bastille. On April 23, the Kremlin Ballet troupe will present its version of the play. Honored Artist of Russia, Golden Mask laureate Juliana Malkhasyants worked on the production. The premiere will take place at the State Kremlin Palace. The role of Aunt Simonne will be performed by the troupe's premier Mikhail Eugenov, a role that Nikolai Tsiskaridze has played on the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theater for many years. Izvestia visited the rehearsal and tells us how this old comedy sounds today.

Ballet is the same age as the Great French Revolution

The light and witty love story of Lisa and Kolya, who are hampered by class conventions, is told in the language of classical dance. "Vain Precaution" is considered one of the oldest ballets preserved in the academic repertoire. Its creator is the French choreographer Jean Dauberval. Initially, the play was called "Ballet about Straw, or From bad to Good is just one step." The premiere took place in Bordeaux on July 1, 1789. It is no coincidence that the production is called the same age as the Great French Revolution. Two weeks after the first show, the Bastille was taken.

An old play in a new interpretation appeared in the repertoire of the Kremlin Ballet due to chance. His chief choreographer Alexandra Timofeeva watched the production of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater "Katarina, or the Daughter of a Robber." This work by Juliana Malkhasyants won the Bolshoi Theater and the Golden Mask in 2022. The ballet was in the competition and rightfully won three prestigious awards. Alexandra Timofeeva turned to Juliana Malkhasyants and suggested that she do something similar with the Kremlin Ballet.

— I regarded the proposal to stage "A Futile Precaution" as a challenge, — shared Juliana Malkhasyants. — Not everyone will undertake the production of a comedy ballet. I was given complete freedom, and my team and I plunged into the very old days. The foundation was the work with Louis Gerold's musical score.

The famous choreographer Yuri Burlaka gave Malkhasyants musical material that had never been staged in Russia before. Music from the old score will be performed at the premiere in the Kremlin for the first time. As well as fragments from unfinished ballets by the French composer Louis Joseph Ferdinand Gerold, which complemented the performance. The work on the musical part has become a separate study.

— It seemed to us that the music written by the Herald was not enough, — says Olga Sokolova, the author of the musical concept. — Then the idea arose to supplement the score with fragments from his little-known and unfinished works.

Sketches for the ballets "Lydia", "Sleeping Beauty", "Village Wedding", "Somnambulist" were found in the Petrucci electronic library. In fact, these are just sketches, according to which the author's idea was restored.

A "theme bank" was formed from the found material, which was then adapted to the dramaturgy of the play. The orchestration was re-created by composer Vladimir Kachesov. As a result, new musical episodes appeared, including variations by Aunt Simonne, Julie and Kolena.

The production is designed as a ballet extravaganza. On the stage there are puffy skirts, velvet frock coats and bright hats (costume designer Natalia Zemalindinova), large—scale scenic decorations by the National Artist of Russia Vyacheslav Okunev.

The whole performance is based on the aesthetics of the old theater. Set designer Okunev wanted to bring the viewer back to the days when they saw classical decorations in performances, with good painting of details on the grid. This theater is leaving, there are practically no masters left.

The stage is framed by a gilded baguette. This technique gathers the huge stage of the Kremlin Palace to the volume required by the choreographer. Each scene is preceded by an old print, which is displayed on the screen. In front of the audience is a canvas from the rural life of the French province.

Dancing in clogs and Auntie in a skirt

The main parts in the play are performed by the soloists of the Kremlin Ballet. The role of Lisa is played by Daria Kandelaki, her beloved Knee is played by Edgar Yeghiazaryan. Alain's unlucky fiance is Peter Gorbunov, and Julie's girl is Polina Ageeva. If now the female parts in ballet are performed on pointe shoes, then in the history of productions of "Vain Precaution" there used to be an editorial office where all the characters danced in shoes. This was done intentionally to preserve the spirit of antiquity. In the production of the Kremlin Ballet, the choreographers left one scene with the dance of the saboteurs, where peasants dance in clogs.

But someone who doesn't even try on pointe shoes is Simonne. She is a well—to-do farmer, a miser who dreams of marrying her daughter Lisa profitably to Alain, the son of a rich miller, Tom. But the girl likes the poor peasant of the Knees. The role of Simonne is traditionally performed by men. Many theater-goers remember this image of Nikolai Tsiskaridze on the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theater. The premier of the troupe, Honored Artist of Russia Mikhail Evgenov, will appear in the performance of the Kremlin Ballet in the role of strict Simonne.

Another find of the directors: a new heroine appeared in the libretto — a girl with freckles named Julie. She matches the frivolous Alain, who is also not eager to marry Lisa at his father's insistence. He should be catching butterflies.

The finale is in the spirit of Marius Petipa's classical ballets, with a big wedding divertimento. The production is complemented by a fourth picture: the action is transferred to the city hall, from where Lisa and Kolen are already married. One of the spectacular solutions was a dance with ribbons: pink and blue they come down from above, and the dancers intertwine them, creating a pattern symbolizing family ties.

The premiere performance "Vain Precaution" will be presented on April 23 and May 28 on the stage of the Kremlin Palace.