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La Bayadere at the Prague State Opera in Prague. Ballet by Ludwig Minkus - Photo 2
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Running Time
155 minutes
Performance Languages
Printed programme in English and Czech.
Dress Code
The theatre is a cultural institution, and attire typically ranges from smart casual to formal wear.
Cast
Nikia
Nikola Márová, Miho Ogimoto, Alina Nanu, Magdaléna Matějková
Solor
Giovanni Rotolo, Adam Zvonař, Nikita Chetverikov, Matěj Šust
Gamzatti
Aya Watanabe, Magdaléna Matějková, Sophie Benoit, Alina Nanu, Kristýna Němečková
Solors mother
Michaela Černá, Nelly Danko
Nikias mother
Dadja Altenburg-Kohl
Brahman
Jiří Kodym, Alexandre Katsapov, Alexej Afanassiev
Magdavea
Mathias Deneux, Gianvito Attimonelli, Veaceslav Burlac, Jakub Rašek
Aya
Jana Jodasová
Radzha
Tomáš Kopecký, Marek Svobodník
Solors friends
Jonáš Dolník, Francesco Scarpato, Giovanni Rotolo, Dmytro Tenytskyy, Paul Tudor Moldoveanu, Guido Sarno, Matěj Šust, Patrik Holeček, Jiří Waňka, Federico Ievoli, Zachary Rogers, Paul Irmatov, Jakub Groot, Renato De Leon
The main temple girls
Sophie Benoit, Magdaléna Matějková, Aya Watanabe, Marta Máchová Drastíková, Michaela Wenzelová, Mária Dorková, Louise Corpechot, Daria Lazucová, Olga Bogoliubskaia, Alexandra Pera, Ayaka Fujii, Kristýna Němečková, Evgenia Chetverikova, Abigail Bushnell
Golden Buddha
Ondřej Vinklát, Younsik Kim, Adam Zvonař, Jonáš Dolník, Paul Tudor Moldoveanu
Bodhisattvas
Mathias Deneux, Veaceslav Burlac, Francesco Scarpato, Jonáš Dolník, Gianvito Attimonelli, Sergej Gherciu, Domenico di Cristo, Jakub Rašek
The men of the temple of the goddess Kali
Ondřej Vinklát, Matěj Šust, Younsik Kim, Jakub Rašek, Paul Irmatov, Francesco Scarpato
Production Team
Choreography
Javier Torres, Marius Petipa
Stage Director
Javier Torres
Musical Preparation
Václav Zahradník
Costumes
Erika Turunen
Lighting Design
Daniel Tesař
Video
Lunchmeat
Conductor
Václav Zahradník, Sergej Poluektov
Assistant choreographer
Ingrid Němečková, Michaela Černá
Ballet Master
Marie Hybešová, Tereza Podařilová, Jiří Kodym
Musical adaptation
Jan Valta, Václav Zahradník
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La Bayadere at the Prague State Opera

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Ballet by Ludwig Minkus

Act I
Led by Solor, a band of young warriors hunts a tiger. Breaking away from them, Solor encounters the fakir Magdaveya by the temple walls and persuades him to arrange a secret rendezvous that night with the Bayadère Nikiya, one of the dancers who serves the temple’s sacred flame.

The High Brahmin emerges, leading a solemn procession signalling the start of the ritual of fire. Fakirs and Bayadères perform ceremonial dances, after which Nikiya, the fairest of them all, appears. Although he has taken vows of celibacy and is head of the priesthood, the High Brahmin confesses his love for Nikiya and promises her wealth and power if she will return his feelings.

Nikiya rejects him and, as she and the Bayadères fetch water from a sacred pool, Magdaveya quietly tells her that Solor will meet her beneath the temple walls that night. Overjoyed, she eagerly awaits the tryst.

Night falls and the lovers meet in secret while Magdaveya keeps watch, though the High Brahmin overhears their vows. Solor asks Nikiya to flee with him. She agrees, but only after extracting his solemn oath of eternal fidelity.

Morning arrives. The Rajah tells his daughter, Gamzatti, that the day has come for her to meet and wed the man to whom she was betrothed in childhood. Dugmanta sends for him, and when the groom appears it is Solor. The Rajah presents his daughter and reminds Solor of the agreement made years before. Enraptured by Gamzatti’s beauty yet tormented by his vow to Nikiya, Solor is thrown into turmoil.

As preparations for the consecration of the marriage begin, Nikiya is summoned to dance in the holy rites. The High Brahmin arrives and tells the Rajah he has an urgent secret to disclose. Dugmanta dismisses the court. Suspecting his secret concerns her, Gamzatti hides to listen.

The High Brahmin tells the Rajah of the love vows between Nikiya and Solor. Enraged, the Rajah declares that Solor will still marry his daughter, but the Bayadère must die. The High Brahmin, shocked by this outcome, warns of divine vengeance should a servant of the temple be killed. They part, their conflict unresolved.

Gamzatti emerges and summons a slave to bring Nikiya. She tells the Bayadère of the impending wedding, showing her a portrait of Solor. Horror‑stricken, Nikiya protests that Solor has sworn eternal fidelity to her alone. The Rajah’s daughter demands she renounce him, but Nikiya defiantly prefers death. She draws a dagger to strike Gamzatti, but a slave intervenes. Enraged, Gamzatti resolves to have Nikiya killed.

Act II
Magnificent celebrations mark the wedding of Solor and Gamzatti, with a succession of dances entertaining the assembled guests.

Nikiya is ordered to dance, but unable to hide her despair, she performs with sorrow, her gaze fixed on Solor. A slave brings a basket of flowers, which Dugmanta claims is a gift from Solor. Nikiya reaches for it, but a poisonous snake concealed inside slips out and bites her. Knowing Gamzatti is responsible, Nikiya refuses the High Brahmin’s offer of an antidote unless she will love him. She rejects him once more and dies with Solor at her side.

Act III
Solor, distraught and consumed by remorse, is inconsolable. Magdaveya tries in vain to distract him and brings a snake charmer. As the man plays, Solor falls into a deep sleep to the sound of the flute.

Solor dreams he is in the Kingdom of Shadows. Before him, the spirits of long‑dead maidens descend in a solemn, ghostly procession from the mountain cliffs. Among them he sees Nikiya, his beloved, who beckons him to follow her…

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