The ballet Yaroslavna (Eclipse) was composed by Boris Tishchenko in 1974 for the Leningrad Maly Opera Theatre. The production, staged by choreographer Oleg Vinogradov and director Yuri Lyubimov, became one of the most significant ballet events of the 1970s—a groundbreaking masterpiece recognized not only by Soviet audiences and critics, but also by visitors to the prestigious Avignon Festival.
Radically different from the familiar operatic interpretation of Prince Igor, this vision of the events described in The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, along with its striking directorial solutions and Tishchenko’s piercing music, mesmerized audiences throughout the fourteen-year run of the production.
The author of the new stage interpretation of Tishchenko’s score is choreographer Vladimir Varnava.
“Reading The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, I try to draw parallels with myself, and in my performance based on this work I search for emotions and images that resonate with today’s audience,” the choreographer explains. “My story is about a human being. I reflect on what happens in the soul of someone who acts solely to satisfy their ambitions, to feed their ego, to nourish their inner demon. This could be about any of us, and I want each viewer to reflect on their own actions.
Yaroslavna is not about heroic deeds or a liberator—it is a tragedy. It is like Macbeth in reverse; that is the hashtag I would give our production. In Macbeth, we observe the darkening of the human soul, whereas here, through eclipse, trials, and the greatest guilt—the death of many people—the hero arrives at clarity. The theme of one person’s enlightenment at the cost of many lives is present in The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, and my task as a choreographer is to reveal this idea.”
Theatre: Mariinsky Theatre
Choreographer: Vladimir Varnava
Set and Costume Designer: Galya Solodovnikova
Assistant Set Designer: Alexandra Razina
Lighting Designer: Igor Fomin
Ballet premiere (choreography by Vladimir Varnava): June 30, 2017
