Rudolf Noureev evening

A genius dancer, Rudolf Noureev left his mark on the history of the Paris National Opera Ballet by directing the company from 1983 to 1993, hatching a whole generation of stars and enriching the repertoire with his rereadings of Marius’ choreographies. Petipa (Don Quixote, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet…).

Performed by the young and new wave of dancers from the Opera, this evening is an opportunity to pay tribute to him and retrace his artistic genius.

“You live as long as you dance”, “A pas de deux is a loving dialogue” – Rudolf Noureev

With 6 dancers from the Paris National Opera
Excerpts from the grand pas de deux from the choreographic repertoire of Rudolf Noureev

Artistic direction and production : Alexandra Cardinale Opéra Ballet Production
Thanks : to the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation – @the_rudolf_nureyev_foundation
Duration : 1 hour

Opera dancers are invited to perform individually by Alexandra Cardinale Opéra Ballet Production.

Born aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway, not far from Lake Baikal, Rudolf Noureev (1938-1993) was first introduced to folk dance in Ufa (Bashkiria). He saw his first ballet at the age of seven at the Ufa Opera, but did not begin training as a dancer until he was fifteen.
Two years later, he continued his studies at the Vaganova School in Leningrad with master Alexander Pushkin from 1955 to 1958. He was admitted the following year to the Kirov Ballet Corps and became a soloist.
During a tour, Nureyev made his first appearance on the stage of the Palais Garnier on May 15, 1961, during a dress rehearsal of Sleeping Beauty. He will also cause a sensation in La Bayadère’s Act of Shadows three days after having requested political asylum from French customs officers at Le Bourget airport on May 16, 1961. The Kirov management had in fact decided to send him back to Moscow without letting him continue the Ballet’s tour in London. Paris will thus remain a symbolic city for him.

He took charge of the Ballet of the Paris National Opera from 1983 to 1989 after having danced for numerous companies (among others the Ballets du Marquis de Cuevas, the Royal Ballet of London) and created Tancrède (Vienna Opera, 1966) or Manfred (Paris Opera, 1979).
The Ballet’s repertoire will be enriched by its reinterpretations of the choreographies of Marius Petipa. They include Don Quixote (1981), Raymonda (1983), Swan Lake (1984), Romeo and Juliet em> (1984), The Nutcracker (1985), Cinderella (1986), Sleeping Beauty (1989) and La Bayadère (1992). The place given to the male dancer, devalued in ballet since the 19th century, will gain importance in his works.
Nureyev will also do contemporary choreographies such as The Tempest (1984), Bach Suite (1984) and Washington Square (1985). It will offer an extremely diverse contemporary repertoire (Frederick Ashton, Rudi van Dantzig, Roland Petit, Maurice Béjart, George Balanchine, Glen Tetley, Martha Graham, Murray Louis, Jerome Robbins, Bob Wilson, Paul Taylor, Hans van Manen, Lucinda Childs, Twyla Tharp, William Forsythe).
Finally, he will establish a new tradition at the Opera by naming the Stars on stage, at the end of the show, in front of their audience. The stage of the Palais Garnier has great importance for him, since he will greet his audience for the last time at the Opera, at the end of La Bayadère on October 8, 1992. His funeral in January 1993 will also be celebrated at the Palais Garnier . Rudolf Nureyev was Knight of the Legion of Honor (1988) and Commander of Arts and Letters (1992).