It is with gear sadness that the Novosibirsk opera and ballet theatre informs that on March 5, 2016, at the age of 87, People’s Artist of the USSR and the legend of Siberian ballet Lidia Krupenina passed away. A distinguished prima ballerina and a ballet coach of the Novosibirsk opera and ballet theatre, a brilliant and virtuoso dancer — she was a tireless and faithful enthusiast of ballet.
“...I was ready to dance and rehearse, all day and night in spite of tiredness and days off.
Little was I noticing the exhaustion.
Ballet and Theatre means everything to me. It’s my life...”
Lidia Krupenina’s entire life was dedicated to the main ballet stage of Siberia. She was born in Moscow on November 1, 1928. In 1947, after graduating from the Moscow State choreographic school under the Bolshoi Theatre of the USSR (class of M. V. Leontieva), she was invited to the newly-opened Novosibirsk opera and ballet theatre. On September 11, 1947, Lidia Krupenina made her debut on the huge Novosibirsk stage, which always admired the dancer, with Pas de trois from “The Swan Lake”. The debut was bright and the young dancer enthusiastically got down to work; during her first season she danced the parts of Raimonda in A. Galzunov’s ballet of the same name, Tanechka in the legendary “Doctor Aibolit” (in 1948 the production was awarded the USSR State Prize, Maria in “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”.
Part of Esmeralda in C. Puni’s ballet (1953) became a striking breakthrough in the ballerina’s career. Her triumph in this role granted the young dancer a title of prima-ballerina of the Novosibirsk Theatre. Her repertoire was growing rapidly: Odette-Odile (“The Swan Lake” by P. Tchaikovsky), Princess Aurora (“Sleeping Beauty” by Tchaikovsky), Kitri (“Don Quixote” by L. Minkus), Nina (“The Masquerade” by L. Laputin, first performer), Budur (“Aladdin and the Magic Lamp” by B. Saveliev), Masha (“The Nutcracker” by P. Tchaikovsky), Giselle in A. Adam’s ballet of the same name, Medora and Gulnara (“Le Corsaire” by A. Adam), The Mistress of the Copper Mountain (“The Tale of the Stone Flower” choreographed by Y. Grigorovich, original version for the Novosibirsk Theatre), Aisha (“The Seven Beauties” by K. Karayev), Juliet (“Romeo and Juliet” by S. Prokofiev, choreographed by O. Vinogradov), Zhanna (“The Flames of Paris” by B. Asafiev), Cinderella in the ballet of the same name by S. Prokofiev (choreographed by O. Vinogradov), Shirin (“The Legend of Love” by A. Melikov, choreographed by Y. Grigorovitch, original version for the Novosibirsk Theatre) and many others.
It is impossible to overstress the importance of Lidia Krupenina’s outstanding contribution to establishing the Siberian ballet. Her love for the theatre, true dedication to the profession, irreproachable acting skills captivated the audience and colleagues, exemplifying the best of selfless service to arts. Her brilliant journey in ballet is a unique, most important and unparalleled page in the creative history of the Novosibirsk opera and ballet theatre.
The audience in different cities of the country and many countries of the world always greeted Lidia Krupenina with applause. In 1969 she started holding classes in the Novosibirsk Choreographic School. Between 1973 and 1980 she was its artistic director. Having left the stage in 1980, Lidia Krupenina took over as a ballet coach of the Novosibirsk opera and ballet theatre. Leading ballerinas of the ballet company, such as Larisa Matyukhina-Vasilevskaya, Tatiana Kladnichkina, Lubov Gershunova, Ludmila Kondrashova, Ludmila Popilina, Anastasia Danilova, Anna Zharova, Elena Lytkina and many others attended her class over the years.
There were four of them in our theatre, of People’s Artists of the USSR: L. Myasnikova, I. Zak, Lidia Krupenina, V. Yegudin. The last of the legends passed away...
Her good name, wonderful soul and the great talent will always remain in our memory and in the history of her only and dear theatre.
The company of the theatre deeply bewails the death of Lidia Krupenina and expresses sincere condolences to her family.
The memorial ceremony will take place in the grand hall of the Novosibirsk state academic opera and ballet theatre on March 9, 12 a. m. to 1 p. m.