“Madame Bovary”
Celebrating 25 years of artistic activity of Marija Kichevska Shokarovska
25.6.2025, 8 pm – premiere
Music: Camille Saint-Saëns, Maurice Ravel, Gilles Massenet, Felix Mendelssohn, George Frideric Handel
Conductor: Eduard Ambartsumyan (Armenia)
Choreographer: Viktor Ishchuk (Ukraine)
Libretto: Based on the novel “Madame Bovary” by Gustave Flaubert
Scenographer: Andrey Zlobin (Ukraine)
Costume designer: Gana Ipatieva (Ukraine)
General Manager of the project: Kiro Pavlov
Assistant choreographer: Vladimir Borisov (Ukraine)
Assistant costume designer: Marija Pupuchevska, Angela Bogeska
Rehearsal staff: Aleksandra Mijalkova, Vasil Chichiashvili, Vladimir Borisov (Ukraine)
Dafina Daniloska – Kochevska, Marija Josifovska Ristovska, Biljana Basmadzhieva Kovachevski
Concertmaster: Verica Lambevska
Lighting design: Milcho Aleksandrov
Directors: Tijana Tarchugovska Georgieva
Accompanists: Marjan Vasilevski, Stefan Pehchevski
In the main roles:
Emma Bovary: Marija Kichevska Shokarovska
Charles Bovary: Francisco Jimenez Ruiz
Rudolph Boulanger: Balazs Lochei
The Merchant Lere (cabaret manager): Dmitro Chebotar
Pharmacist Homme: Andrew Cook
Performing soloists, the ballet ensemble and the orchestra of the National Opera and Ballet
Duration: Act I one hour
intermission
Act II one hour
“Madame Bovary” – Ballet in two acts based on the novel by Gustave Flaubert (1857)
Characters:
Emma Bovary – a young woman obsessed with dreams of romantic love and worldly life
Charles Bovary – her husband, a provincial doctor, good-natured but simple
Rudolph Boulanger – charming aristocrat and seducer
Merchant Leray (cabaret boss) – salesman who offers riches for debts
Pharmacist Homme – village pharmacist, insightful and talkative
The Marquis and Baroness – hosts of the gala ball
Annotation
Young and dreamy Emma Bovary is suffocating in her marriage to Charles, an honest but boring provincial doctor. Against the backdrop of gray days in the province, her imagination is filled with visions of passion, balls and Parisian splendor. But on the way to those dreams, Emma plunges deeper and deeper into self-deception, adultery, financial debt and ultimately tragedy.
Act I
Scene I: Ball in the Castle
Emma and Charles are invited to a castle where chandeliers shine, music plays and couples dance, that is Emma’s dream life. She is like in a fairy tale. But returning to her modest home, everything sinks back into the silence and boredom of provincial life.
Scene II: New acquaintances
Her world is limited to her husband, the pharmacist Homme, and the merchant Lere. But the case brings a new face: Rudolph Boulanger, a nobleman who comes for medical help. A spark immediately arises between him and Emma. His manners and stories about Paris fascinate her. She eagerly awaits the new meeting.
Scene III: Lere’s shop
Eager to impress Rudolph, Emma goes to Lere, surrounded by fabrics, jewelry, and luxury. She realizes that she cannot afford it. Lere offers her a loan secured by Charles’s property. Under pressure, she accepts.
Scene IV: Promenade in the park
During a walk with influential guests, Emma becomes close to Rudolph. They move away and passion flares up.
Act II
Scene I: Rudolph’s House
Now Emma often disappears from home, surrendering to love at Rudolph’s house. They sing a duet of passion and promises. Rudolph promises to take her to Paris.
Scene II: Cabaret Party
At a wild party organized by Lere, Emma and Rudolph lose themselves in a whirlwind of passions. Meanwhile, Homme shows Charles the evidence of the betrayal. Charles finds Emma in the cabaret. Although hurt, he begs her for forgiveness. Emma rejects him and announces that she is going with Rudolph.
Scene III: The Collapse of the Illusion
Lere asks for the money. Emma turns to Rudolph, but he, seeing her without money, withdraws. Desperate, Emma sees suicide as the only way out.
Scene IV: Epilogue
Charles, broken by pain, loses everything, his wife, his home, himself. He remains alone, in a world without hope.