(Source: http://vseruss.com/novosti)

The ballet opera “The Golden Cockerel” by Rimsky-Korsakov with the choreography by Mikhail Fokin restored by Andris Liepa began the tour of the project “Russian Seasons of the XXI Century”  in the capital of Great Britain. The “Seasons” are held in the famous “Coliseum” theatre.

This year London’s “Russian Seasons of the XXI century” are a part of the cross-year of Russian and British culture. In addition to “The Golden Cockerel” two programs of choreographic performances of Dyagilev Festival will be featured on the stage. They will include “Chopiniana” and “Polovtsian Dances”.

The performances involve the actors of the Moscow State Academic Children's Musical Theatre named after Natalya Sats. The premiere of “The Golden Cockerel” reconstructed after 1914 performances took place on its stage a year ago. In the early XX century this performance was staged for “Russian Seasons” by Mikhail Fokin with the decorations by Natalia Goncharova.

Andris Liepa have been restoring the ballets of “Russian Seasons” for the modern stage for several years, and it is not the  first time when he shows the results of his work in London. “There is no way to record a ballet the way you can record music” - the dancer and choreographer, the head of “Kremlin Ballet” told in an interview on the cross-year of Russian and British culture.

“The music is “stored” in the score, if the score is preserved, you can play the music. In order to reconstruct a ballet you need to study diaries, memoirs, sketches, descriptions”- Andris Liepa noted. “Everyone knows that ballet lost its modernity not only in Russia, but also in the whole world” - Andris Liepa continues, explaining the reason why the performances of Dyagilev's “Russian Seasons” retain its charm nowadays. “A hundred years ago it was the most modern form of art. Fokin’s ballets and their significance in those times can be compared with the film “Avatar” today.  “Now they are not perceived as innovations. But they acquired an old-world charm. When you go to theatre, you deliberately choose the archaic art form. And that is great. Perhaps that is why we have such success with “Russian Seasons”. A century has passed, and now we return, we want go back to the past epoch and see the beautiful works of art created in those times”- Andris Liepa considers.