Ivan the Terrible

The world premiere of the ballet Ivan the Terrible took place at the Bolshoi Theater on 20^th of February 1975. Yuri Vladimirov performed as the tsar, Natalia Bessmertnova as Anastasia, and Boris Akimov as Kurbsky. The second cast included Vladimir Vasiliev and Lyudmila Semenyaka. For Yuri Vladimirov, the title role became a milestone, and the part of Tsaritsa Anastasia became one of the most consistent to Natalia Bessmertnova’s acting personality and professional talents in her creative biography. The following tsars, which have always included artists, distinguished by technical virtuosity and endowed with acting temperament, – Mikhail Lavrovsky, Alexander Godunov, Irek Mukhamedov, Alexei Fadeyechev, Alexander Vetrov – left a vivid mark on this ballet’s history.
The libretto has no literary basis, and it was written by the choreographer himself. The musical score was compiled by Mikhail Chulaki from fragments of music by Sergei Prokofiev from the film of the same name by Sergei Eisenstein, and other works of the composer. The music, according to Yuri Grigorovich, became the main creative impulse for the creation of the ballet: “There was no doubt that this music could bring to life the stage dance. My idea was based on the music, and not on anything else, like plots of Russian history, biographies of characters, their psychological characteristics, folk "background" and so on, which were pushed onto me by numerous ballet commentators. No, and again no – there was only Prokofiev's music, the idea was born forty years ago, and we still stand by it today”. The scenery and costumes were inspired by ancient Russian architecture and fine arts, created by the choreographer constant co-author, theatrical artist Simon Virsaladze.
Work on the ballet Ivan the Terrible returned Yuri Grigorovich to his work’s origins. Again, like in The Stone Flower, his first ballet, the choreographer used the music of Sergei Prokofiev and embodied the themes from Russian life on-stage.
The dramaturgy of the new performance took into account the experiences of A Legend of Love and Spartacus, where history merged with legends. The plot of the ballet passes over particular areas, marking milestones in the life of the heroes and the state: Ivan's wedding to his kingdom, the bride and his wedding to Anastasia, his victory over foreigners, illness, the boyar conspiracy, the Oprichnina. Real characters such as groups of boyars, people, guardsmen and enemies coexist with allegorical figures of the Images of Death and the Victory Heralds. The performance is being led by the Six Ringers, forestalling twists in the lives of the heroes with festive chimes or tragic alarms.
Dance monologues alternate with external events, revealing the inner turmoil of the central characters: the conflict between Ivan as a tsar and Ivan as a man; Kubrsky’s drama, caught in a web of palace intrigues and unable to extricate himself from it, and therefore forced to flee to a foreign land; the meek joy and sadness of Anastasia, helplessly succumbing to death.
The performance went on at the Bolshoi until 1990. In 2012, it was resumed and remains in the repertoire to this day. Twice – in 1976 and 2003 – Yuri Grigorovich staged this ballet at the Paris Opera. The premiere of the ballet took place, in 2001, at the Kremlin Ballet Theater, and in 2006, at the Yuri Grigorovich Ballet Theater in Krasnodar.