On November 30, December 1 and 2, the most anticipated premiere of the season, the play “Romeo and Juliet” by Sergei Prokofiev, choreographed by the Honored Artist of Russia and the Republic of Tatarstan Vladimir Yakovlev, took place on the stage of the Astana Ballet Theater with resounding success. The premiere shows were accompanied by the theater's symphony orchestra under the direction of chief conductor Arman Urazgaliev.
“It seems to me that Vladimir Yakovlev’s production very vividly and naturalistically conveys the entire atmosphere, spirit and aesthetics of that time. The performance turned out to be large-scale, the entire theater troupe and students of the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography were involved. The artists rehearsed for a long time, honed their choreography and acting skills in order to convincingly convey all the subtle, psychological movements of the human soul, the richness of Shakespeare's thought, the passion, and the drama of this classic story. In addition, they learned to masterly fencing with rapiers, because the production is replete with spectacular battle scenes,” notes artistic director Nurlan Kanetov.
The classic story about the confrontation between two families, which killed young lovers, has been attracting the attention of art lovers for many years with its expressive poetic language and a wealth of contradictory images.
“When I arrived, I said: our task is very simple - to make the performance here better than in Kazan. And I hope that we have coped with this task; in a short time, all the performers have transformed and revealed themselves in their parts. I revised some moments, mise-en-scène, took into account ballet and technical capabilities, and connected two acts so as not to interrupt the action. Still, modern audiences and the modern rhythm of life require a more dynamic performance. The difficulty here was that there were a lot of film changes and I was very worried how the technical group would cope. I must pay tribute - they did an excellent job,” said choreographer Vladimir Yakovlev.
An abundance of crowd scenes, beautiful costumes and scenery and colorful video graphics, created with great attention to detail, transport the viewer to the exquisite Renaissance era and allow you to immerse yourself in the world of experiences of the main characters.
“Undoubtedly, this production is different from what we have seen in other editions. It seems to me that it will be more dramatic, besides, every choreographer is looking for something different - a gesture, a step, emotions. Maybe the choreography is not so important here, but what is important is how the artist experiences his feelings and experiences. And we are very pleased that the Astana Ballet troupe took up this topic and we see the burning eyes of the artists. This theme is new in any case, even if Shakespeare wrote it many years ago,” shared assistant choreographer Luiza Mukhametgaleeva.
On different days, the main parties were fulfilled: Romeo - Sundet Sultanov and Wesley Carwallo, Juliet - Nazerke Aimukhametova and Natalia Fernandez Menes, Tibald - Farhad Buriev and Bauyrzhan Buranbaev, Merchanit - Erkanat Ermagambet, Benvolio - Nurzat Bericzyuly, Paris - Wesley Carvalo and Sun. Sultanov, Lord Capulet - Ildar Shakirzyanov, Lady Capulet - Assel Zhangaskayeva and Riza Kanatkyzy, Nurse - Shyryn Zaichikova.
The premiere took place with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan.