On May 28, 29 and 30, 2021 one of the most popular ballets in the classical legacy La Bayadère is to be premiered at the Great Hall of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. La Bayadère is an entrancing Oriental fairytale ballet of love, faithfulness and cunning. The ballet scenes are set in Ancient India. The prominent warrior Solor and the temple maiden dancer Nikia love each other passionately, meet secretly and plan to flee because they can only be together in the way of elopement.
From the first performance at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre in 1877 La Bayadère has been constantly hailed by spectators. Its exotic color became a pledge of staginess, and the melodramatic story of disappointed hopes was filled with shades and shadows due to Marius Petipa’s sophisticated choreography.
La Bayadère is to be represented at the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in its classical Mariinsky version originally staged by Marius Petipa with the gorgeous sets and costumes designed after the 1900 sketches. The performance is translated to the Primorsky Stage with the staging direction of Eldar Aliev, Honored Artistic Creator of Russia.
On May 28, 2021 the major roles in La Bayadère will be performed by the Primorsky Stage principal dancers Anna Samostrelova as Nikia and Sergei Umanetc as Solor. On May 29 and 30, 2021 the soloists of the Saint Petersburg Mariinsky Ballet, prizewinners at international competitions will appear in the major roles: Yekaterina Chebykina and Maria Iliushkina as Nikia, and Alexei Timofeyev and Victor Caixeta as Solor. The role of the Rajah’s daughter Gamzatti will be performed by the soloists of the Primorsky Stage Ballet Lilia Berezhnova (May 28, 30) and Katerina Floria (May 29). The baton is to be held by Anton Torbeev.
