On November 2 and 3 in St. Petersburg (in the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall) the ballet show “The Fairy Tale Ball” will take place. The audience will be shown excerpts from the most famous ballets: “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Nutcracker”, “Firebird”, “Corsair”, “Scheherazade”, “The Humpbacked Horse”, “Cinderella”, “The Fairy Dolls” Edited by Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
The gala performance will be attended by ballet stars: Farukh Ruzimatov, Ivan Vasiliev, Ilze Liepa, prima ballerinas and premieres of the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, Mikhailovsky theaters and the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus, students of the Academy of Russian Ballet. Vaganova, the Ilze Liepa Russian National Ballet School and dancers from the St. Petersburg State Children’s Ballet Theater. Director: Nikolai Androsov. Judging by the line-up of artists, it will be magical with wonderful music and modern multimedia decorations.
We spoke with Russian folk artist Ilze Liepa about this project, about the monument to Maris Liepa, about what is more important in ballet: talent or hard work.
– I sincerely recommend visiting the show “Fairy Tale Ball”, not because I participate in it. This is truly a unique opportunity to learn about the most famous ballets in the world, says Ilze Liepa. – It will be beautiful and, most importantly, educational for both children and adults. You need to learn to watch ballet.
– What interesting things are happening in your creative life?
– At the “Fairy Tale Ball” I will dance a new version of “The Afternoon of a Faun” to the music of Claude Debussy. Students of the Russian National Ballet School, which I created, will present fragments of the ballet “Sleeping Beauty.” And I started the season with concerts with the participation of the St. Petersburg Governor’s Symphony Orchestra, in which I performed as a dramatic actress. I continue to develop my ballet school, which operates both in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
– “The Fairy Tale Dance” are excerpts from different ballets, but which is your favorite ballet, for example Tchaikovsky’s?
– “Sleeping Beauty.” Absolutely brilliant music. Although I love nothing less than the ballet “The Nutcracker”. I have seen many editions of this ballet. I think the best production is Yuri Grigorovich’s ballet at the Bolshoi Theater with scenery by Simon Virsaladze. This is an absolute masterpiece.
– And I really love this ballet. It’s a shame that so much beauty isn’t available to a wider audience. Both because of the price of the tickets and the difficulty of acquiring them. I wonder if there was always such a rush. You probably saw this ballet when you were a child.
– Yes, my father took my brother and me to performances at the Bolshoi Theater. There were always lines at the ticket office. But the ticket prices were absolutely affordable compared to today. The most expensive tickets for the Historical Stage stalls cost 3 rubles. 50 kopecks I jokingly call the enthusiasm around “The Nutcracker” today “Nutcracker mania.”
– What is your 14-year-old daughter Nadezhda doing?
– Nadya studies at the Moscow Academy of Choreography, from which my father Maris Liepa graduated, and then my brother Andris and I. He is trying very hard, there is some success.
– Genetically good data…
– In ballet, good data is important, but that is not the main thing. My father, when he was studying, was told that he had very normal abilities. And for me they are not outstanding. Many artists who became stars of the first magnitude did not have ballet skills. But the love for classical dance, the desire to practice, the daily work, the ability to improve, forged in her skill, a straight back and a persistent character. Behind success in ballet there is always an enormous amount of work.
– In Latvia he was included on the “black list” with a ban on entering the country. This spring you were deprived of Lithuanian citizenship due to your “too pro-Russian” civic position. How has this affected your life? By the way, where does Lithuanian citizenship come from if your roots on your father’s side are from Latvia?
– I worked in Lithuania for many years, constantly performing there with my wonderful partner Petras Skirmantas. Therefore, he received honorary citizenship of Lithuania. The great Maya Plisetskaya and the outstanding Russian pianist Nikolai Petrov had the same honorary citizenship.
As for the deprivation of my Lithuanian citizenship, I take it calmly. I don’t suffer at all. I’m not going to any of the Baltic countries. And I have no desire to go to Europe. Although I still have wonderful childhood memories of visiting my grandparents, I remember their house in the center of Riga, where my father was born, and a holiday on the Riga coast. Everything was wonderful. I am a Russian Orthodox person. When my brother Andris and I went to Riga, we always attended religious services at the Alexander Nevsky Church. This is a cathedral in the center of Riga, built at the beginning of the 19th century in honor of Russia’s victory over Napoleon. There are many parishioners there, including Latvians. By the way, the outstanding actress Via Artmane was Orthodox and received the name Elizabeth at baptism. On the Internet I found poems by his son Kaspar. Very brave for today’s Latvia. In them he expresses his civic position that without Russia Latvia would not exist at all. I admire your honesty. Many people think the same as him: the Baltic countries without Russia are Europe’s backyard. But they are afraid to talk about it. But he is not afraid.
– Do you keep in touch with Latvia? There are also relatives there.
– Unfortunately, we stopped communicating. Although I never talked about politics with my Latvian relatives. But one day my innocent phrase about how good it would be if our children were friends provoked such a reaction… I heard such a reprimand that I realized that the dialogue still would not work.
And the last news that came from Riga concerned the monument to my father Maris Liepa. They are going to demolish it. This monument is located next to the Latvian National Opera. The monument project was interesting. But the execution is terrible. It was done by some trendy installation artist in a pseudo-avant-garde style. The result was an ugly figure. When it was installed, I went to the mayor of Riga and asked him not to associate this monument with the name of Maris Liepa. But they didn’t listen to me. And today the Latvian authorities themselves decided to dismantle the monument due to the political situation: Maris Liepa lived most of his life in Russia, glorified the Russian ballet school and was a people’s artist of the USSR. What can you say? Intelligent people would be proud that Maris Liepa is their Riga-born compatriot. Well, if they tear down the ugly monument, I’ll just be glad that this miserable building is no longer associated with my great father’s name.
By the way, it has already been decided to erect a monument to Maris Liepa in Moscow. A location in the center of the city has been determined. The work will be made by the wonderful sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov.
– Today the Baltic States are hostile to Russia. I wonder which side Maris Liepa would be on. After all, it’s a really difficult choice: his homeland is Riga, he made his career in Moscow…
“I am absolutely convinced that my father would be on the side of the truth.” That is, with Russia. He lived in Moscow most of his life. He glorified the Russian ballet school abroad. He adored the Bolshoi Theatre, he loved Moscow and the Russian countryside very much. Collected icons. My father was very receptive to true values. In one of his last interviews, television journalist Urmas Ott asked him: “Maris, can I call you by your name? No middle name. You and I are Baltic…” To which my father replied: “I lived most of my life in Russia, so contact me Maris Eduardovich”… And this answer says it all.
Of course, my father would be worried about the current situation. His childhood and youth are related to Riga; There are the tombs of his parents. But I would feel the lies that come from the West. In spirit he was a Russian man. Next to the graves of his parents is also his cenotaph, on which is inscribed “Maris Liepa, who is far away.” His sister, my aunt, did it. But the words are very symbolic. My father is very far from Riga, he is in Russia.
