Ballet is an art form in which the main expressive means is a dance. The dance plot is closely related to the music and dramaturgical basis. Russian ballet gained fame thanks to brilliant composers.
The most famous ballets Russian composers embodied emotions in musical and choreographic images that completely captivated the audience.
Among the most famous ballets, one can highlight Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The ballet premiered on March 4, 1877 in Bolshoi Theater. The first ballet directors were Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. It is their names that are associated with the staging of the famous “swan” scenes. The prerequisite for writing the ballet was Tchaikovsky's visit to the estate in the Cherkasy region, where he spent a lot of time on the shore of the lake. There great composer and admired the snow-white birds. The ballet “Swan Lake” is rightfully considered a universally recognized masterpiece of the world ballet school. And the image White Swan and today remains a symbol of Russian ballet.
Nutcracker
"Encyclopedia of classical ballet dance“Another ballet by Tchaikovsky is often called “The Sleeping Beauty”. The director and choreographer of the ballet was again Marius Petipa. The central figure of the musical and dance action is the ballerina. The ballet itself amazes with the variety of carefully staged choreographic scenes. And the pinnacle of this dance splendor is the solemn dance miniature of the young beauty Aurora and Prince Désiré.
It is not without reason that famous ballets are associated with the name of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Another work of the famous composer is “The Nutcracker”. The ballet premiered successfully in December 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater. The stage action does not leave the audience indifferent. The ballet was based on Hoffmann's fairy tale of the same name with classical fairy tale plot about the confrontation between good and evil.
Ballet "Romeo and Juliet"
Another of the most famous ballets of the twentieth century is Romeo and Juliet, a work by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. The ballet was based on Shakespeare's work of the same name. Wonderful music and amazing choreography brought the ballet worldwide popularity. The masterpiece premiered in Czechoslovakia in 1938. But the production that was first presented in Leningrad in 1940 gained the greatest fame.
The outstanding Russian composer Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev created another famous creation - “Cinderella”. S. Prokofiev is rightly called the “master musical portrait" So subtly, with the help of music, he conveyed the character and experiences of the characters. It took Prokofiev four years to write the music for Cinderella. The premiere of “Cinderella” took place at the Bolshoi Theater in November 1945. The ballet director was Rostislav Zakharov, the role of Cinderella was performed by Olga Lepeshinskaya, and later by Galina Ulanova.
Igor Stravinsky’s work “The Rite of Spring” is also included in the list of famous ballets by Russian composers. The prerequisite for the creation of the ballet was the composer's dream. In it he saw a young girl dancing among the elders surrounding her. To awaken spring nature, the girl dances, losing strength, and dies. The girl's soul is reborn in the "Bright Resurrection of Nature."
The Rite of Spring is already in space
The ballet premiered in Paris at Champs Elysees in May 1913. But it cannot be said that it was successful. The audience did not understand the originality of the music and dances and booed the artists. "The Rite of Spring" as one of 27 musical works, was recorded on a Voyager record and sent into outer space for extraterrestrial civilizations.
World classical ballet unthinkable without Russian composers. Exactly Russian ballet school was the locomotive of world art. She is famous all over the world, affecting the thinnest strings the souls of every viewer.
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 composed this timeless classic ballet in 1891 and 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 dream in a summer night
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 Coppélia 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 be different, 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 the 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.
When we talk about ballet, we always mean creativity, since it was he who brought this stage genre into the category of serious and large-scale musical stage performances. He has only three ballets and all three - “Swan Lake”, “The Nutcracker”, “Sleeping Beauty”, are famous for their excellent dramaturgy and wonderful music.
Most popular ballet piece Pyotr Tchaikovsky, which almost everyone knows - “”, written in 1877. Many fragments from this dance performance - “Dance of the Little Swans”, “Waltz” and others, have long lived their own separate lives, like popular musical compositions. However, the entire performance, which tells the story of a love story, is worthy of the attention of music lovers. Tchaikovsky, who was known during his lifetime for his amazing compositional talent, generously rewarded the ballet with countless charming and memorable melodies.
Another one of the best ballets in musical history- "" Tchaikovsky. This was the composer’s second turn to the dance genre, and if “Swan Lake” was not appreciated by the public at first, “Beauty” was immediately recognized as a masterpiece and was shown in almost all theaters Russian Empire and Europe.
The ballet is based on a plot known to us since childhood, fairy tale story Charles Perrault about Sleeping Beauty, the evil fairy and all-conquering love. Tchaikovsky complemented this story with wonderful dances fairy tale characters, and Marius Petipa – with amazing choreography, which all became an encyclopedia of ballet art.
“” is the third and last ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, one of the recognized peaks of his work, which is sure to be performed in all theaters in Europe on Christmas and New Year's Eve. Hoffmann's fairy tale "The Nutcracker and mouse king“continues the theme of the struggle between evil and good, begun by Tchaikovsky in “Swan Lake”, complements it with elements of fantasy and, naturally, love and self-sacrifice. Philosophical tale, numerous beautiful melodies dance numbers and choreography make this ballet one of the best and most sought-after classical pieces of world music.
At one time it was one of the most scandalous ballets. Now “Romeo and Juliet” is one of the classic dance productions in many theaters around the world. The composer's new, largely revolutionary music required new scenography and styles of movement from the troupe. Before the premiere, the composer literally had to persuade the directors and dancers to participate in the production. However, this did not help, the main theaters of the country - the Bolshoi and Kirov theaters - refused to stage this performance. Only after the unexpected and stunning success of Romeo and Juliet in Czechoslovakia, the ballet was staged in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and Prokofiev himself was awarded the Stalin Prize.
The classic performance of all dance companies in the world is “Giselle”. The ballet is based on the legend of the Willis - the spirits of brides who died of unhappy love and therefore pursued all the young men on their way in a frantic dance. Since its premiere in 1841, Giselle has not lost its popularity among fans dance art, and had many productions.