Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0021011, Wed, 1 Dec 2010 11:42:01 -0500

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great 20th century writer Vladimir Nabokov ...
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http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/11/29/35879972.html

Love, death, flowers and butterflies








Nov 29, 2010 17:07 Moscow Time




“Laura”. Photo: RIA Novosti








“No artist can avoid eternal topics. For him, they are a milieu in which he immerses his creative will and imagination”. These words, said by great 20th century writer Vladimir Nabokov, became a source of inspiration for the authors of the ballet “Laura”, based on Nabokov’s last novel. They seem to have immersed such eternal topics as love and death, the Creator and the crowd in the milieu of music and movement. The world premiere of the ballet took place in Moscow on the 23d and 29th of November.

For a long time, only a few trusted persons knew about Vladimir Nabokov’s last unfinished novel. The manuscript was kept in a Swiss bank as library cards, which the terminally ill writer filled out frantically trying to beat death. Many episodes in this book are incomplete, sometimes the logic of events is unclear. The novel was published in this way, contrary to Nabokov’s will, as he wanted the manuscript to be burned. The publication of the book “The Original of Laura ” became the main literary sensation of 2009. But the mystery is that the music for the ballet “Laura” appeared before that. “The ballet “Laura” came to me in May 2008. I have no idea who brought it, my inspiration or the Hand of God”. Russian composer David Krivitsky, who unfortunately passed away last summer, wrote these words in the preface to his score.

Famous choreographer Yelena Bogdanovich agreed to stage the ballet. She is a well-known master and the winner of numerous theatrical prizes. In her interview for “The Voice of Russia” she pointed out that Vladimir Nabokov’s son, who decided to publish the novel, considers it the epitome of the writer’s thought. This is also true of the ballet, says the choreographer.

“The main idea of the ballet is the Creator, that is an artist in the general sense of the word, his soul and its transformation through love, - says Yelena Bogdanovich. – According to Nabokov, the highest artistic revelations are associated with a plunge into intimacy. This is why the main topic of the ballet is Laura and her relations with the Creator.”



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