Lieutenant Kizhe (ballet)

Sergei Prokofiev ’s symphonic suite “ ”, created by him in 1934 from his own music for the movie of the same name , twice in history became the basis for a ballet performance. The first to speak to her in 1941 was Mikhail Fokin , staging the ballet Russian Soldier , which turned out to be a testament of the master - he died seven months after the premiere. Fokin left aside the satirical story of Yuri Tynyanov , which formed the basis of the film, and first dedicated the ballet to "all suffering soldiers", and in the final version to "brave Russian soldiers of the Second World War."

The second appeal to this music took place in 1962, when the Bolshoi Theater planned a new performance on the 10th anniversary of the death of Sergei Prokofiev. Librettists Andrei Weizler and Aleksandr Misharin expanded the themes of the story by creating two characters who did not exist at Tynianov - Freylin and Perot. The musical editor of the score, composer N. Yakovlev, supplemented the suite with fragments from Prokofiev’s ballet, Steel Skok , written in 1925. The performance was the first work in the ballet of theater artist Boris Messerer .

Bolshoi Theater

The premiere of the performance took place on February 10, 1963 ^[1] .

Performers :

• Pavel - George Bovt (then Esfandyar Kashani , Valery Antonov, Vladimir Vasiliev )
• Maid of honor - Raisa Struchkova (then Rimma Karelskaya , Natalya Ryzhenko )
• Adjutants - Alexey Zakalinsky , German Sitnikov , Nikolai Chernichkin
• Pen - Lyudmila Bogomolova (then Natalya Filippova, Nina Sorokina )
• Feathers - Ida Vasilieva and Svetlana Ivanova
• Lady - Elena Vanke
• Aristocrat - Tamara Tuchnina
• Aristocrat - Alexander Begak (then Alexander Lavrenyuk )
• Advisor - Nikolay Simachev
• General - Andrey Kramarevsky (then Vasily Vorokhobko)

The performance took place 26 times, the last performance took place on March 31, 1966 . On December 18, 1977 , the resumption of the congresses on the stage of the Kremlin Palace took place (at that time - a branch of the Bolshoi Theater).

Performers :

• Pavel - Boris Akimov (then Alexey Lazarev)
• Freylina - Raisa Struchkova , participant of the premiere (then Svetlana Adyrkhaeva , Tatyana Bessmertnova, Irina Kholina)
• Pen - Tatyana Popko (then Maria Bylova, Lyudmila Romanovskaya)

The performance took place 13 times, the last performance took place on December 6, 1978 .

In other theaters

Olga Tarasova and Alexander Lapauri transferred their production to the stages of several theaters of the USSR:

• 1964 - Tatar Opera and Ballet Theater named after Musa Jalil ;
• 1964 - Kiev Opera and Ballet Theater ;
• 1967 - Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater .

• Sheremetyevskaya N. Second Lieutenant Kizhe // Musical Life: Journal. - M. , 1963. - No. 1 .
• Roslavleva N. On the right track // Soviet artist: newspaper. - M. , 1963. - March 1 .
• Sabinina M. “Second Lieutenant Kizhe” in ballet // Soviet Music: Journal. - M. , 1963. - No. 7 .
• Lvov-Anokhin B. In Prokofievsky // Theatrical Life: Journal. - M. , 1963. - No. 22 .
• Ilupina A. Return of “Second Lieutenant Kizhe” // Evening Moscow: newspaper. - M. , 1978. - No. 3 of January .
• Istyushina M. Return of “Second Lieutenant Kizhe” // Labor: newspaper. - M. , 1978. - No. 7 January .
• Tader V. Alexander Lapauri . - M .: Art, 1980. - S. 77-101. - 220 p. - ( Ballet Soloists ). - 25,000 copies.
• Tarasova O. From symphonic score to ballet (S. Prokofiev. “Lieutenant Kizhe”) // Music and choreography of modern ballet. - collection. - L .: Music, 1982.
• Belyaev-Chelombitko G. For the first time ... // Raisa Struchkova . - M .: Editorial office of the magazine "Ballet", 2002. - S. 162-168. - 224 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-901818-03-2 .
• Dobrovolskaya G. Mikhail Fokin. Russian period. - SPb. : Hyperion, 2004 .-- S. 434-436. - 496 p. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 5-89332-099-9 .
• Sheremetyevskaya N. Tipping Point: Choreographers Debuts // Long Shadows . - M .: Editorial office of the magazine "Ballet", 2007. - S. 250—255. - 490 s. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 5-901818-09-9 .
• Messerer A. Boris Messerer. The courage and independence of the artist. Interview // Seagull: Journal. - USA, 2011. - No. 18 .