Royal Moscow tour returns to Botswana
Ame Motimane | Tuesday February 12, 2019 14:35
OP Advertising in association with Russian cultural impresario, Edouard Miasnikov, announced the 2019 tour of the Royal Moscow Ballet to Southern Africa presenting three pieces: Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture: Fantasy; the third movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.6 (Pathétique); and excerpts from Carl Orff’s scenic cantata, Carmina Burana.
Annastacia Chiyanike from OP Advertising told Showbiz that this year the Royal Moscow Ballet would be different because it will feature one of the literary works of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet. She added that for someone who has seen the Royal Moscow Ballet before they should look forward to something different from the norm of the performances they usually get in Botswana.
She said there is the RISA Ballet School that usually gets feature roles from this huge Royal Tour and very much works in the school’s favour because children get to know and develop love for ballet.
“In 2015 when The Royal Ballet Tour started in Botswana a large number of expatriates showed interest, but down to the third year a huge appreciation was shown by Batswana,” she said.
Royal Moscow Ballet has toured successfully around the globe presenting more than a thousand performances. The company, which consists of graduates of the best Russian choreography, ballet and dance schools, premiered as the Royal Moscow Ballet on August 12, 2002, founded by Anatoly Emelianov and Anna Aleksidze.
Anatoly Emelianov choreographed all ballets for this tour. This tour continues last year’s theme celebrating Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This time two pieces are on the bill. Romeo and Juliet is one of the most loved one-act ballets, featuring a score by Tchaikovsky and is based on Shakespeare's tragic tale of the star-crossed young lovers.
Symphony No. 6, also known as the Pathétique Symphony, is Tchaikovsky's final completed symphony. There is much debate as to what inspired this beautiful piece. The composer entitled the work ‘The Passionate Symphony’ that was then incorrectly translated into French as ‘pathétique’, meaning ‘solemn’ or ‘emotive’. German composer Carl Heinrich Maria Orff, is best known for his distinctive cantata Carmina Burana (1935) based on 24 poems, mostly boisterous and bawdy, from the medieval collection of texts of the same name.