In the creative biography of Tikhon Khrennikov there were plots to which he returned several times, years later. One of these plots is the play ‘A Long Time Ago’ written by Alexander Gladkov about the brave Shura Azarova, who changed into a hussar uniform and went to defend her homeland in the 1812 war against Napoleon.
The composer first met the play ‘A Long Time Ago’ in 1942, when director Alexey Popov was rehearsing a ‘heroic farce’ at the Red Army Theater, which was evacuated to Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg). He invited Khrennikov to write music. The performance was in demand among the audience and was staged at the theater for many years. When the theater returned to the capital, a student, future film director Eldar Ryazanov, attended one of the performances. After 20 years, he shot the film ‘Hussar Ballad’. According to the director, he had no doubts that the film should sound the same music as the play. The composer agreed to look at his work from a different angle and adapted theatrical music for cinema. The film was released in 1962 and became very successful.
In 1979, Khrennikov was offered to write a ballet. Despite the fact that the composer had already worked with the text of the play, most of the parts had to be adapted for the new genre. He recalled: ‘Someone thought it was easy — after all, the main melodies were ready and already popular. But a lot of new music was required, taking into account the specifics of ballet — variations, pas de deux, ensembles, mass dances. »
In 1981, the composer’s daughter, theater designer Natalia Khrennikova created the scenery for the ballet ‘Hussar Ballad’ at the Chelyabinsk Opera and Ballet Theater. The sketches sent viewers to the film shot by Eldar Ryazanov and to the Military Gallery of the Hermitage, which contains portraits of the heroes participated in the war of 1812. Red color dominated on the background and heightened the unsettling atmosphere of war. Adapting the soldier’s uniform to ballet tasks was a difficult task for Khrennikova. To solve this problem, she left the elements of the military uniform in the costumes of the heroes. For example, she used a hussar shako — a high headdress.
The composer first met the play ‘A Long Time Ago’ in 1942, when director Alexey Popov was rehearsing a ‘heroic farce’ at the Red Army Theater, which was evacuated to Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg). He invited Khrennikov to write music. The performance was in demand among the audience and was staged at the theater for many years. When the theater returned to the capital, a student, future film director Eldar Ryazanov, attended one of the performances. After 20 years, he shot the film ‘Hussar Ballad’. According to the director, he had no doubts that the film should sound the same music as the play. The composer agreed to look at his work from a different angle and adapted theatrical music for cinema. The film was released in 1962 and became very successful.
In 1979, Khrennikov was offered to write a ballet. Despite the fact that the composer had already worked with the text of the play, most of the parts had to be adapted for the new genre. He recalled: ‘Someone thought it was easy — after all, the main melodies were ready and already popular. But a lot of new music was required, taking into account the specifics of ballet — variations, pas de deux, ensembles, mass dances. »
In 1981, the composer’s daughter, theater designer Natalia Khrennikova created the scenery for the ballet ‘Hussar Ballad’ at the Chelyabinsk Opera and Ballet Theater. The sketches sent viewers to the film shot by Eldar Ryazanov and to the Military Gallery of the Hermitage, which contains portraits of the heroes participated in the war of 1812. Red color dominated on the background and heightened the unsettling atmosphere of war. Adapting the soldier’s uniform to ballet tasks was a difficult task for Khrennikova. To solve this problem, she left the elements of the military uniform in the costumes of the heroes. For example, she used a hussar shako — a high headdress.
