Velik and Gatsby: "Cinderella" returned to the Bolshoi Theater in a modern outfit

Cinderella arranged dancing with a broom and came to a party in the style of "The Great Gatsby", and Valery Gergiev ended up in the pool. To mark the 135th anniversary of Sergei Prokofiev's birth, the Bolshoi Theatre presented a new production of the ballet Cinderella, radically changing the costumes and scenery. Izvestia was among the first to appreciate the new reading of everyone's favorite fairy tale.

The premiere debut

Sergei Prokofiev created the ballet "Cinderella" especially for Galina Ulanova, who served in Leningrad. The multi—act play was supposed to decorate the poster of the Kirov Theater (now the Mariinsky). But the war interrupted the work. It was only by the spring of 1944 that the composer was able to complete the keyboard and begin the score. The world premiere took place on November 21, 1945, but not in the Northern Capital, but in Moscow, on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. "Cinderella" became the first post-war production of the GABT. Choreographer Rostislav Zakharov, set designer Peter Williams and the performer of the main role Ulanova created a real miracle for the audience.

Now the exhibits from the Bolshoi Museum remind of this performance. An exhibition has been opened in the foyer of the theater to mark the anniversary of Sergei Prokofiev and the premiere of the new production. Behind the showcase glass, you can see Galina Ulanova's pointe shoes and the 1945 Cinderella program.

The next time this ballet was staged at the Bolshoi was in 2006. Choreographer Yuri Posokhov and director Yuri Borisov sent the heroine to a fantasy world where there was a Storyteller writing his story while sitting on the Moon, and an incredibly gentle Cinderella performed by Svetlana Zakharova.

Now, 20 years later, Vyacheslav Lopatin, the premier of the Bolshoi Ballet Company, has taken up the task of rethinking the production. On May 28, he made his debut as a choreographer on the Historical Stage. The artist brought the events back to the present day. The poster warned that there would be no castles in the air: it showed a yellow bicycle in a forest thicket, parked by a moss—covered stump.

A gift for Cinderella

Anticipating the fairy tale, families went to the premiere: girls in dresses with full skirts, like Cinderella, boys in suits with bow ties. When the curtain opened, the audience saw the same forest thicket from the poster and a bicycle. The scenery was created by Sergey Ryabov. And the artist Maya Mayer dressed the characters of the fairy tale in modern outfits.

Cinderella lives with her sisters and stepmother in a chalet with panoramic windows and an outdoor fireplace. The older idlers are sunbathing on deck chairs (Polina Afanasyeva and Alexandra Trikoz). And Cinderella sleeps on a bench by the table (the prima ballerina Anastasia Smirnova appeared in the main role at the premiere).

But for now, all the attention is on Madame in an ultramarine satin suit and a white buttoned—up office shirt (Alyona Kovaleva). Hairstyle — smoothed neat square. She's in the center of the stage, but no one pays attention to her. Madame holds a watch on a chain in her hands. This is the Fairy godmother.

Anna Tikhomirova plays the role of the Stepmother. Her character is a lady in bold outfits, with a Birkin bag. She brought gifts to her daughters, and Cinderella — just a ribbon from the box. But the girl is also happy about this. While Cinderella is dancing with a ribbon, the sisters are going to the ball. They are being taught by a dance teacher (Ivan Poddubnyak), who is fit to perform the roles of princes.

Looking at a contented Cinderella, who makes graceful steps around a broom, imagining that she is dancing at a ball, one does not get the impression that she was tormented by evil relatives. And this is another difference from the canon.

Gatsby-themed pool party

In the second act, the action takes place in a villa by the seaside: beautiful cliffs and the lights of a small town are visible from the windows. There are no formal halls, but there is a swimming pool. That's where the guests gathered — at a party in the style of the "Great Gatsby" with champagne and fireworks.

The orchestra pit, where the musicians were led by maestro Valery Gergiev, acted as the pool. The fact that it was a swimming pool was hinted at by the chrome stairs leading to the stage. There were beach umbrellas along the grates, waiters served champagne to the guests, and a photographer filmed the party participants.

All the guests look like the same person. Costume designer Maya Mayer dressed them in black and white dresses and tailcoats. And only the owner of the villa is all in white. The handsome man in the satin suit was hoping to meet the one, but the fans came to him, who only needed a photo with the Prince (this part was performed by Alexei Putintsev).

Suddenly, a beautiful and mysterious stranger appears at the party. No one knows her, but this is the kind of girl the Prince dreamed of meeting. He immediately falls in love with the guest and refuses to dance with the others. Cinderella enchants him and those present. The Prince's temperamental party demonstrates the sudden joy of meeting. Cinderella's variation is airy and graceful.

The culmination of the ballet is undoubtedly the grand pas de deux of Cinderella and the Prince. The adagio turns into solo variations of the characters and ends with a general joyful coda. But, as in Charles Perrault's fairy tale, the clock strikes 12, and the beautiful stranger becomes Cinderella again — in her house dress.

All the magic on stage takes place in a cube behind glass: a fabulous projection is displayed on it and golden dust is poured, with which the miracles end.

Magic in a cube

The third act was confusing in its beginning: a long table appeared on the black stage, from under which a woman's legs protruded. The prince, tired of looking for a stranger, had already given up. But the faithful friends continued their search and came to the square to the dancer, to the hookah bar to the plastic swarthy women. Finally, the Prince and his company reached the forest thicket. His beloved was hiding there. She didn't even have to measure her pointe shoes: he just recognized her, even in her home outfit.

The final adagio of Anastasia Smirnova and Alexei Putintsev is the height of tenderness. A beautiful couple who don't need expensive suits, crystal shoes and crowns. It's a duet of all-consuming love.: they found each other, and everything around them — the hustle, the crowd, the crowd — passes by. And it doesn't matter that Cinderella and the Prince go into the fog and disappear into the golden dust of the magic cube. The audience enjoyed dancing, Prokofiev's music and Maestro Gergiev's virtuoso conducting.

But one mystery still remains: who was the yellow bike parked for?