The story of the creation of a masterpiece: how did the film "Saber Dance"

On January 30, Yusup Razykov’s tape “Saber Dance” appeared on the big screens about the life of the Soviet and Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian and, in particular, about his work on one of his most famous works.

According to the plot, in the autumn of 1942, the Leningrad Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after Kirov was evacuated to the city of Molotov (Perm). There the troupe is preparing for the premiere of the ballet “Gayane”, the score of which has already been written by the composer Aram Khachaturian on the libretto of Konstantin Derzhavin.

Shortly before the last rehearsal of the ballet, Khachaturian received an order from the theater directorate: to write another dance for the final action of Gayane in a short time. In one evening, the composer creates "Saber Dance", which is destined to become one of his most performed works.

"Dance" by order

The ballet "Gayane" was already a completed performance, when Khachaturian faced the need to supplement it with another number. “Saber dance” was not planned either by the librettist, or Khachaturian, or the choreographer, so work on the work was carried out without much enthusiasm. It is around this fragment that the narrative in the film of Yusup Razykov is built.

“I proposed to show the story of the creation of“ Saber Dance ”- a short period of time from the life of Khachaturian, in which we tried to accommodate the problems and phenomena that surrounded the composer. The latter was especially important in order to, in particular, answer the main question: what should an artist survive (in this case, a composer) in order to create such an outstanding work in eight hours, ”said Razykov.

If the main conflict in the tape was immediately understandable, then the development of the entire script took a total of five years - largely because Razykov tried to recreate the circumstances in which Khachaturian was in the given period of time as accurately as possible (while the director notes that some of the scenes are all -so were invented). It was also necessary to take into account the originality of the composer as a person and his role in the cultural space of the Soviet Union.

By the time of the events described in the film, Khachaturian had already become a rather well-known composer in the USSR. On the ear were his compositions for dramatic performances - for example, music for Valencian Widow Lope de Vega and Masquerade by Mikhail Lermontov (we should also remember the sweeping melody of the waltz from the suite for Masquerade). No less popular were the symphonic works of the composer - concerts for piano and orchestra and for violin.

By the beginning of the 1940s, Khachaturian managed to establish himself as the author of music for films, among which were Pepo and Zangezur.

In working on the script, Razykov consulted with the staff of the Khachaturian House Museum in Yerevan and the Spendiarov Opera and Ballet Theater. In addition, the filmmaker spoke with the composer's son Karen Khachaturian.

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Razykov also helped enter into the image of the leading actor Hambartsum Kabanyan. Working on the role of the composer, the artist mainly focused on the vision of the director. According to Kabanyan, playing Khachaturian was obviously a difficult task, although the circumstances of the composer's life are clear to the actor.

“I was born in Abkhazia and, one might say, survived the 1991 war. I know what a bullet whistle is above my head, I know what it is like to sit at home with my grandfather and hear the machine gun's turn ... When we shot the picture, it was very close to me. I understood a lot, and I did not have to talk for a long time about the circumstances in which Aram himself was, ”said RT Kabanyan.

In preparation for the role, the actor studied archives and diaries, and also attended piano lessons, but the shots on which he plays keyboards were not included in the final version of the film. Nevertheless, there is a fragment in the tape with playing the cello, for which, as Kabanyan admitted, he is “insanely ashamed”.

“My hero, Aram Khachaturian, plays the cello. There is a small scene, I am extremely ashamed for it, because my hands are wrong there (delivered. - RT ). The musicians told me: “I don’t give a damn about the frost, Hambartsum, the musician cannot have such a brush ... My uncle, father’s brother, played the cello, toured, played Khachaturian’s music. And I hold my hands crookedly - what a shame, ”the actor laments.

However, such nuances did not spoil Kabanyan’s playing experience with the composer's son, Karen, as well as the staff of the Khachaturian Museum in Yerevan and musicians.

“I was pleased that he (Karen Khachaturian. - RT ) had no complaints about the character of Aram, and for me it was, of course, a compliment ... Fine people from the museum of Aram Ilyich, who in Yerevan, musicians, said that I was able to convey precisely the internal state and experiences of the composer, rather than some external pictures. It seems to me that this is the highest compliment and praise that can exist for an artist, ”Kabanyan admitted.

• Shot from the movie "Saber Dance"
• © Mars Media

The director and the nature of Armenia did not disregard the director: landscapes are woven into fragments that tell about the composer's childhood. They, as often happens in art, symbolize the state of the artist.

Saber Dance has already been presented at several film festivals, including Window to Europe and Korea’s International Music and Film Festival. The world premiere of the film took place in Shanghai.