"One Thousand and One Nights", the ballet by Fikret Amirov, the distinguished Azerbaijani composer and People's Artist of the USSR (1922-1984) and a laureate of state awards, continues to captivate the world stage.
The Primorsky Stage (Vladivostok) Ballet Troupe of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg will make its debut in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China. From August 23 to 25, the troupe will present the ballet "One Thousand and One Nights" under the new direction of our compatriot and Honored Artist of Russia Eldar Aliyev.
Chinese ballet lovers will watch the performances on the stage of the Beijing National Performing Arts Center. For the first time, the creative team of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will present a large-scale ballet in the newly opened Beijing Art Center, which is recognized one of the masterpieces of modern architecture.
The performance will be accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of the Chinese National Ballet under the baton of the Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Azerbaijan Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, the Honored Artist Ayyub Guliyev. The performance will feature soloists of the Chorus and Opera Troupe of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre Anastasia Kikot and Samira Galimova, and the soloist of the Azerbaijan Opera and Ballet Theatre Ramin Azimov (Baku) and Nadezhda Medvedeva (Vladivostok) as tar performers.
The prima ballerinas of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre Anna Samstrelova, Irina Sapozhnikova and Lilia Berezhnova will perform the leading roles. Soloists Sergei Umanets, Viktor Mulygin, Yuri Zinnurov, Saki Nishida, Lada Sartakova, Alexandra Shalimova and Shizuru Kato will take part in the premieres.
In addition, Timur Asgarov, Honored Artist of Azerbaijan and leading soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre of St. Petersburg, will perform the role of Shahriyar in the August 25 performance.
The ballet "The Thousand and One Nights" is one of the most brilliant performances of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, and its tours have a wide geographical range.
Commenting on the upcoming tour, choreographer Eldar Aliyev said that it is important that the ballet "One Thousand and One Nights" is recognized by the Beijing audience as a grand production that reflects the richness of colors and the shades of a unique culture. In creating the choreography, he aimed to closely follow both the literary material and the original music of the author, and he hopes that all the performances will be well received.
Fikret Amirov's ballet "One Thousand and One Nights," based on well-known Arabic fairy tales, premiered in 1979 at the Azerbaijan State Opera and Ballet Theatre in Baku. "I want Azerbaijani music to sound all over the world," said the composer, masterfully combining Eastern melodies with classical European forms.
The libretto of the play is by prominent Azerbaijani writers Magsud and Rustam Ibrahimbayov brothers.
In accordance with the plot, the music of the ballet brings to life the magnificence of the Middle East. The composer included the tar, the national instrument of Azerbaijan, in the orchestra and created a rich collection of percussion instruments (bongos, tam-tam, xylophone, vibraphone, drum, bell, timpani, cymbals, etc.) to effectively convey the fullness of Arabic rhythms to the audience.
