Bolshoi Theatre Research Articles

Political Control, Administrative Simplicity, or Economies of Scale? Four Cases of the Reunification of Nationalized Theatres in Russia, Germany, Austria, and France (1918–45)

In 1917–18, the new republican governments of Russia, Germany, and Austria nationalized their former court property. A monarchic-turned-national heritage of prestigious opera and dramatic theatres weighed heavily on national and regional budgets, prompting first attempts to create centralized forms of theatre governance. In a second wave of theatre reorganization in the mid-1930s, the Soviet government created ‘union theatres’ under a Committee for Arts Affairs; the German and Austrian theatres underwent the Nazi Gleichschaltung (1933–35 and 1938); and France, a ‘democratic outlier’, opted for nationalizing the Opéra and Opéra-Comique under the Réunion des théâtres lyriques nationaux. These conglomerates have so far been little studied as historically specific forms of theatre management, particularly from a comparative, trans-regime perspective. What balance can be struck between economic, political, and ‘artistic’ costs and benefits? How does ‘Baumol’s law’ of decreasing theatre profitability apply to these very different politico-economic systems, as well as to war economies? Dictatorships reveal an economic seduction power, while this essay argues for confirming a long-term ‘great European convergence’ of state-centred theatre management, internal structure, and accountability, both in peace and war. Here, the stated goals and short-term contingencies yielded to trends originating from the logic of theatre production itself, and the compromises that the state, theatre professionals, and the public accepted in exchange for the capital of prestige. Alexander Golovlev (PhD, European University Institute in Florence, 2017) is a senior research fellow at the HSE Institute for Advanced Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies at the University of Moscow. His recent publications include, for New Theatre Quarterly, ‘Theatre Policies of Soviet Stalinism and Italian Fascism Compared, 1920–1940s’ (2019), and ‘Balancing the Books and Staging Operas under Duress: Bolshoi Theatre Management, Wartime Economy, and State Sponsorship in 1941–1945’, Russian History XLVII, No. 4 (2020).

Three Duets of Katarina and Petruchio in John Kranko's Ballet The Taming of the Shrew: on the Question of Choreographic Interpretation of the Literary Source

The subject of this article is the interpretation of J. Kranko images of Katarina and Petruchio in three duets of the ballet "The Taming of the Shrew", studied in contextual comparison with the original text – the comedy of W. Shakespeare. The purpose of the study is to determine the place of the three duets of the main characters in Kranko's performance, drawing ideological and figurative parallels with the text of the original source, and to identify expressive means and choreographic elements used by the choreographer in their production. The methods of ballet studies analysis approved by ballet historians Dobrovolskaya, Krasovskaya, Surits were used as a theoretical basis; the works of choreographer and ballet art theorist Lopukhov became the methodological basis for the analysis of choreography. Other sources used include video materials from the archives of the Stuttgart State Opera and the Bolshoi Theater. The work on the article required a historical approach – the involvement of materials (videotapes and reviews) from 1969 to 1996.. The methods of ideological and artistic analysis and semantic analysis of the choreographic construction of the duets of Katarina and Petruchio were also used. The detailed semantic analysis of the choreography and composition of the duets of the main characters has become the main research tool. The new results include the identification and comparison of staging tools developed and used by the choreographer. In the first duet it is an alternation of syncopated pas, acrobatic elements, movements on the floor; in the second – plastic imitations of funny and awkward situations; in the third – technically rich choreographic development of duet dance (which corresponds to the three phases of the development of the relationship of the heroes: duel, ridicule, harmony). So, the modification of the images and relationships of the main characters of J. Kranko concludes The Taming of the Shrew in three duets, making them meaningful fragments that form the concept of ballet, as well as the author's view of the plot of the comedy by W. Shakespeare.

Duets by Anna Karenina and Alexey Vronsky in the ballet by J. Neumeier's "Anna Karenina": features of the author's interpretation of the images of the main characters

This article continues the author's research devoted to the study of the problem of choreographic interpretations of literary works, in particular, John Neumeier's ballet "Anna Karenina". In this work, the identification of expressive staging means and choreographic elements used by Neumeier in the production of duets by Anna Karenina and Alexei Vronsky is carried out in order to determine the place of these choreographic fragments in the performance, as well as their significance for the author's interpretation of the images of the main characters of the novel by Leo Tolstoy. In the course of the research, the author applied comparative-historical, ideological-artistic and analytical methods, as well as the method of included observation (based on personal experience of working with Neumeier on Kitty's party). In the course of the source analysis, video materials from the archives of the Hamburg Ballettzentrum and the Moscow Bolshoi Theater were used, as well as lectures conducted by Neumeier before the Moscow premiere of Anna Karenina (recordings from the author's archive). A detailed analysis of the dance score of three duets by Anna and Vronsky revealed traditional and innovative author's solutions related to the new research results. So, Neumeier uses such staging means as the compilation of Tchaikovsky and Schnittke's music; the inclusion of symbolic images (a chair, a door, a bag) in the choreographic canvas; the appearance of other characters; the use of stage lighting to accentuate the transition from reality to the sphere of the subconscious; active choreographic development based on a technically saturated duet dance, replete with high supports in the neoclassical style, as well as acrobatic elements; semantic use of plastic quotations. It can be concluded that in order to develop the images and relationships of Anna Karenina and Alexey Vronsky, the choreographer chooses a duet as the dominant musical and choreographic form. Moreover, in his version of Anna Karenina, Neumeier makes three duets of the main characters a key component of the performance and the author's interpretation of the images of the main characters.

Assignment Russia: Becoming a Foreign Correspondent in the Crucible of the Cold War

Assignment Russia: Becoming a Foreign Correspondent in the Crucible of the Cold War

Душа танца. К юбилею О. Г. Тарасовой

The article is devoted to the creative biography of the outstanding choreographer, ballet dancer and professor of GITIS Olga Tarasova, who celebrated her 95th birthday in 2022.Olga Georgievna graduated from the Moscow Choreography School (nowadays – Moscow State Choreography Academy) in 1946. Then she began her professional career in the ballet troupe of the Bolshoi Theatre, and in 1957 received second education at GITIS as a choreographer. During twenty years at the Bolshoi Theatre, Olga Tarasova gained a reliable experience as a dancer and ballet soloist in numerous classical productions Raymonda, Don Quixote, Thunder Path, Eugene Onegin, Prince Igor, Ruslan and Lyudmila, Mermaid and many others.Many performances were released by Olga Georgievna as a choreographer at the Bolshoi Theatre. Olga Tarasova has also staged performances in many cities of Russia and abroad. She has worked in Japan with Tokyo Ballet troupe; in Turkey with Ankara Opera Theatre; in Germany – with Hannover Opera Theatre; in Bulgaria – with the Arabesque ballet troupe; in Kazakhstan – at the Alma-Ata Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Abai; in Kazan Opera and Ballet Theatre; in Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre, in Moscow Children’s Musical Theatre; in Chelyabinsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, etc. From 1968 to the present day Olga Tarasova has been teaching students- choreographers. Working according to the methodology of the department, Olga Tarasova continues to develop a clear line of classical dance which is the main feature of the Bolshoi Ballet. The range of Olga Tarasova activities is unusually wide. She is the author of a Cand. Sc. thesis Choreographic embodiment of symphonic music (1977), a number of scientific and methodological works.

Ballet "The Taming of the Shrew" by Jean-Christophe Maillot: peculiarities of authorial interpretation of the images of Katherine and Petruchio

The subject of this research is Jean-Christophe Maillot’s interpretation of the images of Katherine and Petruchio in the context of ideological-imagery parallels with the original text – W. Shakespeare’s comedy "The Taming of the Shrew". The article determines the expressive means and choreographic elements used by the choreographer to stage the lead roles, as well as their contextual comparison with the original literary text. The theoretical framework leans on the principles of ballet analysis developed by the ballet theoretician and historians Dobrovolskaya, Krasovskaya, Slonimsky, and Surits. The works by Lopukhov serve as the methodological basis for analysis of the shape and choreography. Other sources include video materials from the archives of Monte Carlo Ballet and Bolshoi Theater, recordings of staged rehearsals that took place from April to June 2014 (author's archive). The research employs the methods of ideological-artistic analysis, semantic analysis of construction and choreographic solution of the roles of Katherine and Petruchio, as well as method of included observation (personal participation in the performance). The novelty lies in revealing the innovative and modernized classical elements of choreography and staging developed by Maillot (leitmotif plasticity combinations, transforming symbolic moves). The detailed semantic analysis of the composition and choreography f the images of Katherine and Petruchio became the main instrument of research and allowed making the following conclusions. Interpretation of the images of the protagonists in the first act is conceptually similar to Shakespeare's text and slightly adapted in accordance with the expressive potential of ballet art and authorial artistic tasks. In the second act, the choreographer shifts the compositional and plotline focus, highlighting not the final scenes, but the full-scale duet of the protagonists, where the plasticity solution is transformed depending on the changes in their emotional states. Namely abstract and visual plasticity ideation individualizes the choreographic style of Maillot and underlies his interpretation of the profound plotline of Shakespeare's comedy.

Балет «Хетаг» и формирование национальной традиции осетинского балетного искусства

The first Ossetian ballet Khetag by D. S. Khakhanov was staged by the teacher and soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre, A. G. Zakalinsky in 1979. Careful analysis enabled the author to evaluate the nature of the synthetic approach that helped to combine the principles of national music and classical dance technique. The reconstruction of the first production of Khetag is based on interviews with participants of the first performance, which was present for only two seasons (1979/1980 and 1980/1981), and reveals the main characteristics of the Ossetian ballet theatre. This theater pays special attention to the role and significance of national dance, which determines the regional specificity of choreographic and musical components. New facts and detailshave made it possible to reconstruct the history of the first professional Ossetian ballet Khetag in the context of heroic-romantic ballets withthe national theme,which is based on the folklore of the North Caucasian region and reflects the national culture. The history of the Khetag ballet is closely linked to the history of the North Ossetia musical theatre’s ballet troupe. The education of national dancers in North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan is placed in a joined historical and cultural context. This allowsone to make the conclusion that in the Caucasian region, national choreographic art dominates the ballet theatre’s stage because it manifests the most important features of national mentality and cultural identity.

“It Must Be Preserved”: Adolph Bolm's Revival of Le Coq d'Or

“It Must Be Preserved”: Adolph Bolm's Revival of <i>Le Coq d'Or</i>

Человек театра из окружения П.И. Чайковского: К.Н. Де‐Лазари

This paper is dedicated to a creative personality from P.I. Tchaikovsky’s friendly circle, Konstantin Nikolaevich De-Lazari (stage name Konstantinov). Throughout the composer’s life, this artist of almost all theatrical genres (from drama and opera to vaudeville and operetta) maintained friendly relations with Pyotr Ilyich himself, then with his brothers and father. Serving alternately in the troupes of the opera (Bolshoi Theater, Moscow) and drama theaters (Alexandrinsky Theater, St. Petersburg), he did not lose touch with either the musical or dramatic environment and was considered “his own man” behind the scenes of the theaters of both capitals. He was a friend of Pyotr Ilyich’s friends: N.G. Rubinstein, G.A. Laroche; patronized talented actresses who played prominent roles in the destinies of M.I. Tchaikovsky (M.G. Savina) and A.I. Tchaikovsky (A.Ya. Glama-Meshcherskaya). K.N. De-Lazari left several memoir texts; their exact number and significance for the biography of P.I. Tchaikovsky has not yet received a scientific assessment. These texts and their interpretation will help to expand our understanding of the composer’s circle of friends and the synthetism of perception of musical and dramatic theater, characteristic of P.I. Tchaikovsky, his natural artistry, in a broad sense.

Balancing the Books and Staging Operas under Duress: Bolshoi Theater Management, Wartime Economy and State Sponsorship in 1941–1945

Abstract The article examines the financial history of the Bolshoi within USSR’s mobilized wartime cultural industry as an example of a cultural institution highly placed in the Stalinist establishment and symbolic canon. It explores the income-outcome flows, personnel management, the impact of evacuation, notably on Bolshoi’s hard capital, and relations with supervising authorities. The theater’s perceived importance within the war effort conditioned unshakable financial support, a non-market protective environment, and lenient administrative treatment, contrasting with logistical and personnel challenges which the house only partly mastered. This relative stability stands in contrast with the absence of strong leadership, as the director’s position was kept vacant in stark difference to most European opera theaters. The shock of 1941–1942 was absorbed with internal adjustment measures and external subventions, and the Bolshoi’s budgets swelled towards the end of the war, indicating inflation and the house’s “most-favored-opera status”. The stable and conservative management still showed shortcomings, which the state chose not to punish. The opera’s symbolic and prestige capital trumped quantitative efficiency, creating a haven in the war economy.

Bolshoi Theater School in Rio De Janeiro: Integration Between Art, Education, Architecture

The present project is the result of reflection on themes such as classical ballet, art, traditional teaching in Brazil and architecture, how each one is related and how to insert them in the composition of an architectural project, having been presented as a requirement for obtaining a degree from the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at UFRJ. A concept was sought that could bring together all the design intentions and that would make the correlation between the art of classical ballet, the art of architecture and the program of needs for the enterprise. The art of designing should not simply follow rigid patterns, parameters and forms and, in this context, we sought to develop a fluid, light architecture that had characteristics of the arts and classical ballet. For this, it was verified the way that the dancer’s body performs the ballet steps and how the axis of this body allows the movements and the fluidity of the steps of the choreography. There is no “right or wrong” when carrying out a project, what needs to be taken into account are the guidelines, needs and specifications for each public, physical space or local culture. The Bolshoi Ballet School project in Rio de Janeiro adds knowledge in dance, with practical and theoretical classes in ballet, jazz, contemporary, flamenco, tap and folk dances to high school training held in Brazil. Students learn video and music techniques, in addition to having practical and theoretical music classes, which further expands their dance training, making them more complete dancers.

Scenography of John Neumeier’s ballet “Anna Karenina”: artistic aspects of the authorial Interpretation of the literary source

The subject of this article is the artistic and staging solutions applied by John Neumeier in choreographing the ballet &amp;ldquo;Anna Karenina&amp;rdquo;. Their determination and analysis is carried out in order to reveal the semantic dominants in interpretation of L. Tolstoy's plotline and understand the ideological intention of the author, who is both a choreographer and a production designer. The research is based on the comprehensive approach. Using semantic analysis of the ballet, the author was leaning on the principles developed by theoreticians and historians of the choreographic theater &amp;ndash; Dobrovolskaya, Krasovskaya, Lopukhov, Suriz. In the course of historiographical analysis, were used the lectures given by Neumeier prior to the Moscow premiere of &amp;ldquo;Anna Karenina&amp;rdquo;. The article also contains video materials from the archives of Hamburg &amp;ldquo;Ballettzentrum&amp;rdquo; and Moscow Bolshoi Theater. The method of overt observation (based on the personal experience of working with Neumeier on the role of Kitty) was also applied. Neumeier saturates the minimalistic and easily transformable design of the ballet with symbolic images (chair, bag, door, steam locomotive), as well as uses staging techniques such as layering of scenes and change of scenery in motion, exposure of the structure of decorations, creation of several scenic plans, use of videography. Detailed semantic analysis of scenography, which became the key research instrument, allows concluding that in his choreographic interpretation of L/ Tolstoy's novel, Neumeier actively uses staging techniques characteristic to drama theater, broadening the range of scenographic solutions for the ballet performance. The author was able to determine and decode the symbolism of the original expressive elements and images by in-depth analysis of the ideological concept of the performance.

Lviv musical impressions on the pages of A. Bennett’s diary

Background. Objectives and methodology of the research. The article contains a commentary to the separate pages of A. Bennett’s diaries, in which the impressions of the famous English writer, playwright, actor and journalist from visiting the cities of Moscow, Orel and Lviv were recorded in May 1988. This trip took place at the invitation of the Writers’ Union of the USSR. As part of the British delegation, A. Bennett carried out a mission of “cultural diplomacy”, whose goal was to open the “Iron Curtain” between the West and the countries of Eastern Europe. The program of the visit of the foreign delegation is analyzed, in particular, visits to opera performances (at the Bolshoi Theater – “Werther” by J. Massenet, at the Lviv Opera and Ballet Theater – «The Ukrainian Cossack beyond the Danube» by S. Gulak-Artemovsky). The purpose of this article is to introduce into the scientific circulation the evidence that allows illuminating the events of the recent past through the prism of the perception of their immediate participants. Another task of this article is to determine the pragmatics of “hospitality” and its operatic component in the conditions of the Soviet system on a concrete example. In addition, the article establishes, with the help of diary notes, the specifics of the guests’ reaction to the realities of Ukrainian life during the “Perestroika” period and to the fact that opera represents power, which is essential for cultural diplomacy. The research is based on diary prose, which was originally prepared for publication in a literary journal. This determined the appropriate mode of expression and set the choice of illuminated objects. The descriptive-evaluative narrative appeals to real places and persons. So, the author tries to achieve the effect of documentary. At the same time, there is a noticeable tendency to create a slightly entertaining text that should interest the average reader and meet his expectations. Research results. This material made it possible to supplement with interesting facts the practice of cultural diplomacy that was established in the USSR, which was covered by the Western researchers, for example F. Barghoorn (1960), P. Hollander (1981), M. David-Fox (2011). In addition, the analysis of this evidence made it possible to introduce into scientific use not only the events, but also the attitude of foreign guests towards them. This is important for historiography and reconstruction of the recent past. The events, mentioned in the text of the evidence, acquire an outside view. The words of the “outsider” become comparative frame through which it is possible to comprehend what happened, freely from the obsessive rhetoric of the perestroika time. According to Bennett, in 1988 the protective function of the totalitarian system came into conflict with the new trend of the time. The imprint of stagnation and decline, even decomposition, but not the sense of purpose and optimism, which P. Hollander described as the “stigma of these countries”, also affected the “window” of Soviet reality, where obvious cracks of loud selfdisclosures appeared. The mandatory program of the visit included meeting with colleagues. With the help of diary, the specific reaction of the guests is set to the fact why an opera self-representation was so important for the «Soviet side». The pages of Bennett’s diaries showed attention to everyday details. The writer was able to create not an image of faceless mass, but the vivid portraits of his contemporaries and capture his experience of meeting a different reality. Conclusions. A. Bennett – a man and a writer – recreated his short stay in Lviv, capturing the theatrical nature of the life-giving performance that unfolded here in the tense collisions between official rhetoric and living reality. The opera itself was of little interest to A. Bennett, but he was well aware of the exceptional importance attached by the organizers of the trip to the fact of visiting the opera house. As an “object of showing” to foreigners, the opera served, first of all, as a proof of the “culture” of the country, a proof that the cultural heritage of the past is better preserved here. At the same time, in the system of “cultural diplomacy” the opera topos functioned as an aesthetic representation of power, the “higher truth” about it. Opera representation existed as a self-sufficient complete phenomenon, which testified to the presence of higher meanings in the real world.

Особенности сценической интерпретации оперы «Евгений Онегин» П. И. Чайковского режиссёром Е. Арье в постановке Большого театра (2019)

The article is devoted to the phenomenon of the art of contemporary opera, in which a special role is carried out by the masterpieces of the Russian musical culture – Tchaikovsky’s operas. By the example of Eugene Aryeh’s production of the opera “Eugene Onegin” the techniques of deconstruction of the figurative-semantic element of the performance and introductions of polystilistic elements into the choreography of the mass scenes, both of them characteristic for the postmodernist type of stage production are generalized. The tendencies of convergence of the opera masterpiece, leading to the vulgarization of the artistic image and the redundancy of kitsch in the folk-based protagonist are revealed. The article defines the disputability of certain artistic solutions of some opera productions and, along with this, the effectiveness of separate provocative elements of the stage action bringing together the cultural worlds of various epochs activating the process of perception. The materials for the research have been provided by the video recordings from the premiere demonstration of the opera “Eugene Onegin” on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, as well as texts in periodical editions containing interviews with the opera producer and the leading artists. Keywords: Eugene Aryeh, opera “Eugene Onegin,” Tchaikovsky, Bolshoi Theater, stage interpretation, opera production.

ГО ШУЧЖЭНЬ — ОДНА ИЗ ПЕРВЫХ ИСПОЛНИТЕЛЬНИЦ НА КИТАЙСКОЙ СЦЕНЕ ПАРТИИ ТАТЬЯНЫ В ОПЕРЕ П. И. ЧАЙКОВСКОГО «ЕВГЕНИЙ ОНЕГИН»

The article presents a portrait of the famous Chinese soprano singer Guo Shuzhen, who was one of the first performers of the role of Tatiana in China. It reconstructs in chronological order the stages in the creative path of Guo Shuzhen, who turned 2021 in 94. She began her ascent to the opera Olympus at the Central Conservatory of Beijing, where she was a student of Professor Sheng Xiang, the "Chinese Caruso", and completed her studies at the Moscow Conservatory, which she graduated with honours. In the class of Professor E. K. Katulskaya, а former soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, the singer joined Russian culture and Russian music and mastered the classical opera repertoire. The part of Tatiana seems to have been inherited by her teacher as E. K. Katulskaya sang this part at the Bolshoi Theater. In 1962 Guo Shuzhen took part in the production of the opera "Eugene Onegin" by P. I. Tchaikovsky at the Beijing Tian Qiao Theater and helped in the translation of the opera's libretto into Chinese. To date, Guo Shuzhen is a Professor of Vocal Music and Opera Department at the Central Conservatory of Beijing.

State Academic Bolshoi Theater in the system of cultural diplomacy

State Academic Bolshoi Theater in the system of cultural diplomacy

«Балет в балете»: творческие поиски современных хореографов

By the example of ballet performances of the recent decade: Ilya Demutsky’s “A Hero of Our Time” at the Bolshoi Theater of Russia (Yuri Posokhov, choreographer; Kirill Serebrennikov, producer and scenographer, 2015) and Sergei Prokofiev’s “Cinderella” produced by Alexei Miroshnichenko (the Perm Theater of Opera and Ballet) examination is made of the problematic aspects of the use of the stage technique of “ballet within a ballet,” as well as their artistic motivation within the framework of the established traditions of the Russian and the world choreographic art. The problem lies in the fact that particularly the stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia most frequently became the venue for historical experiments in ballet, and latter, for the reevaluation of the artistic validity of the Soviet ballets of the first half of the 20th century. The parallels and differences are shown between the various productions of the ballet “The Nutcracker,” namely, those by John Neumeier and Graham Murphy, where the main acting protagonist turned out to be the choreographer – the demiurge and the creator of his own ballet work. By the example of the Perm Ballet (in its production of “Cinderella”) the artistic misstep is revealed of the transference of the emotional-poetic content of the ballet score into the social domain, as well as the artificiality of the parallels between the spiritual worlds of Lermontov’s protagonists with the language of the art of choreography in the 19th century (“A Hero of our Time”). It is shown that the rich musical content of Prokofiev’s score and its interpretation by Theodor Kurentzis carries a metaphysical character, and not a social one, as in the production of Miroshnichenko, and for this reason consciously impoverishes the chosen conception of the “ballet within a ballet.” Keywords: The Ballet Theater of Russia, stage motivations, “a ballet within a ballet,” the creative work of Alexei Miroshnichenko, the creative work of Yuri Posokhov, the theatrical productions of Kirill Serebrennikov.

Russia and Brazil. Dialogue in the images and rhythms of ballet art at the beginning of the XXI century

The modern cultural dialogue between Russia and Brazil is being developed quite successfully and actively. One of the original areas of cooperation is the ties in the field of ballet art. In this study, based on the rich and varied material of sources and the latest publications on this topic, the authors attempted to show the role of choreographic ties in cultural cooperation between Russia and Brazil, to consider ballet as an instrument of “soft power” and an effective image-forming tool. The article shows the bilateral nature of the dialogue between Russia and Brazil at the beginning of the 21st century, identifies those important forms of professional cooperation in the field of ballet art that determine the modern nature of the possibility of a dialogue. Independent attention in this study is paid to the unique educational form of modern ties – Bolshoi Theatre ballet school in Joinville, which has already trained talented artists, the winners of international competitions and the laureates of prestigious choreographic awards. The article presents a qualitative analysis of the forms of choreographic cooperation and shows their role in the dialogue between the two countries. The methodological approaches were formulated by the authors based on the set goal, taking into account the interdisciplinary nature of the stated topic – to consider the ties between Russia and Brazil in the field of choreographic art, as an important area of bilateral contacts, foreign cultural policy of the two countries and an instrument of “soft power”. The research methodology includes a comparative method, which made it possible to identify the general and the specific in the choreographic ties between Russia and Brazil at the present stage of cooperation, to note the dynamics of these ties. The descriptive approach provided an opportunity to consider and to describe the events (competitions, tours, joint projects) that united Russia and Brazil in the field of choreographic art at the beginning of the 21st century, and which are an original form of choreographic collaboration. The biographical approach allowed recreating the biographies of ballet dancers – participants in the dialogue. We applied such general scientific methods as analysis and synthesis in our work.

To the question of choreographic interpretation of male images of W. Shakespeare’s drama of the later period “The Winter's Tale” in the eponymous ballet of C. Wheeldon

The subject of this article is the interpretation of male images from W. Shakespeare&amp;rsquo;s &amp;ldquo;The Winter&amp;rsquo;s Tale&amp;rdquo; by the choreographer C. Wheeldon in the context of its conceptual commonality with the literary original. The goal of this research is to determine the stage means and elements of choreographic language used by the choreographer for creation of male roles, as well as to draw ideological-imagery parallels with the original text. Methodological foundation of this study features the principles of critical analysis of text of the play along with the semantic analysis of choreography, developed in the scientific works of such theoreticians of ballet art as Lopukhov, Dobrovolskaya, Krasovskaya, Surits, Slonimsky. Comprehensive approach towards interpretation of the literary original on the modern ballet stage required&amp;nbsp; the analysis of such sources, as the English-language peer reviews of the world premiere of the ballet and video materials from the archives of the Royal Opera House in London and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. The author also applied the method of overt observation based on the personal experience of working with Wheeldon in Bolshoi Theatre, and accompanied by the analysis of rehearsals from the author's archive (over the period from March to April 2019). The author carried out a detailed semantic analysis of the stage interpretation and choreographic language of the male images of W. Shakespeare's play of the later period &amp;ldquo;The Winter's Tale&amp;rdquo; in the eponymous ballet of C. Wheeldon (which served as the key instrument for this research). The conclusion is made that the conceptual ground of Wheeldon&amp;rsquo;s interpretation of the male images is based on the Shakespeare&amp;rsquo;s text adapted to the realities of a stage performance. &amp;nbsp;He employs a wide array of plasticity and other innovative means of expression, applying an individual approach towards staging each male role.

Features of the interpretation of female images of W. Shakespeare's late play "The Winter's Tale" in Christopher Wheeldon's ballet of the same name

The subject of this article is K. Wheeldon's interpretation of the female images of Shakespeare's "Winter's Tale" in the context of its ideological and figurative identity to the literary source. The research is carried out in order to determine the expressive means and elements of choreographic vocabulary used by the choreographer in the production of female roles, as well as their contextual comparison with the text of the original source. In the course of the research, the author of the article, due to the versatility of the problem of interpreting W. Shakespeare's play on the ballet stage, used an integrated approach. The theoretical basis of the work was the principles of critical and semantic analysis of choreographic vocabulary developed by historians and theorists of ballet art (Dobrovolskaya, Krasovskaya, Slonimsky, Lopukhov, Surits). In the process of source analysis, English-language reviews of the world premiere of the ballet were reviewed (quotes from the articles are translated by the author), as well as video materials from the archives of the London Royal Opera House and the Moscow Bolshoi Theater. In addition, the included observation method was used (based on personal experience of working with Wheeldon as a performer of the Loss part in a Bolshoi Theater performance), accompanied by an analysis of rehearsal recordings for March – April 2019, which are in the author's archive. So, the detailed semantic analysis of the composition and choreographic vocabulary of female images of Shakespeare's late play "The Winter's Tale", interpreted by Wheeldon in the ballet of the same name, carried out in this article, was the main tool in the development of the scientific problem posed. The new results of the study include a significant groundwork in the aspect of identifying classical and innovative artistic elements of the dance language developed and used by Wheeldon, which allowed us to draw the following conclusions. Conceptually starting from Shakespeare's text, the choreographer adapts the interpretation of female images to a certain extent, guided by the expressive potential of conventional ballet art. At the same time, in the production of female roles, individualized plastic interpretations of the heroines become the main means of expression.