Kirov Ballet
George Balanchine’s Jewels GEORGE Balanchine is justly regarded as one of the greatest 20th century choreographers. Trained in St. Petersburg's Imperial Ballet, much later to become the Kirov, he settled in the United States where he reinvented the language of ballet for the new century. His sublime three-act ballet Jewels is a heavenly succession of stylistically diverse classical divertissements which take their tone from the jewels they are named after.
Elegant and romantic for Emeralds (set to Fauré), hot and jazzy for Rubies (set to Stravinsky) and glittering and aristocratic for Diamonds (set to Tchaikovsky). Balanchine created Jewels for his own New York City Ballet, but the Kirov was the first company in Europe to stage all three acts in the same evening.
The Kirov production recreates Peter Harvey's original décor, a shimmering cascade of jewels suspended in mid air, and the dancers wear magnificently bejewelled costumes based on the originals by fashionable New York designer Karinska. First seen in London in 2000, this Kirov production of Jewels left critics and audiences literally reeling with delight.
Gala Programme THE Kirov's Gala Programme promises a box of delights for ballet lovers, including Fokine's romantic one-act ballet, Chopiniana (sometimes known as Les Sylphides) and the sublime Kingdom of the Shades from Act III of La Bayadère which shows the Kirov's legendary corps de ballet off to perfection. The middle course of this splendid feast includes Fokine's dreamy Le Spectre de la Rose and a dazzling sequence of balletic set pieces.
Don Quixote DON Quixote is one of the sunniest ballets in the Kirov's rich classical repertoire. Created by classical ballet's greatest choreographer, Marius Petipa, it tells the story of the rocky romance between Kitri, the playful daughter of a social-climbing innkeeper, and her lover Basilio, a barber who is handsome, but broke.
Based on Alexander Gorsky's 1900 production, this colourful Kirov production bristles with authentic Spanish dances, bullfighters and gypsies, all portrayed with an exquisite blend of wit and bravura. Its vivid Spanish settings have also been faithfully reproduced from the legendary turn-of-the-century production. Box office: 0870 787 5793 or www.thelowry.com