Recently the Mykola Lysenko Kharkiv Opera and Ballet theater hosted the world premiere of a new ballet by contemporary Ukrainian composer Oleksandr Shymko. The ballet is The Snow Queen, after a tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The libretto and choreography were created by Alla Rubina, choreographer from Kyiv. Dmytro Morozov was the conductor of the newly-created score, and Nadia Shvets prepared the artistic decorations and costumes.
The Snow Queen is the composer’s second work in collaboration with choreographer Alla Rubina. The first ballet, The Chosen by the Sun, was delivered in 2007 on the stage of the Kyiv Municipal Opera and Ballet for Children and Youth, performed by the Kalyna ensemble. Rubina describes Shymko as a modern-thinking author who knows how to create both general atmosphere and vivid imagery in music. All these qualities were evident in the last collaboration, which was commissioned by Patrick Levo, owner of the Belgian production company Classical Productions. According to Oleh Oryshchenko, general director of the theater, joint projects with this production company has become very successful in Kharkiv.
Kharkiv saw an original stage version of the popular fairy tale by Andersen. The storyteller was a mime, and the narration was recorded on tape to help keeping the tone of the story and assist viewers in understanding of the events. In other countries, the voiceover will be translated and recorded anew. The selection of scenographic effects was updated according to the modern projection technology. The premiere coincided with the installation of new lighting, established by Ukrkultmontazh agency specialists, who renovated the lighting equipment and planted about 150 kilometers of cable network.
The delivery of equipment and other technical issues were actively assisted by Mitsubishi corporation representatives. A new remote control unit manufactured by Toshiba Lighting and Technology Corporation has been installed in the theater, which will allow keeping up to 400 scene presets in memory (50 of them being dynamic – that is extended in time). The total storage capacity of the device is a thousand different configurations! It uses a high-performance digital signal control system, bringing the equipment management to global standards.
After the world premiere in Kharkiv the ballet troupe goes on tour. It has already been agreed with Classical Productions upon 13 performances in different cities of Belgium. By the way, Olena Shevtsova, one of the performers of the Snow Queen role, has recently returned from Brussels, where she participated in the campaign dedicated to performances of the Kharkiv ballet troupe. Along with The Snow Queen, world masterpieces will be shown on stage: Swan Lake and The Nutcracker ballets by Tchaikovsky.
