Today, January 24, marks 135 years since the birth of the first principal ballet master of our Theatre, Mikhail Moiseev (1882-1955).
In 1899 Mikhail Moiseev graduated from the Moscow Academy of Choreography. Since 1903 he joined the company of the opera theatre n.a. S. Zimin; in 1909 Mikhail went on tour to USA, where he participated with Anna Pavlova's company.
After returning to Russia in 1911, Mikhail Moiseev worked in theatres of Rostov, Kharkov, Baku, Tashkent and Sverdlovsk. Since 1918 Mikhail started working as a ballet master in Voronezh, he managed to combine it with performing leading ballet parts.
In October, 1944, Mikhail transferred from Yerevan opera and ballet theatre to the Novosibirsk Theatre, where he began to assemble the ballet Company of the theatre. He was the one who staged the first ballet production – «Le Corsaire», which premiered on July 28, 1946. During his first years of working in the Theatre Mikhail staged such productions as «The Swan Lake», «Raymonda», «Fadetta» and «The Scarlet Flower». While working as the head of ballet studio under the Theatre, Mikhail Moiseev had brought up an entire galaxy of the first Novosibirsk dancers.
Besides, he staged several opera productions of the Theatre, such as «Zaporozhets za Dunaem» (also referred to as «Cossacks in Exile») (1945) and «La Traviata» (1948). He also deserves credit for staging of the «Polovtsian Dances» in «Prince Igor» opera (1949).
In 1945 Mikhail was awarded with a title of Honoured Artist of the RSFSR, which became one of the very first awards of the Novosibirsk opera and ballet theatre. «Doctor Aybolit» (1948) ballet for children based on a fairy tale by Korney Chukovsky with music by Igor Morozov in staging by Mikhail Moiseev became a laureate of the Stalin award. The ballet master himself participated in the production as a soloist, performing the part of doctor Aybolit.
Today we gratefully remember the master, who initiated the establishment of ballet in our Theatre.
