"The main Russian swan." How Ulyana Lopatkina became a ballerina against nature. Interview-biography of the famous Ulyana Lopatkina - prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater Ulyana Lopatkina: personal life of the prima ballerina of the ballet theater

"Every inch of her incredibly flexible body creates an impeccable form. More than anyone else, she has absolute precision - the result of training, as well as instinctive dignity and musicality" (The Telegraph).

At first glance, Ulyana Lopatkina is not created for ballet: academicism values ​​moderation of proportions. In Lopatkina, everything is too much. Too high. Too thin, excluding even a hint of feminine roundness or strained muscle definition. Arms and legs are too long. Narrow feet and hands are too large. But this is also its advantage. “I love it when a ballerina has large feet,” Balanchine admitted, meaning, of course, not only feet. “Any movement - for example, getting up and down from pointe shoes - is presented larger by such a ballerina, and therefore more expressive.” And the “inconvenient” length of the arms and legs, putting up barriers to technique (it’s not for nothing that famous ballet virtuosos are usually stocky and strong-legged), can make the lines endless.

In order to shade out the shortcomings and keep nature in obedience, Lopatkina has to work hard. She stands out for her efficiency even among the working Mariinsky ballerinas. She is almost the only one who voluntarily schedules evening rehearsals for herself after a working day. At her performances, technical breakdowns and even roughness are extremely rare. They say that rehearsing Lopatkina’s favorite words are: “It’s smarter this way.” This is what she teases: a ballerina, for whom a lyrical role is recognized, often sobers with the rationality of her stage existence....

Ballet "Corsair", 2006.

Ulyana Vyacheslavovna Lopatkina was born in Kerch on October 23, 1973. From the age of four, caring about her daughter’s future, her mother took her to a wide variety of children’s clubs and sections, trying to understand what the girl had real abilities for. She had no doubt that her daughter was talented. And she was right. One day Lopatkina found herself in a ballet studio, whose teachers, after observing the girl for some time, advised her to try her hand at the world of big ballet.

She entered the famous Leningrad Ballet School (now the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet) with a “conditional” rating on all points. This means “a C,” Ulyana explained in an interview about ten years ago. Nowadays people no longer ask “Divine” Lopatkina about her unknown ballet youth. Who would believe that during the second round of entrance exams to Vaganovskoe, or rather, at the medical commission, the impeccable star of the Mariinsky Theater “found several flaws.” Nevertheless, the applicant tried very hard to make a good impression on the stern teachers. In the third round she had to dance a pole dance, “smiling a lot.” Fortunately, the girl was familiar with this dance. And ten-year-old Ulyana was accepted. In elementary school, she studied the art of dance with G.P. Novitskaya, in senior years - with Professor N.M. Dudinskaya.

School has begun. Eight years of daily overcoming oneself, fighting fears, complexes, and self-doubt. And also childhood loneliness and weekends in the family of her best friend - Ulyana’s parents continued to live in Kerch. But young Lopatkina seemed to take what was happening for granted. Ballet is a cruel profession, and it just so happens that people start doing it very early, simply sacrificing their childhood. But they also finish. Which means you need to enjoy every moment, she told herself. Even if it is filled with pain, the most real, physical one.

While still a student, Ulyana became a laureate of the International Prize “Vaganova-Prix” (St. Petersburg, 1991), performing the variation of the Queen of the Waters from the ballet “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, the variation of La Sylphide and the pas de deux from the second act of “Giselle”.

After graduating from the Academy in 1991, Ulyana Lopatkina was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, where the young ballerina was immediately entrusted with performing solo parts in “Don Quixote” (Street Dancer), “Giselle” (Myrtha), and “Sleeping Beauty” (Lilac Fairy). In 1994, she successfully debuted as Odette/Odile in “Swan Lake”, receiving for this role the prestigious “Golden Sofit” award in the category “Best Debut on the St. Petersburg Stage”. The maturity of thought and technical development were surprising. She was especially successful with Odette - withdrawn, immersed in sadness. She did not at all strive to leave her enchanted world, as if she was afraid to re-enter real life, so dangerous and deceptive. Ulyana Lopatkina worked on the part with Andris Liepa, and he largely helped her find her solution to the role.

In 1995, Ulyana became a prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater. Her partners over the years were Igor Zelensky, Farukh Ruzimatov, Andrey Uvarov, Alexander Kurkov, Andrian Fadeev, Danila Korsuntsev and others. During her career, Ulyana danced on the most famous stages in the world. Among them are the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, the Royal Opera House in London, the Grand Opera in Paris, La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the National Opera and Ballet Theater in Helsinki, and the NHK Hall in Tokyo.

Ulyana Lopatkina's dance is distinguished by the highest precision of movements, impeccable poses, amazing dignity and musicality. She attracts with her inner concentration and immersion in her world. Always, as if slightly moving away from the viewer, she seems even more mysterious, even deeper.

The choreographic miniature "The Dying Swan" to the music of C. Saint-Saens from "Carnival of the Animals", staged by M. Fokine, has long become the hallmark of Russian ballet. Ulyana Lopatkina, of course, dances it in her own way. Her swan is perhaps closest to Saint-Saëns' swan, as the only noble creature among the other twelve animals - personifications of human vices and weaknesses. The last moment of Lopatkina's swan's life is its last breath. And, in the words of Ulyana herself, “the main thing that this work of genius gives is the diverse experience of the transition from life to death. And here there can be as many meanings as this eternal question from the beginning of the existence of mankind includes. And here, as they say, , not a word to say, not a pen to describe..."

Meeting with the choreography of Yu.N. Grigorovich in "The Legend of Love", where Ulyana performed the role of Queen Mekhmene Banu, required completely different colors - the ability to restrain passion. The scale of hidden feelings, driven inside and only occasionally spilling out, gave the intense drama a special poignancy. This role has become one of my favorites.

When Lopatkina included “Carmen Suite” to the music of Bizet - Shchedrin into her repertoire, criticism did not spare her, comparing her with the great Plisetskaya. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine ballerinas more opposite in character, temperament and movement. But comparisons here, in my opinion, are meaningless and inappropriate. These are completely different Carmen, and if in Plisetskaya’s performance I see the famous heroine of Prosper Merimee’s novel, then Lopatkina created a completely different image, more modern and not so straightforward, and therefore no less interesting.

By the way, it was Maya Mikhailovna who personally added the finishing touches to the acting drawing of another role of Ulyana - Anna in the ballet “Anna Karenina”. At the dress rehearsal she said: “Your love for Vronsky is not enough for me, I did not have time to feel how strong your feelings are.” “I had to be extremely open in all episodes...” Ulyana said in an interview. “Then Maya Mikhailovna hugged me and said: “Now everything is as it should be.” I felt that I had come to life..."

In 1972, the Frenchman Roland Petit, director and choreographer of the world-famous Marseille Ballet, staged in Moscow for the brilliant Maya Plisetskaya a one-act ballet “The Death of the Rose” to the music of “Adagietto” by Gustav Mahler, the plot of which was taken from the poem “The Sick Rose” by the English poet William Blake ":

Oh rose, you are sick!
In the darkness of a stormy night
The worm discovered a hiding place
Your purple love.

And he got in there
Invisible, insatiable,
And ruined your life
With your secretive love.

This ballet miniature has entered the repertoire of many outstanding dancers, but personally, I have never seen anything more beautiful than the duet of Ulyana Lopatkina and Ivan Kozlov:

Another famous work of the ballerina is “Three Gnosians” to the music of E. Satie, staged by Hans van Manen. “Inside each of my ballets there is tension, a relationship between a man and a woman,” says the Dutch choreographer. Ulyana complements him: “In Hans van Manen’s ballets, the intellectual and analytical aspect of the relationship between partners is developed - a conversation through laconic, restrained-mysterious, extravagant movements. This is a conversation between smart people who understand each other perfectly, giving each other food for thought. There is an attraction , there is a distance..."

Ulyana Lopatkina's career was not cloudless. Ulyana missed the 2001–2002 seasons due to a leg injury, and serious doubts arose about her return to the stage. But in 2003, after the operation, Lopatkina returned to the troupe. Ulyana considers the birth of her daughter Masha in 2002 to be one of the most important events in her life. Her hobbies include: drawing, literature, classical music, interior design, cinema.

The ballerina's fame has long crossed the borders of St. Petersburg. Even those who have never been to ballet have heard about Lopatkina. Lopatkina converts those hitherto indifferent to it to classical dance. Lopatkina is a fashion icon of the modern Mariinsky Theater. On the ballerina's advertising poster, a black bandana sits next to chaste academic pointe shoes. This is what the Mariinsky Theater is like today: it managed to get along with show business without losing the honor of “sacred art.” This is how Lopatkina is today: having taken off her evening shoes, she twirls a fouette near the restaurant tables in Nikita Mikhalkov’s “Russian Project” and poses for Vogue magazine. It’s time to exclaim: is it really the same Ulyana?! The same one. She is the architect of her success, her public image. And he understands that one forever chosen image - even the most intriguing one - will someday become boring. But the contrast is always interesting: the priestess is on stage, the modern femme fatale is in life (hence, presumably, her craving for flowing black toilets, long scarves, and even patent-leather wigs). In a word, a real woman!)

Photo by E. Rozhdestvenskaya.

Titles, awards:
People's Artist of Russia (2005)
Laureate of the State Prize of Russia (1999)
Laureate of the International Competition Vaganova-Prix (1991)
Prize winner: “Golden Spotlight” (1995), “Divine” with the title “Best Ballerina” (1996), “Golden Mask” (1997), Benois de la danse (1997), “Baltika” (1997, 2001: Grand Prix - prize for promoting the world fame of the Mariinsky Theater), Evening Standard (1998), Monaco world dance awards (2001), “Triumph” (2004)
In 1998 he was awarded the honorary title “Artist of Her Majesty the Imperial Stage of Sovereign Russia” with the medal “Man-Creator”

Repertoire on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater:
“Giselle” (Myrtha, Giselle) – choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa;
“Corsair” (Medora) – production by Pyotr Gusev based on the composition and choreography of Marius Petipa;
“La Bayadère” (Nikia) – choreography by Marius Petipa, revised by Vladimir Ponomarev and Vakhtang Chabukiani;
Grand pas from the ballet Paquita (soloist) – choreography by Marius Petipa;
“The Sleeping Beauty” (Lilac Fairy); choreography by Marius Petipa, revised by Konstantin Sergeev;
“Swan Lake” (Odette-Odile); choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, revised by Konstantin Sergeev;
“Raymonda” (Raymonda, Clémence); choreography by Marius Petipa, revised by Konstantin Sergeev;
ballets by Mikhail Fokine: The Swan, The Firebird (Firebird), Scheherazade (Zobeide);
“The Bakhchisarai Fountain” (Zarema) – choreography by Rostislav Zakharov;
“The Legend of Love” (Mekhmene Banu) – choreography by Yuri Grigorovich;
“Leningrad Symphony” (Girl) – script and choreography by Igor Belsky;
Pas de quatre (Maria Taglioni) – choreography by Anton Dolin;
“Carmen Suite” (Carmen); choreography by Alberto Alonso;
ballets by George Balanchine: “Serenade”, “Symphony in C Major” (II. Adagio), “Jewelry” (“Diamonds”), “Piano Concerto No. 2” (Ballet Imperial), “Theme and Variations”, “Waltz”, “ Scottish Symphony”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Titania);
“In the Night” (Part III) – choreography by Jerome Robbins;
ballets by Roland Petit: “Young Man and Death” and “The Death of a Rose”;
“Goya Divertimento” (Death); choreography by Jose Antonio;
“The Nutcracker” (fragment from “Pavlova and Cecchetti”) – choreography by John Neumeier;
ballets by Alexei Ratmansky: “Anna Karenina” (Anna Karenina), “The Little Humpbacked Horse” (The Tsar Maiden), “The Fairy’s Kiss” (Fairy), “Poem of Ecstasy”;
“Where the Golden Cherries Hang” – choreography by William Forsythe;
ballets by Hans van Manen: Trois Gnossienes, Variations for Two Couples, Five Tangos;
Grand pas de deux – choreography by Christian Spuck;
“Margarita and Armand” (Margarita); choreography by Frederick Ashton.

The first performer of one of two solo roles in John Neumeier's ballet The Sound of Blank Pages (2001).

She toured with the Mariinsky Theater company in Europe, America and Asia.

And finally, in order to get to know Ulyana herself better, I suggest you watch the “Personal Belongings” program with her participation (2009):

For those interested - more detailed

Who is she Ulyana Lopatkina, no need to talk. And here is information about her ex-husband Vladimir Kornev:

“He is an architect by training, studied in St. Petersburg. Houses were built according to his designs as far away as Germany. But always, as long as his friends remember, Vladimir wrote. First for the soul. Then they began to publish it.

After the publication of the novel “What the French Are Silent About” (in 1995), critics “appointed” Vladimir as a continuer of Bulgakov’s traditions. “In this novel, inhuman love, strong as death, is inseparable from the all-encompassing beauty present in the grandiose architectural scenery of St. Petersburg, the actions of the main character, the actions of mystical forces...”

And then one day at the airport the “great mystic” Kornev met by chance with a famous actor, director and producer, “midshipman” Vladimir Shevelkov. And he had long had the idea of ​​​​creating a mystery novel about the transmigration of souls, but he was afraid that his writing talent would not be enough. He told Kornev about his ideas... Thus their joint novel “Modern” was born .

The two Vladimirs became such friends that Kornev even became the godfather of Shevelkov’s 7-year-old son Andrei.

In 2001, filming began based on a script written based on the plot of “Modern”. It is interesting that Lopatkina was strongly offered the main role, but she refused. Whether the film is completed or not, I don’t understand.

By the way, although the ballerina did not agree to play the main role in the film based on her husband’s novel, she starred in photo shoots for the design of his books:

How Ulyana and Vladimir met

In October 1999, Vladimir Kornev became the laureate of the St. Petersburg city prize in the field of culture as “Writer of the Year” (by the way, he beat Pelevin himself). At the same ceremony, Ulyana was recognized as “Ballerina of the Year”. Both were free. By that time, Vladimir had divorced his first wife, from whom a daughter was born. Ulyana recently experienced a rumored breakup with a famous Russian actor. So they met...

Screenshots from the ceremony video:

The wedding took place on July 25, 2001, the newlyweds were married in the Church of Faith, Hope, Love in the village of Vartemäki. The dinner took place in a very close family circle in the restaurant of the House of Architects.

“The event was modestly celebrated in a restaurant and they went on their honeymoon. They say that the ballet world was surprised that Ulyana’s colleagues were not invited to the celebrations. It seems that Natalia Dudinskaya, the person to whom Lopatkina owes her career, was not included in the circle of the chosen ones. But there was Ninel Kurgapkina, the current tutor of “The Beautiful Swan of the Mariinsky Theater”.

Ulyana said that she likes to feel " just a wife and housewife, learning to draw, and also the fact that Volodya doesn’t understand anything about ballet and can’t stand talking about theater".
As correspondents of one newspaper wrote: “in order to support his famous wife at the proper level, Vladimir Kornev is engaged in business. He is the director of the St. Petersburg representative office of the Andulin-Russia company, which produces roofing. So for now they have enough money...”

In 2002, a daughter, Masha, was born into the family.

Family footage from the program “The Royal Box” in 2002

From a 2004 interview:

Many great ballerinas did not have time to organize their personal lives and forever remained homeless, lonely people; at the age of 26, you have a bunch of titles and regalia. There is a family and there is a child.

- I've been asked this question before: how did you manage to plan everything so well? I didn't plan anything, I didn't build anything. This is just my life. Every day there were specific tasks and goals. You just had to live one day with dignity and quality and enter the next. Don't despair when you don't have what you want right now. There was work - I worked and worked. I wanted to have a close, loved one, but he was not there. I hoped and waited. There came a period when there were a lot of injuries and little strength. I went on sick leave, and I met a person who began to take care of me and help me. It got to the point where we became husband and wife. And the fact that I gave birth to a child... this has also been brewing for a long time. I always knew that I would have a child. After all, what is the tragedy of many ballerinas? The ballet age is very short, very short, and there are always reasons - new roles, premieres, foreign tours - because of which the birth of a child is postponed until later. Then it's already too late. The profession outweighs - this turns into a tragedy for many.

From a 2007 interview:

Your husband, writer and businessman Vladimir Kornev, gives you a huge basket of 150 red roses after each performance. What is this tradition associated with?

ABOUT: Probably with his own idea of ​​the romantic world of ballet, where the ballerina must receive an insane amount of flowers. And the fact that the flowers are roses and scarlet, it seems to me, is connected with one of his books. At one time he wrote a science fiction novel, and there is an episode where, among the garbage, unexpectedly, literally out of nothing, red roses grow. He probably likes to bring at least a little bit of this unusualness into life..

Interview 2005:

“Ulyana’s family today is her daughter Masha and, of course, her husband - Vladimir Kornev, director of a branch of a French construction company. I am cautiously interested in how the views on home, career and other life values ​​of a ballerina and a businessman can coincide.
Ulyana patiently explains that her husband has not been in the construction business all his life. Actually, he is a graduate of the Repin Academy, an architect, artist, and writer. Once he took the academic bastions by storm, arriving in St. Petersburg from Chelyabinsk.

In St. Petersburg, they existed in parallel for some time: he was a student, Lopatkina was a diligent student of the Vaganova School. But the points of intersection, it turns out, were already outlined then: “ When I wandered somewhere past the Catherine Garden with a briefcase, in the early 90s you could always meet artists there. And Volodya could be there, as he says" In any case, Ulyana notes, today there are no more reasons for disagreements in their family than in any other, and rather they are connected with the fact that there are two “creators” under one roof.

W.L. Volodya is very worried that the strict business routine does not leave time for creativity. But he still manages to do something, comes up with different stories, writes books. And I can say that my heart is very uneasy if my husband cannot be at the performance. It’s hard to even formulate: I need his presence. That is, it is absolutely necessary that he experience the performance with me: if he did not pay attention to the difficulties of my profession, did not notice my experiences, then I would be very annoyed. But, thank God, we are learning to understand each other. He sits and gets terribly nervous in the audience when I’m on stage. But every time I tell him: “If you don’t come, something in our relationship will be disrupted.” And so we exist, as it were, in the same world.

Just in case, I’ll clarify whether there is such a big difference between Ulyana Lopatkina in the theater and at home. But Ulyana absolutely does not see any contradiction between the artist’s ambition and the self-denial of her wife and mother.

From a 2004 interview:

– Do you have any energy and time left to raise your daughter? Perhaps Mashenka is a modern child who lives with her grandmother, and is raised by a nanny?
– Masha lives with me, and we don’t have a nanny. When I go to work, I take her to her grandparents, who help me a lot. After work I take it home. All my free time from the theater I am next to my daughter. And this seems natural to me. I constantly want to know, see, feel how she grows. We read books together, talk, communicate. I try to approach her interests and not neglect her problems. It seems to me that now, when she is gathering emotions and knowledge into her piggy bank, a lot depends on the parents - only they can guide the development of the baby.
And then I always feel how Mashenka is growing up, and sometimes I want to “stop” her wonderful age. Masha is already one year and eight months old, and communication with her often helps overcome mortal fatigue after rehearsals.
– I won’t hide that your fans were shocked by your decision to become a mother during the heyday of your creativity. Was there any doubt?
– From an early age, I was sure that I would do everything possible to become a mother, to be able to combine profession and motherhood. This decision arose long before marriage. So I didn’t experience any contradictions or doubts. Moreover, at that time, two and a half years ago, I was in a state of pathological fatigue and depression. Injuries that did not allow me to work at full capacity began to remind me of themselves regularly. To break away from physical and moral overload, to get out of the endless race for a while was happiness for me.

Rehearsal with my daughter

In this video, a ballerina and her daughter attend a drawing lesson.

From a 2009 interview:

" Until recently, the front door in house No. 77 on Sadovaya Street, where prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater Ulyana Lopatkina has lived for many years, was the same as everywhere else.
And suddenly, as if by magic, everything changed. Returning from a tour in Japan, where she performed for a month, Ulyana entered her entrance and... was, in her own words, shocked. It was as if she had entered a palace. The front walls, staircase, windows, doors not only shone with cleanliness, they were completely transformed and decorated in the spirit of ancient St. Petersburg living rooms.

– I'm speechless. I returned to a completely different atmosphere. And I was told: “The ballerina of the famous Mariinsky Theater should not enter a dirty, shabby, ugly front door with traces of modern “culture” on the walls.”.

-Who told you this?

– Vladimir Grigorievich Kornev, my husband and father of my daughter Masha. He is an architect and artist, he himself made sketches for the images in the front door based on the plots of famous paintings.

It was a gift. Of course, Vladimir Kornev had the financial ability to pay for some work in the front entrance, I didn’t see the process and don’t know what anyone did, but I was pleased with the idea of ​​​​transforming the entrance. This is a good idea, simple and original at the same time. When your house starts from the entrance..."

On tour in Novosibirsk in 2010, Lopatkina spoke as follows:

- The Novosibirsk Opera House has a comfortable, well-equipped stage. This is not my first time performing there, but I hope not the last time. Honestly, I really miss my daughter Masha and my husband Vladimir Kornev. My husband is an architect and writer, I love everything he creates - spaces and texts. And I really like the bouquets that he gives me not after premieres or performances, but every time we meet. My husband is the best florist; he and I both love yellow flowers. Unfortunately, we often separate because I am constantly traveling. But the family remains a kind of beacon for me, like for a sailor in the fog. Family is the most cherished and dear thing I have. This is probably why the most painful role for me was Anna Karenina, the title role in R. Shchedrin’s ballet based on the novel by L. N. Tolstoy. What I would never do is leave my child for the sake of being infatuated not with my husband, but with another man.

However, in 2010, for some reason, the couple divorced. And, as indicated on Wikipedia, Ulyana, who took the double surname Lopatkina-Korneva after the wedding, returned to her maiden name Lopatkina.

5 years have passed since then. Ulyana Vyacheslavna, as we once found out here on Gossip, even had an affair with the top manager of Megafon, who also writes and publishes prose works.

And Vladimir Kornev and his friend Vladimir Shevelkov are now busy adapting Kornev’s first novel, “What the French Are Silent About.”

It only remains to add that portraits of Ulyana still decorate Vladimir’s house.

Born on October 23, 1973 in Kerch (Ukraine). The impressionable girl’s interest in ballet flared up unexpectedly. I was drawn to photographs in which the legendary masters G. Ulanova and M. Plisetskaya froze in dance. The sculptural poses were mesmerizing. In some there was a sense of stopped movement. I wanted to discover the secrets of dance that transformed the heroines into extraordinary beings.

Books helped me learn more about magical art. Ulyana read with enthusiasm about the choreographers Didelot and Glushkovsky. I decided it was worth taking a risk and trying to get into a choreographic school.

And here is a girl in Leningrad. The exam ended successfully for her, although the applicant did not arouse much interest from the commission. The verdict was short: very average data. The feeling of fear that they would not be allowed into the magical world of dance persisted for many years. This made me withdraw, withdraw into myself, and live my own life.

Ulyana was lucky with her teachers - they were all bright, talented individuals. For the last two years she studied with N. M. Dudinskaya. Complete mutual understanding was not always achieved. The student was quite restive and often disagreed with general standards. I lived in a boarding school and had difficulty getting used to the fact that there were no loved ones nearby. How lacking was their experience and advice!

Ulyana loved to draw. Ballet requires a sniper's eye, and this hobby clearly helped. She continued to draw later, when the school course ended.

In 1990, as a pre-graduation student, Lopatkina took part in the A. Ya. Vaganova competition (Vaganova-Prix). She performed the variation of the Queen of the Waters from the ballet “The Little Humpbacked Horse,” the variation “La Sylphide” and the pas de deux from the second act of the ballet “Giselle” (with Alexander Mishchenko). Lopatkina received first prize. Her school repertoire also included Ophelia’s monologue from the ballet “Hamlet” by K. Sergeev. It was obvious that an extraordinary talent was being born. At the graduation performance in 1991, Ulyana was entrusted with the role of “Shadows” from “La Bayadère”. This is aerobatics, a very difficult game. The slender, fragile pupil attracted everyone with the meaningfulness of the dance and the hiddenness that seemed to be in her performance.

In the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, where Lopatkina was accepted after graduating from college, she was immediately assigned solo roles: Street Dancer in Don Quixote, Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Myrta in Giselle. Her tall stature gave either piquancy or majestic significance to the heroines. And next to it are the central ballerina parts.

Lopatkina started with Giselle. The work was fascinating; There were difficulties, but they did not deter me. The ballerina prepared her first role thoroughly, carefully working out the details with O. N. Moiseeva. In 1994, Lopatkina made her debut in the role of Odette - Odile in the ballet Swan Lake. A. Liepa helped her a lot in working on the play. And not only in complex duets, where his partner’s experience turned out to be invaluable. What was important was his sense of the peculiarities of plasticity. This helped me find my solution, especially expressive nuances.

Lopatkina's debut in this performance became a notable event. The maturity of thought and technical development were surprising. She was especially successful with the sad Odette - withdrawn, immersed in sad thoughts. She did not at all strive to leave her enchanted world. As if she was afraid to enter real life again, so dangerous and deceptive.

In 1994, Lopatkina received the “Soul of Dance” prize from the “Ballet” magazine in the “Rising Star” category. She was promised success in the romantic repertoire. In academics too. Indeed, each new role of Lopatkina attracted the attention of both viewers and critics. They wrote a lot about her and enthusiastically. In such roles as Nikiya (La Bayadère), Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Medora (Corsair), loyalty to tradition and at the same time the desire to find new intonations in the familiar were noted.

Modern choreography attracted Ulyana and made riddles. How to soften the inherent harsh angularity of a dancer, how to approach the rounded fluidity of plasticity, which is so necessary for oriental heroines - Zarema (“The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”), Zobeida (“Scheherazade”)?

The meeting with the choreography of Yu. N. Grigorovich in “The Legend of Love”, where Ulyana performed the role of Queen Mekhmene Banu, required completely different colors - the ability to restrain passion. The scale of hidden feelings, driven inside and only occasionally spilling out, gave the intense drama a special poignancy. This role has become one of my favorites. Although Lopatkina has no least favorite roles. The dance revealed itself to the young ballerina in the richness of its contrasting possibilities and play of shades. The meeting with the choreography of J. Balanchine brought a lot of new things. In his “Symphony in C Major,” “Diamonds,” and “Serenade,” it was interesting to unravel how the brilliant choreographer hears music and transforms it into dance. And every time he does it in a highly inventive way. Ulyana eagerly mastered this new plasticity for her, admiring the variety of rhythmic colors and deep musicality, and this required special sensitivity of the performer.

Internal concentration and self-absorption are especially attractive in the dance of a ballerina. She seems to slightly distance herself from the viewer, not letting him into her inner world, and this makes her even more mysterious and deeper. Lopatkina’s images of mysterious, infernal heroines are extremely successful. Such success was, for example, the role of Death in R. Petit’s one-act ballet “Young Man and Death”, the heroine of M. Ravel’s “Waltz” staged by J. Balanchine. Mystical intonations, the magnetism of one’s own or someone else’s will concentrate the attention of the audience, subordinating them to the logic of mysterious transformations. The real becomes symbolic without losing its effective force.

In addition to the ballerinas mentioned above, the ballerina’s repertoire includes main and solo roles in the ballets “Raymonda” (M. Petipa), “Paquita” (M. Petipa), “The Fairy’s Kiss” (A. Ratmansky), “Poem of Ecstasy” (A. Ratmansky) , “In the Night” (J. Robbins), “Sounds of Empty Pages” (J. Neumayer), etc., miniature “The Dying Swan”. Among her partners are Igor Zelensky, Farukh Ruzimatov, Andrey Uvarov, Alexander Kurkov, Andrian Fadeev, Danila Korsuntsev.

Lopatkina is passionate about her profession and loves to work hard. Unfortunately, in the profession of a dancer, injury is almost inevitable. A serious injury knocked the ballerina out of her usual activities for a long time. Now, fortunately, the hardest part is over. Lessons, rehearsals, and performances have resumed.

Ulyana Lopatkina takes an active part in touring projects of the Mariinsky Theater in Russia, Europe, the USA, and Japan. She participated in exchange tours of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters, performed with the Bavarian State Ballet (Munich), danced at the Lincoln Center in New York, at the London Coliseum, Covent Garden, Sadler's Wells and Albert Hall theaters, Royal Theater in Copenhagen, as well as in Salzburg, Graz, Milan, Thessaloniki, Amsterdam, Baden-Baden.

In 2000, Ulyana Lopatkina was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia, and in 2006 - People's Artist of Russia. She is a laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1999), the National Theater Award "Golden Mask" (1997), the Highest Theater Award of St. Petersburg "Golden Sofit" (1995), the prize "Benois de la Danse" (1997), the Prize "Triumph" (2004), International Prize “Divine” (1997).

A great dancer of our time, who has become the personified symbol of the concept of “Russian ballet”.
"Kommersant"

Prima of the Mariinsky Theater, People's Artist of Russia, laureate of prestigious awards. Ulyana Lopatkina's dance is distinguished by the highest precision of movements, impeccable poses, amazing dignity and musicality. She attracts with her inner concentration and immersion in her world. Always, as if slightly moving away from the viewer, she seems even more mysterious, even deeper.

Ulyana Vyacheslavovna Lopatkina was born on October 23, 1973 in Kerch (Ukraine). Ulyana became interested in the art of ballet as a child, when she first saw photographs of great ballerinas and read biographies of choreographers. From an early age, Ulyana began studying in dance clubs, and then was accepted into the Academy of Russian Ballet. A. Ya. Vaganova in Leningrad, where she studied the art of dance in junior classes with Galina Petrovna Novitskaya, in senior classes with Professor Natalia Mikhailovna Dudinskaya.

At the entrance exams to the academy, the commission recognized the future ballerina’s data as very average, but while still a student, Ulyana became a laureate of the International Vaganova-Prix Award (St. Petersburg, 1991), performing the variation of the Queen of the Waters from the ballet “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, a variation of the La Sylphide and pas de deux from the second act of “Giselle”.

After graduating from the Academy in 1991, Ulyana Lopatkina was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, where the young ballerina was immediately entrusted with performing solo roles in “Don Quixote” (Street Dancer), “Giselle” (Myrtha), and “Sleeping Beauty” (Lilac Fairy). In 1994, she successfully debuted as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, receiving the prestigious Golden Sofit award for the best debut on the St. Petersburg stage for this role. Ulyana Lopatkina worked on the part with Andris Liepa, and he largely helped her find her solution to the role. Lopatkina in “Swan Lake” surprised me with her emotional maturity and refined technique. The image of the sad, withdrawn, but at the same time stately and graceful Odette was especially successful.

In 1995, Ulyana became a prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater. At the Mariinsky Theater, Lopatkina’s teachers were Olga Nikolaevna Moiseeva and Ninel Aleksandrovna Kurgapkina. The ballerina is currently working with Irina Alexandrovna Chistyakova. Ulyana Lopatkina’s repertoire includes leading roles in such performances as “Giselle” (Giselle, Myrta), “Corsair” (Medora), “La Bayadère” (Nikia), Grand Pas from the ballet “Paquita”, “Sleeping Beauty” (Lilac Fairy ), “Raymonda” (Raymonda, Clemence) by Marius Petipa, “Swan” and “Scheherazade” (Zobeide) by Mikhail Fokin, “The Bakhchisarai Fountain” (Zarema) by Rostislav Zakharov, “The Legend of Love” (Mekhmene Banu) by Yuri Grigorovich, “Leningradskaya” Symphony” (Girl) by Igor Belsky, Pas de quatre (Maria Taglioni), “In the Night” by Jerome Robbins, “The Nutcracker” (episode “Teacher and Pupil”) and “Pavlova and Cecchetti” by John Neumeier, “Young Man and Death” by Roland Petit , “Goya Divertimento” by José Antonio, “The Fairy’s Kiss” (Fairy), “Poem of Ecstasy” and “Anna Karenina” (Anna Karenina) by Alexei Ratmansky, “Where the Golden Cherries Hang” by William Forsythe, ballets by George Balanchine “Serenade” , “Piano Concerto No. 2” (Imperial Ballet), “Symphony in C Major” (“Ball at the Crystal Palace”, 2nd part), “Waltz”, “Jewels” (“Diamonds”), etc.

Lopatkina’s partners over the years were Igor Zelensky, Farukh Ruzimatov, Andrey Uvarov, Alexander Kurkov, Andrian Fadeev, Danila Korsuntsev and others.

During her career, Ulyana danced on the most famous stages in the world. Among them: the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, the Royal Opera House in London, the Grand Opera in Paris, La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the National Opera and Ballet Theater in Helsinki, and the NHK Hall in Tokyo.

Ulyana Lopatkina's work has received many awards. In 1994 – the “Soul of Dance” prize from the magazine “Ballet”, in 1997 – the “Golden Mask” and the prize “Benois de la dance” (“Benois de la Danse”), in 1998 – the London critics’ award “Evening Standard”, in 1999 – State Prize of Russia. Among Ulyana’s achievements one can also note the titles of Honored Artist of Russia (2000), People’s Artist of Russia (2006). In 2010, Ulyana Lopatkina performed at the closing of the Olympic Games in Vancouver (Canada). In the same year, at the personal invitation of the Grand Opera (Paris), Ulyana successfully danced in “Swan Lake” together with M. Legris. In 2011, the ballerina took part in a gala concert dedicated to the memory of G. Ulanova (London).

Ulyana Lopatkina's career was not cloudless. Ulyana missed the 2001–2002 seasons due to a leg injury, and serious doubts arose about her return to the stage. But in 2003, after the operation, Lopatkina returned to the troupe.

Ulyana considers the birth of her daughter Masha in 2002 to be one of the most important events in her life. The ballerina's hobbies include drawing, literature, classical music, interior design, and cinema.

One day Elena Georgievna Lopatkina I returned from work earlier than usual and saw an interesting picture: my daughter Ulyana waltzed to the music Bach in my mother's pink peignoir. Taken by surprise, the girl was afraid that she would be reprimanded for taking things without asking, but Elena Georgievna did not scold the child. She made a fateful decision - her daughter’s talent must be developed. At the age of 10, the young dancer moved from her native Kerch to St. Petersburg, where she entered the Academy of Russian Ballet. A. Ya. Vaganova. And although today the name of Ulyana Lopatkina is known all over the world, we don’t know much about her. For the artist’s birthday, AiF.ru collected interesting facts from the biography of the prima of the Mariinsky Theater.

No. 1. Mature beyond her years

The ballerina was independent from an early age; at 2.5 years old, her parents calmly left her alone at home. And from the age of 10, Ulyana lived in St. Petersburg and was raised in a boarding school at the Academy. Vaganova. Alas, the parents did not have the opportunity to move to the northern capital with their daughter.

No. 2. The struggle for beauty

In the class where the ballerina studied, all the mirrors were divided into two categories: some made her look slimmer, others visually added extra pounds. Naturally, standing near the latter was a real grief for any girl, so the students, and among them Ulyana, tried to come to class early in order to take the most advantageous places.

No. 3. Little joys

Despite the discipline and strict diets, the ballerinas also had their little joys. Sometimes the girls prepared an unusual delicacy: they spread a sliced ​​loaf of bread with butter, and then pressed it with an iron on both sides. With an impromptu toast, they pleased not only themselves, but also the high school students, because it was impossible to eat a lot of bread.

Ulyana Lopatkina, 1999. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

No. 4. Contrary to standards

At school, Ulyana was far from the tallest among her peers. She stretched out greatly only in the last three years of study. Today, according to media reports, her height is 175 centimeters. Once upon a time, such parameters were considered absolutely not ballet. But times Ulanova with its 1.65 cm or Pavlova, which was only a centimeter shorter than Galina Sergeevna, are long gone. Lopatkina was never hampered by her own growth. Moreover, over time it became her calling card.

No. 5. Corps de ballet

Ulyana did not enter the school with the highest grades and throughout her studies she was more of a good student than an excellent student, and yet after graduating from the academy in 1991, she was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. She started with the corps de ballet. Participation in crowd scenes gave Lopatkina invaluable experience, which helped the ballerina when she began dancing leading roles.

No. 6. Faith

Ulyana grew up in an atheistic family, but at the age of sixteen she and her friend decided to be baptized. From that moment, according to the ballerina herself, a “new starting point” began in her life.

No. 7. Debut

Lopatkina performed her first solo part in 1992, when the main part of the troupe went on tour. It was Giselle. Helped Ulyana get a difficult role Olga Nikolaeva Moiseeva, who believed in the student. The teacher’s professional instincts did not deceive her; the ballerina coped with the task.

No. 8. The first “swan”

The ballerina showed her first “swan” to the public in 1994. She took the stage on the last day of the season. In addition to the audience, teachers and colleagues came to watch Lopatkina’s performance. The excitement was off the charts. While performing one of the elements, the artist’s legs even gave way a little, but she remembered the advice of the professionals: “if it’s very scary, immerse yourself in the movements themselves, in the work of the body and the music.” Ulyana did just that. As a result, the artist’s debut in this role was celebrated with the prestigious Golden Soffit award.

No. 9. Legend of love

Despite the fact that “Swan Lake” performed by the ballerina is called the standard, the dancer’s favorite part is not at all Odette-Odile, A Mehmene Banu from "Legend of Love".

No. 10. Marriage

The legendary dancer tied the knot only once. Her husband was an artist and writer Vladimir Kornev. The wedding and wedding of the newlyweds took place in a narrow family circle. In 2002, the couple had a daughter. Masha. The question - family or career - did not confront Lopatkina. She dreamed of a child and wanted to become a mother, although she understood that her schedule and tours would not allow her to give her daughter the attention she deserved.

Despite the fact that for many years the ballerina carefully protected her personal life from prying eyes, in 2010 it became known that the Lopatkin-Kornev union had broken up. Naturally, the couple did not give any comments regarding the divorce.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

No. 11. Old injuries

After giving birth, the ballerina's career was in jeopardy. During pregnancy, a long-standing foot injury became even worse. When Lopatkina returned to the barre, she realized that she could not dance. After two hours of practice, the leg became so swollen that the dancer could hardly walk. Conservative treatment did not produce results and it seemed that the scene would have to be forgotten, but the situation was saved Mikhail Baryshnikov.

They did not know each other personally, but when a colleague of the ballerina asked the legendary dancer for help, he gave his phone number without further ado. It was Baryshnikov who advised Lopatkina to a surgeon who had worked with the troupe for many years Balanchine and specialized in such injuries. The complex operation was performed in New York. When Ulyana opened her eyes, the first person she saw was Baryshnikov. He sat by the ballerina's bed and read a newspaper. This was their first personal meeting.

Ulyana Lopatkina performs "The Dying Swan". Photo: RIA Novosti / Ekaterina Chesnokova

No. 12. Rest for the soul

The ballerina's second hobby after the stage is drawing. In her free time, she attends classes in an art studio, but at the same time she paints solely for the soul and has no plans to exhibit her work.

No. 13. Not only classics

Despite the fact that Lopatkina is considered a classical ballerina, her repertoire includes many works with modern choreographers. The number “Saturday Night Fever” to the music of the Bee Gees was very atypical for the artist.

This is not just a dance, but an improvisation by a choreographer Roland Petit, Ulyana herself and her partner, which they fortunately filmed during rehearsal and were able to reproduce and bring to life from the recordings. The act turned out to be easy, although for Lopatkina this kind of experiment is always a challenge to herself: will it work or not? This is the profession - eternal doubts and the struggle with one’s own fears. But the ballerina is not one of those who give up without a fight.