Astana Opera to bring together world ballet stars at Third Freedom Festival
Performances by leading ballet dancers from around the world will take place at Astana Opera as part of the Third Freedom Festival on December 3,El.kz cites astanaopera.kz.
The Kazakh audience will see the premiere of Souvenir de Danse, choreographed by internationally renowned ballet master Valentino Zucchetti. The production is based on Tchaikovsky’s music and represents three pairs of performers, each telling their own unique love story through dance.
The performers include world stars, Sarah Lamb and Ryoichi Hirano from the Royal Ballet in London, as well as the Astana Opera Ballet’s principal dancer Bakhtiyar Adamzhan and the ballet company soloist Anastasia Zaklinskaya. The third pair of dancers is Alejandro Virelles from the London City Ballet and Maria Baranova, principal dancer of the Bayerisches Staatsballett. Elmar Buribayev will be conducting the opera house’s string orchestra.
Valentino Zucchetti, trained at Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala and the Royal Ballet School, began his career as a dancer at the Ballett Zürich and later at Den Norske Opera & Ballett, currently works at the Royal Ballet in London. He is renowned for his keen musicality and unique approach to classical choreography. He staged performances as a choreographer for the Royal Ballet in London, as well as for the Royal Ballet School, New English Ballet Theatre, Polish National Junior Ballet, Ballet Nacional de España, Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala and others. With extensive experience, he successfully combines the classical ballet traditions with elements of contemporary dance styles, and creates works that touch the hearts of viewers all around the world.
“Participation in the Freedom Festival is a new experience for us, which is always interesting. We heard that it is held in Almaty and we are glad that now Astana Opera is becoming a part of it. This is also beneficial for the opera house: we are receiving Valentino Zucchetti’s new production Souvenir de Danse as a gift. Receiving such creative gifts is certainly a pleasure, and subsequently the production will become a part of the opera house’s permanent repertoire. Our dancers note that they are particularly interested in working with a young choreographer, whose work was previously unfamiliar. Valentino Zucchetti made a most favourable impression on our pair: a positive, creative, talented young man. I think this will be a good experience for them,” Altynai Asylmuratova, artistic director of the Astana Opera Ballet, People’s Artist of Russia, says. “Three pairs from different countries, stars of the world’s leading ballet companies are participating in the production. Indeed, this is stimulating, but it also creates certain difficulties. The challenge in the work was that while the choreographer’s rehearsals with dancers from other countries were held offline, the Kazakh pair, Bakhtiyar Adamzhan and Anastasia Zaklinskaya, worked with him online. This involves a time difference, equipment failures and very tight deadlines. However, despite the remote format, out pair worked hard on a complex and extensive part of the production. Tchaikovsky’s music in this ballet is incredibly beautiful. Slow lyrical moments are replaced by fast-paced dynamic parts. Our dancers got the most energetic episode, which requires high skill and tremendous physical training. We are very excited and I believe that the result will be worth all the efforts,” Altynai Asylmuratova concluded.
The audience will also see the one-act ballet Into the Hairy, staged by Israeli choreographer Sharon Eyal to the music by Koreless and performed by L-E-V Theatre. Eyal is known for her bold vision of dance. Her productions make the viewers immerse themselves in unknown worlds, playing on the edge between beauty and unusualness. Sharon Eyal worked for the famous Batsheva Dance Company and later established her own company L-E-V, which became famous for its unconventional approach to ballet.
Costumes by Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director and designer for Maison Dior, made of black lace, will complement the aesthetics of the production. Their sophistication gives the performance a special charm, combining the beauty of ballet and the art of haute couture.
Italian critic Maria Luisa Buzzi called Sharon Eyal’s new production “as powerful as it is mysterious” and “as intriguing as it is captivating”. The performance has generated wide interest in European ballet circles and is now ready to surprise the Kazakh audience as part of the Third Freedom Festival.
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