Shock as Bolshoi cancels world premiere of Nureyev ballet | Stage
Moscowâs Bolshoi Theatre has shocked the ballet world by cancelling the premiere of a biographical show about the dancer Rudolf Nureyev at the last minute.
No official reason was given for the sudden cancellation but it is rumoured that the productionâs frank portrayal of Nureyevâs homosexuality could have been deemed inappropriate for the Bolshoiâs main stage.
The Bolshoi is famous as much for extraordinary behind-the-scenes intrigue as it is for the world-class ballet and opera on stage. The last-minute cancellation of the most eagerly awaited premiere of the season is a fresh scandal for the theatre.
Critics and theatre directors from across the world had been invited to Tuesdayâs premiere but on Saturday the Bolshoi announced that all performances of Nureyev would be replaced with an old favourite, the ballet Don Quixote. No official reason was given and the Bolshoiâs spokeswoman, Katerina Novikova, declined to comment. The theatre said it would hold a briefing on Monday to explain the decision.
A video was posted online of the theatreâs general director, Vladimir Urin, telling the troupe that the ballet was pulled as it was ânot readyâ. However a number of artists disputed this and footage posted on Facebook showed sustained applause from those present at Fridayâs dress rehearsal, mainly theatre insiders.
âThe strangest thing here is how close Nureyev came to a premiere. Why wasnât it postponed earlier?â asked Simon Morrison, a music historian at Princeton University who has recently written a history of the Bolshoi. He said âthe frisson of intrigue, political or otherwiseâ has become part of the Bolshoi brand over the years, adding that he expected the production to make it to the stage eventually.
âThe dancers are understandably apoplectic. But this is an expensive show with a new score and I personally canât see it all going to waste,â said Morrison. However, any future performances are not likely to happen soon. A spokesman for the theatre said the production would appear âno earlierâ than the 2018-19 season, as next season is already fully timetabled.
Nureyev, regarded as one of the greatest ballet dancers in history, began his career at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg but defected to the west in 1961. He died from an Aids-related illness in 1993 at age 53. The ballet, a new work composed by Ilya Demutsky and choreographed by Yuri Possokhov, tells the story of the dancerâs life.
Much about the content of the ballet had been kept secret and the final dress rehearsal on Friday was shrouded in secrecy. Sources inside the theatre said the production did deal explicitly with Nureyevâs sexuality.
Homophobia is widespread in Russia and the country has a law banning âhomosexual propaganda among minors,â essentially making public displays of gay affection illegal. Earlier this season a touring production of Written on Skin, a contemporary opera by the British composer George Benjamin, featured a brief gay kiss â" but that was on the Bolshoiâs new stage, not the hallowed main stage which is usually reserved for traditional productions.
The director of Nureyev was Kirill Serebrennikov, a theatre and film director who has earned a reputation for edgy stagings that run against the conservative line promoted by the Kremlin and culture ministry. He has become increasingly critical of government censorship in the arts and was recently detained and questioned by Russian security services, allegedly over the embezzlement of government funding. Most in the arts world believe the case to be politically motivated.
Serebrennikov had already staged a ballet adaptation of Mikhail Lermontovâs A Hero of Our Time at the Bolshoi, as well as Rimsky-Korsakovâs opera The Golden Cockerel, which he transformed into a biting satire on Kremlin politics. Serebrennikov has not made any public comment on the decision to postpone the ballet.
The Bolshoi has been mired in scandal over the years and the ballet troupe has earned a reputation as a hotbed of intrigue and rivalries. This came to the fore most dramatically when one of the dancers was convicted of ordering an acid attack on the balletâs artistic director, Sergei Filin. Pavel Dmitrichenko was jailed for six years in 2013 for organising the attack â" which left Filinâs sight damaged â" but was released on parole last year.
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