The Birth of the Ballet 'Cholpon'
...The people's imagination has given birth to many wonderful tales of love, against which any barriers are powerless. One such Kyrgyz tale is staged in the ballet 'Cholpon'. It was recorded by Otunchu Sarbagishev from the words of an old collective farmer in Talas.
The name 'Cholpon' refers to the morning star, shining in the dawn sky. We mention this because we find the title of the ballet 'Cholpon' symbolic, as it became a kind of dawn for professional Kyrgyz ballet. It was in this ballet that a truly serious attempt was made to combine national elements with classical dance. However, this did not happen immediately. It took almost a dozen and a half years and three revisions before the ballet acquired its modern, finished form. But let us turn to history.
On November 8, 1942, on the anniversary of the 25th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, the premiere of M. R. Raukhverger's opera 'Kokul' took place. One of the authors of the opera's libretto was Otunchu Sarbagishev — a young director and playwright, a person of great creative temperament. After the premiere, O. Sarbagishev proposed a new idea to M. Raukhverger — about a girl from the people who carried her love untainted through all obstacles and triumphed over dark forces. As the composer later wrote, he was "captivated by the main idea of the work — the triumph of light forces over the forces of darkness, the victory of the freedom-loving aspirations of the positive heroes of the ballet."
During the difficult years of the Great Patriotic War, M. Raukhverger began work on the ballet 'Cholpon'. The composer, who took on the creation of a national ballet, faced many difficulties: the theater did not have experienced ballet dancers, and the composer himself had no experience in the ballet genre. However, the enthusiasm was so great that he did not back down in the face of difficulties. M. Raukhverger, together with O. Sarbagishev, choreographer K. Kramarevsky, and artist Ya. Z. Shtoffer, carefully developed the libretto, seeking means to vividly express the main content of the ballet.
The work on the music completely captivated the composer. "I felt," he recalls, "something like obsession: I could no longer rid myself of thoughts about the ballet. I caught myself thinking about the musical number I was currently working on while walking down the street."
At this time, M. Raukhverger already had a clear idea not only of the performing style of folk musicians but also of the characteristic features of Kyrgyz music — its modal structure, specific intonations. He had independent recordings of dozens of Kyrgyz songs performed by folk singers, komuz players, and recitatives of manaschi. "Kyrgyz folk music immediately enchanted me with its lyrical warmth, heartfelt nature, and some extraordinary modesty," the composer admits.
If we talk about the sources of professional Kyrgyz music, it, "naturally, is based on folk intonations," M. Raukhverger states. "At the same time, it uses the experience of Russian and world classics." The music of the ballet 'Cholpon' serves as confirmation, where melodies resemble gentle tunes on the temir-komuz (for example, the lyrical dance of Cholpon in the first scene) or freely flowing melodies of the komuz (duets of Cholpon and Nurdin). At the same time, the influence of Russian classics is felt in the unusual combinations of instruments and the use of classical musical forms in the form of duets, adagios, waltzes, etc.
As mentioned earlier, the plot of the ballet 'Anar' did not undergo revision during its development, while 'Cholpon' experienced fundamental changes in its plot, music, and staging character.
For the first time, the audience saw 'Cholpon' on stage on December 30, 1944. For the Kyrgyz ballet theater, this performance was a fortunate discovery. It remains a highlight of the repertoire to this day. At the same time, all these years, there has been intense work on its improvement.
One-act ballet by V. Vlasov and V. Fere 'Selkinchek'