Ballet in 3 acts Libretto: Leonid Lavrovsky, Sergei Prokofiev [Based: William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet] Choreography: Leonid Lavrovsky First performance: * Original version: 30 December 1938, Brno, Czechoslovakia * Significantly revised version: 11 January 1940, Kirov, Leningrad
Recorded: 1974, The Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
Juliet: Ekaterina Maximova Romeo: Vladimir Vasiliev Mercutio: Jyry Panko Tybalt: Vladimir Levashov Paris: Vladimir Romanenko Benvolio: Isandr Khmelnitsky Father Capulet: Dmitry Begak Mother Capulet: Alla Boguslavskaya Montague: Ivan Smoltsov Nurse: Svetlana Zahvatoshina Lorenzo: Valery Zholtikov Duke: Jury Medvedev Juliet's Friend: Tatiana Golikova Troubadour: Valery Lagunov Jester: Vladimir Koshelev
Ekaterina Maximova is one of the few ballerinas, who, in their artistic maturity, can capture the ebullience of a thirteen-year-old. Her Juliet is an astonishing accomplishment, magnificently danced and emotionally heartrending. Her Romeo is the superb Vladimir Vasiliev, one of the greatest male dancers produced by Russia, who looks the part and acts and dances it to perfection. The other soloists and the Bolshoi corps de ballet make this a performance to treasure. |