Eldar Nagiyev – Landgraf on Dance

“Pushkin”
Ballet of the Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
March 15, 2026 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

Three years after Catharsis Dante, the Moscow-based choreographer Nikita Dmitrievsky created a second piece, Pushkin, for the Krasnoyarsk Ballet. Its two densely pact acts deal with Russia’s literary hero, Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and his inner life and spiritual being. Except for the music, which is by Konstantin Borosov (his first ballet composition), Dmitrievsky was in charge of the entire production (i.e., the choreography, libretto, lighting, and set, costume, and video design). I had the opportunity to watch a video of the premiere, which took place on March 15th.

As the libretto comprises no fewer than twenty-seven scenes, becoming familiar with the synopsis in advance is highly recommended. Continue reading “A Man of Mystery”

“Le Corsaire”
Ballet of the Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
July 2024 (video)

This July, the Ballet of the Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre traveled 2.400 miles eastward to tour their Catharsis Dante at the Helikon Theatre in Moscow. I wasn’t able to fly to Moscow but, by chance, I had the opportunity to watch videos of two of their recent premieres. One of them was a new Le Corsaire by Yuliana Malkhasyants, which premiered on May 19th. It’s based on Petipa’s 1858 version for the Mariinsky Theatre from which Malkhasyants kept seven of the most famous fragments, such as the Pas d’Esclave and the Le Corsaire Pas de Deux for Medora and Conrad. The Jardin animé was refashioned, and the libretto was pruned for better understanding. Malkhasyants dropped the figure of Conrad’s young, faithful slave, Ali, and streamlined Medora’s and Conrad’s escape from Seyd Pasha’s harem. Continue reading “Tempestuous”