On December 16th, the classic ballet "Onegin" of the National Ballet of China premiered at the Beijing Tianqiao Theater and appeared as a key play in the 5th China International Ballet Season, showing the unique and moving artistic charm of theatrical ballet for the audience in the capital.
Feng Ying, head of the China Ballet and artistic director, said of the significance of the re-arrangement of "Onegin": "The world ballet classic "Onegin" is a model of the outstanding wisdom of pushkin, Tchaikovsky and John Kranko. Since its appearance in 1965, it has influenced generations of dancers and choreographers around the world, and to this day, the works still shine like a beacon of art. In 2008, China Ballet first put the play on the Chinese stage and injected the unique oriental artistic charm of Chinese ballet. More than ten years later, the new generation of young artists of China and Pakistan have revealed the deep emotional conflicts of human nature in the face of life and death, emotion and dignity, friendship and love choices, inner contradictions and struggles, etc., with moving and exquisite interpretations, and shocking people's hearts on the stage. I believe that "Onegin" will definitely bring you a different deep understanding! ”
It is worth mentioning that due to the impact of the New Crown epidemic on the planned rehearsals of German artists to China, but based on the understanding and trust of many cooperation, China and Germany jointly made a very challenging decision - reed Anderson, artistic director of the John Cranco Foundation, conducted an online rehearsal for China Barica. Artists from the two countries have overcome the barriers of jet lag and language time and time again, through the small screen, meticulously following every detail, the epidemic has blocked the space, but has not reduced the requirements of both sides for the quality of art in the slightest. The artists worked together to complete the rehearsal with high quality, and once again presented the work on the stage with the standard of excellence and the rigorous attitude worthy of the classics.
In the premiere of the evening, Zhang Jian and Ma Xiaodong, the chief actors of China Ballet, played the heroine Dageana and the male protagonist Onegin respectively, and the outstanding young actors Zhan Lilu, Zheng Yu and Wu Dianyu played Olga, Liansky and the Duke of Graming, with superb dance and emotional interpretation, each character portrayed with the slightest touch and touching heartstrings. Under the baton of Music Director Zhang Yi and led by Concertmaster Wang Xiaomao, the China Ballet Symphony Orchestra presents Tchaikovsky's picturesque music. The performance won a round of applause and cheers from the audience, and the curtain called "Bravo! The cheers came and went.
The dance drama "Onegin" tells the story of the arrogant and cynical aristocratic young Onegin who coldly rejects the love of the innocent country girl Dagjana, but when they reunite many years later, they know who the true feelings belong to, but Dagiana has long become a duchess, and finally after a fierce emotional struggle, Dagjana overcomes herself, adheres to the bottom line of morality, and resolutely rejects Onegin's courtship. As a model of theatrical ballet, the work breaks the stylized expression of classical ballet, with a highly creative action design and dance choreography, vividly expressing the complex dramatic conflict and the extreme emotions of the characters in the play, and at the same time, it is also a double challenge for the actors to dance skills and portray the characters.
The premiere group Zhang Jian and Ma Xiaodong showed a strong artistic charm in the three double dances in the play, and the budding and panic of the dagiana girl's love dou in the "first acquaintance with the double dance" contrasted with Onegin's ease but numbness and coldness, and in the "Mirror Double Dance" Dagiana danced with Onegin in a dream, and the surging passion in the heart was presented on the stage through a group of difficult movements, and the final "Farewell Double Dance" pushed the psychological atmosphere of the whole performance to a climax. With the superb acting skills tempered by the years, the two dancers portray the complex characters' hearts completely through body language, and every trace of entanglement and forbearance seems to be exhausted in the wordlessness of the tiptoe, which also makes every viewer feel empathy.
It is reported that the play will continue to be staged until December 19, with three different groups of actors bringing their own unique performances.
(Photo photography in this article at the time)
Editor-in-charge: Wu Min