Alexander Plisetski
Encyclopedia
Alexander Plisetski (20 October 1931 — 29 October 1985) was a prominent Russian balletmaster and choreographer
and a younger brother of the famous Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya
.
His father, Michael Plisetski (1899–1938), was Consul General of the USSR at the island of Spitsbergen
, where he managed the coal concessions (trust "Arctic - carbon"). In 1938 he was purged
, charged with espionage and executed. He was rehabilitated on 3 March 1956.
His mother, Rachel Messerer
(1902–1993, also known as Ra Messerer), was a silent film
actress. Shortly after her husband was arrested, she was sent to a labour camp in Kazakhstan
named "The Camp for Wives of traitors to the Motherland in Akmolinsk". During her imprisonment, Alexander stayed with the family of her brother, Asaf Messerer
, while his elder sister, Maya Plisetskaya
, who later became a famous ballerina, was placed in the custody of Sulamith Messerer
.
In 1969 Alexander married a beautiful ballerina, Marianna Sedova. Their daughter, Anna Plisetskaya
(born 1971), became a famous ballerina
and actress.
Theatres which have hosted Plisetsi's productions include:
The Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater, the National Opera House of Ukraine, the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre
, the Sydney Opera House
, the Finnish National Opera
, the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
and the Teatro Colón.
; however, due to his choreographic commitments, the operation was postponed. In the last year of his life he was actively involved in the staging of Serenade for Strings, which premiered in Moscow in November 1984.
Plisetski died on 29 October 1985 in Moscow during heart surgery.
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
and a younger brother of the famous Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya
Maya Plisetskaya
Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya , born is a Russian ballet dancer, frequently cited as one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Maya danced during the Soviet era at the same time as the great Galina Ulanova, and took over from her as prima ballerina assoluta of the Bolshoi in 1960...
.
Family
Alexander Plisetski was born on 20 October 1931 into the family of a diplomat and an actress.His father, Michael Plisetski (1899–1938), was Consul General of the USSR at the island of Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
, where he managed the coal concessions (trust "Arctic - carbon"). In 1938 he was purged
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
, charged with espionage and executed. He was rehabilitated on 3 March 1956.
His mother, Rachel Messerer
Rachel Messerer
Rachel Messerer - Plisetskaya ; born 4 March 1902, — 20 March 1993) — was a Russian silent film and theatre actress.- Family :Rachel Messerer was born in Vilno into the family of a dentist Mikhail Messerer and his wife Sima Shabad and was one of nine children...
(1902–1993, also known as Ra Messerer), was a silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
actress. Shortly after her husband was arrested, she was sent to a labour camp in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
named "The Camp for Wives of traitors to the Motherland in Akmolinsk". During her imprisonment, Alexander stayed with the family of her brother, Asaf Messerer
Asaf Messerer
Asaf Mikhailovich Messerer was a Russian Jewish ballet dancer and ballet teacher. He was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. From 1919 until 1921 he trained as a dancer at the Bolshoi Ballet School under Mikhail Mordkin...
, while his elder sister, Maya Plisetskaya
Maya Plisetskaya
Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya , born is a Russian ballet dancer, frequently cited as one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Maya danced during the Soviet era at the same time as the great Galina Ulanova, and took over from her as prima ballerina assoluta of the Bolshoi in 1960...
, who later became a famous ballerina, was placed in the custody of Sulamith Messerer
Sulamith Messerer
Sulamith Mikhailovna Messerer was a Russian ballerina and choreographer who laid the foundations for the classical ballet in Japan.Sulamith studied in the Moscow Ballet School under Vasily Tikhomirov and Elisabeth Gerdt and danced in the Bolshoi Theatre from 1926 until 1950. In 1933, she and her...
.
In 1969 Alexander married a beautiful ballerina, Marianna Sedova. Their daughter, Anna Plisetskaya
Anna Plisetskaya
-Family:Anna Plisetskaya belongs to an outstanding artistic family of Messerer - Plisetski.* Father — Alexander Plisetski , Balletmaster.* Mother — Marianne Sedova , ballerina in Bolshoi Theatre....
(born 1971), became a famous ballerina
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
and actress.
Career
- In 1949, graduated from the Moscow State Academy of ChoreographyMoscow State Academy of ChoreographyThe Moscow State Academy of Choreography , commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of ballet in the world, located in Moscow, Russia. It is the affiliate school of the Bolshoi Ballet....
. - From 1949 to 1971 - a ballet soloist of the Bolshoi TheatreBolshoi TheatreThe Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
. - From 1965 to 1968 - Professor in Moscow State Academy of ChoreographyMoscow State Academy of ChoreographyThe Moscow State Academy of Choreography , commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of ballet in the world, located in Moscow, Russia. It is the affiliate school of the Bolshoi Ballet....
. - From 1968 to 1985 — Ballet masterBallet MasterBallet Master is the term used for an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company...
and Artistic directorArtistic directorAn artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
of ballet in many cities (in particular, since 1972, worked by invitation as Ballet masterBallet MasterBallet Master is the term used for an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company...
in KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, OdessaOdessaOdessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, UfaUfa-Demographics:Nationally, dominated by Russian , Bashkirs and Tatars . In addition, numerous are Ukrainians , Chuvash , Mari , Belarusians , Mordovians , Armenian , Germans , Jews , Azeris .-Government and administration:Local...
, BashkortostanBashkortostanThe Republic of Bashkortostan , also known as Bashkiria is a federal subject of Russia . It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is the city of Ufa...
and KazanKazanKazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
, and, in 1973, with the Finnish National OperaFinnish National OperaThe Finnish National Opera in Helsinki is the leading opera company in Finland. Its home base is the Opera House on Töölönlahti bay in Töölö which opened in 1993, and is state-owned through Senate Properties...
). - From 1974 to 1976 - founded the ballet in the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San MarcosNational University of San MarcosThe National University of San Marcos is the most important and respected higher-education institution in Peru. Its main campus, the University City, is located in Lima...
in LimaLimaLima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
. - From 1976 to 1978 — Professor and choreographer with the Ballet companyBallet companyA ballet company is a group of dancers who perform ballet, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round basis, except in the United States, where contracts for part of the year are the norm...
Teatro Colón in Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. - From 1979 to 1980 - Professor and choreographer with the Finnish National OperaFinnish National OperaThe Finnish National Opera in Helsinki is the leading opera company in Finland. Its home base is the Opera House on Töölönlahti bay in Töölö which opened in 1993, and is state-owned through Senate Properties...
, where he staged the ballet Carmen Suite (Ru). - From 1981 to 1985 - Ballet masterBallet MasterBallet Master is the term used for an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company...
with the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet TheatreTbilisi Opera and Ballet TheatreTbilisi State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre is situated on Rustaveli Avenue, in the center of Tbilisi, Georgia. It is the oldest opera house in Georgia...
, where, together with the choreographers Michael Lavrovski (Ru) and George Aleksidze (Ru), staged Porgy and BessPorgy and BessPorgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
and Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)Romeo and Juliet is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It is one of the most enduringly popular ballets...
.
- Obtained permission to stage the ballet Serenade for String OrchestraSerenade (ballet)Serenade is a ballet by George Balanchine, subsequently co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet, to Tschaikovsky's 1880 Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48...
with choreography by George BalanchineGeorge BalanchineGeorge Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
. This ballet was a great success on the stage in November 1984.
Performances
In the period from 1973 to 1985, Alexander Plisetski staged several ballets, including:- Carmen Suite to the music of Georges BizetGeorges BizetGeorges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
arranged by Rodion ShchedrinRodion ShchedrinRodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin is a Russian composer. He was one оf the leading Soviet composers, and was the chairman of the Union of Russian Composers from 1973 until 1990.-Life and Works:...
with choreography by Alberto Alonso - Grand Pas Classique» from the ballet RaymondaRaymondaRaymonda is a ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, choreographed by Marius Petipa, with music by Alexander Glazunov, his opus 57. First presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on in St. Petersburg, Russia...
to music by Alexander GlazunovAlexander GlazunovAlexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor... - Walpurgis Night from the opera FaustFaust (opera)Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
by Charles GounodCharles GounodCharles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:... - Dances from the opera TurandotTurandotTurandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
and Two widows to the music of Bedřich SmetanaBedrich SmetanaBedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music... - Porgy and BessPorgy and BessPorgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
to the music of George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
with choreography by Michael Lavrovski - Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)Romeo and Juliet is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It is one of the most enduringly popular ballets...
to music by Sergei ProkofievSergei ProkofievSergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century... - SerenadeSerenade (ballet)Serenade is a ballet by George Balanchine, subsequently co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet, to Tschaikovsky's 1880 Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48...
to music by Tchaikovsky
Theatres which have hosted Plisetsi's productions include:
The Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater, the National Opera House of Ukraine, the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre
Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre
Tbilisi State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre is situated on Rustaveli Avenue, in the center of Tbilisi, Georgia. It is the oldest opera house in Georgia...
, the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
, the Finnish National Opera
Finnish National Opera
The Finnish National Opera in Helsinki is the leading opera company in Finland. Its home base is the Opera House on Töölönlahti bay in Töölö which opened in 1993, and is state-owned through Senate Properties...
, the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
National University of San Marcos
The National University of San Marcos is the most important and respected higher-education institution in Peru. Its main campus, the University City, is located in Lima...
and the Teatro Colón.
Death
Plisetski was in need of heart surgery, which should have been carried out in the United States by invitation from Igor YouskevitchIgor Youskevitch
Igor Youskevitch was a ballet dancer and a choreographer of Russian-Ukrainian origin, famous as one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century, as a master of the classic style, e.g., in Afternoon of a Faun, and as a dance partner to Alicia Alonso.- Early years :Born in the village...
; however, due to his choreographic commitments, the operation was postponed. In the last year of his life he was actively involved in the staging of Serenade for Strings, which premiered in Moscow in November 1984.
Plisetski died on 29 October 1985 in Moscow during heart surgery.
Reviews
- "... The success of the ballet in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater and the Central Concert Hall is big and obvious ... one-act ballet to the music of "Serenade for Strings" by Tchaikovsky, resume carefully and anxiously. Alexander Plisetski was able to obtain from the corps de ballet of artistic disciplines, which does not exclude the spirituality of dance ... The very fact of staging "Serenade" looks like a wonderful symbol: Balanchine if returned to his homeland in the hold of his best creations..."
- " ... ballet "Serenade" (choreographer - tutor Alexander Plisetski) pleased with freshness and harmony of plastic paint ..."