THE GREAT GATSBY

Music: Philip Glass, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Benny Goodman, Samuel Barber, Glenn Miller, George Whitefield Chadwick

Duration: 2:00 Intermission 1
THE GREAT GATSBY

Preview

The Great Gatsby will be performed with recorded music!

Internationally renowned choreographer Leo Mujić, who in recent years has created a series of successful story ballets, found the source material for his new choreography in Francis Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel “The Great Gatsby” (1925). This distinguished work from the treasure trove of classic American literature exposes in a highly critical tone the negative dimensions of the great American dream and the rigidity of the decadent New York high society circles between the two world wars that did not allow for transitions between social classes. The lush narrative of a mysterious, wealthy man who falls victim to his own love and beliefs is also a story of lovers who are not meant to be together. The story is set in a world of unimaginable wealth, intoxication and dark obsessions permeated by a terrible moral void. The musical imagery of this spectacle is inspired by the vibrant, dynamic and cosmopolitan energy of the extraordinary American composers George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, Glenn Miller and others. The premiere of the ballet “The Great Gatsby” took place at the Slovenian National Opera Theatre in Ljubljana in 2019.

After the spectacular success of the production of “Anna Karenina”, Leo Mujić will work with the ballet company of the Sofia Opera for the second time.

Synopsis

Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, moves to New York in the summer of 1922 to learn about the bond business. He rents a house in the West Egg district of Long Island, a wealthy but unfashionable area populated by the new rich, a group who have made their fortunes too recently to have established social connections and who are prone to garish displays of wealth.

Nick’s next-door neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby, who lives in a gigantic Gothic mansion and throws extravagant parties every Saturday night. Nick is unlike the other inhabitants of West Egg—he was educated at Yale and has social connections in East Egg, a fashionable area of Long Island home to the established upper class.

Nick drives out to East Egg one evening for dinner with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom, an erstwhile classmate of Nick’s at Yale. Daisy and Tom introduce Nick to Jordan Baker, a beautiful, cynical young woman with whom Nick begins a romantic relationship. Nick also learns a bit about Daisy and Tom’s marriage: Jordan tells him that Tom has a lover, Myrtle Wilson, who lives in the valley of ashes, a gray industrial dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City with Tom and Myrtle. At a vulgar, gaudy party in the apartment that Tom keeps for the affair, Myrtle begins to taunt Tom about Daisy, and Tom responds by breaking her nose.

As the summer progresses, Nick eventually garners an invitation to one of Gatsby’s legendary parties. He encounters Jordan Baker at the party, and they meet Gatsby himself, a surprisingly young man who affects an English accent, has a remarkable smile, and calls everyone “old sport.” Gatsby asks to speak to Jordan alone, and, through Jordan, Nick later learns more about his mysterious neighbor.

Gatsby tells Jordan that he knew Daisy in Louisville in 1917 and is deeply in love with her. He spends many nights staring at the green light at the end of her dock, across the bay from his mansion. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and wild parties are simply an attempt to impress Daisy.

Gatsby now wants Nick to arrange a reunion between himself and Daisy, but he is afraid that Daisy will refuse to see him if she knows that he still loves her. Nick invites Daisy to have tea at his house, without telling her that Gatsby will also be there. After an initially awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy reestablish their connection. Their love rekindled, they begin an affair. After a short time, Tom grows increasingly suspicious of his wife’s relationship with Gatsby. At a luncheon at the Buchanans’ house, Gatsby stares at Daisy with such undisguised passion that Tom realizes Gatsby is in love with her. Though Tom is himself involved in an extramarital affair, he is deeply outraged by the thought that his wife could be unfaithful to him. He forces the group to drive into New York City, where he confronts Gatsby in a suite at the Plaza Hotel. Tom asserts that he and Daisy have a history that Gatsby could never understand, and he announces to his wife that Gatsby is a criminal—his fortune comes from bootlegging alcohol and other illegal activities. Daisy realizes that her allegiance is to Tom, and Tom contemptuously sends her back to East Egg with Gatsby, attempting to prove that Gatsby cannot hurt him. When Nick, Jordan, and Tom drive through the valley of ashes, however, they discover that Gatsby’s car has struck and killed Myrtle, Tom’s lover. They rush back to Long Island, where Nick learns from Gatsby that Daisy was driving the car when it struck Myrtle, but that Gatsby intends to take the blame. The next day, Tom tells Myrtle’s husband, George, that Gatsby was the driver of the car. George, who has leapt to the conclusion that the driver of the car that killed Myrtle must have been her lover, finds Gatsby in the pool at his mansion and shoots him dead. He then fatally shoots himself.

Nick stages a small funeral for Gatsby, ends his relationship with Jordan, and moves back to the Midwest to escape the disgust he feels for the people surrounding Gatsby’s life and for the emptiness and moral decay of life among the wealthy on the East Coast.

Nick reflects that just as Gatsby’s dream of Daisy was corrupted by money and dishonesty, the American dream of happiness and individualism has disintegrated into the mere pursuit of wealth. Though Gatsby’s power to transform his dreams into reality is what makes him “great,” Nick reflects that the era of dreaming—both Gatsby’s dream and the American dream—is over.

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Music

Philip Glass
Composer

Philip Glass

George Gershwin
Composer

George Gershwin

Benny Goodman
Composer

Benny Goodman

Samuel Barber
Composer

Samuel Barber

Glenn Miller
Composer

Glenn Miller

Based on the famous novel "The Great Gatsby" by

2024-09-15 16:00

Takuya Sumitomo
Nick Carraway

Takuya Sumitomo

Frederico Pinto
Jay Gatsby

Frederico Pinto

Marta Petkova
Daisy Buchanan

Marta Petkova

Nikola Hadjitanev
Tom Buchanan

Nikola Hadjitanev

Katerina Petrova
Jordan Baker

Katerina Petrova

Pamela Pandova-Baneva
Myrtle Wilson

Pamela Pandova-Baneva

Tsetso Ivanov
George Wilson

Tsetso Ivanov

Takafumi Tamagawa
Meyer Wolfsheim

Takafumi Tamagawa

Polina Ivanova
Catherine (Myrtle Wilson's sister)

Polina Ivanova

Angel Varela
Chester McKee

Angel Varela

Vyara Ivancheva
Marlene Wood

Vyara Ivancheva

Maria Yordanova
Gilda Gray

Maria Yordanova

Vera Aspridi
Lead Dancer at the Bar, Girlfriend

Vera Aspridi

Dario Yovchevski
Mr Herzog

Dario Yovchevski

Rumen Bonev
Teddy Barton

Rumen Bonev

Alexandra Drangazhova
Daisy’s Mother

Alexandra Drangazhova

Marina Marinova
Finnish Housemaid

Marina Marinova

Kristian Manev
Friend, Confectioner

Kristian Manev

Gianmarco Moschino
Friend, Confectioner

Gianmarco Moschino

Preslava Hristova
Girlfriend

Preslava Hristova

Elena Petrova
A twin

Elena Petrova

Lyudmila Ilieva
Opera diva Florence Foster Jenkins

Lyudmila Ilieva

Ivan Georgiev
Psychiatrist

Ivan Georgiev

Zahari Georgiev
Policeman, Servant

Zahari Georgiev

Ivan Shopov
Policeman, Servant

Ivan Shopov

Deyan Ivanov
Postman

Deyan Ivanov

Georgi Asparuhov
Walter Chase

Georgi Asparuhov

Francesco Congiusti
Ewing Klipspringer

Francesco Congiusti

Victoria Tsirkova
Daisy and Tom's daughter

Victoria Tsirkova

Noah Giofkos
Little Jay Gatsby

Noah Giofkos

Michael Dunev
Acrobat

Michael Dunev

Arti
Dog

Arti

2024-09-17 19:00

Takuya Sumitomo
Nick Carraway

Takuya Sumitomo

Frederico Pinto
Jay Gatsby

Frederico Pinto

Marta Petkova
Daisy Buchanan

Marta Petkova

Nikola Hadjitanev
Tom Buchanan

Nikola Hadjitanev

Katerina Petrova
Jordan Baker

Katerina Petrova

Pamela Pandova-Baneva
Myrtle Wilson

Pamela Pandova-Baneva

Tsetso Ivanov
George Wilson

Tsetso Ivanov

Takafumi Tamagawa
Meyer Wolfsheim

Takafumi Tamagawa

Polina Ivanova
Catherine (Myrtle Wilson's sister)

Polina Ivanova

Angel Varela
Chester McKee

Angel Varela

Vyara Ivancheva
Marlene Wood

Vyara Ivancheva

Maria Yordanova
Gilda Gray

Maria Yordanova

Vera Aspridi
Lead Dancer at the Bar, Girlfriend

Vera Aspridi

Dario Yovchevski
Mr Herzog

Dario Yovchevski

Rumen Bonev
Teddy Barton

Rumen Bonev

Alexandra Drangazhova
Daisy’s Mother

Alexandra Drangazhova

Marina Marinova
Finnish Housemaid

Marina Marinova

Preslava Hristova
Girlfriend

Preslava Hristova

Elena Petrova
A twin

Elena Petrova

Lyudmila Ilieva
Opera diva Florence Foster Jenkins

Lyudmila Ilieva

Ivan Georgiev
Psychiatrist

Ivan Georgiev

Zahari Georgiev
Policeman, Servant

Zahari Georgiev

Ivan Shopov
Policeman, Servant

Ivan Shopov

Deyan Ivanov
Postman

Deyan Ivanov

Georgi Asparuhov
Walter Chase

Georgi Asparuhov

Francesco Congiusti
Ewing Klipspringer

Francesco Congiusti

Victoria Tsirkova
Daisy and Tom's daughter

Victoria Tsirkova

Noah Giofkos
Little Jay Gatsby

Noah Giofkos

Michael Dunev
Acrobat

Michael Dunev

Arti
Dog

Arti

Production team

Leo Mujić
Director and Choreographer

Leo Mujić

Stefano Katunar
Set designer

Stefano Katunar

Manuela Paladin Šabanović
Costume Designer

Manuela Paladin Šabanović

Aleksandar Čavlek
Lighting artist

Aleksandar Čavlek

Bálint Rauscher
Playwright

Bálint Rauscher

Yasen Valchanov
Ballet-master

Yasen Valchanov

Maria Ilieva
Ballet-master

Maria Ilieva

Katya Petrovska
Ballet-master

Katya Petrovska

Trifon Mitev
Ballet-master

Trifon Mitev

Ivanka Kasabova
Ballet-master

Ivanka Kasabova

Anelia Tsolova
Stage Manager

Anelia Tsolova

Yuliana Shishkova
Stage Manager

Yuliana Shishkova