Despite the conglomerate of French and Hungarian influences in a slightly confusing libretto, the ballet “Raymonda”, set in a Middle age castle, is a decidedly Russian work of art. Vaganova Today first witnessed this balletic masterpiece in 2007 when prima ballerina Uliana Lopatkina reprised the leading role twice in the three-night block. Nearly 20 years …
“The Fountain of Bakchisarai”, referred to as a “choreographic poem” in four sections based on the work by Alexander Pushkin with a prologue and epilogue and created by Rostislav Zakharov in 1934, is a quintessentially Russian ballet in its philosophical leanings which juxtaposes the refined civilization of Slavic (in this case Polish) Europe with the …