Seven Beauties (ballet)
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''Seven Beauties'' is an Azerbaijani
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
composed by
Gara Garayev Gara Abulfaz oghlu Garayev ( az, Qara Əbülfəz oğlu Qarayev, russian: Кара́ Абульфа́зович Кара́ев (Kara Abulfazovich Karayev), February 5, 1918 – May 13, 1982), also spelled as Qara Qarayev or Kara Karayev, was a pr ...
in 1947–48 to mark the 800th anniversary of classical Persians/Azerbaijani's.His creative activity has strong bound with Azerbaijan literature and culture poet
Nizami Ganjavi Nizami Ganjavi ( fa, نظامی گنجوی, lit=Niẓāmī of Ganja, translit=Niẓāmī Ganjavī; c. 1141–1209), Nizami Ganje'i, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was ''Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī'',Mo'in ...
. Set in the 12th century, the libretto by I. Hidayetzade, Yuri Slonimsky and Sabit Rahman is based on motifs from Ganjavi’s ''
Seven beauties ''Seven Beauties'' ( it, Pasqualino Settebellezze, "Pasqualino Sevenbeauties") is a 1975 Italian language film written and directed by Lina Wertmüller and starring Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, and Shirley Stoler. Written by Wertmüller, the ...
'' poem, written in 1197.


Background

The first staging of the ballet was held on November 7, 1952, in the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Baku.
National instruments National Instruments Corporation, doing business as NI, is an American multinational company with international operation. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it is a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software. C ...
were used in orchestration of the ballet, which give it a national tint. In 2008, a new staging of the ballet was held on the stage of the Azerbaijan State Opera and Ballet Theater. Famous Russian choreographer Vasiliy Medvedev became its chief ballet master. Yana Temiz – a writer from
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
wrote a new libretto for staging. Elshad Bagirov who worked at the Bolshoi Theatre and was a conductor at the Opera and Ballet Theater of Istanbul, became the manager and conductor of the staging. Artist of the Bolshoi Theater Dmitriy Cherbadji worked on decorations and
Tahir Salahov Tahir Salahov ( Azerbaijani, in full: , russian: Таир Теймур Салахов; 29 November 1928 – 21 May 2021) was a Soviet, Azerbaijani painter and draughtsman. He was First Secretary of the Artists' Union of the USSR (1973–1992), ...
on costumes. On 13 October 2014, the ballet premiered in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
at the Civic Theatre in
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
before an audience of 3,000.


Characters

* Manzar * Aysha *
Bahram Shah Al-Malik al-Amjad Bahramshah was the List of Ayyubid rulers#Emirs of Baalbek, Ayyubid emir of Baalbek between 1182–1230 (578–627 AH). Reign Bahramshah succeeded his father Farrukh Shah, Farrukhshah as ruler of the minor emirate of Baalbek and ...
*
Vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...
* Seven beauties: **
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n **
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
** Khorezmian **
Slav Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
**
Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
ian **
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
**
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
* Head of a guard * Commanders * Hermit * Cooper, silk maker * Potter * Ropemaker * Gunsmith * Blacksmith * Shoemaker * Wheelwright * Jesters * A palace girl


Synopsis

A storm catches Bahram Shah during a hunt. While looking for a shelter in ruins of an old castle, he met a hermit, who shows him images of seven beauties from different countries. It seems to Bahram that the beauties are revived and are going round with amazing dances. At daybreak the beauties disappear. Bahram leaves the palace and goes home. On the road he sees a stately youngster Manzar and his sister Aysha competing in a bow. Bahram calls Manzar to compete. Then they exchange gifts according to custom. Bahram gives Manzar a belt, and he gives him a sword. After Manzar goes away, Bahram makes Aysha a declaration of love. Aysha also confesses to the hunter. And when servants and a vizier come for lost Bahram, Aysha and Manzar know that this young hunter is none other than the Shah. Vizier informs him about the
Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
’ invasion. Bahram gives authority to the vizier and takes the field. But the vizier, who has a plan about seizure of power, charges two of his closes to disguise themselves in Khazars’ costume, to catch up and kill the Shah. A gloomy demonstration is observed on the square and population begs for mercy. Captivated girls follow the defaulters. Fierce servants of the Shah pounce on goods on stores, plunder and demolish everything which fall into their hands, after which the population terribly runs away. At that time the vizier enjoys the power, goes down to underground treasury, where he wears splendid clothes. He dreams of that day, when he’ll be a Shah. At that time a killer comes and says that they couldn’t attempt on the Shah’s life. Then voices of horn are heard. Returning to the capital Bahram, who knows about the conspiracy, wants a reprisal. But he can’t leave the palace because of the vizier’s guards. Then Manzar calls armed craftsmen for help. At that time, a solemn demonstration led by the vizier goes out from the palace. He gives Bahram symbols of power. Manzar knows about the vizier’s perfidy, but the vizier kills close before the Shah’s eyes, to show his loyalty to the Shah and that allegedly he was the organizer of the conspiracy. Guards disarm the population, tie up craftsmen and Manzar and imprison them. Knowing about Manzar’s and craftsmen’s imprisonment, Aysha runs to the palace and begs the Shah, who feasts at that time, to set them free. The Shah releases only Manzar in memory of their former friendship. Disturbed by Bahram’s act that didn’t punish the vizier and release the craftsmen, Manzar drop the belt, presented by the Shah, on the ground. This act outrages the Shah and he ordered to execute Manzar. But he runs away. The vizier wants to distract the Shah. He shows him silk textile, on which seven beauties are portrayed. Shah remembers that night spent in ruins of the palace and seven beauties seem to him again. The Shah forgets about vital problems, what the vizier tries to obtain to seize the power. He goes to a village with his guards where Manzar takes cover. Knowing that peasants don’t want to give up Manzar, the vizier orders to trample down the peasants’ crops. The peasants appeal to the Shah. But the Shah’s thinks only about Aysha, whom he cannot forget. But Aysha refuses Bahram’s love, who dooms the population to starvation. Bahram orders the vizier to burn the village. Suddenly seven young peasants and craftsmen appear while the vizier looks at the fire. They commit revenge and the vizier dies. Bahram wants to forget Aysha. That is why he returns to the palace, seeking oblivion in seven beauties. But at that time a thunderclap is heard and walls of the palace are parted. Seven messengers of the population appear and give the Shah a crook and cloak showing him that he has to abdicate and leave the country. Suddenly Aysha appears, saying the Shah that she loves not him, but a hunter and is ready to go with him if he abdicates. Wrathful Bahram strikes the girl with a fatal blow of the sword. The population bids farewell to Aysha and drive Bahram away.


See also

*
List of historical ballet characters A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...


Notes


External links

{{Commons category, Seven beauties (ballet)
Либретто балета Семь красавиц



К 90-летию со дня рождения К. Караева и к 55-летию премьеры «Семи красавиц»


1952 ballet premieres Ballets by Gara Garayev Ballet in Azerbaijan Ballets based on literature Ballets set in the 12th century Ballets set in Asia