The ballet “December Rain” had its premiere on the stage of the Astana Ballet Theatre. This production tells one of the most romantic and tragic love stories of the 19th century. The story of the relationship between George Sand and Frederic Chopin continues to attract a great deal of attention. The new production was remembered not only for its touching plot, in which there was a place for meeting and separation, difficult family relationships and a love triangle, beautiful and fatal love, but also for its original choreographic language, memorable and symbolic scenography and, of course, the live music of Chopin, which filled the stage and the auditorium.
Choreographer and stage designer Kristina Paulin (Germany) created the ballet “December Rain”. This is not her first work at Astana Ballet. She made a big impression with her production of Orpheus and Eurydice. Once again, it is the drama-ballet, once again the story of love, full of irreparable losses, the collapse of hopes, suffering, but at the same time bright and sublime, like the music of the great Polish composer. The romance between Sand and Chopin lasted for about 10 years. And the two-act ballet reflects this rather long period of time, from the moment of meeting to the dissolution of the relationship. The ballet is based on real events, and Kristina Paulin shows both the noisy secular salons of Paris, where Chopin performed, and a seemingly quiet life in Mallorca or Nohant, which is in fact full of passions, family secrets and scandals. The choreographer staged a complex ballet about the psychological struggles of Chopin and Sand. A composer needs silence, love and care. Sand is torn between him, her jealous son, and her daughter paying attention to Chopin. In telling the story of the relationship between the author and the composer, Kristina Paulin involved most of the theatre company, which made it possible to present extended ensembles, duets and solo variations of the characters on stage. The roles of Sand and Chopin in the performances were played by Honoured Figure of Kazakhstan Tatyana Ten and Weslley Carvalho, as well as Honoured Figure of Kazakhstan Ainur Abilgazina and Sundet Sultanov. The portraits of the main characters are drawn in a dynamic way and with a documentary precision. There are many characters in the ballet, except for Sand’s Children – son Maurice and daughter Solange – Chopin’s sister Ludwika, Franz Liszt, the writer’s alter ego, the composer’s soul, as well as images personifying his fears, illness, and, of course, music.
Chopin’s music is as much a key character of the play as the artists themselves. It is performed by Margus Riimaa from Estonia. The pianist has become not just an accompanist, he is actively involved in the performance. Chopin’s famous compositions are performed by him with mastery and convey Frederic Chopin’s sublime feelings and impeccable taste with complete clarity. Chopin’s exquisite and refined music ensured that the love story of two geniuses was not a tale of mundane family squabbles – a common occurrence even among the great – or a story of the soul-searching typical of creative people. Instead, it is a tale of elusive happiness, of unfulfilled dreams and a vast, captivating world filled with sounds and feelings. It is a world that the creators found fascinating and that will delight and astonish the audience time and again.