In Moscow it was pulled from the schedule under political pressure, and now the ballet “Nureyev” has been celebrated in Berlin with great fanfare. For the first time, the production directed by Kirill Serebrennikov and choreographed by Yuri Possokhov was staged outside Russia. The Berlin State Ballet performance drew standing ovations on Saturday night.
The work tells the story of Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993), regarded as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. The Moscow Bolshoi Theatre removed the piece about the gay Russian dancer from its repertoire in 2023 under political pressure.
Nureyev died from AIDS-related complications
Director Serebrennikov has now brought the production to Germany. The roughly two-and-a-half-hour evening at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin recounts Nureyev’s life, the start of his dance career, his defection during the Soviet era, and his death from an AIDS-related illness.
As a framing device, the proceedings surrounding his estate serve as the narrative backbone. The piece blends ballet, opera, and theater. In 2017, “Nureyev” premiered, and in 2023, according to the Bolshoi Theatre, it was removed from the repertoire due to a ban on “propaganda of non-traditional values.”
Among the scenes shown were homosexual sequences and men in women’s clothing and on high heels. Such violations of a law signed by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin—baring positive depictions of homosexuality—are punished with steep fines.
Publishers and bookstores have also pulled works from the shelves as a result, including classic world literature. Homosexuality itself is not illegal in Russia.
Serebrennikow, who had sharply criticized Russia’s war against Ukraine, left his homeland in the face of political persecution. With his consistently sold-out ballet “Nureyev,” he had earned four awards at the prestigious Benois de la Danse. In Berlin, he has now revived it to loud applause.
Nureyev
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