The Bolshoi theatre production of " Romeo and Juliet " premiered in last December, has become the most controversial, most scandalous performance in the recent history of the prime ballet stage of the country. It has been ages since the spectators’ opinions clashed so severely straight after the dress rehearsal was over: they varied from enthusiastic praises to indignant cries: " That’s what the Bolshoi has come to?! How is it possible to shred the Prokofiev music so severely?! This show will be the beginning of the Bolshoi’s end. It marks the moment when the classics are buried to oblivion! How could the management let such a performance be on the glorified stage?! "…

What caused such indignation of the spectators who are sincerely fond of ballet in general and the Bolshoi ballet especially? Certainly, the original singularity of the performance, where action is transferred into nowadays life; the acute novelty and unexpectedness of stage and choreographic decisions, and, what is even more important, that the production has nothing in common with all other ballet performances of the Bolshoi. Prokofiev’s " Romeo and Juliet", the version of the well known English producer Declan Donellan and young Moldovan ballemaster Radu Poclitaru, is unique for the Bolshoi stage in terms of the modernity - creation not of the Õ1Õ or ÕÕ, but of the ÕÕI century. No classical ballet pointe dancing, no habitual ballet packs and tunics, no inevitable period costumes. The participants of " Romeo and Juliet " wear contemporary, almost everyday clothes - light trousers, jeans, shorts, mini and ìàxi-skirts, T-shirts, sarafans , loose shirts over and it looks quite normal and sensible in the context of the performance (stage design and costumes by Nickolas Ormerod). The choreographic vocabulary of the production matches the design of the costumes and sets ideally: i.e. it is as far from classical canons as it can be. The dancing is performed in soft shoes, the so called "jazzshoes" instead of pointe shoes. Yes, the love story of Romeo and Juliet has more than once been dramatised against the contemporary background in drama theatres, but it is for the first time that the same is done on an academic ballet stage. The huge cuts and reshuffling of the Prokofiev score (musical director and conductor Guintaras Rinquiavichus) resulted in the gain in dynamics and new structure of the ballet, now packaged into two acts and all in all lasting an hour and a half …

The most convincing argument for the production consists in the following: many spectators came to see it with a preconceived, biased opinion on hand, which had been shaped by a few fragments shown on TV and a “Mr. Smith’s” opinion. But they felt quite different later when sitting among the audience. The performance immediately gets the spectators involved with its nerve, stunning drive, its enormous emotional fullness and the penetrating, strong sounding of some episodes and scenes. But as soon as it’s over the charm fades and you find yourself able to think critically…Critically, you realise that the ballet is far from being “even”, that the high inspiration, which is given at the beginning, is not kept everywhere in it. But this thought comes later, later you understand it when the curtain has closed, the applause have ceased - because you cannot take your attention away from the stage in the course of the performance, you feel as if you were hypnotized, for fear of missing a single movement, gesture, sight. Some episodes are virtually breathtaking (Mercutio’s death, Tybalt’s murder, Juliet’s running). Again, it is impossible to find proper words and reasonable explanation to this unheard of emotional impact of the production, which reshuffles every string of your soul, triumphantly turning upside down all those reasonable, well-grounded expectations of its failure and arguments for the harm it may cause to the Bolshoi’s repertoire and reputation.

It captures your imagination and gets you surprised at the impression it makes.

The performance from its beginning to its end is convincingly mounted by a master’s hand of the famous director Declan Donnellan, whose experience accounts for a great number of full-fledged drama productions, with the majority of them being Shakespear’s plays). But it’s obviously his first approach to the art of ballet, though it’s worth saying that his concept of this ballet mostly based on the principles of drama theatre i.e. the dancing and movement are subordinated to the drama rules in many respects. The choreographic "speech", the body language of the heroes, composed by Radu Poclitaru, appeared to be the first “full-length” work of the young talented choreographer after numerous witty dancing miniatures and îne-act pieces. Poclitaru’s choreographic language, however, yet notable for several fresh and interesting ideas, seems, on the whole, a little bit banal and monotonous (and sometimes even repetitive). But in close combination with Donnellan’s clear drama conception and magnificent work as well as brilliant actors’ performing, it, certainly, undoubtedly adds to the strong positive impression.

Ii’s also important to note, that the ballet wasn’t created for the the main stage, where it would look mis-scaled, but perfectly suits the New stage of the Bolshoi, more intimate and specially meant for chamber and experimental productions. So, it wouldn’t in the least overlap " the Soviet classics ", i.e. the well-known Leonide Lavrovsky " Romeo and Juliet" of 1946 with magnificent scenery by Pyotr Williams (the new stage spectators’ foyer is decorated with a number of beautifully framed photos of this legendary performance), if there were a desire to revive it on the main stage.

In Donellan and Poclitaru’s collaborative work there are a number of actors’ breakthroughs and discoveries. But, the corps de ballet, probably, makes the strongest impression.

These young, first season dancers who have just joined the Company are amazingly stylish, beautiful and elegant. They look highly sensitive to Poclitaru’s modern choreographic concept, and follow it with relish in each scene be it a scene where corps de ballet actively interferes with the action or or acts as the scenery.

The first cast dancers act and dance with such an amazing feeling that it causes a sensation of delight from authenticity of the stage passions, the feeling that is a rear guest at the Bolshoi theatre performances. Good luck here fell mostly to the male cast. A 19 year-old debutee Denis Savin was surprisingly sincere and open as Romeo in his very first big role, perfectly convincing in the stunning truth and gravity of his feelings. It’s in his dance, that lyricism which is, unfortunately, missing in the professionally impeccable Maria Alexandrova’s Juliet. At first her Juliet is an awkward teenage girl too soon to be transformed into a grown up woman. Savin’s Romeo is full of bounce and love – his feeling covers them both: he artistically "carries” on his shoulders all the burden of the lyricism of the performance which (alas) apparently seems to be the most vulnerable in terms of choreography.

Young Denis Savin has become the most significant and joyful discovery of the premiere. Denis Medvedev, who had been already known earlier, became an amazing discovery as well, because after a fair number of comic and grotesque roles he appeared in a completely different amplua, and moulded the part of a negative hero with broad brushstrokes. His Òybalt is a " small fascist " with a string of moustache, his black hair smoothly taken back, wearing stylish, elegant suits. A powerful hatred, thirst for self-assertion at any cost, exorbitant ambitions and vulnerable self-respect are felt in every gesture of his, in the swift turns of his body, in his sparkling arrogant look. Also impressive and strong was Yuri Klevtsov as Mercutio, who for the first time in Romeo and Juliet performance history, perhaps, appears onstage not pompously serious, but ironic, a bit light-minded and charmingly ingenuous… All the second role performers come and stay in memory – the aristocratic and expressive Ilze Liepa as Lady Capulet, majestic Valeri Lagunov who left stage long ago to become a teacher – rehearser and here appearing as Capulet and Andrew Melaniyn who danced Pater Lorenzo.

We shall live to see, how long this performance will survive on the Bolshoi stage, who is going to be right - its supporters or opponents. But so far the clash of opinions, controversy, discrepancy of estimations of the press and spectators prove that this Donnellan and Poclitaru’s work is, at least, out of the ordinary. It also bears witness to the aspiration of the Bolshoi management to leave the framework of orthodox versions of well-known ballets, their desire to innovate...