Ballet creativity of A.I. Khachaturian as a classic example of modern music

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The ballet "Gayane" was written by Khachaturian in 1942. In the harsh days of the Second World War, the music of "Gayane" sounded like a bright and life-affirming story. Shortly before "Gayane" Khachaturian wrote the ballet "Happiness". In a different storyline revealing the same images, the ballet was like a sketch for "Gayane" in terms of theme and music: the composer introduced the best numbers from "Happiness" into "Gayane".

The creation of Gayane, one of Aram Khachaturian's finest works, was prepared not only by the first ballet. The theme of human happiness - his living creative energy, the fullness of his worldview was revealed by Khachaturian in works of other genres. On the other hand, symphony musical thinking composer, bright colors and imagery of his music.

The libretto “Gayane”, written by K. Derzhavin, tells how the young collective farmer Gayane gets out of the power of her husband, a deserter who undermines work on the collective farm; how she exposes his treacherous actions, his connection with saboteurs, almost becoming a victim of a target, almost becoming a victim of revenge, and finally, about how Gayane learns a new, happy life.

1 action.

A new crop is being harvested in the cotton fields of an Armenian collective farm. Collective farmer Gayane is among the best, most active workers. Her husband, Giko, quits his job on the collective farm and demands the same from Gayane, who refuses to fulfill his demand. The collective farmers expel Giko from their midst. The witness of this scene is the head of the border detachment, Kazakov, who arrived at the collective farm.

2 action.

Relatives and friends try to entertain Gayane. Giko's appearance in the house causes the guests to disperse. 3 strangers come to Giko. Gayane learns about her husband's connection with the saboteurs and about his intention to set fire to the collective farm. Gayane's attempts to prevent the criminal plan are in vain.

3 action.

The proud camp of the Kurds. A young girl Aisha is waiting for her lover Armen (Gayane's brother). Armen and Aisha's date is interrupted by the appearance of three strangers looking for a way to the border. Armen, volunteering to be their guide, sends for Kazakov's detachment. The saboteurs have been arrested.

In the distance, a fire flares up - this is a burning collective farm. Cossacks with a detachment and the Kurds rush to the aid of the collective farmers.

4 action.

The collective farm, revived from the ashes, is preparing to start its working life again. On this occasion, there is a holiday in the collective farm. With the new life of the collective farm begins and new life Gayane. In the struggle with her deserter husband, she asserted her right to an independent working life. Now Gayane also recognized a new, bright feeling of love. The holiday ends with the announcement of the upcoming wedding of Gayane and Kazakov.

The action of the ballet develops in two main directions: Gayane's drama, paintings folk life. As in all the best works Khachaturian, the music of "Gayane" is deeply and organically connected with the musical culture of the Transcaucasian peoples and, most of all, with his native Armenian people.

Khachaturian introduces several genuine folk melodies into the ballet. They are used by the composer not only as a bright and expressive melodic material, but in accordance with the meaning they have in folk life.

The compositional and musical-dramatic techniques used by Khachaturian in "Gayane" are extremely diverse. In ballet, integral, generalized musical characteristics acquire predominant importance: portrait sketches, folk-everyday, genre pictures, pictures of nature. They correspond to complete, closed musical numbers, in the sequential presentation of which bright suite-symphonic cycles are often formed. The logic of development, which unites independent musical images into a single whole, is different in different cases. So, in the final picture, a large cycle of dances is united by the ongoing holiday. In some cases, the alternation of numbers is based on figurative, emotional contrasts between lyrical and cheerful, impetuous or energetic, courageous, genre and dramatic.

The musical and dramatic means are clearly differentiated in the characteristics actors: integral portrait sketches of episodic characters are contrasted with a through dramatic musical development in the party of Gayane; varied dance rhythms underlying musical portraits Gayane's friends and relatives are opposed by Gayane's improvisationally free, lyrically rich melody.

Khachaturian consistently pursues the principle of leitmotifs in relation to each of the characters, which gives the images and the whole work a musical value and stage specificity. Due to the diversity and development of Gayane's melodies musical image it acquires much greater flexibility in comparison with other characters in the ballet. The image of Gayane is revealed by the composer in a consistent development, as her feelings evolve: from hidden grief (“Dance of Gayane”, No. 6) and the first glimpses of a new feeling (“Dance of Gayane”, No. 8), through a struggle full of drama (act 2) - to a new bright feeling, a new life (introduction to act 4, No. 26).

Libretto by K. Derzhavin. Choreographer N. Anisimova.

Characters

Hovhannes, chairman of the collective farm. Gayane, his daughter. Armen, shepherd. Nune. Karen. Kazakov, head of the geological expedition. Unknown. Giko. Aisha. Ishmael. Agronomist. Geologists. Head of the Border Guard.

Dark night. A figure of the unknown appears in the thick net of rain. Listening carefully and looking around, he frees himself from the parachute lines. By checking the map, he is convinced that he is at the target.

The rain subsides. Far away in the mountains, the lights of the village flicker. The stranger throws off his overalls and remains in his tunic with stripes for wounds. Limping heavily, he walks away towards the village.

Sunny morning. Boiling in collective farm gardens spring work. Slowly, lazily stretching, Giko goes to work. The girls of the best brigade of the collective farm are in a hurry. With them, the foreman is a young cheerful Gayane. Giko stops the Girl. He tells her about his love, wants to hug her. A young shepherd Armen appears on the Road. Gayane joyfully runs towards him. High in the mountains, near the camp of shepherds, Armen found shiny pieces of ore. He shows them to the Girl. Giko looks jealously at Armen and Gayane.

During the rest hours, the collective farmers start dancing. Suitable about. He wants Gayane to dance with him, tries to hug her again. Armen protects the girl from importunate courtship. Giko is furious. He is looking for a reason to fight. Grabbing the basket of seedlings, Giko throws it furiously. He doesn't want to work. The collective farmers reproach Giko, but he does not listen to them and attacks Armen with raised fists. Between them is Gayane. She demands that Giko leave immediately.

Collective farmers are outraged by Giko's behavior. The young collective farmer Karen comes running. He says that guests have arrived. A group of geologists led by the head of the expedition, Kazakov, enters the garden. They are followed by an unknown. He hired himself to carry the geologists' luggage and stayed with them.

Collective farmers warmly welcome visitors. Restless Nune and Karen start dancing in honor of the guests. Dancing and Gayane. The guests also watch with admiration the dance of the shepherd Armen. A signal is given to start work. Hovhannes shows visitors the collective farm gardens. Gayane is left alone. Everything pleases her eyes. The girl admires the distant mountains, the fragrant gardens of her native collective farm.

The geologists are back. Gayane advises Armen to show them the ore he brought. Armen's find interested geologists. They are ready to go exploring right now. Armen shows the route on the map, undertakes to accompany the geologists. At this moment, an unknown person appears. He keeps a close eye on Armen and the geologists.

Road trips are over. Gayane tenderly says goodbye to Armen. Giko, who approaches, sees this. Seized with jealousy, he threatens after the shepherd. An unknown person's hand rests on Giko's shoulder. He pretends to sympathize with Giko, and inciting his hatred, slyly offers friendship and help. They leave together.

After work, Gayane's friends gathered. Karen plays the tar. The girls perform an old Armenian dance. Kazakov enters. He stayed at the house of Hovhannes.

Gayane and her friends show Kazakov the flowery carpet they have woven, and start a game of hide and seek. Drunk Giko arrives. The game gets frustrated. Collective farmers try to persuade Giko, who is again chasing Gayane, and advise him to leave. After seeing off the guests, the collective farm chairman tries to talk to Giko. But he does not listen to Hovhannes and persistently sticks to Gayane. The angry girl sends Giko away.

Geologists are returning from the campaign together with Armen. Armen's find is not an accident. A rare metal deposit has been discovered in the mountains. Kazakov decides to examine him in detail. Giko, who lingered in the room, becomes a witness to this conversation.

Scouts bowels are going to go. Armen tenderly gives his girlfriend a flower brought from the mountainside. This is seen by Giko, passing by the windows with the unknown. Armen and Hovhannes are sent along with the expedition. Kazakov asks Gayane to save the bag with ore samples. Gayane hides him.

Night has come. An unknown person enters Gayane's house. He pretends to be sick and collapses in exhaustion. Gayane helps him up and hurries for water. Left alone, he jumps up and starts looking for materials from the geological expedition.

Returning Gayane understands that the enemy is in front of her. Threatening, the unknown person demands that she tell where the materials of geologists are located. During the fight, the carpet that covered the niche falls. There is a bag with pieces of ore. An unknown person ties Gayane, takes a bag and, trying to hide the traces of the crime, sets fire to the house.

Fire and smoke fill the room. Giko jumps out the window. Horror and confusion on his face. Seeing a stick forgotten by an unknown person, Giko realizes that the criminal is his recent acquaintance. He carries the girl out of the house on fire.

Starlight Night. High in the mountains there is a camp of collective farm shepherds. Passes a squad of border guards. Shepherd Izmail entertains his beloved girl Aisha by playing the flute. Aisha starts a smooth dance. Attracted by the music, the shepherds gather. And here is Armen. He brought geologists. Here, at the foot of the cliff, he found precious ore. Shepherds perform folk dance "Khochari". They are replaced by Armen. Burning torches in his hands cut through the darkness of the night.

A group of highlanders and border guards arrive. Highlanders carry the parachute they found. The enemy has penetrated Soviet soil! A glow broke out over the valley. The village is on fire! Everyone rushes there.

The flame is raging. In the reflections of the fire flashed the figure of an unknown person. He tries to hide, but collective farmers run from all sides to the burning house. The unknown person hides the bag and gets lost in the crowd.

The crowd subsided. At this moment, an unknown person overtakes Giko. He asks him to be silent and for this he gives a wad of money. Giko throws money in his face and wants to apprehend the criminal. Giko is injured but continues to fight. Gayane runs to help. Giko falls. The enemy aims a weapon at Gayane. Armen came to the rescue and grabs a revolver from the enemy, who is surrounded by border guards.

Autumn. The collective farm had a bountiful harvest. Everyone converges on a holiday. Armen hurries to Gayane. On this wonderful day, he wants to be with his beloved. Armena stops the kids and starts a dance around him.

Collective farmers are baskets of fruit, jugs of wine. Arriving invited to the festival guests from the fraternal republics - Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians.

Finally, Armen sees Gayane. Their meeting is full of joy and happiness. People flock to the square. Here are the old friends of the collective farmers - geologists and border guards. The best brigade is awarded a banner. Kazakov asks Hovhannes to let Armen go to study. Hovhannes agrees.

One dance follows another. Hitting the sonorous tambourines, Nune and her friends dance. Guests perform their national dances - Russian, dashing Ukrainian hopak, lezginka, warlike mountain dance with sabers and others.

There are tables on the square. With raised glasses, everyone praises free labor, the indestructible friendship of the Soviet peoples, and the beautiful Motherland.

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A. Khachaturian ballet "Gayane"

The ballet "Gayane" stands apart not only in the musical heritage A.I. Khachaturian but also in history ballet theater. This is a vivid example of a work of art created by political order. "Gayane" owns the undeniable palm in terms of the number of productions. At the same time, each subsequent librettist changed the plot outline of the performance to suit the historical moment, and the composer, in turn, redrawn the score to fit the new dramaturgy. But, no matter how the images of the main characters are interpreted, in which direction the plot concept changes, this ballet was received enthusiastically by the audience on all stages of the world where it was performed, thanks to the originality of the music, which harmoniously combined classical foundations and a pronounced national character.

Summary Khachaturian's ballet "" and many interesting facts read about this work on our page.

Characters	Description
Hovhannes	collective farm manager
	foreman of the best collective farm brigade, daughter of Hovhannes
Armen	beloved Gayane
Giko	Armen's rival
Nune	Gayane's friend
Karen	collective farm worker
Kazakov	head of the group of geologists
Unknown

Summary of "Gayane"

The plot takes place in the 30s of the XX century in Armenia, not far from the border. On a dark night, near the mountain village, an Unknown appears, who is plotting sabotage. In the morning, the villagers go to work in the garden. Among them is the foreman of the girls' collective farm brigade, the beautiful Gayane, with whom two young people, Giko and Armen, are in love. Giko tries to tell the girl about his feelings, but she rejects his claims.

Geologists arrive in the village, headed by the head of the group Kazakov, among them the figure of the Unknown flickers. Armen shows Kazakov and his comrades pieces of ore that he accidentally found in the foothills, and escorts the group to this place. It turns out that he managed to discover deposits of a rare metal. When Unknown finds out about this, he enters the house of Hovhannes, where the geologists are staying, wanting to steal documents and ore samples. Gayane finds him at the scene of the crime. To cover his tracks, the Unknown sets fire to the house where the girl is. But Giko saves Gayane and exposes the stranger, who is taken away by the border guards who came to the rescue. The apotheosis of the ballet is a common holiday, at which all the characters glorify the friendship of peoples and the Motherland.

In the modern version of the ballet, only love triangle Gayane, Armen and Giko. Events take place in an Armenian village. Among its inhabitants is the young beauty Gayane, with whom Armen is in love. Their love wants to be broken by the unfortunate rival of Armen Giko. He tries his best to win over the girl. He does not succeed, and he decides to take revenge. Giko arranges the kidnapping of the beauty, but the rumor about the atrocity quickly spreads throughout the village. Outraged residents help Armen find and free Gayane, and Giko is forced to flee from the contempt of his fellow villagers. The ballet ends with a merry wedding, where everyone dances and has fun.

Performance duration
I Act	II Act	III Act
35 min.	35 min.	25 min.

Photo:

Interesting Facts:

• The author admitted that "Gayane" occupies a special place in his heart and work, since it is "the only ballet on Soviet theme, who has not left the stage for 25 years.
• The dance divertissement, which includes "Saber Dance", "Lezginka", "Lullaby" and other numbers from the ballet, for almost 50 years has remained an indispensable part of the performances of graduates of the Academy of Russian Ballet. Vaganova.
• The most popular all over the world "Saber Dance" was not originally in the score of "Gayane". But shortly before the premiere, the theater director asked Khachaturian to add a dance number to the final act. The composer flatly refused at first, but then changed his mind and in just 11 hours was able to create real masterpiece. Giving the score of this number to the choreographer, he angrily wrote on the title page: “Damn it, for the sake of the ballet!”
• Contemporaries claimed that incendiary " Saber dance "Even Stalin was forced to stomp every time to the rhythm - so the work sounded on the radio almost every day.

• Music for the ballet "Gayane" brought to its author Aram Khachaturian high award- Stalin Prize I degree.
• Three symphonic suites, which Khachaturian "carved out" from the ballet score, brought worldwide fame to the music of Gayane.
• The Saber Dance has become the most recognizable music from the Gayane ballet. In the United States, Khachaturian began to be called "Mr. Sabredans" ("Mr. Saber Dance"). His motive can be heard in films, cartoons, figure skaters' programs. Since 1948 it has been played on American jukeboxes and became the first recording by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
• The two main creators of the first version of the Gayane ballet, librettist Konstantin Derzhavin and choreographer Nina Anisimova, were not just a creative tandem, but were a married couple.
• In 1938, a black streak began in the life of the future director of Gayane, Nina Anisimova. She, a world-famous dancer, was accused of participating in theatrical banquets, which were often attended by representatives of foreign delegations, and sentenced to 5 years in the Karaganda labor camp. She was saved by her husband, librettist Konstantin Derzhavin, who was not afraid to stand up for the dancer.
• In the 40-70s of the last century, the ballet "Gayane" could be seen on foreign theater stages. During this period, the performance was repeatedly staged in the GDR, the FRG, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Poland.
• The motif of "Sabre Dance" can be heard in the animated series "The Simpsons", in the cartoon "Madagascar 3", the sixth issue of the cartoon "Just you wait!", in the films "Lord of Love", "Paper Birds", "Ghost City", " Silly Defense", "A Simple Desire", "Uncle Tom's Cabin", " Twilight Zone"and others.

Popular numbers from the ballet "Gayane"

Saber Dance - listen

Lezginka - listen

Waltz - listen

Lullaby - listen

The history of the creation of "Gayane"

He first became interested in ballet in 1939. The reason for this was a friendly conversation between the composer and the Soviet party leader Anastas Mikoyan, who, on the eve of the decade of Armenian art, expressed the idea of ​​the need for the emergence of a national Armenian ballet. Khachaturian enthusiastically plunged into the work process.

The composer faced a difficult task - to write music that would become a fertile basis for a choreographic production and at the same time have a well-recognized national identity. This is how the ballet "Happiness" appeared. The libretto was written by Gevorg Hovhannisyan. Deep dive into the world of national musical culture, rhythms and melodies of the Armenian people, coupled with the original talent of the composer, did their job: the performance staged at the Armenian Opera and Ballet Theater was brought to Moscow, where it was a great success. However, critics did not fail to point out the disadvantages of "Happiness", in the first place - the dramaturgy, which turned out to be much weaker than the music. The composer himself realized this best of all.

In 1941, at the suggestion of the leadership of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater. Kirov, began working on an updated version of the ballet with a different libretto written by a famous literary critic and theater critic Konstantin Derzhavin. He left many fragments of the score intact, retaining all the most interesting finds that distinguished the first edition. New ballet was named "Gayane" - in honor of the main character, and it was this performance that took over the baton of "Happiness" in preserving the traditions of the Armenian national music and culture on the ballet stage. Work on "Gayane" began in Leningrad, and continued already in Perm, where the composer was evacuated with the outbreak of war, like the theater troupe of the Kirov Theater. The conditions in which Khachaturian's new musical brainchild was born corresponded to the harsh wartime. The composer worked in a cold hotel room with only a bed, a table, a stool and a piano. In 1942, 700 pages of the ballet score were ready.

Productions

The premiere of "Gayane" fell on December 9, 1942. These days, the heroic battle for Stalingrad was unfolding at the front. But the hall of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater was full. The action, unfolding on stage to the life-affirming music of Khachaturian, strengthened the belief in victory in the souls of the audience. Nina Anisimova, one of the brightest dancers of the characteristic plan of the Kirov (now the Mariinsky) Theater, who studied with Agrippina Vaganova herself, made her debut as director of a four-act performance. Brilliant school, deep understanding of nature national dance and an impeccable sense of style allowed Nina Aleksandrovna to create a performance that was fixed in the theater repertoire for long years. From the very beginning of work on the ballet, Anisimova had a dream of “creating her own Armenia”. For this purpose, she invited an Armenian dancer, who showed her the elements of the Armenian folk dance.

The performing staff of the premiere performance was truly stellar. In the role of Gayane, the prima of the theater and the favorite of the public Natalia Dudinskaya appeared on the stage, her partners were Konstantin Sergeev, Nikolai Zubkovsky, Tatyana Vecheslova, Boris Shavrov. The success of the premiere was due not only to the talent of the actors, but also to the dramaturgy of the performance, the leitmotif of which was the defense of the native land from enemies.

After returning to Leningrad in 1945, the Kirov Theater showed "Gayane" on the native stage, but with some plot changes and updated scenography created by the artist Vadim Ryndin. In 1952, the play was reworked again.

May 22, 1957 premiere ballet "Gayane" was held at the Bolshoi Theater. Based on the proposed libretto by Boris Pletnev, the stage director Vasily Vainonen made a ballet out of the original four-act version, consisting of a prologue, 3 acts and 7 scenes. For this edition of the ballet, Khachaturian reworked almost a third of the previously written music. The parts of Gayane and Armen were brilliantly performed by Bolshoi soloists Raisa Struchkova and Yuri Kondratov. Total on stage Grand ballet Gayane went through three editions. The last one was released in 1984.

Until the beginning of the 1980s, the ballet was performed with constant success on the stages of domestic and foreign theaters. One of the most interesting artistic solutions was proposed by Boris Eifman, who staged "Gayane" as his graduation performance in 1972 on the stage of the Leningrad Maly Opera and Ballet Theater. The choreographer focused on social drama. The period of the formation of the Soviet order in Armenia was chosen as the historical background for the plot. Giko in this version turned into Gayane's husband. Being the son of the fist Matzak, he cannot renounce his father. His wife Gayane comes from a poor family, and she has to choose between her love for her husband and her beliefs. The main character makes a choice new government, which is represented by Armen in the ballet. The performance in the artistic interpretation of Eifman has 173 shows.

In the 21st century, the Gayane ballet has virtually disappeared from the stage. main reason This was the scenario that has lost its social relevance. But "Gayane" still remains one of the main cultural symbols of Armenia. In the repertoire of the Armenian Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after A. Spendiarov's ballet Khachaturian takes place of honor. The performance staged people's artist Armenia by Vilen Galstyan, was a huge success not only in Russia, but also abroad - in Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain, United United Arab Emirates. In 2014, the ballet Gayane, after almost a half-century break, was shown at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, from where it began more than 50 years ago. big way performance by theater scenes peace. Galstyan, who spoke in this case also as a screenwriter, removed everything from the libretto storylines, Related political motives. From the original ballet, only the soul-touching love story and the music of Aram Khachaturian, captivating with its energy, remained.

Separate dance numbers written by the composer for "", - such as "Lezginka", "Waltz", "Lullaby" and, of course, the unsurpassed " Saber dance ”, - have long stepped over the boundaries of ballet and found independent life. They are an adornment of many concerts, they are danced on all stages of the world, and their popularity only grows over the years. In their original music and choreography there is depth, sincerity, passion, love - everything that is close and understandable to every human heart.

Video: watch the ballet "Gayane" Khachaturian

Creation Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (1903-1978) included in the golden fund of Soviet art. His works have won universal recognition. Like many other works of the composer, his ballets have become classic examples of modern music. A. Khachaturian's first experience in the musical and choreographic genre became the first Armenian national ballet. In 1939, a decade of Armenian art was held in Moscow, and for this event, the choreographic troupe of the Yerevan Opera and Ballet Theater named after. A.A. Spendiarova prepared a production of Khachaturian's ballet "Happiness" (choreographer I.I. Arbatov), ​​which premiered at the Bolshoi Theater. Based on his material, a ballet was created "Gayane" - a choreographic poem about the greatness of the people, about their work and love, about their happiness. The script was written by K.N. Derzhavin. “In my ballet “Gayane,” the composer said, “I tried to stage courageous images by means of dance and plasticity. Soviet people and their selfless struggle for their beloved Motherland. In 1943, the author of the music "Gayane" was awarded the State Prize of the USSR. Three symphonic suites made by the composer and separate fragments from "Gayane" constantly sound on concert stages all over the world.

Gayane by Khachaturian occupies a special place in Soviet ballet art. It is one of the most outstanding ballets in terms of music and one of the most unfortunate in terms of stage fate. The reason lies in the sharp discrepancy between the integrity of the music and weak scripts. The failure of the original script forced new stories to be “subtexted” to the music again and again. So, “in the play by V. Vainonen, the plot was based on a banal love “quadrangle”; in the play M.A. Martirosyan, a symbolic plot was invented about the fight against a foreign invasion; performance by B.Ya. Eifman was based on the drama of lovers who are in a socially unequal position; performance by V.S. Galstyan - on the drama of love and jealousy; performance by N.A. Kasatkina and V.V. Vasileva is based on a story about how young people overcome traditional family prejudices and find their own ways in life.

The music of "Gayane" is striking in the brightness of the national color, life-affirming power, melodic richness, harmonic and orchestral brilliance. She tells about happy life people, draws original individual characters and folk scenes, talks about how dramatic complications in human life are overcome by its healthy principles and full-blooded natural course.

The ballet "Gayane" first appeared during the Great Patriotic War and sounded like an expression of Soviet patriotism. On the stage, a picture of that joyful and happy life was recreated, for which the Soviet people fought the battle against the fascist invaders.

The premiere of the performance took place on December 9, 1942 in Perm (by the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after S.M. Kirov). The premiere of the new edition was in 1957 in Moscow, at the Bolshoi Theatre.

Summary of the ballet.

Ballet in three acts, seven scenes with a prologue (new edition). Libretto B.V. Pletnev.

Gayane's house in the valley. A storm is starting. In the mountains among the hunters Armen, whom she has loved for a long time. Gayane runs from the garden and suddenly runs into Armen and Georgy, in their arms is Aisha, who was thrown off a cliff by a hurricane. Aisha regains strength. George appears, he confesses his love to her and waits for an answer. Aisha is silent. Armen appears in the garden with flowers in his hands. Not finding Gayane, he asks Aisha to give her flowers. Aisha readily agrees. George returns and sees: smiling Aisha with flowers in her hands and Armen next to her. An agonizing guess overshadows George: Aisha loves his friend. Confused, he runs away.

Hunting in the mountains. Suddenly a bear appears behind Armen. George grabs a gun and aims at the beast, but blinded by jealousy, lowers the gun. The bear rushes at Armen, and they both fall into a crevice. George is horrified. Appeared hunters endure Armen, the young man is blind.

House of Armen. Helplessly looking around and leading a stick in front of him, he takes a few steps and almost falls. Gayane rushes to his aid. Armen does not want Gayane to link her fate with the blind man. But the girl fervently assures her beloved that they will be happy, instilling in Armen the desire to live and fight for their happiness.

Evening in the mountains. Aisha is sad: she realized that she loves George. George appears unexpectedly. He came to see last time Aishu before leaving his village forever. Aisha happily throws herself into his arms. Suddenly, the memory of a blind friend sobers George. He has no right to love and be loved until he confesses his crime.

Harvest festival. Painful memories of the past cover the blind young man. In desperation, he rips off the blindfold. Sunlight blinds him for a moment. Armen got his sight back!

The dancing begins. Faithful Gayane is next to Armep. George tells his fellow villagers the whole truth about what happened during the hunt. The people of the valley turn away with contempt from a man who has betrayed a friend. Aisha stands up for George - it was she who became the unwitting culprit of what happened. George waits in silence for Armen's verdict. Armen forgives George and extends the hand of friendship to him. George decides to leave the valley. He must become a different person, regain the respect of his fellow villagers. Aisha is ready to follow him.

No less popular was the ballet by A.I. Khachaturian "Spartacus" according to the scenario of N.S. Volkov. For the music to it, the composer was awarded the Lenin Prize. This idea arose from him back in 1940. Even then, the composer dreamed of creating a monumental heroic performance that would show the Soviet audience the best person all ancient history what is Spartacus. Many years later, developing his idea, A.I. Khachaturian wrote: “Now, when many oppressed peoples of the world are launching a struggle for their liberation and national independence, the immortal image of Spartacus acquires a special charm for me. And composing the music of his ballet, trying to mentally comprehend the atmosphere ancient rome, to recreate vivid pictures of the distant historical past, I always felt the spiritual closeness of Spartacus to our era, our struggle against all kinds of tyranny, the struggle of the oppressed peoples against the imperialist aggressors.

Many choreographers worked on the stage realization of "Spartacus". The first among them was L.V. Yakobson, who in 1956 staged the ballet on the stage of the Kirov Theatre. WITH new version"Spartacus" was introduced to the audience at the Bolshoi Theater by I. Moiseev in 1958. The staging of 1968 was especially successful, when the ballet was staged at the Bolshoi Theater according to its scenario by Yu.N. Grigorovich. For this work, the choreographer, as well as the conductor G.N. Rozhdestvensky, artist S.B. Virsaladze and performers of the main parts - V.V. Vasiliev, M.L. Lavrovsky and M.R. Liepa were awarded the Lenin Prize in 1970. This performance was filmed in 1976.

Summary of the ballet.

Ballet in three acts, twelve scenes, nine monologues with an epilogue. Libretto by N.S. Volkov, edited by Yu.N. Grigorovich.

The death of peaceful life is carried by the legions of the Roman Empire, led by the cruel and treacherous Crassus. The people captured by him are doomed to slavery. Among them is Spartacus.

Captured slaves are driven to the market. Men and women are separated by force. Separated and Spartacus with Phrygia, she becomes a slave of Crassus. Spartacus calls the gladiators to revolt. They answer him with an oath of allegiance. Throwing off the fetters, Spartacus and the gladiators flee from Rome. Spartacus is the leader. His goal is to fight for freedom. His happiness is in the love of Phrygia.

The people join the gladiators. Suddenly, the troops of Spartacus surround the palace. Crassus is captured by the gladiators. But Spartacus does not want reprisals. He invites Crassus to decide his fate in an open duel. Crassus accepts the challenge and is defeated. With ostentatious pride, he is ready to face death. But Spartak lets him go. He is confident in the victory of the gladiators and is alien to a petty sense of revenge.

Spartacus is happy with Phrygia. The news of a new campaign of Crassus comes as a sudden disaster. Spartacus offers to take the fight. But many of his generals show weakness and desert their leader. The legions are pushing the troops of Spartacus. In an unequal battle, his friends die. Spartacus meets death courageously, until the last moment not submitting to enemies, not knowing doubts about the correctness of his chosen path. Phrygia mourns Spartacus. She is full of faith in the immortality of his feat.

April 4, 1982 in Odessa, July 7 of the same year in Yerevan, the premiere of another ballet by A.I. Khachaturian "Masquerade", based on the drama of the same name by M.Yu. Lermontov. musical composition and edited by E.S. Oganesyan, libretto by L.A. Vilvovskaya, N.I. Ryzhenko, V.V. Smirnov-Golovanov.

Summary of the ballet.

Hall gambling house. Prince Zvezdych loses money. Arbenin enters, he is lucky, he wins, and gives all the winnings to the prince. They are followed by "Mask" (Unknown), once ruined and disgraced by Arbenin in his youth.

Masquerade. Guests in fancy dress are circling in a waltz. Arbenin is bored, he thinks about his beloved wife Nina. The prince's attention is drawn to a female domino mask talking to another mask. Zvezdich invites her to dance. The mask refuses. He takes her by the hand. Breaking out, she loses her bracelet and, without noticing this, runs away. The second mask picks up the bracelet and admires it. The prince approaches. The mask wants to leave. He asks her to leave something for him to remember. The mask throws the found bracelet to him and disappears.

Arbenin is at home, waiting for Nina's return. Suddenly he notices that there is no bracelet on one arm, and asks where he is. It turns out that the wife was at a masquerade, the husband suspects treason.

In the crowd, Zvezdych sees Nina walking towards a jewelry store. He follows her. Not finding a bracelet like the lost one there, Nina exits the store excitedly and runs into the prince.

Nina comes to Baroness Shtral. Zvezdych appears and says that he saw Nina in a jewelry store. Now he is convinced that the stranger in the masquerade and Nina are one and the same person. Nina is offended by the behavior of the prince and hurriedly leaves. The Baroness is in despair. She is looking for Zvezdich in order to confess to him that she deceived him by hiding her face under a mask and giving the prince a bracelet lost by Nina.

Ball. Zvezdich approaches Nina, bowing respectfully, returns her bracelet and leaves the hall. Arbenin is convinced again that he has been deceived by his wife. Nina and Arbenin remain alone. In the back of the hall is the Unknown. He follows them and sees how Arbenin gives a glass to Nina, pouring poison into it.

The Arbenins' bedroom. Nina is unwell. Arbenin says that she will die in a few minutes. Gathering her last strength, she tells Arbenin that she is innocent.

Mourning in the Arbenins' house. The Unknown appears, he says that Arbenin killed his wife and asks Baroness Shtral and Zvezdich to confirm what he said. Arbenin rushes about, as if in a trap, and falls, looking at those around him with unseeing eyes. He lost his mind... People walk past the coffin and disperse. Arbenin remains alone.

6. The manifestation of the traditions of songwriting by Vasily Pavlovich Solovyov-Sedoy in choreographic art (1907-1979)

His best songs won nationwide fame and spread abroad. Over four hundred examples of this genre were created by the composer.

However, even in the pre-war years, Solovyov-Sedoy performed not only in the song genre, but also in the ballet. In 1940, the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after. CM. Kirov showed his ballet "Taras Bulba" based on the story by N.V. Gogol directed by F.V. Lopukhov according to the script by S.S. Kaplan. In the music of the ballet, the style of the composer-songwriter was clearly affected: “the characteristics of the characters are given in relief melodies associated with Ukrainian and Russian folk songs". The dance suite "Zaporozhian Sich", dance dialogues of Ostap and Oksana, Andriy and Pannochka were masterfully developed.

"Shortly before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the Solovyov-Sedogo ballet appeared on the stage of the Opera and Ballet Theatre. CM. Kirov, - says I.I. Dzerzhinsky. – It was still a work far from perfect, but even then its music radiated that special charm that is characteristic only of great talents. Many years later, the author thoroughly revised the score, and the ballet, "strengthened" and "matured", returned to the theater stage.

In 1941, this work was addressed Grand Theatre, where R.V. became the new librettist and director. Zakharov. Once again, the composer returned to ballet in 1955. It was staged at the Kirov Theater by choreographer B.A. Fenster. Revisiting the score again, the composer and screenwriter S.S. Kaplan changed not only individual scenes, but the entire dramaturgy of the ballet as a whole, “as a result, new performance, which acquired a heroic sound, close to the brilliant story of Gogol. In different editions of the ballet, the main parts were performed by well-known masters of Soviet choreography: N.M. Dudinskaya, A.Ya. Shelest, M.T. Semenova, O.V. Lepeshinskaya, A.E. Osipenko, V.M. Chabukiani, S.G. Root, L.A. Lashchilin, K.M. Sergeev, M.M. Gabovich, A.A. Makarov.

Summary of the ballet.

Ballet in three acts, ten scenes.

Taras Bulba is looking forward to the return of his sons Ostap and Andriy from Kyiv Bursa. The courtyard of Taras is filled with people. Everyone wants to look at the sons of Bulba. Taras, meanwhile, decides to go tomorrow with his sons to the Sich. He can't wait to see how they will comprehend military science.

Before Andriy, there is a memory of the beauty that captivated him - the daughter of the Polish governor.

Sich. The revelry of fun is interrupted by the arrival of the peasants. They ask the Cossacks to release native land from the gentry, who are reprisal against the people. The Cossacks decide to go on a campaign. Ahead are the sons of Taras - Ostap and Andriy.

Tired of fighting, the camp falls asleep. Only Andriy does not sleep, immersed in dreams of a beautiful lady. Suddenly he notices female figure. This is a Tatar woman - a pannochka's maid. She snuck into the camp of the Cossacks to report that the pannochka was in the besieged city. The city is hungry. She hasn't eaten anything for two days now. Andriy, taking a bag of bread, disappears with a Tatar in an underground passage. The siege of Dubno has been lifted. Celebration in the city. Noise ball. Pannochka has a new knight - Andriy. He is terrified by the thought of perfect betrayal, but the lady's seductive smile makes him drive away this thought.

Taras finds out about Andriy's betrayal. As a father is struck by thunder, his rage is boundless. Seeing Andrii at the head of the enemy army from afar, he orders the Cossacks to lure him into the forest. In the heat of battle, Taras and Andriy come face to face. Taras orders his son to get off his horse and shoots him. Andriy falls dead.

Taras sits motionless. Grief bent the old Cossack. Near Dubno, he lost his eldest son, Ostap's favorite. Taras himself saw how they twisted his hands and took him in full. Before the eyes of the old man passes a terrible picture of the execution of his son.

For a long time the enemies have been trying to catch Taras, but only now they overtook him on the banks of the Dniester. The enemies twisted his arms, tied him to a tree and set him on fire.

The gentry backed away from the smoke and fire. From the fire, as from the flame of popular anger, people's regiments began to arise, and at their head - a gigantic figure folk hero Taras Bulba.

In 1963, there was another meeting of R.V. Zakharov with the work of V.P. Solovyov-Sedogo. They worked together on a ballet "Russia entered the port." The play was a complete failure. There is nothing left of the talent of R.V. Zakharov of the times not only of the Bakhchisarai Fountain, but also of Cinderella and the Bronze Horseman. Festival suites, divertissements of folk dances alternated with pantomime scenes that cemented a simple plot, once again proving the obsolescence of the principles of drama ballet. The premiere took place at the Opera and Ballet Theatre. CM. Kirov in 1964