August 17, 2016 the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre under the conduction of Valery Gergiev will present a Gala under the Title: “Hommage á Maya Plisetskaya” to the Finnish public.
The concert is a part of the Music Festival “Turun” in the Finnish city Turku. The gala will open with the ballet suite of M. Ravel “Mother Goose”. Afterwards the audience will enjoy the “Carmen Suite” by Rodion Shchedrin. After the intermission Valery Gergiev will present one of the most prolific works of Prokofiev – Symphonic Dances.
The Carmensuite written by Shchedrin 1967 for his wife and one of the most wellknown ballet dancers of the XXth century – Maya Plisetskaya. The choreographer Alberto Alonso from Cuba made a modern and vivid staging. He made a bright, colorful and unforgettable picture of Maya Plisetskaya in a role of a roman Carmen whose tragic destiny is so devastating because her love to Jose – a soldier. Alonso has some symbolic distinguishing features in comparison to the opera of Bizet or the Novel of Prosper Merime. The choreographer puts the leading characters in an arena for corrida, thus enlarging the passion and movement of the dancers. One have to note that “Carmen Suite” is one of the most performed orchestra works of Rodion Shchedrin today.
During the Music Festival the audience can enjoy another oft performed choral work of Rodion Shchedrin the "Sealed Angel": the Key Ensemble will present the work on the 14th of August 2016 in the Cathederal of Turku.