“The Scarlet Flower” on the eve of the anniversary

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In 2023, the wonderful “The Scarlet Flower” by V. Kuptsov from the repertoire The Kremlin Ballet turns five years old.

Each of his shows can be safely called an event – the performance is literally in one breath! The fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower” was written down by the famous Russian writer Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov. He heard it as a child during his illness. The writer talks about this in the story “Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson”: “Insomnia interfered with my speedy recovery … On the advice of my aunt, they once called the housekeeper Pelageya, who was a great master of telling fairy tales and whom even the late grandfather liked to listen to … Pelageya came, middle-aged , but still white, ruddy … sat down by the stove and began to speak, a little in a singsong voice: “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state …”

Is it necessary to say that I did not fall asleep until the end of the tale, on the contrary, I did not sleep longer than usual? The very next day I listened to another story about the Scarlet Flower. In the last years of his life, Sergei Timofeevich remembered both the housekeeper Pelageya and her wonderful fairy tale. It was first printed in 1858 and has since become a favorite with children and adults alike.

A wonderful story about self-sacrifice has repeatedly appeared to the audience in the form of performances, cartoons, films and operas. But the most magical love story is the great art of dance. fairy ballet is an ideal choice for family viewing and acquaintance of young viewers with the world of ballet art. A fantastic plot, the eternal struggle between good and evil, surrounded by colorful costumes and incredible scenery, captures attention from the first seconds.

This is a story about a merchant who goes on a journey for the Scarlet Flower, and receives it with the condition of exchange for his or someone else’s freedom. His youngest daughter, in order to save her father’s life, agrees to live in the monster’s palace, but falls in love with him. Love breaks the spell, and the monster becomes a young man. “One of the main characters here is the Scarlet Flower, or rather, its spirit, embodied in the form of a fairy. The magic of a flower lies in the ability to give people love,” says A. Petrov about the play. At the same time, Petrov, the director and choreographer, is true to himself: he builds the performance as a continuous, incredibly dynamic spectacle, memorable for lyrical duets, graphically clear mass compositions, bright, subtle psychological elaboration of images, and also – incendiary humor embodied in dance, which is in ballet the scene is rare. The choreographer from the very beginning emphasized that The Scarlet Flower is a performance for family viewing, but it cannot be called children’s. As, however, the tale itself S.T. Aksakov, because this work is about very important things that not only have not lost their significance today, but, perhaps, have become even more relevant for modern society. The ability to keep one’s word and compassion for one’s neighbor, disinterestedness, courage, nobility, readiness to resist evil and, of course, unconditional love as the basis of the universe itself … But no didactics, everything is very easy, elegant, sometimes ironic and incredibly beautiful – from the first to the last mise-en-scene. The choreographer focused the narrative on the Scarlet Flower, as the embodiment of a fairy – good magic that can give its owner the ability to love others.

The design of the performance deserves special attention. The fantastic scenography of the Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation Grigory Belov, using the most modern special effects, strikes the imagination of Terpsichore admirers. Bright folk life is stylized in the spirit of Ivan Bilibin’s fabulous Rus’, the fantastic world of a magical flower is conveyed by impressionistic techniques in scenery and costumes, and modernism means are used to embody evil witchcraft. The amazing costumes of the artist Olga Polyanskaya emphasize the character of the characters and are a worthy setting for the choreographic solution masterfully found by Andrey Petrov: In the “Scarlet Flower” the dance language of each character is original and recognizable, while it is incredibly expressive and generous with “lexical” highlights.

Honored Artist of Russia, gentle and delightful Ekaterina Pervushina (Nastenka) and the inimitable Daniil Roslanov (The Beast – the Enchanted Tsarevich) performed in the main roles. The part of the merchant Ivan Vasilievich, according to tradition, was masterfully performed by the premiere of the Kremlin Ballet, Mikhail Evgenov. The audience enthusiastically reacted to the expressive duets of the Nastenka sisters – Martha and Pelageya. Alina Kaicheva, the laureate of the All-Russian Competition, was inimitable in the first part, and Polina Diyanshina beautifully performed the second part. Honored Artist of Russia Irina Ablitsova (Evil Sorceress) captivated with her polished plastique and convincing acting performance. However, during her short appearances on the stage, she managed to really hold the attention of the audience. From the very first appearance, the winner of the All-Russian competition Ksenia Khabinets (the Fairy of the Scarlet Flower) managed to create a very accurate atmosphere of a fairy-tale kingdom, and the winner of International and All-Russian competitions Egor Motuzov and Maxim Sabitov (merchants – comrades of Ivan Vasilyevich and the grooms of Martha and Pelageya) impressed with virtuoso technique, expression , real acting drive.

And, of course, the success of the production is largely due to the complete fusion of the musical and choreographic scores, they “sound” in unison, and the figurative characteristics found by the composer for each character are adequately embodied when translated into the language of plasticity and dance. Let us add that the music of Vladimir Kuptsov is stunningly danceable and strikingly illustrative and surprisingly positive, and also generous with memorable leitmotifs. Traditionally, the symphony orchestra of radio “Orpheus” under the direction of its artistic director and chief conductor, Honored Artist of Russia Sergei Kondrashev, pleased with its sound.

By the way, The Scarlet Flower is a joint production of the Kremlin Ballet and the Moscow State Academy of Choreography. Andrey Petrov is convinced that stage practice is necessary for future ballet dancers from the first steps in the profession. The rector of the Academy, People’s Artist of Russia, Professor Marina Leonova agrees with him. So, very young performers were involved in the fairy-tale scenes, who coped with the tasks assigned to them perfectly.

Mikhail Kovalev

Photo provided by the Advertising Department of the State Kremlin Palace

Message “The Scarlet Flower” on the eve of the anniversary first appeared on Moscow truth.

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