Esmeralda

The Kremlin Ballet Theatre from Russia is presenting the passionate love story of "Esmeralda''.

"Esmeralda'' is based on the famous novel "Notre Dame de Paris" by Victor Hugo about the tragic love story of the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, and her life within a world of hatred, love and justice.

The most famous ballet version of the story was choreographed by Marius Petipa, but Kremlin's art director Adrei Petrov has given the famous scenes a modern touch.

Each character holds an importance in the overall production, and instead of having a group of dancers performing the corps de ballet, they also offer a story of their own. The dances are distinctive depending on each character, but they all have a certain connection and add intensity to the whole work.

The ballet follows the storyline of the original novel.' Esmeralda is a young and beautiful gypsy who touches the heart of many men, including the hunchback bell ringer Quasimodo, his adopted father Claude Frollo and Phoebus, the captain of the King's archers.

Things get complicated as the three men get entangled in a complicated emotional attachment with the gypsy girl, and Esmeralda slowly falls in love with Phoebus, who already has a fiance, Fleur de Lys.

Knowing her affection toward Phoebus, Frollo steals her dagger and frames Esmeralda as a suspect for an attempted murder of the captain, and the gypsy is then sentenced to death by hanging.

Quasimodo struggles to save her and takes her to the cathedral for sanctuary, but the angry Frollo brings her back for execution, where she finally meets her fate. The heartbroken Quasimodo pushes his stepfather from the church for killing the love of his life, and he too dies next to Esmeralda's grave.

The Kremlin Ballet was born in 1990 on the initiative of its founder and present artistic director, Andrei Petrov, and thanks to his energy, persistence and undoubted organizational abilities. He knew this huge stage well – he had danced on it as a Bolshoi Ballet soloist since 1965, when he joined the country’s first ballet company after graduating from the Moscow Academy of Choreography (the former Moscow Ballet School). At that time, the Kremlin Palace was the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia’s second stage and its productions were shown here on a regular basis. Later on, when the Bolshoi stopped using the Kremlin Palace, Petrov had the idea of creating an independent company, based on this theatre. The idea won the active support of Russian ballet people. The outstanding dancers Ekaterina Maximova and Vladimir Vasiliev began to collaborate with the new Company, Vasiliev transferring to the Kremlin stage his ballet Macbeth (music by Kyril Molchanov), premièred at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1980. And so the young Kremlin Ballet Company opened with Macbeth.

Esmeralda – Kristina Krokova
Phoebus – Aydar Shaydullin
Fleur de Lys – Olga Zubkova