Première at the Alexandrinsky Theatre

    On 8 February, the Leonid Yacobson Ballet Theatre will present Vyacheslav Samodurov’s new show at the Alexandrinsky Theatre. The programme will also include his already well-renowned ballet, Cheeky Chastushki, set to Rodion Shchedrin’s music, along with the Rodin miniature series, which is part of Leonid Yacobson’s creative heritage.

    While sharing his creative process, Vyacheslav Samodurov focused on his source of inspiration: ‘I have been building this new, still nameless work of mine on top of the Piano and String Orchestra Concerto by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. I stumbled upon it completely by accident, during my usual search for previously unheard-of music. On the surface level, it may appear too wishy-washy and all over the place, but oddly enough, it is these qualities that give it so much depth. It is a quintessentially Baroque concerto, which is off-putting for some people, but very appealing to me, precisely because it’s so typical of the genre. I fell in love at first note.’

    Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, sometimes called the Berlin Bach or the Hamburg Bach, was one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sons. During his lifetime, he was even more famous than his father, lauded as the master of the harpsichord. Both Haydn and Mozart held his music composition skills in high regard, and even Beethoven was notably influenced by his work.

    Choreographers are usually not too keen on giving away spoilers when their work is still in progress, but Vyacheslav Samodurov has lifted the veil of secrecy for a sneak peek: ‘My new choreographic piece won’t have any sort of clearly defined plot line. The main theme is the human body. Which makes it resonate with Leonid Yacobson’s Rodin cycle. As I was working on Cheeky Chastushki, I re-acquainted myself with multiple ballets by Yacobson, and was greatly impressed by Rodin, which still looks modern and fresh. Some motifs and subtexts remain relevant across historical periods, but you can express them in different ways. I really loved Andrian Fadeev’s idea to incorporate the Rodin cycle and my new ballet into a single performance.’ Now we have to wonder if there will be an intersection between these two shows.

    The costumes for the production will be designed by Elena Trubetskova; lighting, by Sergey Vasiliev.