"Russian Seasons. Spring": a multi-genre performance about great Russian culture at the National Centre RUSSIA

The National Centre RUSSIA welcomes spring in grand style with the premiere of the original multi-genre performance "Russian Seasons. Spring". The production, dedicated to Russian art of the early twentieth century and to the women who turned it into a global cultural phenomenon, brings together ballet and opera, live performance and multimedia installations.

Audiences will see pieces set to the music of Igor Stravinsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Modest Mussorgsky, while the stage screens will bring to life the designs of Nikolai Roerich, Alexandre Benois, Leon Bakst and other artists associated with the Russian Seasons. The production transports viewers to a time when a fascination with all things Russian was emerging in Europe, and tours by artists of the Imperial Theatres in Paris and other capitals were transforming the world’s perception of Russian culture.

At the heart of the performance are the stories of Anna Pavlova, Bronislava Nijinska and Matilda Kshesinskaya. The anniversary of Anna Pavlova — 145 years since her birth in 2026 — lends the production special symbolism: her appearances on the world’s greatest stages brought international fame to Russian ballet. Bronislava Nijinska became the first female choreographer of the twentieth century, while Matilda Kshesinskaya was one of the brightest stars of the Russian Seasons and the first Russian ballerina to perform 32 fouettés. Through the lives of these women, the performance tells a story of talent capable of uniting people and shaping the cultural image of a nation.

The culmination of the performance will be a new interpretation of the most famous episode from the legendary ballet "The Rite of Spring", staged especially for the National Centre RUSSIA.

Alongside new choreography and the revived designs of Nikolai Roerich, the audience will also see the composer Igor Stravinsky himself appear on stage, composing his music before their eyes. His thoughts will appear on multimedia screens as the ballet’s characters begin a round dance calling for the arrival of spring. The round dance — a symbol of unity and cultural diversity in Russia that inspired great artists such as Stravinsky — will invite the audience to join the performers in the hall.

The production features leading performers of the country. On the stage of the National Centre RUSSIA audiences will see Bolshoi Theatre principals and prima ballerinas Yevgenia Obraztsova, Kristina Kretova, Anna Tikhomirova, Artyom Ovcharenko and Semyon Chudin; soloists of the Kremlin Ballet Yekaterina Pervushina and Mikhail Yevgenov; as well as representatives of other major theatres, including Dmitry Solomykin (Vakhtangov Theatre, Theatre of Nations), Oleg Savtsov (Moscow Art Theatre named after A. P. Chekhov, Theatre of Nations), Askar Abdrazakov, Eleonora Shaidullina and others.

Artists well known to Moscow audiences have also joined the project. "I invite you to a multi-genre performance about great Russian culture. See you at the National Centre RUSSIA. Spring is near!" says theatre and film actor Sergey Belov, a performer of the Moscow Youth Theatre and the Kashmir Theatre.

Opera singer Askar Abdrazakov emphasised the uniqueness of the production: "This is a remarkable story about women who glorified Russian culture throughout the world," where, to the music of Stravinsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky, the artistic worlds of Roerich, Benois and Bakst unfold before the audience, culminating in a new interpretation of an episode from "The Rite of Spring".

The performance "Russian Seasons. Spring" is intended for the widest audience — those who love ballet and opera, are interested in the history of art, and wish to look at familiar names from a new perspective and feel the spirit of the early twentieth century within the modern multimedia space of the National Centre RUSSIA.

Performances will take place on 7 and 8 March at 17:00 at the National Centre RUSSIA. Information about tickets is available on the website of the National Centre RUSSIA.