Epic ballet ‘Spartacus’ to return to Astana Opera
The Honoured Workers of Kazakhstan Baktiyar Adamzhan and Madina Basbayeva, as well as dancers of the Armenian National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre Raffi Galstyan and Anahit Vasilyan will perform the main parts in the historical production.
Aram Khachaturian’s heroic ballet Spartacus was first presented at Astana Opera in 2014 during the first Zhibek Zholy Festival. Yuri Grigorovich was the choreographer. The great master’s assistants – the famous Russian ballet master-repetiteur Ruslan Pronin and Oksana Tsvetnitskaya, who stage his productions around the world, undertook the revival of the production in 2022.
For many decades, Spartacus has been the highlight of the repertoire of world’s leading ballet companies. However, out of about 20 versions of this ballet, two remain the most popular: Yuri Grigorovich’s version and Leonid Yacobson’s.
As part of the Zhibek Zholy Festival, one of the days, the principal dancer of the Armenian National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, international competitions laureate Raffi Galstyan will perform the title role of Spartacus. The young energetic dancer graduated from the Yerevan State Choreographic College in 2018 and was accepted into the ballet company of the National Theatre, where he is already highly admired by ballet art aficionados in such parts as the Young Man in Chopiniana to Frédéric Chopin’s music, Prince Zvezdich and Yevgeniy Arbenin in Masquerade to Aram Khachaturian’s music, Armen in Aram Khachaturian’s Gayane, Basilio and Espada in Ludwig Minkus’ Don Quixote, the Nutcracker-Prince in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and others.
About his hero, whom he will present at Astana Opera on December 11, the dancer reflects as follows:
«Spartacus’ main quality is leadership. Despite the fact that he is a slave, his fortitude is enough to surpass Crassus, whom everyone is afraid of. Performing the part of Spartacus, I try to show the power and plastique of this hero. Of great importance are the dancer’s facial expressions and emotions, which are very clearly visible to the viewers.»
The performer made his debut as Spartacus in his native theatre in Yerevan at the age of 18.
«This hero is very close to me, I understand him well, and Aram Khachaturian’s music penetrates my soul. It is a very big responsibility to perform at Astana Opera. I hope the Kazakh audience will like our performance of this ballet. We will tell the story of Spartacus as we see and feel it. I wish all of us good luck, and we promise the viewers a whirlwind of emotions!» Raffi Galstyan emphasized.
His partner, the performer of the part of Phrygia, Spartacus’s beloved, the soloist of the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater of Armenia Anahit Vasilyan is preparing to perform at Astana Opera with great interest.
«Different stage venue, different ballet company, different audience – this is a great experience for me as a dancer. It is very interesting and exciting at the same time,» she says.
The young dancer’s repertoire includes the parts of Clara in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, Giselle in Adolphe Adam’s eponymous ballet, Juliet in Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, Magnolia in Karen Khachaturian’s Cipollino and others.
According to the ballerina, her heroine is a very deep character.
«Phrygia is a woman with a strong will, ready to fight to the end, but at the same time she is tender and fragile. She has a lot in common with my own personality. It is important to work a lot on this part, because any inaccuracy in the movements can be noticeable,» the soloist notes.
Ballet art aficionados will not only get acquainted with the work of guest soloists, but also meet with their favorite performers. On December 10, ballet stars, Honoured Workers of Kazakhstan Bakhtiyar Adamzhan and Madina Basbayeva will perform the main parts of Spartacus and Phrygia.
These days, at Astana Opera, the audience will have an opportunity to see Arman Urazov and the Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Yerkin Rakhmatullayev as Crassus. The Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Aigerim Beketayeva and Assel Shaikenova will portray Aegina. Daler Zaparov will debut as the Gladiator.
Arman Urazgaliyev will conduct the Astana Opera Symphony Orchestra. The artistic director of the Astana Opera Ballet Company is the People’s Artist of Russia Altynai Asylmuratova.
The ballet Spartacus, revived at Astana Opera, will be a bright and emotional completion of the Zhibek Zholy International Festival. The celebration of high art lasted for a month. It included large-scale and spectacular productions and concert programs, featuring guest artists from more than 20 countries of the world.
Photo: astanaopera.kz