The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (ballet)

The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Russian: Бахчисарайский фонтан) is a full-length ballet in four acts, choreographed by Rostislav Zakharov to music by Boris Asafyev. The libretto by Nikolai Volkov is based on the 1823 poem of the same title by Alexander Pushkin. The ballet premiered on 28 September 1934 at the Kirov Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, with Galina Ulanova as Maria, Olga Iordan as Zarema, Mikhail Dudko as Khan Girey, and Konstantin Sergeyev as Vaslav.

Bakhchysarai is in the Crimea, near Yalta. The Bakhchisaray Palace was originally built in the sixteenth century and has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt since. The fountain, which still stands in a courtyard, is called the Fountain of Tears.

The ballet opens at Bakhchisarai Palace, where Khan Girey is seated surrounded by his court. Dancers try to entertain him but he is oblivious to his surroundings, staring at water trickling from a fountain.

The scene shifts back in time to the palace of a Polish nobleman, where a ball is being held for the engagement of Maria, the daughter of the house, to the young noble Vaslav. Suddenly lurking Tartars led by Khan Girey scale the walls and attack the guests. After a vicious fight in which the Khan kills Vaslav, the palace is looted and torched and the women carried away as part of the booty. Maria hides her face, but the Khan tears away her scarf and is mesmerized by her beauty.

The Khan and his warriors return to Bakhchisarai Palace where he is greeted by Zarema, his harem favorite. While Zarema, who obviously loves him, is overjoyed at his return, the Khan ignores her completely in his preoccupation with Maria. He has Maria installed in an apartment isolated from the harem and visits her there. Laying his heart at her feet he tries to make her love him, but Maria is appalled and rejects him. In their brief struggle the Khan's hat falls to the floor. The Khan returns to the court where Zarema tries to win his attention by dancing for him, but he rejects her and she collapses in despair.

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