Leila Guchmazova. Epitaph to Vasiliev

In the popular narrative, the events at the Bolshoi Theater sound simple - “Vasiliev was removed.” In fact, the formal changes are much more serious. The structure of the management pyramid began to leak: by a serious decree of the President, the Bolshoi was placed in place under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, which since 1992 has played the role of a relative out of work at the well-favored theater. The court theater, which historically, and especially with the owls. power, was stuffed with the favorites and favorites of the august ones. That is, not only artists, but chosen ones. Try to lead.

Laurels are crying for the wise head of Mikhail Efimovich Shvydkoy, and the arrogance has suddenly disappeared from the gilded theater. But that's not the whole event. The charismatic position of artistic director of the Bolshoi is now hyphenated to the position of deputy director. That is: during the upcoming move to the branch, the post of head has been given to a manager, a manager; from now on he should not hide behind the fig leaf of “executive director” and look for a common financial language with complex artistic people, whose creative ambitions are rarely equivalent to organizational ones. But this is not the whole event. From the time it became an independent monastery, the musical theater was subordinate to the conductor. Her Ladyship Music indicated a place for opera and ballet, which was rarely argued against and to no avail. A conductor will be appointed to this position again in the coming season. And in 1995, in the most entertaining country in the world, it happened that the offspring of a younger muse, whom rarely anyone took seriously, pumped up his rights to unprecedented proportions. Little Tsakhes-ballet, based on its pointe outlook, intellect and taste, formally, in the person of artistic director Vasiliev, became the head of the post-Soviet Bolshoi art. For which the critics have not tired of congratulating him for many seasons. The patient's condition is obvious: lazy repertoire fever with fever due to tour fees.

Vasilyev was not sent a silk cord, but they treated him in the best Asian traditions. He had to appear at the new patronage - the Ministry of Culture - to become familiar with his fate. Having received all possible hosannas during his lifetime as the best Soviet dancer, he objectively suffered from unsatisfied creative ambitions. It would be hard to call sublimation in its new capacity happy, although for five years Vasilyev managed the country’s Main Theater at the very least. He can be considered the last of the Mohicans, since the next generation, although growing up under ballet serfdom, managed to taste free contract flight according to a personal, rather than regular, employment schedule. Vasiliev dealt with the viscous freedom of the director’s chair in a unique way: not only was his profession different. Even a talented pro, when presented with a national treasure, has a hard time figuring out what to do with it. Moreover, everyone around approximately knows how to do it, but no one can do anything. The problem is national. Against this background, any movement of any vector could only be creaking. The Thaw Spartak, everyone's favorite - theatrical and popular, a man with no cold nose, Vasiliev turned out to be a very Russian, very artistic director.

Almost immediately upon taking office, Vladimir Viktorovich received a new theater name. He commented on it quite Christianly: “It is better to be Blessed Vasilyev than Ivan the Terrible.” He was an ideal target for the nimble press without halftones in his assessments. Talking about the fainting reconstruction of the theater, he shamelessly confused millions with billions at press conferences that were tenacious to such reservations. In all honesty he promised to expand the repertoire with world-class masterpieces, but staged - not without humor - a home-brewed "Balda", farmed out the very young talent of "The Little Humpbacked Horse" and got paid in full for re-imagining classic plays. I put on "Giselle" by Givenchy, and the new stalls perked up. He honestly bullied the social art of Grigorovich, the great mythologem of the Bolshoi, without really offering anything in return. He endured “Bravo, Grigorovich!” from the mezzanine in the procession scene of the “Legend of Love”, that is, he was in a delicate relationship with the eternal as the Big Clack.

An indicative confrontation happened with Vasiliev a couple of years ago. At the traditional press conference following the results of the season, in response to the rhetoric: “When will star choreographers stage at the Bolshoi,” he announced negotiations with Jiri Kylian. A miracle happened: a few weeks later, through the efforts of the Dutch government, the famous Czech, the last ballet academician, came to Moscow. I was sincerely surprised when they rushed to him for details.

In the past season, Vasiliev made several moves with his knight: he did not interfere with Balanchine’s dancing (producer credit to prima Ananiashvili), had a successful American tour, and on the wave of national patriotism he invited St. Petersburg Varangian Boris Eifman to stage “Russian Hamlet,” a simple ballet about Paul the First. Accepted "Afternoon of a Faun" as a gift from the Robbins Foundation. Finally, he invited Pierre Lacotte, the most Russified living French choreographer, to restore the ancient "Pharaoh's Daughter", following the Mariinsky Theater in reacting to a new wave of interest in ballet antiquity. I wish I could live and be happy...

What irritates you about the Bolshoi? The brilliant absence of any semblance of even Soviet glasnost. This strange term here has been stuck on your lips for a long time, but for us ballet dancers, it flew by and didn’t notice. It is protected by the commandant's office as a nomenklatura institution, so Cerberus is resting. Profitable parties (sounds good), especially since lucrative tours are still distributed under the carpet. The semi-legal New Year's premieres have been choked, and there are reservations for two evenings for experiments. Neither the logic nor the principles of constructing a poster can be figured out by any Alice. State and private producers regularly blame the Bolshoi for not being able to bring a decent theater to a decent stage. This is not a taboo, just for members of the caste - the Lyon Opera made its way with “Cinderella” by Magi Maren, if you suddenly dust off academic banners. The world practice of inviting stars is in a contraceptive state. And we don’t let our own people in as best we can, with all our might. Finally, a workshop pain point: sanctions against the press. An unfavorable review - so for the next premiere, “but pasaran” will clearly work. The loyal fraternity of strikebreakers and “moderates” are located in the mezzanine with their husbands and godfathers, others try to create scandals or quietly settle problems through personal connections. Do you know where the ballet critic, a vignette in serious Art, ranks in the table of ranks of the most beautiful departments of culture? Same thing. Serves it right.

It seems that Vasiliev was an ideal leader for troubled times, when any semblance of a tough course could smash the theater into small pieces. Thank God it didn’t explode or burn. Reviews of foreign tours - be curious - are a real balm for patriots. You can even watch successful home performances. The ballet institute is comparable to grape fields during an anti-alcohol campaign - only it’s easy to cut it down, everything else is a long and mostly applied effort. We are not arrogant, not spoiled, former Soviets - thanks to Vasiliev, that there were no revolutions, the youth did not run away, the corps de ballet is moving. If we don’t lie, the world of musical theater rests on the illusion that each group and each soloist can influence the artistic director in their favor. It is important to maintain this illusion in the manner of Solomon with the distribution of beads. In such a context, even Russian Hamlets will prefer to put up with familiar evil. If my artistic level had not suffered, I would have humbly lost my qualifications.

Rumors “about the Bolshoi” refused to settle. Against the contrasting background of the prosperous, although not without its problems, the Mariinsky Theater, they were formally resolved. But only formally, because all sorts of correct schemes become habituated by people. And the declared triumph of rational capitalism can be viewed from a very human angle: “In addition, Iksanov (the new director of the Bolshoi Theater - L.G.) is a St. Petersburger, and he has many friends among St. Petersburgers who moved to Moscow. This is important for the Bolshoi Theater.” . From an interview with the Minister of Culture in hot pursuit.

is coming The 225th season of the Bolshoi Theater . Stupid, bourgeois, arrogant, beloved. There is no other one in Moscow. Both in Russia and in the world. How to arrange it like this...