Ru
EnO. Kushnir
Interpreting of music by P. Tchaikovsky in the producer J. Kranko’s ballet “Eugeniy Onegin”
The object of study in the article is the ballet “Eugeniy Onegin”, created by choreographer John Kranko and based on a novel in verse by A. Pushkin. The music of the ballet based on the works by P. Tchaikovsky, compiled into a single piece and divided into three acts each consisting of two scenes. “Onegin” is highly estimated by the audience and performers for more than half a century, being a part of repertoire of many troupes working at different theater venues around the world. The successful ballet has repeatedly been discussed and praised in critical articles and became an object of a dissertation study by D. Khokhlova, one of the performers of the role of Olga in the Bolshoi Theatre.
The expressive means and the substance of the performance – plastic movements, vivid facial expressions, dramatic playing of ballet performers, decorative design, costumes and stage lighting are carefully thought out and represent the result of eight years of choreographer’s work. Pushkin’s characters are well recognized because act closely both to the primary text and to Tchaikovsky's opera of the same name.
The music of the ballet, carefully thought out by Kranko and conductor Stolz, includes various works by the brilliant Russian composer. The music of the ballet is appreciated by the audience, provoking exclamations of surprise such as: “This is Tchaikovsky!”. However, the fact that the musical material belongs to the particular author does not mean it should necessarily follow the composer's characteristic musical form patterns, development methods, symphonic thinking, etc. This music performs a new function within this new context and requires special musicological observation. The researcher examines original interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s music by the choreographer in the interactions with the features of ballet libretto and many other aspects.
Key words
ballet “Eugeniy Onegin” by choreographer J. Kranko, borrowed non-ballet music, K.-H. Stolz.
For citation
Kushnir O. Interpreting of music by P. Tchaikovsky in the producer J. Kranko’s ballet “Eugeniy Onegin” // South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2021. No. 4. Pp. 34–44.
