On August 24 at the Bolshoi Theatre of Uzbekistan named after Alisher Navoi, the “Astana Ballet” Theatre performed with extraordinary success. The Tashkent audience was presented with the famous ballet of Arif Melikov “Legend of Love” directed by Yuri Grigorovich.The full auditorium with great enthusiasm perceived the legendary performance performed by artists from Kazakhstan, thanking them with warm applause, flowers and “bravo” exclamations.
- The “Astana Ballet” Theatre fully meets the European, I would even say, world level. First of all, I was struck by the corps de ballet, in which everyone was selected both in growth and in energy. It is the basis on which soloists bathe - so stately, technical and artistic. I recall Mehmena Banu, who was danced by Maya Plisetskaya, and I believe that your artists perform at the level – shared her opinion, musicologist, Honored Worker of Culture of Uzbekistan, Innesa Gulzarova.
“The Legend of Love” is one of the first performances of the famous choreographer Yuri Grigorovich. In this production, four ingenious components converged, raising the art of ballet to an unprecedented height. The libretto is based on the philosophical play of the playwright Nazim Hikmet. Colorful and juicy music was written by Arif Melikov, and Simon Virsaladze created elegant and expressive - with all the brevity - scenography.
- Not every ballet troupe can cope with this performance, moreover: not every theater is given permission to stage this ballet. The fact that he is walking on the stage of the Astana Ballet Theatre today speaks of the great form of the artists. The troupe is 100% cope with choreography, and since it is from Kazakhstan, they are very good at conveying the oriental flavor of the performance, - said Shukhrat Tukhtasimov, rector of the Tashkent State Higher School of National Dance and Choreography.
The plot is based on an ancient eastern legend. Two sisters - Mehmene Banu and Shirin - passionately fall in love with the court artist Ferkhad. Shirin immediately conquers the heart of a beautiful young man, and mutual love is impossible for Mehmena Banu: she once sacrificed her beauty to save her sister's life. Lovers who escaped from the palace will face a difficult test, and Ferkhad sacrifices his love for the sake of saving the people.
In the choreography of Yuri Grigorovich, the incredible power of utterance, the unambiguous certainty of the language, combined with the multilayered possible colors are embedded. Holding their breath, the audience listened to each movement of the artists that narrate about the feelings that dominate their characters.
- “Astana Ballet” leaves a stunning impression, one scene is more beautiful than another, the whole dramatic line is revealed perfectly. A low bow to the soloists for their endurance, because Grigorovich’s choreography is peculiar, very heavy. We are very happy about the arrival of the Kazakh troupe, our artists received a tremendous charge of inspiration. Definitely, they raised the level with their performance - shared her impressions, the leading soloist of the GABT named after Alisher Navoi, Nadir Hamrayeva.
On the first day, Mehmene Banu’s part was performed by the leading soloist of the theatre Aizhan Mukatova. In her expressive performance, the queen appeared proud and inexorable, but at the same time - deep inside - unhappy and unloved. The grace and glory of the lines of the leading soloist of the theatre are conquered even before she gives her first order in a calm imperious gesture. Their brilliant drama duet with Ferkhad leaves an indelible impression in his memory, causing an immediate desire to see him again.
The court artist Ferkhad, performed by Farkhad Buriyev, almost conquered the entire auditorium. It is no coincidence that the names coincide; at a press conference, the artist shared that he was named after the hero of the legend, and now he performs the leading part in the ballet. Soft high jumps, excellent support and touching duets with Shirin caused a stormy response from the public. “Farkhad Buriyev can’t even be danced, when he goes on stage, he already attracts all the attention,” the audience discusses during the intermission.
Tatyana Ten draws her part of Shirin in playful and flirty shades. She moves around the stage, like a bird flies from branch to branch - easily and gracefully. Watching her aerial dance, it is forgotten that the choreography in this ballet is incredibly complex. The tenderness and fragility of the young princess crumbles in the “chase” scene, then the audience sees a powerful and strong-willed Shirin, ready to fight for her love. And the public believes her, rewarding with a storm of applause.
The intimidating Vizier performed by Amir Zheksenbek with his sharp perfected movements seemed to cut through not the air, but the space itself - passionately and whip. The corps de ballet deserves a special attention: female and male. Assistants of Yuri Grigorovich - Ruslan Pronin and Oksana Tsvetnitskaya carried out an incredibly large-scale work: absolute synchronism in mass scenes fascinates with its bottomless expressiveness, the artists were able perfectly, carefully and with incredible expression to convey all the strength and power of each scene, immersing the audience in a hypnotic state.
- I see that a lot of work was done by Ruslan Pronin and Oksana Tsvetnitskaya. I thought it would be good and worthy, but it was brilliant. The corps de ballet works like a clock. And, of course, the main performers, Grigorovich always had incredible soloists, superstars, and today the guys proved that they can dance this repertoire at a level that is within their power, - said Andris Liepa, artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater of Uzbekistan, People's Artist of Russia.
- The guys coped with all the nuances and difficulties, everything was on the level. At some point, I felt proud that I was at this performance and saw it, and I will many times tell about it to all. Thanks a lot to the “Astana Ballet” team, I think this performance has a great future on their stage, - said Ruslan Pronin, choreographer assistant.
Huge work with the symphony orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre of Uzbekistan was carried out by maestro Arman Urazgaliyev. By the way, the last time in the Bolshoi Theatre of Uzbekistan “The Legend of Love” was performed in 1993, among the musicians of the orchestra there are those who caught those times. So, to study the chorus scores of the beautiful but complex music of Arif Melikov, had to be from the very beginning.
- A completely different sound of the orchestra! I sat and thought: is our orchestra playing or not? Maestro Arman Urazgaliev showed that he can set up the orchestra so that those instruments that did not sound before will sound, - said Honored Artist of Uzbekistan Vladislav Yegai.
Ahead, another, final presentation. On August 25, “The Legend of Love” will shine again at the Bolshoi Theater of Uzbekistan, but with other artists in the title parts, which means that the performance will sparkle with completely different colors.