‘Russian Hamlet’ staged at Istanbul Opera Ballet Festival

ISTANBUL

The acclaimed ballet “Russian Hamlet” was performed on June 2 and 3 as part of the 16th International Istanbul Opera and Ballet Festival.

The globally renowned production by St. Petersburg Eifman Ballet was staged at the Türk Telekom Opera Hall within Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), captivating audiences with its intense psychological depth and dramatic choreography by celebrated Russian choreographer Boris Eifman.

The ballet explores a ruler’s inner turmoil, the intrigues surrounding him, and his inevitable downfall.

Tan Sağtürk, Director General of the State Opera and Ballet, described the festival as “an invitation to a journey beyond time, into the most fragile depths of the human soul.”

“St. Petersburg Boris Eifman State Academic Ballet Theater, a company that has made a strong impact on stages around the world, brings us together under the shadow of ‘Russian Hamlet,’ a piece that questions and provokes with its powerful choreography,” Sağtürk said.

Noting that more than 20,000 people attended the festival, Sağtürk said, "Premiered on June 24, 1999, in St. Petersburg, ‘Russian Hamlet’ is being introduced to Turkish audiences for the first time this evening. Born from the choreographic genius of Boris Eifman and set to the masterful compositions of Beethoven and Mahler, the ballet is a storm of the soul made visible. In this work, the dark, intersecting worlds of Russian Prince Pavel and Shakespeare’s Hamlet are reflected through the same mirror. Both destinies are written within palace walls built not on love, but on suspicion, shaken by murder and fractured childhoods. As Pavel dreams of changing a nation, he is forced to distance himself from the world in order to hear his inner voice. It is in that very moment — when his identity is still full of belief, yet he senses something within him is breaking — that we encounter him. Tonight’s performance is more than a drama; it is the soul asking itself that eternal question: ‘To be or not to be?’ Who knows — perhaps the answer lies hidden in the steps of Eifman’s dance.”

Inspired by the dramatic parallels between Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Russian Tsar Paul I, Eifman blends history and fiction in this emotionally charged ballet.

The set and costume design were created by Vyacheslav Okunev, while the lighting design was handled by Alexander Sivaev and Boris Eifman.