In early April, the Astana Opera audience will be swept into a world of raw passion and profound intellectual depth. From 1 to 3 April, the renowned Eifman Ballet of St Petersburg performs on tour, featuring two landmark productions. Boris Eifman – hailed by critics as a ‘philosopher of dance’ – brings his internationally acclaimed masterpiece Beyond Sin, alongside the highly anticipated 2025 premiere of Red Giselle. This project is proudly supported by general sponsor VTB Bank.
Both works chart the extensive creative evolution of Eifman and his company. Staged in 2013, Beyond Sin is a unique choreographic reimagining of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. While Eifman first tackled this literary giant in 1995 in his production The Karamazovs, years later, he returned to the text to create a contemporary production that interprets the classic through the expressive language of dance.
The original version of Red Giselle also dates back to the 1990s. Over decades of successful touring, the production has made a triumphant sweep of the world’s leading stages across many countries. Last year, Eifman radically reimagined the ballet, ‘re-composing’ the legendary work with a refreshed choreographic score and a complete visual redesign.
Red Giselle (premiering in Astana on 1 and 2 April) is a tribute to the legendary Olga Spesivtseva, whose extraordinary genius was left defenceless against the gears of history. From the maelstrom of revolution and emigration to personal tragedy and her final years in a psychiatric institution – Eifman recreates Spesivtseva’s life as a psychological ballet where every movement is emotionally charged and deeply significant. It is a cautionary tale, a warning of the fatal blurring of lines that occurs when a performer becomes consumed by their role; having been an incomparable interpreter of Giselle, the ballerina ultimately shared the fate of her tragic heroine, losing her own sanity.
On 3 April, audiences will experience Beyond Sin – a powerful psychological drama that explores the fundamental questions of existence: faith and faithlessness, moral collapse, and the potential for inner transformation. In an age of shifting values, the choreographer invites the audience to gaze into the depths of their own souls, reflecting on the duality of human nature – that internal battlefield where, in the words of Dostoevsky, ‘the devil fights God’.
Audiences in Astana have long been familiar with Boris Eifman’s unique choreographic style. In 2013, his ballet Rodin entered the Astana Opera repertoire and was met with great success. In 2016, the Eifman Ballet company itself performed his ballet Eugene Onegin here to wide acclaim, followed in 2023 by their guest performances of Anna Karenina and The Pygmalion Effect.
A major source of pride for the Kazakh ballet scene is Aigerim Beketayeva, principal dancer at the Astana Opera. Eifman has frequently invited her to join his international tours, where she has performed with his St. Petersburg company in London, Budapest, and other major global capitals.
“The St Petersburg company’s tour performances in Astana offer a rare chance to see thought made flesh, where ballet transcends mere art to become a true revelation. Last year, Astana Opera performed in St Petersburg to great acclaim; now, we eagerly await the arrival of the Eifman Ballet on our own stage,” noted Alexandr Sovostyanov, Astana Opera’s general director.
