Bolshoi Ballet:

Third century of The Bolshoi Ballet

In 1776, Prince Pyotr Urusov and English entrepreneure Michael Maddox founded a theatre company in Moscow. From this very date the history of the Bolshoi Theatre started: first permanent company, first professional music theatre that in the ensuing years acquired the status of the main stage of the country. Architects Osip Bove and Andrei Mikhailov fronted later the classicist building by eight Dorian columns, its portico surmounted by a bronze Apollo driving his four-horse chariot. At this stage the ballet company was comprised of just 47 dancers.

From the very beginning the Moscow ballet had its specific features: «Moscow style» that was formed in the middle of the ХIХ century implied that acting play prevailed over pure dance. Don Quixote which was brought from Moscow to Saint Petersburg and not the other way round became a showcase of Moscow ballet.

Alexander Gorsky was at the head of the company at the first quarter of the XX century. His choreographic ideas reflecting the spirit of his time stipulated a new rise of popularity of the Bolshoi Theatre. The history of these years includes experiments by Kasyan Goleizovsky who added a lot to the development of the Russian ballet, while from 1930-s till the middle of 1950-s drama ballets prevailed: The Fountain of Bakhchisarai by Rostislav Zakharov, Romeo and Juliet by Leonid Lavrovsky were brought from Leningrad. Both Moscow stars – Olga Lepeshinskaya, Asaf Messerer – and Leningraders that entered the Bolshoi Company – Galina Ulanova, Alexei Ermolayev, Marina Semionova performed in these ballets.

A new rise of the «Bolshoi style» is the period of Yuri Grigorovich’s directorship. He brought from Leningrad to Bolshoi his innovatory productions and created new versions of classical ballets (Spartacus, Ivan The Terrible). This was the time when the world famous duets such as Ekaterina Maximova – Vladimir Vasiliev, Natalia Bessmertnova – Michail Lavrovsky appeared.

The new stage opening in November 2002 contributed to a considerable enrichment of the repertoire: along with the classical masterpieces by Tchaikovsky and Glazunov a new contemporary version of Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev. Other new productions include three ballets on Schostakovich’s music: The Bright Stream, The Bolt  (both – in Alexei Ratmansky’s choreography) and The Golden Age by Yuri Grigorovich ; ballets by Roland Petit, Léonid Massine and George Balanchine, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by John Neumeier, Cinderella by Yuri Possokhov as well ballets by young choreographers created especially for the Bolshoi Theatre. Since 2004, the ballet company has been directed by Alexei Ratmansky.