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Denis Rodkin is promoted from the Leading Soloists to Principals; Maria Vinogradova — from the First Soloists to the Leading Soloists, Maria Semenyachenko — from the Soloists to the First Soloists; Alexander Vodopetov — from Artists to the Soloists.

The 239th season will close with the world première of the ballet Hero of Our Time. The Theatre dedicates its new production to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Mikhail Lermontov, the great Russian poet, which was celebrated at the end of last year.

The flames of Seville will soon be blazing alongside those of Paris (viz., Alexei Ratmansky’s ballet-reconstruction The Flames of Paris) at the Bolshoi Theatre: for on July 15th, Bizet’s opera Carmen will be returning to the repertoire in a new production by Alexei Borodin.

Vladimir Urin, General Director of the Bolshoi Theatre, and Tugan Sokhiev, the Theatre’s Music Director and Chief Conductor, attended a press conference at which the Theatre’s plans for its next — 240^th — season were presented to the public.

We give for your attention the texts which were drawn up for the press conference.

The World ballet theatre has suffered a bereavement. One of the greatest ballerinas of the 20^th century Maya Plisetskaya, aged 89, has died from heart failure In Munich. Her bright personality and unique talent made an epoch in the world ballet history. She was a true muse of the Bolshoi Theatre. Audience of millions enjoyed her unforgettable dance. Maya Plisetskaya devoted all her life to her beloved profession and to the native scene of the Bolshoi Theatre, who will hold in remembrance her inspired art.
The famous portrait made by Richard Avedon (from M. Plisetskaya archive).

Bolshoi Theatre General Director Vladimir Urin:
“Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin has acquainted me with that part of his joint will with Maya Mikhailovna, relating to the farewell ceremony and burial arrangements. In this respect, their last wishes are as follows: ‘After death our bodies are to be cremated and when the sad hour comes for that one of us who has lived the longest to depart this life, or in the case of our simultaneous deaths, our ashes are to be united together and strewn over Russia.’ The farewell ceremony for Maya Plisetskaya will be held in Germany in the sole presence of family and close friends”.

In its short performance history (less than ten months), The Bolshoi’s version of the ballet The Taming of the Shrew is off on its second tour. In December of last year it created a furore at one of the most famous European ballet festivals — The Forum of Dance in Monaco (Monte Carlo), organized by the choreographer of our ‘hit’ Jean Christophe Maillot.
This time round our The Taming of the Shrew will adorn the programme of another well-known festival — the St. Petersburg Dance Open.

Alexandrinsky Theatre.

On 21st April a press conference was held at the Bolshoi Theatre conference hall devoted to the 23rd Benois de la danse Festival. World ballet stars nominated for the 2015 Benois de la danse prize were named and the creation of a new joint prize was announced: The Benois de la danse and the Positano Léonide Massine. The Bolshoi received three nominations for the Benois prize as follows: Svetlana Zakharova (for her performance of the main role in the ballet La Dame aux Caméllias and of the part of Mekhmene Banu in Legend of Love), Jean-Christophe Maillot (for his production of The Taming of the Shrew for the Bolshoi Ballet) and Bolshoi Ballet premier dancer Denis Rodkin (for his Ferkhad in Legend of Love). Both Zakharova and Maillot have won the Benois de la danse prize in the past. As for Denis Rodkin, it was just last year that Ballet magazine picked him out as an Up-and-Coming star and here he is already a nominee of the so-called ballet Oscar!

Ivan the Terrible comes to the screen! The next ballet to be broadcast to cinemas around the world.

On 18^th April, the legendary Bolshoi Theatre dancer, one of the most outstanding ballet artists of the 20^th century, People’s artist of the USSR Vladimir Vasiliev will be celebrating his 75^th birthday. Just as energetic and active as ever, Vasiliev has decided to give his audiences a surprise on his birthday: on April 18, the Bolshoi will be hosting a new Vladimir Vasiliev production on its main stage: Give us Peace, to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B Minor, performed by the Tatar State Musa Jalil Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet.

The Great Conductors at the Bolshoi cycle of concerts on the Theatre’s Main Stage continues with a performance by the Bolshoi Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Maestro Rozhdestvensky. The program consists of works by Czech composers.

The Bolshoi Young artists opera program created in 2009 collaborates successfully with similar foreign projects. This time The Bolshoi audience will meet a real “golden collection” of young opera singers, who will represent 6 youth opera centers.