The "Ballet of Moscow" Theater presents the modern ballet of the rising star of world choreography, Robert Binet, after The Kreutzer Sonata story written by Leo Tolstoy.
The ballet premiered last summer.
The ballet "Kreutzer Sonata" is not as much about love, betrayal and jealousy of the main characters, as it is about music as a powerful means of influencing a person and their life. It is music that plays the role of protagonist in this ballet.
The action of the ballet based on a classical story has been moved to the modern day setting and hinges around the life and emotions of the wife of the main character Pozdnyshev. As viewed by choreographer and stage director Robert Binet, she is the main character of the ballet, the woman who sacrificed her personal aspirations to take care of her family. Thanks to music, she wakes up to life and her attitude to life is changed. Music enables her to feel love as something unearthly, lofty and elevating. Inspired by music, she becomes desirable for her husband again. However, her desire for freedom scares Pozdnyshev and that fear pushes him to a murder.
The party of each of the three characters (Pozdnyshev, his Wife and Music Teacher) is performed not by one, but by three dancers, to express their various feelings and experiences.
The artistic solutions in Binet’s ballet are largely determined by the words of Leo Tolstoy: “Music makes me forget myself and my real position, as it takes me to some other position; under the influence of music, I seem to feel something that I actually do not feel, I seem to understand what I do not understand, and be able to do what I cannot do”.
To translate the written story into a ballet performance, Robert Binet engaged playwright Britta Johnson in the work and she came up with an alternative perspective. The ballet "Kreutzer Sonata" is not as much about love, betrayal and jealousy of the main characters, as it is about music as a powerful means of influencing a person and their life. Thus, music plays the role of protagonist in the ballet Kreutzer Sonata.
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The ballet Kreutzer Sonata is performed on the stage of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre, where the viewers can feel the elegant atmosphere of contemporary chamber ballet. The ballet features original Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata along with the music specially written for this production by composer Giti Razas. Just like Robert Binet, Giti Razas dreamed of working with this story by Leo Tolstoy. Their search and sharing of ideas yielded a score for the new ballet. This is a rare case when choreography and music are created side by side, influencing and inspiring each other.
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Stage designer Haemi Shin has created an atmosphere of intimacy, in which the characters’ actions and motives are revealed with a fine-tooth comb.
Robert Binet attributes great importance to the influence of music on the characters: “Music connects the main character with her heart and soul. The violinist who she falls in love with is not really a person as such, but a portal that connects her with music, joy and freedom. For Pozdnyshev, the liberation of his wife makes her unusually beautiful, but he no longer feels control over her. It is very interesting for me to work on the stage production for the “Ballet Moscow” Theater. I like the story narrated by Leo Tolstoy, and for many years I dreamed of staging this ballet in Russia. For me it is a great honor. I am sure that working together with the Ballet of Moscow Theater will help me better understand the work of art and immerse myself in the unique Russian culture”.
When: 20 October, 29 November, December 28, 2018
Where: Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre at the address 17, Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street, next to Chekhovskaya and Tverskaya metro stations.
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Author: Vera Ivanova