It will not be long till the opening of the VIII International Mariinsky Far East Festival, Vladivostok. The Festival is a large music forum that traditionally opens a new season. The summer part of the Festival will be held from July 22 to July 27, 2023, and the audience will enjoy the classical ballet pearls. The series of performances will begin with a celebrated premiere of the previous season – Alexander Glazunov’s ballet Raymonda in which the leading soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre from St Petersburg will take part.
Raymonda is one of the most colorful and spectacular ballets in the Theatre’s repertoire. The romantic ballet is inspired by medieval legends of a girl who waits for her gallant knight to come from his campaign. For over 125 years the public has loved the ballet for its gorgeous aesthetics, vivid music and ballerina’s picturesque title part that is one of the most difficult ballet parts.
At the Primorsky Stage, Raymonda is presented in its revised version created by the Theatre’s Ballet Artistic Director, Eldar Aliev who adapted the libretto and made the ballet more dynamic. The sets were created from sketches by the leading designer of ballet and opera, Simon Virsaladze in Vladivistok theatre workshops, and the costumes, full of princely fabrics and small details, were designed by Vyacheslav Okunev.
On July 22, 2023 – it is the opening day of the VIII International Mariinsky Far East Festival – the primary parts in Raymonda will be performed by leading soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre such as Oxana Skorik, Principal Dancer, Andrei Yermakov, Principal Dancer, and Alexander Sergeev, First soloist.
It is worthy of note that all the three dancers took part in the very first forum in Vladivostok in 2016. Then Oxana Skorik was retained in the audience’s memory due to her performing the choreographic composition The Swan and the primary female part in Swan Lake. “She has a naturally pliant torso, supple arms and exceptionally pointed feet, and she used her elegant carriage with fresh spirit,” said critics about her as Odette-Odile. Nowadays the Principal Dancer Oxana Skorik’s repertoire includes the primary parts in such classical ballets as Giselle, La Bayadère, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsaire, Romeo and Juliet, and many others.
The Vladivostok audience will first meet and see Andrei Yermakov as the Principal Dancer of the St Petersburg Ballet Company. His repertoire includes classical and contemporary choreography and heroic and lyrically dramatic parts. Critics have noted his brilliant virtuosity and academic accuracy and called him a curator of the traditions of male dance of the Russian ballet school. “Nowadays Andrei Yermakov is one of the best dancers at the zenith of fame. He exactly moves and is highly skilled and a brilliant companion.”
Alexander Sergeev is a theatre award winner known to the audience both as a dancer and a brilliant choreographer. It is no coincidence that critics always underline his dramatic talent: “It is surprisingly organic when every cell of the body dances and every step is filled with feeling, there is a sense of meaning to every second of the dance and every movement is outstretched to the last musical moment – such a performance is a great rarity today.”
On July 23, 2023, at the second performance of Raymonda, the primary parts will be performed by young promising soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre such as Alexandra Khiteyeva, Nikita Korneyev and Ruslan Stenyushkin. For them, the appearance at the Primorsky Stage will be significant and special since Alexandra Khiteyeva will first perform the part of Raymonda and Ruslan Stenyushkin will make his debut as Abderakhman.
The whole Ballet Company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will also take part in the performances. The Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage will be conducted by Pavel Smelkov.
It should be noted that the audience will be able to enjoy the guest soloists performing at the VIII International Mariinsky Far East Festival at any later date. The detailed program is available on the Theatre’s official website.
