The Lady with the Camellias. Premiere of an original ballet in the NdB

28 February 2020, 1:00
The Lady with the Camellias. Premiere of an original ballet in the NdB

The ballet ensemble of the National Theatre Brno will present an original ballet piece based on the novel by Alexander Dumas Jr. and music by Franz Schubert, in an arrangement by Andrei Pushkarev. This production was created under the leadership of the choreographer Valentina Turcu. Conductor Robert Kružík undertook the musical preparation of the performance with the orchestra of the Janáček Opera.

The production was created for the Brno Ballet by a Slovenian team headed by the choreographer Valentina Turcu. Turcu has on her account a nomination for the Kyoto Prize in 2015; she is a recognized dancer and choreographer. She has participated in the creating of over 130 ballet, opera and theatre productions. Her ballet pieces are guest-performed all around the world. The members of her team also include a stage designer, a prominent Slovenian artist Marko Japelj, who collaborates, for example, with the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The main roles of the Brno production will be rendered by Andrea Popov Smejkalová or Klaudia Radačovská as Marguerita; Arthur Abram, Uladzimir Ivanou or Robert Hyland as Armand; and many others. The premiere of the ballet will take place on 6 March 2020 at 19:00 in the Janáček Theatre.

The Lady of the Camellias (La Dame aux Camélias)  is a story of Marguerite and Armand, a beautiful courtesan and a young man from a good family. At first, the story takes place in Paris, in high-society parlours, to eventually move to the countryside, where the two main characters leave for a better new life. However, their deep and passionate relationship does not last long. Under pressure from Armand's father, Marguerite leaves her sweetheart and pretends that her feelings have chilled out. She returns to her previous way of life and dies in abandonment. Armand believes she betrayed him and only after her death does he learn the truth.

Photo by Ctibor Bachratý

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