A grand ballet premiere awaits NOVAT's audience at the beginning of the upcoming 82nd season. On September 18 and 19, NOVAT will host the first performances of the ballet One Thousand and One Nights with music by Fikret Amirov. The original production, created for the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre based on a libretto by famous Azerbaijani writers and playwrights Maksud and Rustam Ibragimbekov, will be performed on the Grand Stage of the Novosibirsk Theatre by a creative team led by choreographer, People's Artist of Russia Eldar Aliev.
The plot of the large-scale two-act ballet is based on stories from the monument of medieval Arabic literature – the famous collection One Thousand and One Nights. According to the creators, three fairy tales – about Sinbad the Sailor and the Rukh bird, Princess Budur and Aladdin, Ali Baba and the forty thieves – are united by the line of the Persian king Shahryar. In anger at his wife's infidelity, the king ordered the execution of all the young girls in the country, but three magical stories about the most valuable qualities of women, told by beautiful Scheherazade, as well as her intelligence, beauty and chastity, force Shahryar to abandon his cruel decision.
Choreographer Eldar Aliev says: “This is a rather complex production in terms of technical realization and performing. There is no pantomime in the ballet, only a diverse, rather complex dance text, in which, along with mass scenes, there are thirteen solo parts. I think it will be very interesting and useful for the artists to work on the performance, as it will give them the opportunity to fulfill their acting potential and demonstrate their technical range in new choreographic and musical material.”
The choreographer emphasizes that One Thousand and One Nights is a spectacular, colourful ballet that fascinates the audience with the atmosphere of a wise oriental fairy tale. First staged on the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, the performance gained huge audience popularity both on its native stage and on tour around the country and abroad; it entered the list of the hundred best theatrical productions in Russia.
The music director of the production will be conductor Eldar Nagiev. The performance features a large orchestra, and the music for the ballet is characterized by a distinctly oriental flavour, the sound of a traditional folk instrument, the tar, and the participation of a choir and a soprano singer.
The premiere audience will enjoy a spectacular, orientally luxurious ballet with a rich dance palette and striking scenic design (colourful sets and costumes, including a flying carpet), with a complex, very expressive light score and video art. Production designer of the ballet is Pyotr Okunev. NOVAT's audience is familiar with him from the performances The Queen of Spades. The Game (scenery), Die Fledermaus (scenery), Falstaff (scenery and costumes), The Tsar's Bride (costumes). Lighting designer is Sergei Martynov, video designer is Vadim Dulenko.
Premiere. Ballet One Thousand and One Nights by F. Amirov on NOVAT's Grand Stage will be on September 18 at 7:00pm, September 19 at 1:00pm and 6:00pm.