The State Hermitage and the State Academic Yakobson Ballet Theatre under the leadership of Merited Artist of Russia Andrian Fadeyev announce the launch of a joint project – a series of educational performances entitled “Hermitage Recitals of the Leonid Yakobson Theatre” on the stage of the Hermitage Theatre.
The first of these events will take place on 7, 8 and 20 March 2021.
One of the project’s important educational and popularizing goals is to acquaint audiences with the legacy of the choreographer whose name the company bears. Accordingly, the performances will, as a rule, be accompanied by commentaries from experts, connoisseurs and historians of ballet. The programme will, however, also include other parts of the Yakbson Theatre’s repertoire: classical ballet heritage, the works of contemporary Russian and foreign choreographers and miniatures by Yakobson that make up a distinctive, exceptional part of the company’s body of work.
On 7 and 8 March, the Hermitage Theatre will be the venue for a festive programme to celebrate International Women’s Day. The programme will feature Mikhail Fokine’s Chopiniana (Les Sylphides) with original designs by the artist Olga Shaishmelashvili and choreographic masterpieces by Leonid Yakobson, the basis of which is formed by the classical miniatures Pas de quatre, Taglioni’s Flight and Pas de deux to music by Rossini. The festive mood will be maintained by the witty and distinctive Gossips and Lovers, as well as Viennese Waltz imbued with a romantic mood.
The programme for 20 March consists entirely of Yakobson miniatures. It combines numbers from the Classicism-Romanticism cycle and the one-act ballet The Wedding Cortège with music by Shostakovich that was inspired by the early paintings of Marc Chagall. A commentary will be provided by the distinguished ballet scholar and critic Olga Fedorchenko.
###
One of the oldest in Saint Petersburg, the Hermitage Theatre, built to the design of Giacomo Quarenghi, was opened on 16 November 1785. The theatre flourished during the reign of Catherine the Great, when operas by Giuseppe Sarti and Antonio Salieri, comedies by Voltaire and ballets by Charles Le Picq were put on there. In the 19th century, the theatre was used for its original purpose mainly on ceremonial occasions. It was refurbished and reconstructed repeatedly and for long periods at a time. During Alexander I’s reign, it was used as an indoor riding hall. In 1852 the adjoining Imperial Hermitage was opened as a public museum. The Hermitage Theatre again became a focal point in the vanguard of theatrical life from 1898. Petipa’s ballets were staged and celebrated operatic singers and dramatic actors of the day performed there. The theatre was closed in 1936 and only reopened its doors to the public in 1991. The Hermitage Theatre again became one of the best-known venues in Russia’s Northern Capital. It is the setting for concerts, international festivals and performances of classic works from around the world.
The Saint Petersburg State Academic Yakobson Ballet Theatre is a unique artistic company that is a gem not only of its home city and Russia, but of the whole of the world cultural scene. The theatre is proud of its 50-year history and bears with honour the name of the outstanding Russian 20th-century choreographer Leonid Veniaminovich Yakobson (1904–1975). Since 2011, the company’s artistic director has been Merited Artist of Russia Andrian Fadeyev. He regards his main mission to be restoring, nurturing and building upon the traditions that have been developed throughout the theatre’s history. The company today employs graduates of the world’s finest choreographic schools and highly experienced tutors, who have all been brought together by their desire to preserve the artistic treasures of the past and to create something new. The company has received the Golden Soffit Saint Petersburg theatre award, Russia’s national Golden Mask theatre award, and the Taglioni Prize, a prestigious European ballet award.
