No matter how you look at it, you can’t ignore it famous masterpiece Russian composer in four acts, thanks to whom the German legend of the beautiful swan girl was immortalized in the eyes of art connoisseurs. According to the plot, the prince, in love with the swan queen, betrays her, but even the realization of the mistake does not save either him or his beloved from the raging elements.
Image main character– Odettes – as if complementing the gallery of female symbols created by the composer during his life. It is noteworthy that the author of the ballet plot still remains unknown, and the names of the librettists have never appeared on any poster. The ballet was first presented back in 1877 on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, but the first version was considered unsuccessful. The most famous production– Petipa-Ivanov, which became the standard for all subsequent performances.
The best ballets in the world: “The Nutcracker” by Tchaikovsky
Popular on New Year's Eve, the Nutcracker ballet for children was first presented to the public in 1892 on the stage of the famous Mariinsky Theater. Its plot is based on Hoffmann's fairy tale "The Nutcracker and mouse king" The struggle of generations, the confrontation between good and evil, the wisdom behind the mask - deep philosophical meaning fairy tales are presented in bright musical images that are understandable to the youngest viewers.
The action takes place in winter, on Christmas Eve, when all wishes can come true - and this gives additional charm to the magical story. In this fairy tale, everything is possible: cherished desires will come true, masks of hypocrisy will fall, and injustice will definitely be defeated.
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The best ballets in the world: “Giselle” by Adana
"The love that stronger than death“- perhaps the most accurate description of the famous ballet in four acts “Giselle”. The story of a girl dying from ardent love who gave her heart to someone engaged to another bride noble young man, is so vividly conveyed in the graceful steps of the slender Wilis - brides who died before the wedding.
The ballet was a tremendous success from its first production in 1841, and over the course of 18 years 150 performances were performed on the stage of the Paris Opera. theatrical performances works of the famous French composer. This story so captivated the hearts of art connoisseurs that an open-air building was even named after the main character of the story. late XIX century asteroid. And today our contemporaries have already taken care of preserving one of greatest pearls classical works in film versions of classical productions.
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The best ballets in the world: “Don Quixote” by Minkus
The era of great knights has long passed, but this does not at all prevent modern young ladies from dreaming of meeting Don Quixote of the 21st century. The ballet accurately conveys all the details of the folklore of the inhabitants of Spain; and many masters tried to stage the plot of noble chivalry in a modern interpretation, but it is the classical production that has been decorating the Russian stage for one hundred and thirty years.
Choreographer Marius Petipa was able to skillfully embody all the flavor in the dance spanish culture thanks to the use of elements national dances, and some gestures and poses directly indicate the place where the plot unfolds. The story has not lost its significance today: even in the 21st century, Don Quixote skillfully inspires warm-hearted young people capable of desperate acts in the name of goodness and justice.
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The best ballets in the world: Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet
Immortal story two loving hearts, united only after death forever, is embodied on stage thanks to Prokofiev’s music. The production took place shortly before the Second World War, and we must pay tribute to the dedicated craftsmen who resisted the customary order at that time, which also reigned in the creative sphere of the Stalinist country: the composer preserved the traditional tragic ending of the plot.
After the first great success, which awarded the play the Stalin Prize, there were many versions, but literally in 2008, the traditional production of 1935 took place in New York with a happy ending unknown to the public until that moment famous story.
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Having originated as an imitation of Western models, Russian opera has made a most valuable contribution to the treasury of the entire world culture.
Appearing during the era of the classical heyday of French, German and Italian operas, Russian opera in the 19th century not only caught up with the classical national opera schools, but also got ahead of them. It is interesting that Russian composers traditionally chose subjects of a purely folk character for their works.
"Life for the Tsar" by Glinka
The opera “A Life for the Tsar” or “Ivan Susanin” tells about the events of 1612 - the Polish campaign of the gentry against Moscow. The author of the libretto was Baron Yegor Rosen, however, in Soviet era for ideological reasons, the editing of the libretto was entrusted to Sergei Gorodetsky. The opera premiered in Bolshoi Theater Petersburg in 1836. For a long time, the role of Susanin was performed by Fyodor Chaliapin. After the revolution, “Life for the Tsar” left the Soviet stage. There were attempts to adapt the plot to the requirements of new times: this is how Susanin was accepted into the Komsomol, and the final lines sounded like “Glory, glory, Soviet system.” Thanks to Gorodetsky, when the opera was staged at the Bolshoi Theater in 1939, the “Soviet system” was replaced by the “Russian people.” The Bolshoi Theater has traditionally opened its season since 1945. various productions"Ivan Susanin" by Glinka. The largest production of the opera abroad was perhaps realized at La Scala in Milan.
"Boris Godunov" by Mussorsky
The opera, in which the Tsar and the people are chosen as two characters, was begun by Mussorgsky in October 1868. To write the libretto, the composer used the text tragedy of the same name Pushkin and materials from Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State”. The theme of the opera was the reign of Boris Godunov just before Time of Troubles" Mussorgsky completed the first edition of the opera Boris Godunov in 1869, which was presented to the theater committee of the Directorate of Imperial Theaters. However, reviewers rejected the opera, refusing to stage it due to the lack of bright female role. Mussorgsky introduced the “Polish” act into opera love line Marina Mnishek and False Dmitry. He also added a monumental scene of a popular uprising, which made the ending more spectacular. Despite all the adjustments, the opera was again rejected. It was staged only 2 years later in 1874 on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. The opera premiered abroad at the Bolshoi Theater in the Paris Grand Opera on May 19, 1908.
"Queen of Spades" by Tchaikovsky
The opera was completed by Tchaikovsky in the early spring of 1890 in Florence, and the first production took place in December of the same year at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. The opera was written by the composer at the request of the Imperial Theater, and for the first time Tchaikovsky refused to take the order, arguing his refusal by the lack of “proper stagecraft” in the plot. It’s interesting that in Pushkin’s story main character bears the surname Hermann (with two “n” at the end), and in the opera the main actor becomes a man named Herman - this is not a mistake, but an intentional author's change. In 1892, the opera was staged for the first time outside of Russia in Prague. Next - the first production in New York in 1910 and the premiere in London in 1915.
"Prince Igor" Borodin
The libretto was based on the monument ancient Russian literature"The Tale of Igor's Campaign." The idea for the plot was suggested to Borodin by critic Vladimir Stasov at one of musical evenings at Shostakovich's. The opera was created over the course of 18 years, but was never completed by the composer. After Borodin's death, work on the work was completed by Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov. There is an opinion that Glazunov was able to reconstruct from memory the overture of the opera he once heard in the author's performance, however, Glazunov himself denied this opinion. Despite the fact that Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov did most of the work, they insisted that Prince Igor was entirely an opera by Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin." The opera premiered at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in 1890, and 9 years later it was seen by foreign audiences in Prague.
"The Golden Cockerel" by Rimsky-Korsakov
The opera “The Golden Cockerel” was written in 1908 based on the Pushkin fairy tale of the same name. This opera became last job Rimsky-Korsakov. The imperial theaters refused to stage the opera. But as soon as the viewer first saw her in 1909 in the Moscow opera house Sergei Zimin, the opera was staged at the Bolshoi Theater a month later, and then it began its triumphal march around the world: London, Paris, New York, Berlin, Wroclaw.
"Lady Macbeth Mtsensk district"Shostakovich
The idea for the opera originated with Alexander Dargomyzhsky in 1863. However, the composer doubted its success and considered the work as creative “intelligence”, “fun with Pushkin’s Don Juan.” He wrote music to Pushkin’s text “The Stone Guest” without changing a single word of it. However, heart problems did not allow the composer to complete the work. He died, asking his friends Cui and Rimsky-Korsakov to complete the work in his will. The opera was first presented to the audience in 1872 on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. The foreign premiere took place only in 1928 in Salzburg. This opera has become one of the “founding stones”; without its knowledge it is impossible to understand not only Russian classical music, but also general culture our country.
Classics are not only symphonies, operas, concerts and chamber music. Some of the most recognizable classical works appeared in the form of a ballet. Ballet originated in Italy during the Renaissance and gradually developed into a technical dance form that required a lot of training from the dancers. First created ballet troupe was the Paris Opera Ballet, which was formed after the king Louis XIV appointed Jean-Baptiste Lully director of the Royal Academy of Music. Lully's compositions for ballet are considered by many musicologists to be a turning point in the development of this genre. Since then, the popularity of ballet has gradually faded away, “wandering” from one country to another, which provided composers different nationalities opportunity to compile some of their most famous works. Here are seven of the most popular and beloved ballets in the world.
Tchaikovsky wrote this timeless song in 1891. classical ballet, which is the most frequently performed ballet modern era. In America, The Nutcracker first appeared on stage only in 1944 (it was performed by the San Francisco Ballet). Since then, it has become a tradition to stage “The Nutcracker” during the New Year and Christmas season. This great ballet not only has the most recognizable music, but its story brings joy to both children and adults.
Swan Lake is the most technically and emotionally complex classical ballet. His music was far ahead of its time, and many of his early performers argued that Swan Lake was too difficult to dance. In fact, very little is known about the original first production, and what everyone is used to today is a reworking famous choreographers Petipa and Ivanov production. Swan Lake will always be considered a standard of classical ballets and will be performed for centuries.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream has been adapted into many art styles. The first full-length ballet (for the entire evening) based on this work was staged in 1962 by George Balanchine to the music of Mendelssohn. Today, A Midsummer Night's Dream is a very popular ballet that is loved by many.
The ballet Coppelia was written French composer Leo Deliboe and choreographed by Arthur Saint-Leon. Coppelia is a light-hearted story depicting man's conflict between idealism and realism, art and life, with vibrant music and lively dancing. His world premiere at the Paris Opera was extremely successful in 1871, and the ballet remains successful today, being in the repertoire of many theaters.
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a magnificent ballet suitable for the whole family. The dances, sets and costumes are as colorful as the story itself. Peter Pan is relatively new to the world of ballet, and since there is no classic single version of it, the ballet can be interpreted differently by each choreographer, choreographer and musical director. Although each production may differ from each other, the story remains almost the same, which is why this ballet has been classified as a classic.
sleeping Beauty
"Sleeping Beauty" was the first famous ballet Tchaikovsky. In it, music is no less important than dancing. The story of "Sleeping Beauty" is a perfect combination of ballet-royal celebrations in a magnificent castle, the battle of good and evil and triumphant victory eternal love. The choreography was created by the world famous Marius Pepita, who also directed The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. This classic ballet will be performed until the end of time.
Cinderella
There are many versions of Cinderella, but the most common is Sergei Prokofiev's version. Prokofiev began his work on Cinderella in 1940, but did not complete the score until 1945 due to World War II. In 1948, choreographer Frederick Ashton staged the in full using Prokofiev's music, which became a huge success.
Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin is a Russian composer and pianist, one of the brightest personalities of Russia and the world musical culture. Scriabin's original and deeply poetic creativity stood out for its innovation even against the backdrop of the birth of many new trends in art associated with changes in public life at the turn of the 20th century.
Born in Moscow, his mother died early, his father could not pay attention to his son, as he served as ambassador to Persia. Scriabin was raised by his aunt and grandfather, and from childhood showed musical abilities. At first he studied in the cadet corps, took private piano lessons, and after graduating from the corps he entered the Moscow Conservatory, his classmate was S. V. Rachmaninov. After graduating from the conservatory, Scriabin devoted himself entirely to music - as a concert pianist-composer he toured in Europe and Russia, spending most of his time abroad.
The peak of Scriabin's compositional creativity was the years 1903-1908, when the Third Symphony (" Divine Poem"), symphonic "Poem of Ecstasy", "Tragic" and "Satanic" piano poems, 4th and 5th sonatas and other works. "Poem of Ecstasy", consisting of several themes-images, concentrated creative ideas Sryabin is his brightest masterpiece. It harmoniously combines the composer's love for the power of a large orchestra and the lyrical, airy sound of solo instruments. Embodied in the "Poem of Ecstasy" is colossal vital energy, fiery passion, strong-willed power makes an irresistible impression on the listener and today retains the power of its impact.
Another masterpiece of Scriabin is “Prometheus” (“Poem of Fire”), in which the author completely updated his harmonic language, departing from the traditional tonal system, and for the first time in history this work was supposed to be accompanied by color music, but the premiere, for technical reasons, was held without lighting effects.
The last unfinished “Mystery” was the plan of Scriabin, a dreamer, romantic, philosopher, to appeal to all of humanity and inspire it to create a new fantastic world order, the union of the Universal Spirit with Matter.
A. N. Scriabin "Prometheus"
Sergei Vasilievich RachmaninovSergei Vasilievich Rachmaninov is the world's largest composer of the early 20th century, a talented pianist and conductor. Creative image Rachmaninoff the composer is often defined by the epithet “the most Russian composer,” emphasizing in this brief formulation his merits in uniting the musical traditions of Moscow and St. Petersburg composer schools and in creating your own unique style, which stands out in the world musical culture.
Born in the Novgorod province, at the age of four he began studying music under the guidance of his mother. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, after 3 years of study he transferred to the Moscow Conservatory and graduated with a large gold medal. He quickly became known as a conductor and pianist, and composed music. The disastrous premiere of the innovative First Symphony (1897) in St. Petersburg caused a creative composer's crisis, from which Rachmaninov emerged in the early 1900s with a formed style that united Russian church song, leaving European romanticism, modern impressionism and neoclassicism - and all this is full of complex symbolism. This creative period his best works are born, with
Ballet How musical form developed from a simple addition to the dance, to a specific compositional form, which often had the same meaning as the dance accompanying it. Originating in France in the 17th century, the dance form began as a theatrical dance. Formally, ballet did not receive “classical” status until the 19th century. In ballet, the terms “classical” and “romantic” chronologically unfolded from musical use. Thus, in the 19th century classical period ballet coincided with the era of romanticism in music. Composers of ballet music from the 17th to 19th centuries, including Jean-Baptiste Lully and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, were primarily in France and Russia. However, with his increasing international fame, Tchaikovsky during his lifetime saw the spread of ballet musical composition, and ballet in general, throughout the Western world.
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- Until about the second half of the 19th century, the role of music in ballet was secondary, with the main emphasis on dance, while the music itself was simply borrowed from dance tunes. Writing "ballet music" used to be the work of musical artisans, not masters. For example, critics of the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky perceived his writing of ballet music as something base.
From the earliest ballets until the time of Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687), ballet music was indistinguishable from ballroom dance music. Lully created a separate style in which the music would tell the story. The first "Ballet of Action" was staged in 1717. It was a story told without words. The pioneer was John Weaver (1673-1760). Both Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau wrote an "opera-ballet" where the action was performed partly by dancing, partly singing, but ballet music became gradually less important.
The next big step took place in the first years of the nineteenth century, when soloists began to use special rigid ballet shoes - pointe shoes. This allowed for a more fractional style of music. In 1832 famous ballerina Maria Taglioni (1804-1884) was the first to demonstrate dancing on pointe shoes. It was in La Sylphide. It was now possible for the music to become more expressive. Gradually the dancing became more daring, with ballerinas being lifted into the air by men.
Until the time of Tchaikovsky, the composer of ballet was not separated from the composer of symphonies. Ballet music served as accompaniment for solo and ensemble dance. Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" was the first musical ballet work, which was created by a symphonic composer. On Tchaikovsky's initiative, ballet composers no longer wrote simple and easy dance parts. Now the main focus of ballet was not only on dance; the composition, following the dances, took on equal importance. In the late 19th century, Marius Petipa, a choreographer of Russian ballet and dance, worked with composers such as Cesar Pugni in creating ballet masterpieces that both boasted both complex dance and complex music. Petipa worked with Tchaikovsky, collaborating with the composer on his works "The Sleeping Beauty" and "The Nutcracker", or indirectly, through the new edition " Swan Lake"Tchaikovsky after the death of the composer.
Still short in many cases ballet scenes used in operas to change scenery or costume. Perhaps the most famous example of ballet music as part of an opera is the Dance of the Hours from the opera La Gioconda (1876) by Amilcare Ponchielli.
A fundamental change in mood occurred when Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring (1913) was created.
The music was expressionistic and discordant, and the movements were highly stylized. In 1924, George Antheil wrote Ballet Mechanica. This was suitable for a film of moving objects, but not for dancers, although it was innovative in use jazz music. From this starting point, ballet music is divided into two directions - modernism and jazz dance. George Gershwin attempted to fill this gap with his ambitious score for Shall We Dance (1937), more than an hour of music that embraced cerebral and technically foot-dropped jazz and rumba. One of the scenes was composed especially for the ballerina Harriet Hoctor.
Many say jazz dance is best represented by choreographer Jerome Robbins, who worked with Leonard Bernstein in West Side Story (1957). In some respects it is a return to "opera-ballet", since the plot is mainly told in words. Modernism is best represented by Sergei Prokofiev in the ballet "Romeo and Juliet". This is an example of pure ballet, and there is no influence from jazz or any other kind popular music. Another trend in the history of ballet music is the tendency to creative adaptation of old music. Ottorino Respighi arranged the works of Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) and their joint series in the ballet is called “The Magic Shop”, which premiered in 1919 at the Ballet Auditorium. prefers romantic music, so that new ballets are combined with old works through new choreography. A famous example is "The Dream" - music by Felix Mendelssohn, adapted by John Lanchbury.
Ballet composers
IN early XIX centuries, choreographers staged performances to collected music, most often composed of popular and well-known opera fragments and song melodies. The first to try to change existing practice was the composer Jean-Madeleine Schneizhoffer. For this, he was subjected to considerable criticism, starting from his first work, the ballet “Proserpina” (1818):
Music belongs young man, which, judging by the overture and some motifs of the ballet, deserves encouragement. But I firmly believe (and experience supports my opinion) that motives skillfully selected to situations always serve the choreographer's intentions better and reveal his intention more clearly than music that is almost completely new, which, instead of explaining the pantomime, itself awaits explanation.
Despite the attacks of critics, following Schneitzhoffer, other composers began to move away from the tradition of creating ballet scores assembled from musical fragments based on motives of other famous (most often operatic) works - Ferdinand Herold, Fromental Halévy, and, first of all - and then fruitfully who worked with Marius Petipa, when creating his scores, strictly followed the instructions of the choreographer and his plan - right down to the number of bars in each number. In the case of Saint-Leon, he even had to use melodies assigned by the choreographer: according to the memoirs of Karl Waltz, Saint-Leon, himself a violinist and musician, more than once whistled tunes to Minkus, which he “feverishly translated into musical notations.”
This practice did not correspond to the principles of the same Schneitzhoffer, who valued his reputation as an independent author and always worked separately from the choreographer when creating scores (an exception was made only when creating the ballet La Sylphide together with