Rudolf Nureyev’s Bayadère returns to La Scala with Kimin Kim guesting
Rudolf Nureyev’s production of La Bayadère returns to La Scala for 10 performances from 26 May to 21 June, with Kimin Kim making a guest appearance.
The company’s new étoile, Nicoletta Manni, will open the run as Nikiya with Timofej Andrijashenko, and then for two performances (on 12 and 14 June) she will dance with the South Korean dancer Kimin Kim – since 2015 the first foreign principal in the history of the Mariinsky Theatre – who will be making his house debut.
Martina Arduino and Marco Agostino will also alternate in the roles of Nikiya and Solor (6 and 8 June); Virna Toppi will make her debut on 11 and 13 June, with Nicola Del Freo; and Vittoria Valerio and Claudio Coviello will be the protagonists on 17 and 21 June. Alice Mariani will also make her debut as Nikiya on 18 June with Timofej Andrijashenko. As Gamzatti the cast will see Alice Mariani, Maria Celeste Losa and, making their debuts in the role, Gaia Andreanò and Linda Giubelli.
There are Golden Idols aplenty with Mattia Semperboni, Alessandro Paoloni, Domenico Di Cristo, Edward Cooper, Darius Gramada, and Francesco Mascia all appearing.
La Bayadère had its world premiere in St Petersburg in 1877 and immediately became one of Marius Petipa’s ‘greatest hits’, predating his productions of Sleeping Beauty (1890) and Swan Lake (1895).
Until 1961, when the Kirov (now Mariinsky) presented The Kingdom of the Shades on its tour in Paris, this ballet was unknown in the West. On stage was 23-year-old Nureyev who defected at Le Bourget Airport in Paris before the company’s tour moved on to London.
In 1963 it was Nureyev who remounted The Kingdom of the Shades for the Royal Ballet, and it was with this ballet that he made his first appearance at La Scala with The Royal Ballet on tour in 1965.
In 1974 he remounted it for the Paris Opera. On 8 October 1992 his production of the complete ballet, La Bayadère, opened at the Palais Garnier with the Paris Opera Ballet – it was to be his last public appearance and he died from AIDS complications at 54 on 6 January 1993.
At La Scala, the previous version of Bayadère was that of Natalia Makarova which was last staged in 2008 with an opening cast that saw Svetlana Zakharova, Roberto Bolle and Marianela Nuñez in the leading roles. Grigorovich’s version was seen in 2018 for three performances when the Bolshoi Theatre visited Milan.
Rudolf Nureyev’s version of La Bayadère entered La Scala’s repertoire in 2021.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
Kimin Kim has chosen to remain in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. It’s unacceptable that he’s invited to perform in Italy.
So everybody who doesn’t agree with a war should emigrate? I see nobody is emigrating from the USA because of the wars they are leading or supporting allover the world.
Not only excellent ballet master but also handsome man. I wish him many big succeses in the future.