In December, the ballet company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will perform in the capital of Qatar, Doha, for the first time. The Qatari audiences will be treated to the ballet A Thousand and One Nights with music by Fikret Amirov, choreographed by the Ballet Artistic Director Eldar Aliev, Honored Artistic Creator of Russia. The performances will take place at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) on December 5, 6, 7 and 8, 2023.
The high-profile tour to the shores of the Persian Gulf will be closing the 2023 season for the Primorsky Ballet. Since the beginning of the season, the dancers have presented their performances on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg as part of traditional summer tours; in September they performed on the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Vladikavkaz Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. In October, they took part in an extensive program of Cultural Days of Primorsky Territory in Harbin.
This is what Eldar Aliev said about the upcoming tours:
“The literary basis of this performance is a monument of Persian and Arabic literature, the famous collection of fairy tales A Thousand and One Nights. So, it is very important for us that the ballet is perceived by the public of the Middle East as close in spirit. In this production, we have sought to reflect the best traditions of Eastern culture; therefore, we really hope that all the performances will be a success. After several performances in Qatar, the ballet will be shown again in St Petersburg, where we will present our production in February and March on our traditional winter tour to the Mariinsky Theatre. Then we are planning performances in Beijing, and, of course, on our home stage in Vladivostok, somewhere near the end of the season”.
The performances in the capital of Qatar will be accompanied by the Mariinsky Orchestra under the direction of Ayyub Guliyev, with the participation of the Primorsky Stage Chorus. The vocal parts will be performed by soloists of the Primorsky Stage Opera Company Anastasia Kikot and Alina Mikhailik. The traditional Azerbaijani instrument tar, which is part of the orchestra, will be played by Nadezhda Medvedeva and Ramin Azimov, a guest musician from Baku.
The leading parts will be performed by prima ballerinas Anna Samostrelova and Lilia Berezhnova, principal dancers Sergei Umanetc and Viktor Mulygin, soloists Yuri Zinnurov, Saki Nishida, Arina Nagase, Lada Sartakova, Alexandra Shalimova, as well as dancers Sergei Borovykh, Lev Ponomarev and Erlan Suyunbek.
The general partner of the tour is PJSC NK Rosneft.
