Classic queen care. "paquita" on the world stage from mazillier to lacotta Performance of paquita

The solemn procession of ballet troupes continues, dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of our ballet “everything” Marius Petipa. Paquita at the Ural Opera Ballet (Ekaterinburg) joined the festive ranks of demonstrators led by Don Quixote at the Leonid Yakobson Theater. I attended the premiere on February 22 and 23 bloha_v_svitere. This “Paquita” is destined to become a hit and the most striking phenomenon of the current ballet season, although its appearance was preceded by the tragic and sudden death of director Sergei Vikharev at the beginning of the rehearsal process. The premiere shows received memorial status, Yekaterinburg - the most unusual, fascinating and absolutely unpredictable "Paquita", choreographer Vyacheslav Samodurov - an unplanned ballet that he had to complete and release into free swimming. The brilliant stylist and reenactor of classical choreography Sergei Vikharev, in collaboration with Pavel Gershenzon, composed a completely provocative performance, without changing a single plot move of the libretto by Paul Fouché and Joseph Mazilier from 1846 and carefully putting all the more or less preserved choreography of Petipa into the travel bag. In the Yekaterinburg “Paquita” there is not a single formal change in the script and choreography that is familiar at the level of instincts. Still the French aristocrat, kidnapped in childhood, considers herself a Spanish gypsy, rejects the claims of the head of the camp, Inigo, falls in love with a brilliant officer and saves his life, destroying a complex conspiracy with poisoned wine, four murderers and a secret passage in the fireplace; identifies the murdered parents from family portraits and marries the handsome rescued boy. The soloists of Pas de trois are still chanting the tired ballet chorus-chorus “glissade – jeté, glidesade – jeté”, they are still prancing in the wedding Grand pas of the “fours” and “twos” in the textbook “Spanish” chant “pa galya – pa galya – cabriole – pose.” But this is perceived as archaeological artifacts found during the construction of, say, a bridge, and built into it as evidence of the existence of civilization in that particular place.

Yes, the Yekaterinburg “Paquita” is a bridge that boldly connected the incompatible: the island of a ballet legend of the 19th century with the materialistic reality of the 21st century, relying on the choreographic rationalism of the 20th century. Its main designers, Vikharev and Gershenzon, confidently drove the piles of fantasy into the shaky ground of non-obvious ballet documentary, established the supports of iron logic, despite the powerful countercurrent of historical anecdotes and incidents, and streamlined the movement in both directions - from historicism to modernity and back. Paquita of the 19th century, having boarded a gypsy caravan, arrived in the third millennium at the wheel of her own racing car, not at all surprised by the transformations that had taken place.

The authors of the play placed the three acts of “Paquita” in three different eras with an approximate increment of 80 years. The first act, with a leisurely exposition, with the introduction of the main characters, with the beginning of the conflict (neither the Spanish governor nor the director of the gypsy camp likes officer Lucien, who decide to kill him for this), lulls the audience with a high-quality reconstruction of one of the iconic performances of the heyday of ballet romanticism . It has everything that you expect from “Paquita” and Mr. Vikharev, a brilliant connoisseur of archival choreography: naive stage positions, inventive and bewitching dances, detailed pantomime dialogues, ideal characters, lovely costumes from Elena Zaitseva, in which the dancers bathe in the lush foam of frills and little frills.

A shocking awakening awaits the touched and vigilant spectator in the second act. It seems that the authors of the play were just waiting for the moment to rip off all this false romantic veil, shamefully pulled over another physical entity. The most melodramatic almost half-hour pantomime scene, extremely beloved by balletomanes for its virtuoso acting, even in the case of the most meticulous stylization of the techniques of ballet theater of the mid-19th century, would have looked ridiculous, at best archaic. The director, like Bulgakov's Woland, conducts a session of magic followed by its revelation, transferring the vulgar (in general) scene into an ideal aesthetic environment: into the silent cinema of the early twentieth century. The puzzle pieces matched perfectly! The long-eyed handsome Lucien and the femme fatale Paquita, goggle-eyed with long eyelashes, actively give lines that are projected on the screen; sinister thugs with terrifying grimaces are waving sharp knives; the ideal scoundrel (Gleb Sageev and Maxim Klekovkin), laughing demonically, carries out his vile deed and himself falls victim to his own cunning, picturesquely writhing in his death agony. The action is rapidly rushing towards the denouement, the brilliant demiurge-tape artist German Markhasin (and, as you know, the young Dmitry Shostakovich worked part-time as a stage performer in cinemas) mercilessly destroys romantic illusions, which in the third act, drunk with coffee from the coffee machine, are resurrected to sum up and glorify those eternal values ​​contained in Petipa's Grand pas.

But before the Grand pas you still have to get through the dense layer of people relaxing during the intermission of the performance in the theater artists' buffet. In the new reality, Lucien and Paquita become the premieres of the ballet troupe, Lucien’s dad becomes the director of the theater, and the Spanish governor, who plotted the murder of the main character, becomes the general sponsor of the troupe. Vyacheslav Samodurov, the Nostradamus of our time, already two days before the final predicted the victory of Russian hockey players at the Olympics, placing a television broadcasting the match on the stage of the theater he directed. Dramatic reality, sports and theatrical, are woven together: against the backdrop of sweet hockey victories, the rootless orphan Paquita acquires a surname, the exposure of theatrical corrupt officials and the combination of arrests and celebrations, crowned with a wedding Grand pas.

The Grand pas is danced almost perfectly: a well-trained troupe cuts through the space of the stage quite synchronously, glamorous with cabrioles and seductive with cancan ambuate. In the Grand pas, the dancers’ heads are decorated not with “Spanish” combs protruding victoriously from their kitties, but with charming French hats from the “Moulin Rouge”, and on their feet are black tights and black pointe shoes, which, coupled with charming smiles, give Petipa’s bronzed, academic choreography a purely Parisian look flair, playfulness and frivolity, completely erased in the past century. Miki Nishiguchi and Ekaterina Sapogova perform the main part with a sweet French swagger and careless indifference; they do not look for industrial records in the choreography and do not “fry” fouettés with an air of ultimate truth, but all their dance statements are impeccably precise and brilliantly articulated. Alexey Seliverstov and Alexander Merkushev, who took turns performing the role of Lucien, appreciated the plastic variability proposed by the directors - the ideal gentleman-darling in the first act, the reflective neurotic hero in the second and the impeccable aristocrat-premier in the third.

But “Paquita” became what it was thanks to composer Yuri Krasavin, the author of the “free transcription” of the score by Eduard Deldevez and Ludwig Minkus. He created a musical breakthrough, reincarnating simple tunes and little songs into the powerful polyphonic sound of an incredibly integral and fascinating work. These transformations and the musical charades conceived by Mr. Krasavin plunge one into frantic delight. The introduction of an accordion, a xylophone and the increased role of percussion, sometimes carefully and delicately, sometimes chopping from the shoulder and preparing the “applause” step, added to the score of “Paquita” by Krasavin even greater plasticity and “Frenchness”. However, the blows of the whip in the most energetically intense moments do not allow one to be lulled by the charm of a deceptively ancient ballet.

“Paquita” was composed by choreographer Joseph Mazilier. From the literary source (“Gypsy Girl” by Cervantes) in the libretto, only the motif of a noble maiden stolen by gypsies when she was a baby remained. Everything else, having disappeared from the sixteenth century, was resurrected in the nineteenth and was reduced to love adventures against the backdrop of the war between the French and the Spaniards in Napoleonic times.

A year after the premiere, the ballet ended up in Russia, where it was staged by a recently arrived young Frenchman - the future master of the imperial ballet, Marius Ivanovich Petipa. Many decades later, the master returned to “Paquita”, rearranging it again, composing a children’s mazurka and “Grand Pas” to the music of Minkus - the apotheosis of female dance, a brilliant hierarchical ensemble-divertissement with the participation of the prima, the premiere, the first and second soloists. In this changing parade, inserted variations from other performances easily found a place: Petipa willingly met the wishes of the ballerinas.

After 1917, the Bolsheviks banned “Paquita” from being shown as a relic of the damned tsarism. But “Grand Pas,” as a separate concert show, survived and took on a life of its own, including on the stage of St. Petersburg theaters. Nowadays, the idea of ​​restoring “Paquita” in its entirety has arisen. However, the choreography of the ballet has not been preserved, and the existing recordings of the pre-revolutionary performance are incomplete.

Paquita enthusiasts work with heritage in different ways. Alexey Ratmansky, for example, focused on following archival documents and stylizing the old St. Petersburg style of performance. Pierre Lacotte was looking for ways to show what Mazilier's performance might look like.

No one, of course, could pass by the splendor of the Grand Pas. The director of “Paquita” at the Mariinsky Theater, Yuri Smekalov, also failed, although he approached the ballet radically. Smekalov abandoned the previous libretto. He composed his own, which is really close to Cervantes’ novella. The main character became the Spanish nobleman Andres, who, out of love for the beautiful gypsy Paquita, wanders with her camp. A gypsy girl, stolen in childhood, thanks to the preserved family heirlooms, suddenly becomes a noblewoman, and her found parents not only save Andres from false accusations of theft, but also bless the young couple’s wedding. (Actually speaking, “Grand Pas” in the context of the play is a wedding ceremony).

For some reason, the action in the new libretto takes place, as in the old “Paquita,” not in the time of Cervantes, but in the early nineteenth century, in the time of Goya (the premiere of “Paquita” at the Mariinsky Theater took place on his birthday). The colors of the costumes and details of the scenery (artist Andrei Sevbo) hint at the artist’s paintings.

The main criterion for the production - with reformatted music and inserts of several 19th-century ballet composers - was entertainment. A new, large and colorful costume ballet with classical dance has appeared in the theater; the public especially loves it. On the stage are gypsies with earrings in their ears, gypsies in multi-layered colorful dresses, fruit sellers, a corps de ballet playing with bright cloaks, officers in red uniforms and dancing with sabers at their sides. Huge portraits of noble ancestors on the walls of the house, girls stamping on their heels with roses in their hair, a plump jumping priest. The sun-warmed red walls of houses in bright greenery, “stray” trees, a comic “horse” made up of two dancers - in general, the people are happy. And entertainment in classical ballet is a completely normal desire. In the end, the imperial ballet theater of Petipa’s time was also concerned with the magnificent picture. The proposed link between the old and the new, as a principle, is also not confusing. The co-authors of the ballet call this “a look at “Paquita” from the twenty-first century.” And should we, brought up on Soviet editions of ancient ballets, be afraid of eclecticism? Another thing is how this eclecticism is composed.

Two-thirds of the choreographic performance was composed from scratch. Although Smekalov’s co-author, Yuri Burlaka, a specialist in ballet reconstructions, tried, if possible, to restore the women’s dance in the “Grand Pas” in its original form. Much has been changed compared to the Soviet edition. But Burlaka, a sober-minded and prudent historian-practitioner, did not try to instill in modern artistes all the nuances of the performing style of the 19th century, although such attempts are visible in the positioning of the soloists’ hands. He did not protest against the high lifts in the duet, which did not exist at the time of the creation of the “Grand Pas”. And he added a male variation, composed in the last century. What can you do if the image of the main character is now unthinkable without a solo dance?

Smekalov’s performance, seemingly tailored according to proven canons, is always missing something. Directing - consistency: many ends of the plot are simply torn off. The choreography is diverse: its simplicity is clearly different from the elegant combinations of Petipa, who could build an entire plastic world on the “leitmotif” of one step. Smekalov’s gypsies and nobles dance almost the same way. Some solutions are unclear. Why, for example, was it necessary to give male soloists the traditionally female dance with cloaks, described in ballet literature (as a historical fact!), where “the gentlemen were performed by travesty dancers”? The street crowd is too lethargic, lacking the passionate Southern vitality. The pantomime is not very intelligible and, in addition, fussy. Apart from the detailed scene of the accusation of theft, the rest of the story, even the recognition of parents and the wedding (for some reason, not in a church, but in prison) seems to happen in a few seconds. However, by combining dancing in heels with dancing on pointe shoes, and the ideas of Spanish folk dance with the basic poses and steps of the classics, Smekalov, as best he could, conveyed greetings to the rich traditions of Russian ballet Spain, starting, of course, with Don Quixote.

Photo: Natasha Razina/Mariinsky Theater

Of course, the Mariinsky Theater troupe largely makes up for the shortcomings of the production. The winning manner of Victoria Tereshkina (Paquita), with her clear fixation of poses and “sharp” foot, looked especially good in the finale, with a whirlwind performance of fouettes, alternating simple and double. Ekaterina Kandaurova’s paquita was gentle, slightly “blurred” in the lines, the fouetté was performed worse, but it created more feminine coziness on stage. Timur Askerov (Andreas), smiling dazzlingly, took off spectacularly in jumps and pirouettes, periodically suddenly collapsing, probably from fatigue. Andrei Ermakov jumped even easier in the second cast, but he was not quite ready to play the Spaniard in love. And what the Mariinsky Theater is famous for is its middle level of ballet - soloists in variations, who quite diligently (although not without reservations for some ladies) worked out the “Grand Pas”. Petipa's masterpiece, which closes the performance, rightfully takes the place of the semantic center of the ballet. Everything else is essentially just a long preface.

Without a doubt, “Paquita” would pass the test of our time, so prone to all kinds of melodrama. The heroine, a young lady of aristocratic origin, kidnapped as a child by robbers, wanders with a gypsy camp through Spanish cities and villages, experiences various adventures and, in the end, finds parents and a noble groom. But Time as such made its selection, leaving out the plot and its pantomime development and sparing only the dance.

This was the first production of the young Marius Petipa on the Russian stage (1847, St. Petersburg), which followed a year after the premiere at the Paris Opera, where “Paquita” saw the light of the stage through the efforts of composer E.M. Deldevez and choreographer J. Mazilier. Soon - again a year later - the ballet was reproduced on the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater.

In 1881, at the Mariinsky Theater, “Paquita” was given as a benefit performance for one of Petipa’s most beloved ballerinas, Ekaterina Vazem. The maestro not only significantly reworked the ballet, but also added a final Grand Pas (and a children's mazurka) to music by Minkus. This Grand Classical Pas, dedicated to the wedding of the main characters - together with the pas de trois from the first act and the already mentioned mazurka - survived in the 20th century from the entire large, full-length performance. Of course, this is no coincidence, since it certainly belongs to the peak achievements of Marius Petipa. The Grand Pas is an example of an extensive classical dance ensemble, wonderfully constructed, giving the opportunity to show off their virtuosity - and passionately compete - with almost all the leading soloists, among whom the one who performs the part of Paquita herself, is supposed to demonstrate a completely unattainable level of skill and ballerina charisma. This choreographic picture is often called a ceremonial portrait of a troupe, which really must have a whole scattering of sparkling talents in order to qualify for its performance.

Yuri Burlaka became acquainted with “Paquita” in his early youth - the pas de trois from “Paquita” became his debut at the Russian Ballet Theater, where he came immediately after graduating from choreographic school. Later, when he was already actively engaged in research in the field of ancient choreography and ballet music, he took part in the publication of the clavier of the surviving musical numbers of the ballet “Paquita” and the recording of Petipa’s choreographic text. So the Bolshoi receives Petipa's masterpiece from the hands of his great connoisseur. And it is not surprising that the future artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet decided to begin a new stage of his career with this production.

The large classical pas from the ballet “Paquita” at the Bolshoi regained the Spanish flavor lost in the 20th century, but did not lose the male variation acquired thanks to the choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky (the 20th century no longer perceived the dancer as a simple support for the ballerina). The director's goal was to recreate the imperial image of the Grand Pas, to restore, if possible, Petipa's original composition and to make the most of the variations ever performed in this ballet. Of the eleven “active” female variations, seven are performed in one evening. The performers of the part of Paquita were offered variations to choose from, so that each dances the one she liked best (it goes without saying, in addition to the big adagio with a gentleman, which is already included in the “obligatory program” of the role). The variations were distributed among the other soloists by the director himself. Thus, each time the Grand Pas from Paquita has a special set of variations, that is, different performances differ from each other. Which adds additional intrigue to this performance in the eyes of a true balletomane.

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St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater (historical stage).
29.03.2018
"Paquita". Ballet to music by Deldeviz, Minkus, Drigo
The fourth performance of the Petipa subscription.

After a long winter and a tragic week, this “Paquita” poured into the souls of the audience like a life-giving balm.
Enchanting, blindingly bright stage design. Various colors of costumes. Maybe somewhere in the warm southern climate this would be an eyesore, but in the gray climate of St. Petersburg, with our hopeless expectation of summer, these lilac clouds of blooming jacaranda against the backdrop of turquoise fields and blue sky are the best cure for the blues. And not at all motley, but on the contrary very, very joyful. And how well the open arches of the palace in the Moorish style fit into the Grand pas scene - it seemed that through them the hot air of Spain was blazing at us. And the garlands of flowers falling in the finale completely finished off and caused almost childish delight. How we adore these pseudo-gypsy and pseudo-Spanish passions!
Maybe, in comparison with the Grand pas presented last year at the graduation ceremony of the Academy of Russian Ballet, it was a little “too much”. But these Grand pas are of a completely different kind - for the Academy it is, rather, a ball in one of the St. Petersburg ceremonial palaces, and in the theater version it is a real Spanish celebration.
Ballet program:

Special thanks to Yuri Smekalov for his bold idea of ​​recreating the complete ballet “Paquita”. And even with such a heart-warming story from Cervantes’s “The Gypsy.” Confused ballet critics had different complaints about the first and second acts in Smekalov’s choreography. I am an amateur and everything was on my mind. And dancing, and pantomime, and gestures. Now the Grand pas itself has received a conscious meaning arising from the plot of the ballet. And now this is not just a beautiful classical act, but a wedding celebration - the finale of an adventure novel - a novel with the theft of babies, life in a gypsy camp, the misadventures of the heroes in a dungeon and the successful acquisition of their daughter by noble parents. Among the dances, I was fascinated by the rapid dance of the gypsies with red cloaks flying in a whirlpool like tongues of flame. Everyone was amused by the scene with a canvas horse made up of two guys. This young filly rushed around the stage at a mad gallop until Andres saddled her, but then she broke up into its component parts :).
The finale of the ballet - Grand pas staged by Yuri Burlaka - is a triumph of Petipa's classical choreography. Sea-sea of ​​dancing! Exquisite variations of the main characters and bridesmaids, officers. And what a wonderful mazurka performed by the charming children from Vaganovsky!
About the performers:
U Oksana Skorik(Paquita) had a debut. And I, as a spectator, also had my first meeting with the ballerina. Skorik is very technical, professional, and confident. Tall, with beautiful lines, wide strides - feet to ears, with swan-like graceful hands. And the diagonal on pointe shoes, on one leg, received a well-deserved ovation - it was done “reinforced concrete” :). But in the image of Paquita-Skorik there was a certain coldness and detachment. For myself, I attributed this to the noble origins of the gypsy. After all, the natural gypsy Christina was lighting up nearby - Nadezhda Batoeva. Oh, how she caught the eye and attention! Coquetry, enthusiasm, sparkling eyes! She danced brilliantly and in shoes with a young gypsy (Nail Enikeev) and on pointe in trio and Grand pas variations. The success of the dance with red cloaks in the camp is the undoubted merit of the soloists of the captivating Batoeva and the irresistible Enikeev.
Andres ( Xander Parish) appeared, rather, as a gypsy baron prince. The proud carriage of the head, the refined manners, the officer's posture even in a simple suit - I admired the whole performance. But his opponent Clemente ( David Zaleev) did not get lost against the background of the handsome macho man. True, David’s frock coat was picked up as if from someone else’s shoulder, but even in this outfit he danced wonderfully.
The Grand pas featured wonderful variations of Paquita's four girlfriends. Everyone danced amazingly, but for myself I especially noted the cutest Maria Shirinkina(debut) and marvelous Shamal Guseinov.

Conductor Valery Ovsyannikov anticipated every movement on stage, literally breathing along with the dancers. And during bows I even tried to perform a certain “step” :).
Bravi, bravi, bravi to everyone for the amazing ballet!

Photos from the bow:

Characters: Paquita, Lucien de Ervilly, Inigo - the head of the gypsy camp, Don Lopez de Mendoza - the governor of a province in Spain, Count de Ervilly - a French general, Lucien's father, a gypsy child.

ACT I

PICTURE ONE

Blooming spring has arrived in the mountains of Zaragoza. The rising sun breaks through the fog and illuminates the valley; in the distance rises the castle of the French general Comte de Ervilly.

Not far from the castle there is a gypsy tent. Gypsies descend along a narrow path. Following them appears the leader of the gypsy camp, Inigo, with his young servant. Among them, he does not see the best dancer of the camp, Paquita, with whom he is madly in love, and leaves, continuing his search. The girl goes down the path and approaches the gypsies. Inigo returns, he is outraged by Paquita’s absence, but the girl does not react to the gypsy’s reproaches, she is completely immersed in her memories. Inigo asks everyone to leave, inviting only Paquita to stay. The gypsies are leaving. Inigo tries to tell the beautiful Paquita how much he loves her, but the girl rejects his advances, making it clear that she has no feelings for him.

After some time, all the gypsies return. The governor of the province of Saragossa comes with them with his friend - the French general Comte de Ervilly and his son Lucien. The governor asks the gypsies to dance in honor of the noble guests from France.

The gypsy baron calls his best dancer Paquita and orders her to perform a dance. The girl doesn't want to dance. Inigo is angry with the gypsy and swings at her in anger, but Lucien stops the head of the camp. Inigo retreats. The young count draws attention to the extraordinary beauty and nobility of her facial features. He falls in love with Paquita at first sight. In gratitude for the protection, the girl dances for Lucien and the noble guests. Everyone is having fun.

The governor thanks the gypsies for their magnificent dancing. Everyone leaves.

Paquita is left alone. The girl takes out a medallion that she has had since childhood. The portrait shows the familiar features of a man whom she cannot remember. Thoughts gradually tire Paquita, and she falls asleep.

PICTURE TWO

Paquita's dream.

The girl sees herself at a ball in the palace among the courtiers, and most importantly, the beautiful Lucien is next to her.

While sleeping, the gypsy kid steals the girl's medallion. The dream is over, Paquita is back in reality. At this moment, Lucien appears next to her and wants to confess his love to Paquita. The lovers do not notice that Inigo is watching them. When Lucien leaves, the gypsy instructs his little servant to run to the gypsy house to prepare dinner. Inigo started an insidious plan to kill his lover Lucien. Paquita secretly watches the gypsy baron and his servant. She rushes after the gypsy child to prevent the murder of her lover.

ACT II

PICTURE THREE

Gypsy house. The little servant carries out Inigo's instructions; he prepares the table for dinner.

Hearing a noise behind the door, he opens it and, seeing a terrible mask, faints, dropping the stolen medallion.

Paquita was hiding behind the mask, she picks up the medallion and hides in the house. Lucien and Inigo follow her into the house. While the young count is inspecting the home, the insidious baron secretly adds sleeping pills to the glass of wine intended for Lucien. Paquita sees everything that is happening. Inigo invites Lucien to drink wine, the girl understands that there is no time to hesitate. She attracts attention by pretending that she just entered. The Count is glad to see his beloved, but Inigo, on the contrary, is trying to send Paquita out. The girl starts dancing just to stay in the room. Paquita takes advantage of the opportunity to distract Inigo. She tells Lucien about the baron's insidious plan and switches the glasses.

Inigo returns, he raises a toast to the Count, and both drink wine. The gypsy, fully confident that his plan was a success, starts dancing with Paquita. Inigo's legs begin to tangle, his eyelids stick together, and he feels feverish. Inigo, staggering and losing strength, gets to the table and falls asleep. The lovers leave their home safely.

PICTURE FOUR

Ball at the castle of the Comte de Ervilly. In the midst of a social event, Lucien and Paquita run into the hall, they talk about the danger that they managed to avoid. The young count, in the presence of everyone, thanks Paquita for saving him. The general sees a medallion with a familiar image on the girl’s neck; having examined it closely, he sees that in front of him is an image of his dead brother. The general realizes that Paquita is her brother's missing daughter. Lucien asks for the girl's hand. Now lovers can unite their hearts. The ball continues in honor of Paquita and Lucien's engagement.