ANIA MARTCHENKO

 A Hero of Our Time
Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, Russia
 
06/2015

The world premiere of the ballet A Hero of Our Time took place on July 22, 2015, at the Bolshoi Theatre. Created for the bicentenary of Mikhail Lermontov’s birth, it was the first time this classic novel was adapted through choreography. This 2-hour, 45-minute production revived the Bolshoi's tradition of grand, multi-act ballets with rich dramaturgy, original music, and elaborate sets.

The ballet features music by Ilya Demutsky in his ballet debut and choreography by Yuri Possokhov, known for Cinderella at the Bolshoi and productions for major international companies. Three parts of the novel—Bela, Taman, and Princess Mary—were chosen, each representing a stage in Pechorin’s character development, with unique themes and self-contained narratives.

Lermontov’s text was incorporated into vocal solos, blending seamlessly with the music. In Princess Mary, athletes from Russia's national wheelchair dance team performed, adding depth to the production.

The ballet earned ten Golden Mask nominations and won three, including Best Ballet and Best Composer.

MACHINE MÜLLER
Gogol Center, Moscow, Russia
 
Premiere: March 4, 2016

“One could say that transformation is also a fundamental element of theater and drama, and the final transformation is death. The only thing that unites an audience, the one thing in which they are all alike, is the fear of death—it’s universal. This is the unifying factor. In everything else, people have entirely different interests, needs, desires, and ideas. Thus, theater is always rooted in symbolic death.”

Heiner Müller in conversation with Alexander Kluge, 1995

At the core of the performance are the plays Hamletmachine and Quartet by the great German playwright and director Heiner Müller, as well as his letters and diaries.