After a five-year gap, the Bolshoi will once again perform in China. Artists of the ballet troupe are going on tour: four performances of the ballet Don Quixote and two gala concerts will be given on the stage of the Opera Hall of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, a wonder of contemporary architecture. Performances of the Bolshoi Ballet will be accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of the National Ballet of China. Conductor — maestro Pavel Klinichev.
The Bolshoi has performed multiple times in China in the current millennium. In 2001, the ballet Swan Lake was offered to the attention of Chinese theatregoers: in Shanghai it was shown at the Grand Theatre, in Beijing – at the hall of the National People's Congress (The Great Hall of the People).
In 2006 artists of the opera and ballet troupes, and the orchestra of the Bolshoi gave two concerts in honour of the opening of the Year of Russia in China. The concerts were held in the main hall — two thousand seats — at the Beijing Great Hall of the People, one of the most famous buildings of the Chinese capital, which is 170 thousand square metres of total area.
In 2010 all the creative teams of the theatre took part in the tour. Ten performances were given: four operas Eugene Onegin by P. Tchaikovsky, three ballets La Fille du pharaon by C. Pugni and three ballets Don Quixote by L. Minkus. All the performances were held on the stage of the Opera Hall of the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts. As for the opera troupe of the Bolshoi, it was their first, historic tour to China. Eugene Onegin in the much talked-of production by D. Tchernyakov was to win an unprecedented success.
In 2015 a full-scale tour of the opera, ballet and orchestra took place in Hong Kong, which was held within the framework of the famous Hong Kong Arts Festival (The Tsar’s Bride, The Flames of Paris, Jewels).
In 2018 the Bolshoi participated in the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Shanghai Grand Theatre. In honour of this momentous event, three performances of the opera The Tsar’s Bride were given. Several days later, when the orchestra arrived, the ballet troupe of the Bolshoi gave three performances each of Le Corsaire and The Flames of Paris ballets at the Opera Hall of the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts, the venue which had become almost a tradition to them.
Gala, 25 & 26 July, 19:30
PART I
Pas de deux from the ballet The Talisman
R. Drigo, choreography by M. Petipa
Anastasia Stashkevich
Vyacheslav Lopatin
Duet from the ballet Romeo and Juliet
S. Prokofiev, choreography by L. Lavrovsky
Eleonora Sevenard
Artemy Belyakov
Pas de deux from the ballet The Sleeping Beauty
P. Tchaikovsky, choreography by M. Petipa
Anna Nikulina
Artyom Ovcharenko
Spartacus Monologue and Adagio from the ballet Spartacus
A. Khachaturyan, choreography by Y. Grigorovich
Maria Vinogradova
Mikhail Lobukhin
Pas de deux from the ballet The Flames of Paris
B. Asafiev, choreography by V. Vainonen
Maria Koshkaryova
Igor Tsvirko
PART II
Pas de deux from the ballet Swan Lake
P. Tchaikovsky, choreography by M. Petipa
Alyona Kovalyova
Artemy Belyakov
Spring Waters
S. Rakhmaninov, choreography by A. Messerer
Anastasia Stashkevich
Vyacheslav Lopatin
Diana and Acteon Pas de deux from the ballet Esmeralda
C. Pugni, choreography by A. Vaganova
Sofia Maymula
Alexei Putintsev
Grand Pas Classique
D.-F.-E. Auber, choreography by V. Gzovsky
Eleonora Sevenard
Dmitry Vyskubenko
Elizaveta Kokoreva
Dmitry Smilevsky
Maria Koshkaryova
Antonina Chapkina
DON QUIXOTE
28 July, 19:30
Kitri: Eleonora Sevenard
Basilio: Igor Tsvirko
Don Quixote: Nikita Elikarov
Sancho Panza: Alexei Matrakhov
Gamache: Denis Savin
A Street Dancer: Maria Vinogradova
Espada: Mikhail Lobukhin
The Queen of the Dryads: Alyona Kovalyova
Cupid: Sofia Maymula
29 July, 13:30
Kitri: Elizaveta Kokoreva
Basilio: Dmitry Smilevsky
Don Quixote: Nikita Elikarov
Sancho Panza: Georgy Gusev
Gamache: Denis Savin
A Street Dancer: Alyona Kovalyova
Espada: Danila Khamzin
The Queen of the Dryads: Eva Sergeyenkova
Cupid: Sofia Maymula
29 July, 19:30
Kitri: Ekaterina Krysanova
Basilio: Vladislav Lantratov
Don Quixote: Nikita Elikarov
Sancho Panza: Alexei Matrakhov
Gamache: Denis Savin
A Street Dancer: Maria Vinogradova
Espada: Mikhail Lobukhin
The Queen of the Dryads: Alyona Kovalyova
Cupid: Sofia Maymula
30 July, 19:30
Due to severe weather conditions all the cultuгe institutions in Bejing are closed including the theatre performances, touring companies' performances among others.