Denys Matviienko and Co. prepare a ballet novelty

The premiere show, to be staged together with the famous Slovene choreographer’s ballet Radio and Juliet, will tour five Ukrainian cities: Lviv, Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv.

The capital residents will see one-act ballets Stabat Mater and Radio and Juliet staged at the Ukraina Palace on June 24. All major male roles will be performed by the ballet’s world star Denys Matviienko. He will be joined on stage by THE GREAT GATSBY project’s company.

Two different shows have in common the unique emphatic choreography of Edward Clug.

Let us recall that Radio and Juliet is already known to Kyivites as every showing of it gathers in the auditorium fans of the Radiohead band as well as lovers of modern dance and classical ballet. Unlike classical adaptations of the tragedy Romeo and Juliet, Clug shows immersion into the emotional world created by William Shakespeare and conveyed through modern plastique and Radiohead’s “soundtrack.”

Clug’s inspiration for creating this ballet was Giovanni Pergolesi’s cantata Stabat Mater (The Sorrowful Mother Stood). It is a story of sacrifice and reverence, a story of the sufferings borne by Mother who sees her Son’s torments. The main characters are She (the Woman, shown as Mother, Goddess, Muse) and He...

Stabat Mater is the composer Pergolesi’s best known work. This Catholic hymn is one of the most inspired works of the composer. Stabat Mater was the most frequently published work of the 18th century, arranged by many composers, including the legendary Johann Sebastian Bach. Stabat Mater’s lyrics consist of two parts, both authored by Jacopone da Todi. The first part tells of the suffering of Virgin Mary during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, while the second is a sinner’s plea to grant him a place in the paradise after death... However, Clug’s ballet is not a literal reflection of da Todi’s verses. This text is for him only the background for his own unusually vivid choreographic canvas.

The concert tour of Denys Matviienko and his ballet company will continue in Odesa on June 26, Dnipropetrovsk on June 28, and Kharkiv on June 30.