On 22 and 24 March the ballet company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will perform in St Petersburg for the third time. The artists are to appear on stage of Mariinsky-II in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Sleeping Beauty (choreography by Marius Petipa revised by Konstantin Sergeyev and Eldar Aliev), with the Mariinsky Orchestra conducted by Anton Torbeev. The performance of the Primorsky Stage ballet company in St Petersburg will be part of a large-scale celebration, commemorating the 200th birthday of the most influential choreographer of the 21st century.
For more than half a century Marius Petipa (1818–1910) staged performances at the major theatres of the country, raising the level of the Russian ballet art to an unprecedented high. The choreographer’s legacy includes more than 60 works, among them such masterpieces as The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Raymonda, Don Quixote, La Bayadere and many others. In the modern theatrical repertoire, Marius Petipa's productions remain to be a model of the classical choreography, the style of which is noted for its masterful composition, meaningful choreographic ensembles and virtuosic solo parts.
The Primorsky audience will have an opportunity to see classical versions of Marius Petipa’s legendary performances throughout the whole season. The nearest performance from the series will be Giselle by Adolphe Adam (15 March). On 29 March the ballet-féerie Sleeping Beauty will feature soloists of the Tani Momoko Ballet who will arrive from Japan as part of the cultural programme of the Russian-Japanese Cross Year.
