Kostiantyn Dankevych’s ballet Lileya was yet another premiere marking the end of the 135th season at the National Opera of Ukraine.
The ballet is perhaps the first truly national production, focusing on a tragic human destiny. Originally, a premiere was scheduled for 1939, as Ukraine marked Taras Shevchenko’s 125th anniversary on an extensive scale. Yet it was also a period of Stalin purges suffered by the Ukrainian intelligentsia in 1937-38, so the ballet was actually staged in August 1940. In June 1941, Lileya was withdrawn from the Kyiv Opera’s repertory. The troupe returned to it in 1945, after returning from evacuation. There were two other versions of Dankevych’s ballet, in 1956 (serving as the basis of the well-known 1958 Dovzhenko studios production) and in 1976.
Now, after 27 years, this classic Ukrainian choreographic masterpiece is on the National Opera’s repertory, staged by the noted Ukrainian conductor and Meritorious Artiste of Ukraine Oleksiy Baklan together with the gifted choreographer, People’s Artiste of the USSR and Ukraine, and Taras Shevchenko National Prize Laureate Valery Kovtun, with production designer Vyacheslav Okunev, Meritorious Artiste of Russia; wardrobe by Iryna Press (both are from St. Petersburg and have now fruitfully collaborated with the Ukrainian National Opera for a number of years). Lileya’s cast includes the company’s leading dancers, so it was not surprising that the premiere was played to a packed house and enjoyed tremendous success. Speaking of shortcomings, the authors of the current production seem to have underestimated the audience. The previous scripts relied on Shevchenko’s romantic works (e.g., The River Sprite, The Drowned Woman, The Princess, The Witch...) and social-revolutionary poetry of the Kobzar. In contrast, the current version focuses on the theme of all-consuming love and self-sacrifice, editing out all “manifestations of social confrontation.” In the eyes of the audience, overfed with all those television soap operas, treating a classic piece that way did not make the production look any better. In particular, Act II turned out somewhat cut short, so that, speaking in terms of the dramatic art, Act I looked considerably better.
However, this author sincerely hopes that the current production of Lileya will have a happier future than its predecessors.
