Production by National Ballet of China
Chief Planner and Producer: FENG Ying
Dramaturge and Stage Director: Natalia Makarova
Choreographer: Natalia Makarova (after Marius Petipa and Vakhtang Chabukiani)
Chief Répétiteur: Olga Evreinoff
Music Designer: Ludwig Minkus, specially arranged by John Lanchbery
Set and Costume Designer: Jadwiga Maria Jarosiewicz
Set Cooperation by GONG Xun
Lighting Designer: LIU Zhao
Costume Cooperation by YUE Songshan
NBC General Répétiteurs: ZHU Yan, XU Gang
Production Coordinators: Dina Makarova, QIN Xi
Répétiteurs: ZHANG Jian, WANG Qimin, WANG Hao, WANG Qi, DU Jichao
Piano: YIN Yue, BAI Yijie, WANG Jinyi, SUN Xiaosong
Video Special Effect: WANG Yi (Guest), WANG Liqiang (Guest)
World Premiere: Imperial Russian Ballet at Empire Theatre, St. Petersburg on February 4th, 1877
China Premiere: National Ballet of China at Beijing Poly Theatre on October 11th, 1996
Premiere of Natalia Makarova’s Version by National Ballet of China: at Beijing Tianqiao Theatre on September 17th, 2016
Performed by National Ballet of China
Artistic Director: FENG Ying
Starring Dancers: QIU Yunting, MA Xiaodong, LI Wentao, XU Yan, FANG Mengying, ZHAN Xinlu, WU Sicong, CHEN Zhuming, NING Long and Others
Presenter: National Ballet of China Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: ZHANG Yi
Concertmaster: WANG Xiaomao
Set Designer: Department of Stage Design of National Ballet of China
Cast
Nikiya: QIU Yunting, XU Yan, FANG Mengying, ZHAN Xinlu
Solor: MA Xiaodong, LI Wentao, CHEN Zhuming, WU Sicong
Gamzatti: FANG Mengying, ZHAN Xinlu, XU Yan, NING Long
The Bronzed Idol: HOU Xulei, PENG Jie, WANG Yuxuan, ZHANG Xuhao
The High Brahmin: WU Dianyu, GAO Tan, ZENG Shuai
The King: ZENG Shuai, WU Dianyu, GAO Tan
Magdaveya: GAO Zhenxuan, PENG Jie, ZHANG Xuhao
Aya (Gamzatti’s maid): LIU Chang, XU Ziyu
Dancing Scene: YIN Yingyan, OU Mengru, ZHANG Jin, FAN Yihan, YU Xiaoting, CHEN Haibei, WU Zilu, HE Ying, YIN Qihehan, WANG Jiyu, SUN Haifeng
Soloists: LIU Xuechen, CHEN Haibei, HE Ying, YIN Yingyan, WU Zilu, FAN Yihan, YIN Qihehan
The above information, including performance times, lineups, programmes and ticket prices, are all subject to change without prior notice and for reference only.
Act I
Scene 1 Mysterious Forest, Outside the Fane
The most honourable warrior, Solor, returns from tiger hunt with other warriors. They pass through a mysterious forest, and Solor, who lets everybody else leave, intends to arrange for a prayer and celebration before the Sacred Fire. After his men leave, Solor calls up Magdaveya, head of the ascetics, and requests him to help schedule a midnight date with Nikiya, the most beautiful dancing girl at the fane.
The High Brahmin leads the monks to the Sacred Fire, which is outside the fane. He tells Magdaveya and other ascetics to rekindle the Sacred Fire for the celebration. The High Brahmin calls out for Nikiya, who has been chosen as holy lead dancer of the fane. When she prepares to perform a sacrificial dance, the High Brahmin gets infatuated with her beauty and confesses his love for her, only to be refused by her. The High Brahmin presents his crown, a symbol of status, to Nikiya to prove his love for her, but she turns him down again and walks away, with him left behind, desperately sad.
Then begins the Sacred Fire Celebration. The temple dancers come with holy water for the ascetics. Magdaveya takes the opportunity to tell Nikiya that Solor wants to have a date with her. She nods in silent agreement, but the High Brahmin feels suspicious. Everybody leaves after the celebration is over.
Late at night, Magdaveya calls Solor out and tells him to hide at the edge of the forest and wait for Nikiya. Nikiya sneaks out of the fane, dancing slowly for love. With great joy, Solor dances with her and confides his love for her. They take an eternal love oath in front of the Sacred Fire. The High Brahmin hides in the dark, glaring at the amorous couple. Magdaveya gets scent of the danger and rushes forward to separate them. The three people leave, and the High Brahmin, extremely furious, prays to the gods to help kill Solor.
Scene 2 In the Royal Palace
Returning in triumph, the warriors are warmly invited to the Royal palace by the King for a celebration. The King intends to betroth his daughter, Gamzatti, to Solor to reward and commend him for his bravery. The King calls his daughter out and unveils her. Solor is amazed at her beauty. Having sworn to love the dancing girl Nikiya forever, he still fails to reject the King’s proposal.
Maid Aya tells the crowd that the High Brahmin has arrived at the palace, too. The High Brahmin requests a private meeting with the King. He tells the King that Solor, unfaithful to love, has fallen in love with Nikiya. He wants the King to execute Solor. But he is saddened by the King’s decision to kill Nikiya.
Gamzatti overhears the conversation between the High Brahmin and the King. She calls Nikiya in and tries to tempt her with jewellery and gifts. Gamzatti says to Nikiya that she is just a dancing girl, not good enough for Solor, and asks her to break with Solor, but she refuses. During arguments, Nikiya, feeling sad and angry, tries to stab Gamzatti, only to be stopped by the maid Aya. She flees in great fear, and Gamzatti suddenly decides to murder her.
Scene 3 In the Palace Garden
To celebrate the upcoming wedding between her daughter and Solor, the King decides to hold a grand engagement ceremony in the palace. The High Brahmin deliberately takes Nikiya there to perform dance. Unable to face the reality that Solor is entering into betrothal, she cannot but dance slowly in agony. Just then, the maid Aya comes with a basket of flowers, claiming that it’s a gift from Solor, but in fact, it is from the King and Gamzatti, with a poisonous snake hidden in the flowers. Knowing nothing about this, Nikiya cheerfully shows the beautiful basket of flowers to the crowd. When she is smelling the flowers, the snake bites her viciously. Panic-stricken, the High Brahmin finds the antidote out for Nikiya, but when she turns her eyes to Solor, Nikiya sees him taking his eyes off, following Gamzatti and the King, head bent. Having no desire to survive at all, she breaks the bottle of antidote, dying with the High Brahmin wailing.
Act II In Solor’s Tent
Solor is conscience-stricken over the death of Nikiya. Stung by remorse, he fails to fall asleep. Magdaveya gives him opium to anaesthetise him. In a daze, he seems to see the ghost of Nikiya, feeling as if she were still beside her and they were dancing as they did before.
When he is in deeper trance, Solor seems to see many figures of Nikiya. So he follows them into the Kingdom of Ghosts. Here, he begs Nikiya to forgive him. They have a reunion and start performing a plaintive dance to continue their deep love for each other.
Just then, Solor’s friends and other warriors enter his tent and wake him from illusions. They come to help prepare for the wedding. Solor being unable to tell the reality from illusions, the King and Gamzatti come, too, to remind him of the wedding.
Act III At the Fane
While the High Brahmin and monks are preparing for the wedding, there is a bronzed idol dancing in front of the Buddhist Statue at the fane. Solor and his friends, Gamzatti and the King arrive at the same time. The dancing girls, holding candles in their hands, begin to dance around Gamzatti and Solor to bless them.
Haunted by the ghost of Nikiya, Solor looks weird when dancing with Gamzatti. Gamzatti gets frightened by a flower basket that appears suddenly. Panic-stricken, she urges her father to order early completion of the wedding.
Gamzatti and Solor ascend to the altar, where the High Brahmin presides over the wedding ceremony, making them a couple before the gods. Gamzatti swears by the gods, but Solor seems to have trouble speaking in response. However, he still swears by the gods. All of a sudden there come lightning and thunder - The gods fly into a rage, with everything destroyed in a violent shock. White and gentle, the ghost of Nikiya finds Solor in the ruins and they ascend to heaven together.