3 famous ballets. The best ballets in the world: brilliant music, brilliant choreography...

October 15, 1581 at court Catherine de' Medici The guests were shown an unprecedented performance - the first ballet in the history of France. Since then, the world has seen hundreds of new productions, but not all of them were successful and remembered by the audience. AiF.ru has collected the most popular ballets, viewing which will definitely expand your horizons.

"Giselle"

Story: The ballet premiered on June 28, 1841 in Paris. The Russian public saw the production at the Bolshoi Theater only two years later. Since then, “Giselle” has never left for long Russian scene. In the image main character dancers of the first magnitude shone: Pavlova, Spesivtseva, Ulanova, Bessmertnova, Maksimova and etc.

Plot: a story of first love and cruel betrayal. A nobleman, Albert, disguised as a peasant, seduces an unsuspecting village girl. But the deception is quickly revealed. When Giselle finds out that her lover already has a bride from high society, she goes crazy and dies.

At night, Albert comes to the girl’s grave, where he almost dies at the hands of the Willis - brides who died before the wedding. Saves young man namely Giselle.

"Swan Lake"

Story: ballet to music Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The public did not immediately fall in love with him. The debut ended in complete failure. The audience appreciated " Swan Lake"only after his original choreography was edited by choreographers Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa. IN new version the production was shown to the public in 1895, on stage Mariinsky Theater. IN Soviet time it was “Swan Lake” that became business card countries. The ballet was demonstrated to all high-ranking guests who visited Moscow.

Plot: The production is based on the legend of Princess Odette, who was transformed by the evil sorcerer Rothbart into a swan. The girl can be saved by the one who sincerely loves her and takes an oath of allegiance. Prince Siegfried makes such a promise, but breaks it during the ball, when Odile appears at it, looking exactly like Odette. For the swan girl, this means only one thing - she will never be able to return to her old life.

"Romeo and Juliet"

Story: The music for the world famous ballet was written Sergei Prokofiev back in 1935, but the audience saw the production itself three years later, and not in Moscow or Leningrad, but in the Czech Republic, in the city of Brno. Tragedy in the Soviet Union Shakespeare only shown in 1940. The leading role then shone with the legendary Ulanova. By the way, the dancer (like many others) did not understand the maestro’s music. After the premiere, she made a humorous toast: “There is no sadder story in the world than Prokofiev’s music in ballet.”

Plot: the ballet completely coincides with Shakespeare’s interpretation - lovers from warring families get married in secret from their relatives, but die by a tragic accident.

"La Bayadère"

Story: “La Bayadère” is one of the most famous ballets of the Russian imperial stage. The production was first presented to the general public in 1877, on the stage of the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theater. And in 1904 choreographer Alexander Gorsky moved her to the capital. Over time, “La Bayadère” underwent numerous alterations; only the “Shadow” scene performed by the corps de ballet remained unchanged. It is rightfully considered a real decoration of the entire production and a real achievement of choreographer Petipa.

Plot: love breaks out between Solor and the bayadere (dancer) Nikia. However, the girl is liked not only by her chosen one, but also by the Great Brahmin, who, having received the beauty’s refusal, decides to take revenge on her. Raja Dugmanta also wants the death of the bayadère, because he dreams of marrying his daughter to Solor. As a result of the conspiracy, the girl dies from the bite of a snake, which her enemies hide in a bouquet.

The strongest part of La Bayadère is the “Shadow” scene. When Solor falls asleep he sees incredible picture: a long line of shadows descends along the gorge among the Himalayas dead souls, among them there is Nikia, who calls him to her.

"Spartacus"

Story: The ballet premiered on December 27, 1956 in St. Petersburg, and in 1958 in Moscow. Perhaps the most famous performers the main male parties in Soviet period can be called Vladimir Vasiliev and Maris Liepu. The basis for the script was various historical materials and fiction.

Plot: In this ballet love line fades into the background amid the confrontation between the two main characters Spartacus and Crassus.

Spartacus raises an uprising among the gladiators, he manages to win, but Crassus does not want to give up and begins a new campaign against his enemy. This time luck is on his side. Spartak fights to the last, but dies in an unequal battle: most of his allies simply chickened out and refused to fight back the enemy.

Ballet is a form performing arts; this is an emotion embodied in musical and choreographic images.

Ballet is the highest level of choreography, in which dance art rises to the level of musical stage performance, arose as a courtly aristocratic art much later than dance, in the 15th-16th centuries.

The term “ballet” appeared in Renaissance Italy in the 16th century and meant not a performance, but a dance episode. Ballet is an art in which dance is the main thing. means of expression ballet, is closely connected with music, with the dramatic basis - libretto, with scenography, with the work of the costume designer, lighting designer, etc.

The ballet is diverse: plot - classic narrative multi-act ballet, dramatic ballet; plotless - symphony ballet, mood ballet, miniature.

World stages have seen many ballet performances based on masterpieces of literature set to music brilliant composers. That is why the British online resource Listverse decided to compile its ranking of the best ballet performances in history.

"Swan Lake"
Composer: Pyotr Tchaikovsky

The first, Moscow production of Swan Lake was not successful - its glorious history began almost twenty years later in St. Petersburg. But it was the Bolshoi Theater that contributed to the fact that the world was gifted with this masterpiece. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote his first ballet at the request of the Bolshoi Theater.
The famous Marius Petipa and his assistant gave “Swan Lake” a happy stage life Lev Ivanov, which went down in history primarily thanks to the staging of the standard “swan” scenes.

The Petipa-Ivanov version has become a classic. It underlies most subsequent productions of Swan Lake, except for the extremely modernist ones.

The prototype for the swan lake was the lake in the Davydovs' Swan Economy (now Cherkasy region, Ukraine), which Tchaikovsky visited shortly before writing the ballet. While relaxing there, the author spent more than one day on its shore, watching snow-white birds.
The plot is based on many folklore motives, including an old German legend telling about the beautiful princess Odette, who was turned into a swan by the curse of an evil sorcerer - knight Rothbart.

"Romeo and Juliet"

Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet is one of the most popular ballets of the twentieth century. The ballet premiered in 1938 in Brno (Czechoslovakia). However, the edition of the ballet, which was presented at the Kirov Theater in Leningrad in 1940, became widely known.

"Romeo and Juliet" - a ballet in 3 acts, 13 scenes with a prologue and epilogue according to tragedy of the same name William Shakespeare. This ballet is a masterpiece of world art, embodied through music and amazing choreography. The production itself is so impressive that it is worth watching at least once in your life.

"Giselle"
Composer: Adolf Adam

“Giselle” is a “fantastic ballet” in two acts by the French composer Adolphe Adam to a libretto by Henri de Saint-Georges, Théophile Gautier and Jean Coralli, based on a legend retold by Heinrich Heine. In his book “On Germany,” Heine writes about the Wilis - girls who died from unhappy love, who, having turned into magical creatures, dance to death the young people they meet at night, taking revenge on them for their ruined lives.

The ballet premiered on June 28, 1841 at the Grand Opera, choreographed by J. Coralli and J. Perrault. The production was a huge success, there were good feedback in press. Writer Jules Janin wrote: “There is so much to be found in this work. And fiction, and poetry, and music, and the composition of new steps, and beautiful dancers, and harmony, full of life, grace, energy. That's what they call ballet."

"Nutcracker"
Composer: Pyotr Tchaikovsky

History of stage productions of P. I. Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker”, literary basis which became Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann’s fairy tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, knows many author’s editions. The ballet premiered at the Mariinsky Theater on December 6, 1892.
The ballet's premiere was a great success. The ballet “The Nutcracker” continues and completes the series of ballets by P. I. Tchaikovsky, which have become classics, in which the theme of the struggle between good and evil, begun in “Swan Lake” and continued in “Sleeping Beauty,” is heard.

A Christmas tale about the noble and the beautiful the enchanted prince, turned into a Nutcracker doll, about a kind and selfless girl and their evil opponent To the Mouse King, has always been loved by adults and children. Despite fairy tale plot, this is a work of true ballet mastery with elements of mysticism and philosophy.

"La Bayadère"
Composer: Ludwig Minkus

"La Bayadère" - ballet in four actions and seven paintings with the apotheosis of choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Fedorovich Minkus.
Literary source The ballet “La Bayadere” is the drama of the Indian classic Kalidasa “Shakuntala” and the ballad of V. Goethe “God and the Bayadère”. The plot is based on a romantic oriental legend about the unhappy love of a bayadère and a brave warrior. “La Bayadère” is an exemplary work of one of the stylistic trends of the 19th century - eclecticism. In “La Bayadère” there is both mysticism and symbolism: the feeling that from the first scene a “sword punishing from heaven” is raised over the heroes.

"Sacred spring"
Composer: Igor Stravinsky

The Rite of Spring is a ballet by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, which premiered on May 29, 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.

The concept for “The Rite of Spring” was based on Stravinsky’s dream, in which he saw an ancient ritual - a young girl, surrounded by elders, dances until exhaustion to awaken spring, and dies. Stravinsky worked on the music at the same time as Roerich, who wrote sketches for the scenery and costumes.

There is no plot as such in the ballet. The composer outlines the content of “The Rite of Spring” as follows: “ Bright Resurrection nature, which is reborn to new life, a complete resurrection, a spontaneous resurrection of the conception of the universal"

"Sleeping Beauty"
Composer: Pyotr Tchaikovsky

The ballet “The Sleeping Beauty” by P.I. Tchaikovsky - Marius Petipa is called the “encyclopedia of classical dance.” The carefully constructed ballet amazes with the magnificence of its varied choreographic colors. But as always, at the center of every Petipa performance is the ballerina. In the first act, Aurora is a young girl who perceives lightly and naively the world, in the second - she is an alluring ghost, summoned from a long-term sleep by the Lilac fairy, in the finale - a happy princess who has found her betrothed.

The inventive genius of Petipa dazzles the audience with a bizarre pattern of diverse dances, the pinnacle of which is the solemn pas de deux of the lovers, Princess Aurora and Prince Désiré. Thanks to the music of P.I. Tchaikovsky, the children's fairy tale became a poem about the struggle between good (fairy Lilac) and evil (fairy Carabosse). “Sleeping Beauty” is a true musical and choreographic symphony in which music and dance are fused together.

"Don Quixote"
Composer: Ludwig Minkus

“Don Quixote” is one of the most life-affirming, vibrant and festive works ballet theater. It is interesting that, despite its name, this brilliant ballet is by no means a dramatization of the famous novel by Miguel de Cervantes, but an independent choreographic work by Marius Petipa based on Don Quixote.

In Cervantes's novel, the image of the sad knight Don Quixote, ready for any feat and noble deeds, is the basis of the plot. In Petipa's ballet to the music of Ludwig Minkus, which premiered in 1869 at the Moscow Bolshoi Theater, Don Quixote is minor character, and the plot focuses on love story Kitri and Basil.

"Cinderella"
Composer: Sergei Prokofiev

"Cinderella" - a ballet in three acts by Sergei Prokofiev based on the plot fairy tale of the same name Charles Perrault.
The music for the ballet was written between 1940 and 1944. “Cinderella” to Prokofiev’s music was first staged on November 21, 1945 at the Bolshoi Theater. Its director was Rostislav Zakharov.
This is how Prokofiev wrote about the ballet Cinderella: “I created Cinderella in the best traditions classical ballet,” - which makes the viewer empathize and not remain indifferent to the joys and troubles of the Prince and Cinderella.

5 chosen

Two days ago, this beautiful art form celebrated a kind of birthday. It is believed that ballet dates back to October 15, 1581- then in France at court Catherine de' Medici the first one was shown in full dance performance- The Queen's Comedy Ballet. Since then, of course, classical dance has changed a lot. I propose today to remember the most famous ballet performances.

Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky

Perhaps this is the most famous ballet in the world. There is no theater where it is not performed, and there is no ballerina who would not dream of playing the swan princess. But at first Tchaikovsky’s great work was not appreciated. The music was considered unsuitable for ballet, and the ballerinas even refused to dance in this dubious performance. First production "Swan Lake" at the Bolshoi Theater failed miserably.

In St. Petersburg they decided to stage this ballet only 17 years later. Production of the Mariinsky Theater, which was prepared by Marius Petipa And Lev Ivanov, was a huge success and became a classic. This particular “Swan Lake” is still shown at the Mariinsky Theater. During Soviet times at the Bolshoi Theater classical production changed Yuri Grigorovich. Among other things, he gave this story a happy ending.

As soon as modern choreographers don't experiment with this ballet. In China there is an acrobatic version of the play in which "Dance of the Little Swans" turned into "Dance of the Little Frogs"– it is danced by men standing on their hands. And one Cuban theater staged a ballet in which each ballerina weighs at least 100 kilograms.

Romeo and Juliet, Sergei Prokofiev

"Romeo and Juliet"- one of the most popular ballets of the 20th century. Sergei Prokofiev created a musical embodiment for famous tragedy Shakespeare in 1935. The timing was unfortunate - a campaign against Shostakovich had just begun in the press, and in this atmosphere the theaters did not dare to undertake the production of a new ballet. It was first shown only three years later in the Czech city of Brno. The performance turned out to be successful, and only after that they decided to stage it in their homeland.

The production was offered to the St. Petersburg choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky. The choreographer took the matter so seriously that he even forced Prokofiev to rewrite the music in some places. It was worth it - this production is still considered a classic.

By the way, the first version of Prokofiev’s ballet, unlike Shakespeare’s tragedy, had a happy ending, but it did not reach the stage of production.

Giselle, Adolphe Adam

It's romantic, fairytale and tragic story about love that stronger than death. Aristocrat deceived a simple girl Giselle, who fell in love with him. The unfortunate woman died of grief. But after her death, she fell into the company of Wilis - girls just like her who died due to the fault of men.

The music for this ballet was written more than a century and a half ago. French composer Adolf Adam. The play's premiere in Paris received rave reviews. But still the Russian production became the most popular Marius Pepipa.

Don Quixote, Ludwig Minkus

Austrian composer Ludwig Minkus wrote the music for this ballet for the Moscow theater, choreographed the first production Marius Pepipa.

What is ballet, history of ballet

“We want not just to dance, but to speak through dance”
G. Ulanova

The amazing, beautiful and multifaceted world of ballet will not leave anyone indifferent. This word was first heard in Italy, the genre itself arose in France, in addition, ballet is the real pride of Russia, moreover, in the 19th century it was the Russian performance created P.I. Tchaikovsky, became a genuine example.

What is ballet?

This is a musical and theatrical genre in which several types of arts are closely intertwined. Thus, music, dance, painting, dramatic and art unite with each other, building a coherent performance that unfolds in front of the public on theater stage. Translated from Italian, the word “ballet” means “dancing”.

When did ballet originate?

The first mention of ballet dates back to the 15th century; there is information that the court dance teacher Domenico da Piacenza proposed combining several dances for the next ball, writing a solemn finale for them and labeling them as ballet.

However, the genre itself arose a little later in Italy. The starting point is 1581; it was at this time in Paris that Balthazarini staged his performance based on dance and music.In the 17th century, mixed performances (opera and ballet) became popular. At the same time, greater importance in such productions is given to music rather than dance. Only thanks to the reformative work of the French choreographer Jean Georges Novera, the genre acquires classical outlines with its own “choreographic language”.

The formation of the genre in Russia

There is information that the first performance of “The Ballet of Orpheus and Eurydice” was presented in February 1673 at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Huge contribution The most talented choreographer Charles-Louis Didelot contributed to the formation of the genre. However, a real reformer is considered to be famous composer P.I. Tchaikovsky. It is in his work that the formation of romantic ballet takes place. P.I. Tchaikovsky paid special attention to music, turning it from an accompanying element into a powerful tool that helps dance subtly capture and reveal emotions and feelings. The composer transformed the form of ballet music, and also built a unified symphonic development.The work of A. Glazunov also played a significant role in the development of ballet (“ Raymonda"), I. Stravinsky ("Firebird", "The Rite of Spring", " Parsley"), M. Ravel ("Daphnis and Chloe"), as well as the work of choreographers M. Petipa, L. Ivanov, M. Fokin. Creativity stands out in the new century S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich, R. Gliera, A. Khachaturyan.
In the 20th century, composers began searching to overcome stereotypes and established rules.

Who is a ballerina?

Not everyone who dances in ballet was previously called a ballerina. This highest rank, which dancers received upon achieving a certain amount of artistic merit, as well as several years after working in the theater. Initially, everyone who graduated from the Theater School was accepted as corps de ballet dancers, with rare exceptions as soloists. Some of them managed to achieve the title of ballerina after two or three years of work, some only before retirement.

Main Components

The main components of ballet are classical dance, character dance and pantomime.Classical dance originates in France. It is incredibly flexible and elegant. Solo dances are called variations and adagios. For example, the well-known Adagio from the ballet "Swan Lake" P.I. Tchaikovsky. Moreover, these numbers can also be performed in ensemble dances.
In addition to the soloists, the corps de ballet takes part in the action, creating crowd scenes.
Often the dances of the corps de ballet are characteristic. For example, the “Spanish” dance from “Swan Lake”. This term means folk dances introduced into the performance.

Films about ballet

Ballet is very popular view art, which is reflected in cinema. There is a lot about ballet beautiful paintings, which can be divided into three broad categories:

1. Documentary films are documentaries of a ballet performance, through which you can get acquainted with the work of great dancers.
2. Film-ballet - such films also show the performance itself, but the action no longer takes place on stage. For example, the film “Romeo and Juliet” (1982), directed by Paul Zinner, where the main roles were played by the famous R. Nureyev and C. Fracci; "The Tale of the Little Humpbacked Horse" (1961), where main role performed by Maya Plisetskaya.
3. Feature films, the action of which is related to ballet. Such films allow you to immerse yourself in the world of this art and sometimes the events in them unfold against the backdrop of a production, or they tell about everything that happens in the theater. Among similar paintings, “Proscenium” deserves special attention - american film directed by Nicholas Hytner, which the public saw in 2000.
4. Special mention should be made biographical paintings: “Margot Fonteyn” (2005), “Anna Pavlova” and many others.

One cannot ignore the 1948 film “The Red Shoes” directed by M. Powell and E. Pressburger. The film introduces viewers to the performance based on famous fairy tale Andersen and immerses the audience in the world of ballet.

Director Stephen Daldry presented the film “Billy Elliot” to the public in 2001. It tells the story of an 11-year-old boy from a mining family who decides to become a dancer. He gets a unique chance and enters the Royal Ballet School.

The film “Giselle Mania” (1995), directed by Alexei Uchitel, will introduce viewers to the life of the legendary Russian dancer Olga Spesivtseva, whom her contemporaries nicknamed Red Giselle.

In 2011, the acclaimed film “Black Swan” by Darren Aronofsky was released on television, which shows the life of the ballet theater from the inside.

Modern ballet and its future

Modern ballet is very different from classical ballet with more daring costumes and free dance interpretation. The classics included very strict movements, in contrast to the modern, which is most appropriately called acrobatic. A lot in this case depends on the chosen topic and idea of ​​the performance. Based on it, the director already selects a set of choreographic movements. In modern performances, movements can be borrowed from national dances, new directions of plastic arts, ultra-modern dance movements. Interpretation is also carried out in a new way, for example, Matthew Byrne's acclaimed production of Swan Lake, in which girls were replaced by men. The works of choreographer B. Eifman are a real philosophy in dance, since each of his ballets contains deep meaning. Another trend in modern performance– blurring the boundaries of the genre, and it would be more correct to call it multi-genre. It is more symbolic compared to the classic one, and uses many quotes and references. Some performances use the montage principle of construction, and the production consists of disparate fragments (frames), which all together make up the overall text.

Moreover, throughout modern culture There is a huge interest in various remakes, and ballet is no exception. Therefore, many directors try to force the audience to look at the classic version from a different perspective. New readings are welcome, and the more original they are, the more greater success waiting for them.

Pantomime is an expressive game using gestures and facial expressions.

IN modern productions choreographers expand the established framework and boundaries; in addition to classical components, gymnastic and acrobatic performances, as well as modern dancing(modern, free dance). This trend emerged in the 20th century and has not lost its relevance.

Ballet is a complex and multifaceted genre in which several art forms are closely intertwined. No one can be indifferent to the graceful movements of the dancers, their expressive play and enchanting sounds. classical music. Just imagine how ballet will decorate a holiday; it will become a real pearl of any event.

We are pleased to offer you ballet dancers for performing numbers and excerpts from classical and modern ballets at your event.