St. Petersburg and Moscow are the largest Russian centers of ballet art. It is here that the country's most famous theaters are located. It is in them that the stars of the Russian ballet school play roles in unique productions, among which an important place was given to the Latvian dancer for a long time, and now - A. Liepe, the director of ballets and the head of the Kremlin Ballet Theater.
Biography Pages
Andris Liepa is the heir to the ballet dynasty. His father is a famous ballet dancer and stage director. His younger sister Ilse is also a celebrity in the ballet scene. They were born in an acting family, but only half - in a ballet. Their father is the famous ballet dancer of the 20th century Maris Liepa, and their mother is the dramatic actress M. Zhigunova. The family of Maris Eduardovich then lived in Moscow on Nezhdanova Street, in a house built for acting families - employees of the Bolshoi and Moscow Art Theaters. Liepams were probably lucky, because they lived in the apartment where the People's Artist of the RSFSR E.V. Geltser, a unique ballerina and actress, lived. Famous dramatic actors of the 20th century, Kachalov, Leonidov and others, also lived in the house.
Andris attended the ballet school of the Moscow Art Academy of Art (Moscow Art Academy) and began his career at the Moscow Bolshoi Theater. Over the years of service, he danced almost all the leading roles in classical productions. He traveled a lot with tours, including on foreign tours. On a tour in Washington, he received a difficult leg injury and was forced to leave the stage.
Behind the scenes
In the biography of Andris Liepa, personal life went hand in hand with creativity, because together with him his wife Ekaterina Liepa danced in the same performances. However, after twenty years of living together, the idyll of this star couple came to an end. The divorce of Andris Liepa with Catherine excited fans. Even the fact that the marriage was consecrated by the church did not save. Catherine filed for divorce. Andris Liepa could only regret such a finale of his personal life. The reasons for this decision were not disclosed.
The foreign page of the work of Andris Marisovich is also interesting. Having left abroad early, he spoke with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Abroad, he had the opportunity to work on the unique stages of European opera houses - La Scala in Milan, the Paris Opera, the ensemble of Maurice Bejart in Lausanne, Sweden and Rome. His partners were: brilliant Isabelle Guiren, amazing Carla Fracci, but Nina Ananiashvili had the status of a partner of the famous Andris Liepa for the longest time. It was with her that Liepa began his career, participated in almost all competitions. And he remained faithful in his work to the end.
Worthy successor
Personal biography of Andris Liepa in the work is quite fruitful and bright. Dancer and choreographer, Andris Marisovich worthily continues the dynasty after his titled father Maris Eduardovich. The main productions in which he danced his most brilliant parts were Raymond A. Glazunov, the famous ballets of P. I. Tchaikovsky, Giselle by A. Adan, The Golden Age by D. D. Shostakovich, Ivan the Terrible S. Prokofiev in versions of titled choreographers - M. Petipa, S. Grigorovich.
However, Andris Marisovich did not stop at the classics recognized by everyone, but tried himself in more innovative works: Swan Lake in the concept of M. Baryshnikov, Petrushka in the work of O. Vinogradov, Romeo and Juliet in the variation of K. Macmillan, " Violin concerto "J. Balanchine.
As director
Back in the St. Petersburg Mariinka, Andris Liepa reconstructed several important works in the history of ballet art: Petrushka and The Firebird by I.F. Stravinsky, Scheherazade by N. A Rimsky-Korsakov directed by M. Fokin. This event took place in 1993, and since then, Scheherazade and the Firebird have been on the Mariinsky stage. In the photo Andris Liepa in the role of Parsley - one of the most colorful images he performed.
All three of these performances were staged by A. Liepa for the Dresden, Roman and Florentine theaters. And a year later the premiere of another creative work of the master took place: the opera performance "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh". The production was created for the Mariinsky Theater, but its premiere was in Paris. Conducted by maestro Valery Gergiev. Liepa performed the same work at the Edinburgh Festival - a year later. He also staged the opera Eugene Onegin for the G. Vishnevskaya Opera Center.
Another interesting work of Andris Liepa was performances under the works of S. Rachmaninov, staged for the New Opera theater. These are the performances: Oscar Schlemmer Museum and Maestro.
The firebird is back!
In 1997, Andris Liepa turned to cinematic creativity, successfully combining it with his main vocation. He created a film project that received the name associated with one of the ballet performances that he had previously staged for the Mariinsky Theater - The Return of the Firebird.
This ballet film includes all three of the famous one-act productions by M. Fokin in the reconstruction of A. Liepa. The central roles in them were played by A. Liepa himself, his constant partner Nina Ananiashvili, as well as his sister Andris Liepa Ilze, his wife Ekaterina, Gedeminas Taranda and others. By the way, the roles in the version of S. Diaghilev’s version were played by Vaclav Nizhinsky, Tamara Karsavina, Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Fokin and other ballet stars of the early XX century.
Charity as a way of life
1996 - important in the life and social activities of Andris Liepa: he founded the fund for the development of ballet art named after his father. The main purpose of the fund was the organization of charity performances for various categories of Russians in difficult social conditions. And also to popularize domestic art. The stars of culture and art participate in his project. The gala concerts within the framework of the fund are dedicated to Maris Liepe, Maya Plisetskaya and others. They are in demand abroad - London, Madrid, Riga, etc.
The Foundation for the Promotion of the Development of Choreographic Art, founded by A. Liepa, collaborates with the Chelyabinsk Children's Charity Fund "Alyosha", which organizes in Chelyabinsk a tour of "Russian Seasons of the XXI Century." and helps to identify and promote young talents.
Russian Seasons: Revival
To appreciate this initiative of Andris Liepa, one should turn to the history of the beginning of the 20th century, when Sergei Diaghilev first organized the project “Russian Seasons in Paris” - to popularize Russian musical art, and then opera and ballet. Such stars of the Russian ballet as Mikhail Fokin, Rudolf Nuriev, Anna Pavlova and others danced in the Russian Seasons troupe. The whole world applauded Russian dancers and singers. In this regard, Lev Bakst became famous in the artistic field , creating costume and decoration design for performances of the "seasons".
Now, at the beginning of the XXI century, exactly a century later, “Russian Seasons” was reanimated by Andris Liepa. True, their name has changed somewhat - "Russian Seasons of the XXI Century." The updated entreprise travels to the cultural centers of Europe and the world. Ballet masters present their works in London, Paris, Kiev, Madrid, etc. And their productions are undoubtedly successful.
To the monastery!
There is in Russia the St. Nicholas Solbinsky Convent. It is located in the Yaroslavl region, not far from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. And so it is called from the Finno-Ugric meaning of the word "salba" - "living water".
The monastery has a children's shelter and a school. Sixty pupils from 7 to 18 years old live and study in them. There is also a professional college.
Andris Liepa has been assisting the pupils of this monastery for more than a year. In joint work, they ennoble the monastery territory - they plant rose bushes and build a viewing tower. But Liepa does not forget about his usual duties - he organizes a charity festival within the walls of the monastery, and not only as a director, but also as a cook.
Since 2017, female actresses from the Kind School on Solba Theater have been touring in Moscow. They have already shown their musical productions in the Moscow Palace of Pioneers and on the stage of the Ryumina Theater. The girls have already presented their musical "The Brave Swan". Such a result became possible because at the girls' school they are trained by professional specialists: choreographers, vocalists, directors, etc. Those pupils who do not have musical, dancing and acting abilities participate in the creation of scripts and the decoration of performances. The performances are very kind and touching. And thanks to the amazing needlewomen - and bright. According to the opinions of the audience, they touch "to the core."
Kremlin ballet
This unusual theater, popularizing and developing domestic ballet art, was founded in 1990 by choreographer and stage director A. Petrov. The musical component of his performances was in charge of the Presidential Orchestra of the Russian Federation under the direction of conductors A. Ovsyannikov and V. Orlov. Later the performances were accompanied by another musical group - the State Symphony Orchestra "New Russia" under the direction of Y. Bashmet.
The theater restores works created at the beginning of the 20th century. art troupe led by S. Diaghilev. At the moment, in his repertoire of 11 performances from this cycle. This is a lot under the difficult path of development of domestic ballet.
Timeline of awards
Andris Liepa gave a lot of strength and creative ideas to his beloved art and his native country. For services to the Fatherland and Russian art he was repeatedly awarded. He received his first award while still a ballet dancer, almost in the prime of his professional career: he was the winner of the International Ballet Competition in Moscow. Four years later, he won the silver medal of the same competition. And the very next year he received the Grand Prix of the international competition in the USA. Has Andris Liepa and the award of the country where he came from: the highest award in Latvia - "Order of the Three Stars".
As a gift to the hero of the day!
In February 2017, People's Artist of Russia Andris Liepa celebrated his anniversary - 55 years. As a gift to the hero of the day and residents of the capital on his anniversary, an exhibition of photographs and stage costumes of an amazing dancer was exhibited in the Okhotny Ryad. It lasted eight days and was free for everyone. Among the exhibits were wonderful photographs by A. Liepa made by his great friend, photographer Nina Alvert. The most interesting for the public are the costumes of the dancer's father, Maris Liepa, as well as the stage costumes created at the Grand Opera for performances staged in the 20th century. R. Nuriev and restored A. Liepa.
On February 18, the Andris Liepa concert was held in the Kremlin Palace, where the following were presented: a fragment of the ballet of the Children's Musical Theater named after Sats “The Golden Cockerel” by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, the play “Vision of the Rose” by Mikhail Fokin, a fragment of the opera “Prince Igor” by A. Borodin - “Polovtsian Dances”, which in their time became an independent one-act ballet.
Andris Liepa made a huge contribution to the development of domestic ballet art, put a lot of effort and creativity into its development, world-wide propaganda. And on stage, he not only adequately represented the level of Russian ballet, but also became a real successor to the work begun by his father. And even if films about Andris Liepa have not been made yet, this is quite fixable!