La Sylphide ballet to be staged at Astana Opera

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The Astana Opera team is preparing for a big premiere of Herman Severin Løvenskiold’s ballet La Sylphide. Traditional Scottish melodies, magical characters, engrossing plot… La Sylphide came to be seen as an absolute symbol of romantic ballet and is staged at all the major venues in the world. An interesting story of a young Scotsman and an air spirit will be presented to the audience on September 29 and 30, October 1 and 3, Kazinform learned from the press office of Astana Opera.
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Photo: astanaopera.kz

The unique choreography will be staged at the capital’s opera house by the world ballet star, artistic director of the Astana Opera Ballet Company Altynai Asylmuratova. She will present the old-style ballet in the best classical canons.

«Two centuries ago, in 1832, the trailblazing ballet La Sylphide revolutionized the art of dance. It was the ballet that started the romanticism era. After that the world recognized Giselle, Chopiniana and other romantic masterpieces. Everything in it was new, and old ideas about ballet faded into the background. For the first time, ballerinas stood on pointe shoes, tried on romantic dresses with mythical wings, airy tutus, and men dressed in Scottish kilts to convey a special atmosphere. The ballet is very beautiful, but at the same time complex. The Bournonville School differs in many ways from the classical one we are used to. Here the positions of the body frame and hands are different, and there is a lot of small technique,» the artistic director of the ballet company said.

«The performance is charming, clearly understandable for the viewers. Two worlds collide in this ballet – earthly and fantastical. That is, the main idea is that if you chase after something ephemeral, you can lose the real. La Sylphide has a long life. Over a long period of its existence, it was either running or left the stage. That said, it has survived to this day largely thanks to Bournonville’s version. However, the history of this ballet began with Filippo Taglioni, who staged La Sylphide at the Salle Le Peletier of the Paris Opéra in 1832 for his daughter, the dancer Maria Taglioni. A few years later, August Bournonville, the founder of the Royal Danish Ballet, saw the performance and was fascinated by it, but had no money for fashionable ballet and music. Consequently, he bought the libretto, and ordered the score to twenty-year-old Norwegian composer Herman Severin Løvenskiold, and in 1836 he created his own production of La Sylphide,» explained Altynai Asylmuratova, who at one time created a flawless portrayal of the Sylph, considered the benchmark for all ballerinas.

«To get into the character of the Sylph, you need to understand that you are the air. When I was preparing for the performance, I looked at many old engravings, studying all the positions of the body frame, the head, and the hands. Thus, the ballerina has to create a feeling of aeriality, of hovering above the ground all the time; therefore, the performer of the title role has a lot of jumps. The Sylph’s desire to get closer to the real world turned into a real tragedy for her. The air spirit swept away and charmed James, making him fall in love with her. His desire was to be close to his beloved, touch her hands, hold her in his arms, but the Sylph could only be admired from afar, because even a slight touch could destroy her. Unfortunately, the two worlds turned out to be incompatible…,» Altynai Asylmuratova shared.

The dancers are already actively preparing for their parts in the rehearsal studios. Madina Unerbayeva, Anastasia Zaklinskaya, Sofiya Adilkhanova and Shugyla Adepkhan are preparing their interpretations of the Sylph, Yerkin Rakhmatullayev, Dias Kurmangazy, Daniyar Zhumatayev, Serik Nakyspekov will take the stage as James. Moldir Shakimova, Adelina Tulepova, Yerkezhan Zhunussova, Bakhytgul Ispanova are taking on the part of James’ bride Effie. The story is not without the fairytale characters. The sorceress Madge will traditionally be performed by male dancers, including Sultanbek Gumar, Kuat Karibayev, Sunggat Kydyrbai and others.

«In La Sylphide I tried to update the cast a little, to introduce more people, so that the young dancers’ repertoire would be supplemented. If we want to grow a good, high-quality, professional company, we must work in this direction. Yes, it would probably be easier for me to make up two casts, but I need to cultivate new talent. I never involve ready-made performers from outside. Instead, I strive to reinforce the company with young dancers graduating from ballet schools, including the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography. This year we have a large addition of the academy’s graduates. All of them are involved in the production, everyone will take the stage, because performers grow onstage,» the world star noted.

Both dancers and classical ballet connoisseurs invariably admire the score in La Sylphide. Its particular strength lies in the fact that the ballet music precisely follows the action, conveying various emotional states of the characters. The music director and conductor of the production will be Arman Urazgaliyev. Set and costume designer Vyacheslav Okunev and lighting designer Sergei Shevchenko will communicate the old ballet aesthetics.

«As time has shown, it is painted soft set pieces, played up with lighting, that create a beautiful picture. Thanks to them it is easier to do scene changes. Painted sets give the feeling of being in a theatre, shaping the audience’s tastes, instilling a love of beauty. They are very impressive. Drawn soft scenery is like a canvas by a painter who put his soul into his work, which is the reason why a very special theatrical atmosphere is created,» Ms. Asylmuratova concluded.

Bournonville’s production was reverently passed down from generation to generation and was preserved to this day, and now residents and guests of Astana have a unique opportunity to be impressed by a true old-style ballet.


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