The great ballerina Maya Plisetskaya died in Munich on 2 May at the age of 89.
Maya Plisetskaya was one of the most outstanding personalities in ballet world of the XX and XXI centuries. She achieved the breathtaking success in the whole world thanks to unmatched artistic style, plasticity and gracefulness of movements, inexhaustible energy and vivacious optimism that went over on millions of people. Her legendary musicality and perfect pitch helped the acquaintance with her spouse – composer Rodion Shchedrin.
Maya Plisetskaya stood in 1942 for the first time on the stage in Sverdlovsk during the evacuation. She danced the “Dying Swan” by Camille Saint-Saens.
After the graduation from the Moscow Chorographic School in 1943, she was hired by the Bolshoi Theatre ballet company. Shortly after Galina Ulanova left stage in 1960 she became the prima-ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Her most outstanding roles were: Odette – Odylie in the “Swan lake”, Aurora in “The Sleeping Beauty”, Raymonda in the namesake ballet composed by Alexander Glasunov, Princess of the Copper Mountain in ballet “The Story of the stone flower” by Prokofiev and her parade role Carmen in “Carmen suite” staged 1967 in the choreography by Alberto Alonso.
She was a great ballerina, great actress, great woman and great wife – her marriage with Rodion Shchedrin was a role model how the family happiness looks like. In an old Russian song we sing “the earth got so lonely without you” – Michail Schwydskoy, former Culture minister of the Russian Federation
In 1967 Plisetskaya appeared in the film “Anna Karenina” in the of Betty Tverskaya. 5 years later she choreographed the ballet “Anna Karenina” to the music written by her husband Rodion Shchedrin.
The artistic team work of the outstanding composer Rodion Shchedrin and the prima-ballerina assoluta Maya Plisetskaya brought to life two further ballets after Chechov “The Lady with the Lapdog” and “The Seagull” where she danced the title roles.
The greatest people of the XX century pass away. Among all these people Maya Plisetskaya is in her own class – great ballerina, great woman and a person with unique individuality. This was understood not in Russia only but throughout the world: Maya Plisetskaya is the symbol of the Russian ballet in the XX century. – Wladimir Urin, managing director of the Bolshoi theatre of Russia.
Throughout her career she danced in several productions choreographed for her by Roland Petite and Maurice Béjart.
During the 80s she was the artistic director of the Rome Opera and Ballet Theatre and the National Ballet of Spain. 1984 she took part in ballet Raymonda staged in the Baths of Caracalla.
Since 1991 she has lived with her husband in Munich and Moscow.
She left stage only 1990 at the age of 65 but still took place in many concerts and master classes throughout the world. With 70 she danced on the stage of Bolshoi the piece “Ave Maya” choreographed for her by Maurice Béjart.
The burial ceremony takes place in Munich in the narrow group of relatives and significant others.