On 9 and 10 April the Mariinsky Theatre’s New Stage will host the first ballet premiere of the season – Dance Scenes, set to music by Stravinsky. The production features a choreographic interpretation of the composer’s famed Symphony in C, brought to life by Honoured Artist of Russia Vyacheslav Samodurov. Arseny Shupliakov will conduct the Mariinsky Orchestra.
Stravinsky’s Symphony in C was first performed eighty-five years ago, on 7 November 1940, by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the composer’s baton. Over the decades the work has lost none of its appeal and continues to be performed regularly in concert programmes, including at the Mariinsky Theatre. However, choreographic interpretations of the symphony remain rare, despite the continued interest of contemporary choreographers in Stravinsky’s music. The last time the Mariinsky Theatre presented a ballet to this score was in 2007 – Aria Interrupted by Peter Quanz.
Now Vyacheslav Samodurov rises to the musical challenge. One of Russia’s most in-demand choreographers, he brings Dance Scenes to the Mariinsky Theatre’s stage as both his debut production at the theatre and a homecoming – from 1992 to 2001 he danced leading roles here, both in classical works and in modern productions.
“This is only the second time I’ve worked with Stravinsky’s music as a choreographer,” Samodurov says. “For me, it feels like a challenge. The music is extremely complex, but I feel close to it. It’s sharp, pointed – even exaggeratedly so in places – and I like that. I’m also drawn to how intricately it’s constructed. It wasn’t easy to grasp at first, but that made the process of mastering it even more rewarding. Among Stravinsky’s works, the Symphony in C stands apart – it’s music for connoisseurs.”
The title Dance Scenes is intended to highlight the contrast between the symphony and its physical embodiment on stage.
The production’s musical director is Valery Gergiev. Alexey Kondratyev is responsible for set design, Irena Belousova for costumes, and Konstantin Binkin for lighting. To Alexey Kondratyev, the Symphony in C sounds strikingly relevant and modern. He notes that even in the absence of words or a literary plot, a story is still present – told through the language of theatrical convention. For the visual environment, he created a large-scale lighting installation shaped by diverse associations and sensory impressions:
“At times it feels like a steel rain, falling from the sky like a sinister waterfall, before dissolving into a gentle, romantic St Petersburg mist where love stories are born and fade. Endless translucent drapes divide the stage into several layers. These are the strata of our memory, through which we try to glimpse the life we’ve lived – but from a different vantage point. It should be frightening, tragic, and tender all at once – full of contrast, just like life and just like this astonishing music,” Kondratyev explains.
Dance Scenes will serve as both the final note and the emotional climax of an evening of one-act ballets to music by Stravinsky. The programme also includes Petrouchka, in Michel Fokine’s original 1911 choreography, and Concert Dances by Alexander Sergeev.
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