The II Crimean Opera Ball took place. How it was?

By Rita Muller On Сен 19, 2023

CrimeaPRESS reports:

The II Crimean Opera Ball took place on September 17 on the square of the Massandra winery. In the unique scenery of the ancient castle, built by the famous winemaker, Prince Lev Golitsyn, at the end of the 19th century, and the endless Crimean mountains, a unique creative concept was embodied — living pictures of balls from the masterpieces of opera and ballet. The plot solo parts were performed by opera and ballet soloists, opera and ballet stars, and the ballroom scenes were performed by dancing couples — participants.

The II Crimean Opera Ball became the personification of beauty and solemnity. For one evening, the picturesque square of the Massandra Winery turned into an open-air ballroom and was filled with music from famous operas and operettas by Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Gounod, Strauss, Leoncavallo, Kalman, Lehár, Mozart, Rossini and other great composers. The dance part of the program was presented by parts from the famous ballets “The Corsair” by Adana, “The Sleeping Beauty” and “The Nutcracker” by Tchaikovsky, “Cinderella” by Prokofiev, “Don Quixote” by Minkus, “The Little Humpbacked Horse” by Shchedrin, “Anyuta” by Gavrilin, and the composition “Matadors” «from Verdi’s La Traviata, Rossini’s Tarantella and Rachmaninov’s Paganini — a dedication to the 150th anniversary of the great maestro. Magnificent costumes, ingeniously realized images, bright scenes, breathtaking scenery of the Massandra Winery building, playing with light decorations, created an unforgettable living picture of the ballsay the organizers.

Opera arias were performed by the soloist of the Moscow musical theater «Helikon-Opera» Vitaly Serebryakov — tenor, Honored Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan Dinara Khafizova — soprano, guest soloist of the St. Petersburg Opera Theater Server Kadirov — bass, soloist of the Krasnodar musical theater «Premiere» Igor Gorban — tenor, Honored Artist of Pop Art of Ukraine Dmitry Kostenko — tenor, soloist of the Crimean Tatar Academic Musical Drama Theater Arsen Isamidinov — tenor.

Ballet parts and dance compositions were performed by the premiere and soloist of the Krasnodar Ballet Theater Yuri Grigorovich Vladimir Morozov and Yulia Lisitskaya, soloists of the Black Sea Dance Ensemble Yana Kolmogorova and Honored Artist of Sevastopol Sergei Khrapin, soloists of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Black Sea Fleet Maria Shatalina and Honored Artist Crimea Denis Gontarev, master of sports and finalist of Russia in ballroom dancing Alexander Pozdnyakov and young ballerinas from the Classical Dance Ensemble “Nadezhda” under the direction of Elena Olkhovskaya.

The main stars of this evening were, of course, the participants of the event. Smart couples in thoughtful looks are ordinary people from a variety of fields of activity and different ages. Despite everyday worries and difficulties, they attended master classes, learned to dance, showed taste, dressed magnificently, and transformed themselves to give each other a holiday and make an invaluable contribution to the culture of Crimea. It was they who made the fairy tale a reality, because the main rarity of a ball in modern life is the sight of a large number of simultaneously beautiful, smiling, cheerful people who give each other love and warmthnoted the organizing committee.

They prepared for the ball under the guidance of experienced choreographers of the “Sevastopol Ball” project — artistic director and chief dance master of the Crimean Opera Ball Dmitry Platov, Honored Artist of the Republic of Crimea, choreographer-choreographer Oleg Stadniychuk and young gifted choreographer Denis Repak. The couples rehearsed in three cities — Sevastopol, Simferopol and Yalta, eventually performing more than 30 dances at the ball. Many of them did not want to leave the floor even after the final waltz, continuing to spin and enjoy the unique atmosphere of the evening.

The Crimean Opera Ball, which is based on the embodiment of living pictures of balls from the masterpieces of opera and ballet, is a unique, innovative project that has become a world premiere. Beautiful women with shining eyes and worthy men have gathered in this square; love, friendship and romance are felt in every particle of the air. Art reigns here, which means life reigns here. The ball suits “Massandra” very much and suits Crimea very much, because it is the embodiment of what Crimeans know how to give to the world and what people really need – beauty, warmth and joy of life, — emphasizes the director of the II Crimean Opera Ball Ekaterina Grafodatskaya.

The Crimean Opera Ball in Massandra is airy and light, like champagne. The ball for us is not just a dance evening, it is joint creativity, healing with high art. It unites, gives worthy guidelines, reveals and emphasizes the best qualities of a person. This is, first of all, the joy of joint work and creativity, where not only the result is important, but also the very path that we go through on the way to it. Our ball teaches that perfection does not lie in perfection, but in the courage to move, to seek, in the constant movements of the soul, which become dance movements., — notes the artistic director, chief dance master of the II Crimean Opera Ball Dmitry Platov.