ГАЛЕРЕЯ
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Tickets are now on sale for the shows of our 2023 Programme
From 21 September until 7 October 2023, the Second International Pacific Theatre Festival will be held in Vladivostok. Tickets for the Festival programme can be acquired on our official website www.pacificfest.ru.
The Festival will be dedicated to the memory of Valery Shadrin, the founder and Director General of the Chekhov International Theatre Festival from 1992 to 2022, and author of the concept and creative programme of the International Pacific Theatre Festival.
The schedule of the forthcoming Festival comprises 10 productions in different genres from several countries of South-Eastern and Eastern Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Performances will be held at the Primorsky stage of the Mariinsky Theatre (Great Auditorium and Little Auditorium), and the M. Gorky Primorsky Academic Regional Drama Theatre.
The Festival will get under way with Carmina Burana, one of the most celebrated symphonic works of all times, which has long been a temptation for choreographers. The Cuban dancer and choreographer George Céspedes, together with the company of the Contemporary Ballet Theatre of Cuba, has conceived and staged this production for his performers. Its complicated and multi-layered choreographic structure, joined by the orchestra and choir, result in a colourful show on a grand scale, with a harmonious blend of music, visual projection and movement. The Symphony Orchestra, choir and soloists of the Primorsky stage of the Mariinsky Theatre are taking a prominent part in this production. The conductor is Pavel Smelkov.
A real treat from Vietnam will be presented by the Thăng Long Theatre, the most famous water puppet theatre in the world. This kind of theatre has existed in Vietnam for more than a thousand years, and is regarded as a masterpiece of native and global culture. In spite of all the historical tribulations, this phenomenon managed to survive to this day virtually intact. Live music on ancient instruments and more than 80 puppets are brought together in this fascinating show for the whole family. A special water reservoir is transported from Vietnam, with a 40-ton capacity.
Another participant of our Festival is the Vuyani Dance Company from South Africa. In creating his Cion: Requiem of Ravel's Bolero, the South African choreographer Gregory Vuyani Maqoma drew inspiration from two sources. Hypnotic magic was provided by Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, one of the most successful musical pieces of the twentieth century, wherein the director has discerned an analogy with the ritual funeral marches of his homeland. The other source is the oeuvre of the renowned South African writer Zakes Mda. It is from his novel Cion that the first word of the production title and its principal character, the professional mourner Toloki, are borrowed. But instead of retelling the story, the choreographer has devised a requiem in dance. Our universe of avarice and injustice has turned all of us into professional mourners, as it were. However, sorrow itself, as Gregory Vuyani Maqoma believes, gives people more opportunities to come together. Gregory Vuyani Maqoma is the leading expert on contemporary dance in South Africa, and his company has recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.
Our programme carries on with To Moscow! Palimpsest, which was born out of a desire, perhaps felt by each one of us at least once in a lifetime, – to erase and rewrite the past. Having made use of the classic – Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters – the director Ada Luana and Setor de Áreas Isoladas company from Brazil produced a palimpsest, literally an old parchment whose text was scratched off to make room for a new one; but in the end, the latter preserves traces of the previous writing. By means of a warm dialogue between theatre and music, the four actresses and two musicians begin to compose their own version of the drama. “We are in love with Chekhov – he is great and eternal, just like the artistic world that he has created”, is the statement by the performers of Setor de Áreas Isoladas.
One of the most awaited shows of our programme is the Tea Spell, created by the dancer and director Zhao Liang. In China he is renowned not only as one of the pioneers of contemporary dance, but also as a choreographer who explores the relationship between Heaven, Earth and mankind. In the West he is well-known too, being nicknamed “the shepherd from the East”. Zhao Liang skilfully combines Western contemporary dance with Oriental philosophy, psychology and aesthetics. His works are akin to a philosophical journey wh ere dance is just a means to an end.
The powerful music and dance show called Malevo Extreme is presented by the Malevo Company from Argentina. This is a virtuoso performance of malambo, a typical male folk dance of the gauchos, which requires an ideal sense of rhythm. Making use of folk traditions, these dancers blend the classical technique with flamenco style. The choreography implies the use of hunting arms and drums. This magnificent show makes its premiere in Russia.
Our Festival also presents two major international projects by the MuzArts Company. The MODANSE programme blends music, dance and costume, and consists of two one-act ballets – Like a Breath and Gabrielle Chanel. Like a Breath is directed by the Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti. It is a one-act version of his ballet Come Un Respiro, which premiered at La Scala in 2017. The musical score of this show is based on the clavier suites by George Frederick Handel. The choreography, as well as the stylish and daring costumes in this production, reflect a modern approach to Baroque aesthetics. The second part of the show is the ballet entitled Gabrielle Chanel. The composer Ilya Demutsky, the choreographer Yury Posokhov, along with the writer and director Aleksey Frandetti, have created a brilliant saga about the life and art of the Queen of Fashion, the legendary Coco Chanel. This show is a tribute to the great talent and profound personality of the celebrated couturière of the twentieth century. The costumes are designed by CHANEL. The principal role is performed by Svetlana Zakharova, People’s Artist of Russia, prima of the Bolshoi Theatre, and star of La Scala.
Postscript 2.0 is a sequel to the first night of contemporary dance, conceived as “four different styles in one evening”. The new version, in addition to the original parts, i. e. the Faun choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and Postscript by Paul Lightfoot and Sol León, includes the world premieres of two new ballets – Initium, choreographed by Konstantin Keichel, and Sonata-Fantasy by Yury Posokhov. This project features the soloists and leading dancers of the Bolshoi Theatre, as well as Ildar Gaynutdinov, the star of contemporary dance. Postscript 2.0 is a distinctive afterword to the main repertoire of these performers, intended to bring new emotions to the admirers of choreographic art.
Our schedule also features the remarkable Royal Games, by K.S. Stanislavsky State Russian Drama Theatre of Yerevan, Armenia. This production is about excessive lust for power, and readiness to sacrifice everything for that purpose. It is based on the play The Lion in Winter by the American writer James Goldman. The date is 1183. Henry II Plantagenet, king of England, reigns over his great empire, which extends from Scotland through half the provinces of France as far as Aquitaine. Feeling that his life is nearing the end, he is about to decide which one of his three sons becomes his successor. His whole family is brought together for Christmas. After ten years of exile, Henry’s wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, the richest and most influential lady in medieval Europe, arrives at the royal castle too.
The finale of the Festival programme is the show Shakespeare. Shostakovich. Hamlet. The world’s most famous drama appears in a new format, that of concert recital by Yevgeny Mironov and the Symphony Orchestra of the Primorsky stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. The concept of this production belongs to Yevgeny Mironov. This is already the third time that he enacted Hamlet on stage. The actor has previously worked with eminent directors Peter Stein and Robert Lepage, and in the latter case he even took up all the roles in this Shakespeare tragedy. In this new version by the director Marina Brusnikina he appears as the reader whose recital is dramatically linked with the music by Dmitry Shostakovich.
The Festival is held with support from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, and the Government of Primorye Region.
Festival Organisers: the Chekhov International Theatre Festival and the State Theatre of Nations.
General Partner: Channel One.
Regional Media Partner: ОТV Television Channel.
Media support: Rossiya 1. Primorye TV and Rossiya-Kultura TV.
Partners of the Educational Programme: Far Eastern State Institute of Arts and Pushkin Theatre of the Far Eastern Federal University.
