Newsweek: Farewell to the swan

Maya Plisetskaya, the former absolute prima ballerina (prima ballerina assoluta) of the Bolshoi Theater, died on Saturday at the age of 89 years. She first appeared from behind the Iron Curtain and found herself on the western scene in 1959, and with her magnificence she struck New York in the double role of Odette / Odile, becoming not only the leading ballet dancer in the Soviet Union, but also the world-famous star. and one of the most prominent dancers of the 20th century.

Plisetskaya was born 20 in November 1925 in Moscow into a Jewish family, in 1930-s she studied at the Bolshoi Ballet School and was accepted into his troupe in 1943. During the purges of Joseph Stalin, when she was still studying, her father was arrested and shot, and her mother was arrested and exiled to Kazakhstan. Aunt and Uncle Plisetskaya - both of them were famous ballet dancers of the Bolshoi Theater - took her to her. Although she quickly became the leading dancer in the troupe and gained major leading roles, she was forbidden to travel abroad before 1959, when she was last included on the list of artists heading on her first tour to the United States. 20 April 1959, the weekly Newsweek weekly wrote:

“The outstanding Russian ballet of the Bolshoi Theater turned out to be the main event on Broadway. New Yorkers stood for hours in the rain waiting in line at the ticket booths, hoping to get the few tickets left ... Ballet lovers from New York were excited by the unexpected announcement that Maya Plisetskaya, a fiery dark-haired ballerina, second only to the great Galina Ulanova, would join the Russian troupe during a tour in the united states. Until now, Plisetskaya was not allowed to perform in the West (probably because of fears that she might escape). Today, she is a little more than 30 years old, and she has received world recognition for her technical excellence, temperament and spirituality. This is the possible reason that the Kremlin has today weakened the leash: it attaches the greatest propaganda significance to the appearance of the Bolshoi Theater here. ”

Plisetskaya’s debut in the United States took place at a time when ballet was at the center of press attention in America — partly because of its role as a tool of cultural diplomacy during the Cold War era between the United States and the Soviet Union — and therefore the names of dancers regularly became well-known to all and to each. The Bolshoi Theater was on the cover of the Newsweek weekly a week before the announcement of Plisetskaya’s arrival was published there.

Although Plisetskaya did not run away, some other famous artists did it, including Rudolf Nureyev, who decided to remain in the West in the 1961 year, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, who followed his example in the 1974 year. (Baryshnikov together with American ballerina Gilsey Kirkland (Gelsey Kirkland) decorated the cover of the Newsweek 19 weekly May 1975 of the year).

The Bolshoi returned to the United States in 1962, and this time, Plisetskaya was no longer equal in the troupe. This is what Newsweek wrote in the 17 September 1962 issue of the year:

New queen

Three years ago, when the brilliant debut of the Bolshoi Theater ballet in our country took place, the queen of that event was Galina Ulanova - a pale blonde woven from moonlight and muscles - which reigned for more than two decades in Soviet ballet. Last week, when the Moscow troupe returned to the Metropolitan Opera, Ulanova also arrived, but in a new role. Now she herself is no longer dancing, but is engaged in the training of ballet dancers. This time, Ulanova gracefully avoided much attention of the public, while all the enthusiasm went to the new queen - red-haired Maya Plisetskaya.

On the first evening, Plisetskaya won two applause - the first was arranged at the Metropolitan Opera for a bright and exciting performance of the double role of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake, and the second - during her appearance at the dinner held by the impresario Saul Yurok (S.Hurok). The presence of this ballerina at the banquet provided an opportunity for invited ballet dancers to experience the delight they need so much, because in one hall were gathered representatives of three generations of Soviet prima ballerinas: Plisetskaya, Ulanova and mother-like Marina Semenova, who was a great star of Russian classical ballet in 1930's. Like Ulanova, Semenova works as a mentor and keeper of artistic traditions.

Warmth: Despite the best efforts of these brilliant guardian birds, it should, however, be said that the Great still cannot dance with such taste, elegance and sophistication, as does its sister ballet troupe of the Kirov Theater from Leningrad. However, in the face of Plisetskaya, the Bolshoi Theater has a dynamic star, endowed with the innate ability to please the public. Her technique in itself represents an enormous power, whereas its ability to create images simply chains the audience to the backs of their chairs. Confidence and maturity, it seems, only made her bright fire even deeper, because her Odette today has the tenderness and warmth that was not enough at the moment when she played this role in the United States three years ago. Her Odile is pure magic.

In the 37 years, Plisetskaya dances easily, but she discovered that fame and fortune have an extraordinary ability to elude. For a variety of reasons, ranging from independent spirit to religious persecution (she hails from a famous Russian-Jewish theater family), Plisetskaya was not in favor of the Stalinist Kremlin. In 1956, she was not allowed to go to Britain with the ballet company, and when she first went on tour to the United States, the rest of her family stayed in Russia. But last week, Plisetskaya’s visit to New York turned out to be quite a family event. Her husband, composer Rodion Shchedrin, her uncle, choreographer Asaf Messerer, as well as her two brothers, also artists of the Bolshoi ballet, shared her triumph in the Metropolitan Opera.

Plisetskaya continued to perform after her 60 anniversary (she took the stage much longer than other ballet dancers) - she told about her childhood, about the struggle with the Stalinist regime and about the first tours to the United States, as well as about her subsequent career in as a ballerina and choreographer, including his move to the West, in an autobiography entitled “I, Maya Plisetskaya” (I, Maya Plisetskaya), which was published in the United States in 2001 year.

In this book, Plisetskaya’s far from rosy feelings about her life in the Soviet Union are reflected: “We were born in the bottomless swamp mazes of the Stalinist system,” she writes. - Twenty-four hours a day we were surrounded by militant lies. She climbed into her ears, eyes, nostrils, pores, brain. We were stuffed with it before the stupor, before the dullness. "

As a choreographer, Plisetskaya staged such ballets as “Anna Karenina” (1972), “The Seagull” (1980) and “The Lady with the Dog” (1985). She also worked as the artistic director of the ballet troupe of the Rome Opera and Ballet Theater (1983 - 1984), as well as the Spanish National Ballet in Madrid (1987 - 1990). After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Plisetskaya and her husband, Rodion Shchedrin, moved to Germany, Munich, where they lived until her death. Rodion Shchedrin and brother Plisetskaya, Azariy Plisetsky - he was also a dancer, as well as a choreographer and teacher - survived her.