May 16, 2021 10:15 am (UTC + 04:00 am)
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By Laman Ismayilova
Fikrat Amirov’s “Thousand and One Nights” opened the Rudolf Nureyev International Classical Ballet Festival.
The Primorsky stage of the Mariinsky Theater staged the new version of the ballet conducted by Honored Artist of Russia Eldar Aliyev.
“One Thousand and One Nights” was presented to the public under the direction of the conductor and musical director of the Azerbaijani Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, Azerbaijani artist Ayyub Guliyev.
Anna Samostrelova, Lilia Berezhnova, Sergey Umanets, Denis Golov, Irina Sapozhnikova, Katerina Floria, Kanat Nadyrbek, Guilherme Junio delighted everyone with a fascinating performance.
“Thousand and One Nights” is a collection of folk tales from the Middle East compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. Known in English as “Arabian Nights”, the work is about Scheherazade, a Sassanid queen, who tells a series of stories to her husband, King Shahryar in order to delay his execution.
The fascinating history of Scheherazade laid the foundations for the ballet of the same name.
The new version of the ballet premiered as part of the 5th Mariinsky Far Eastern International Festival.
Over 300 hand-embroidered costumes were made for the ballet performance. Some of them were made in the workshop, while most were made by experienced craftsmen in St. Petersburg.
Traditional Azerbaijani musical instruments – tar and naghara were presented at the theater on behalf of national musicians.
The long-handled musical instrument featured in Fikrat Amirov’s score. The eminent composer began his musical journey as a performer of Tar.
The idea to add tar performances came from Eldar Aliyev. Ramin Azimov, the soloist of the Azerbaijani National Opera and Ballet Theater, performed on tar at the premiere.
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