The State Ballet Theatre of Russia
General Information

Igor NEPOMNYASHCHIY, Artistic Director of the Theatre
Lyudmila SYCHEVA, Artistic Director of the Ballet

* Company of 65

The 2006–2007 season marks the debut North American performances of The State Ballet Theater of Russia, which is the touring name of the The Voronezh State Theatre of Opera and Ballet, established in 1961.

The Director of the Voronezh State Theatre of Opera and Ballet is Honored Artist of Russia Igor Nepomnyashchy. The artistic director of the ballet since the early 1990's, is People's artist of Russia Nabilya Valitova.

Voronezh was founded in 1585 by Tsar Feodor I a fortress protecting the Russian state from the raids of Crimean and Nogay Tatars, is a large city in the south of Central Russia, not far from Ukraine. Settlements were present in Voronezh since the Stone Age. And as the name Voronezh is very old, its exact meaning is unknown.

Many famous people were born in Voronezh including poets and writers Platonov, Koltsov, Bunin, Nikitin, Marshak, Troepolskii; painters Kramskoi, Ge, Kuprin, the physicist Cherenkov; gymnasts Davydova, Tkachyov and the anarchist Voline.

The repertoire of the theatre includes work by both classical and modern Russian composers including: Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet .

Numerous distinguished students of the famous Voronezh Choreographic College have immediately joined the State Ballet Theatre of Russia immediately upon their graduation. Alumni of the Voronezh Choreographic College include such well-known choreographers as Ter-Stepanova, E. Aksenova (Moscow), O. Ignatyev (St.-Petersburg), N. Nazirova (Azerbaijan), S. Sheina, V. Petchersky (St.-Petersburg) worked in Voronezh.

At the end of the 1960s and in the beginning of the 1970s the playbill contained Per Gunt by E.Grieg, Giselle and Le Corsaire by Adan, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev, Young Lady and Hooligan by Shostakovich.

During the 1970s the works of modern composers were widely represented: A.Khachaturyan's Gayane, E.Lazarev's Antony and Cleopatre, R.Shchedrin's Carmen-suite, Mischievous Chastooshki, A.Petrov's Adam and Eve, A.Crein Laurensia and ballet classics such as A.Glazunov's Raimonda, and L.Gerold's Vain Precaution.

The State Ballet Theatre of Russia has toured USA ( four times ). The State Ballet Theatre of Russia has toured with productions of traditional Russian classics throughout France, (performing Sleeping Beauty in 38 cities), Germany, Holland and Czech Republic, as well as in India and throughout Africa with engagements in Tunisia, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia.

Among the company's 65 dancers are many distinguished Russian artists and winners of many international ballet competitions including:

Svetlana Noskova, Yuliya Nepomnyashchaya, Alexandra Alimova, Elena Batishcheva, Marta Filippova, Anastasia Rusina, Denis Kaganer, Alexander Lityagin, Vladislav Ivanov and Valentin Shustikov.

These leading dancers have represented the art of Russian Ballet in the USA, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Italy, France, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Vietnam, India, Cyprus, Malta, Japan, and several countries in Africa.

Repertoire

The Overseas Tours