Alex Prior will conduct the debut performance of his own ballet 'Mowgli', based on Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book at the New Opera in Moscow on 19th June as part of the city's prestigious Summer Ballet Festival.
The 14 year old London based composer has collaborated with the internationally renowned choreographers and former Bolshoi stars Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilyev on this enchanting production that breathes new life in to Kipling’s classic tale. Both choreographers were immediately impressed by Alex’s ability, Kasatkina said:
"Alex is very young and exceptionally gifted; he has spontaneity and an almost childish clarity and purity of perception blended with a certain mature wisdom, beyond his years. We talked about music and our "Mowgli" libretto and Alex warmed to the idea. Just a month later we received the first part of the musical score and our cooperative undertaking thus began, much to our joy."
After the Summer Festival The Moscow State Classical Ballet will then bring ‘Mowgli’ to The Kremlin and Bolshoi Theatre before touring it internationally in the autumn.
Alex’s talents are increasingly in demand both in The UK and in Russia. Recently, he became the youngest ever conductor of The National Symphony Orchestra at a performance in The Barbican and another of his works "Blessed the Poor" will be debuted at Brighton Music Festival this May. In Russia, a two hour concert entirely devoted to Alex’s music on 19th April in St. Petersburg Philharmonic received a rapturous response from critics and public alike naming it.
Currently, Alex is studying composition and conducting at St Petersburg Conservatoire. His compositions have been performed by numerous orchestras and ensembles including The BBC Singers, London Primavera Orchestra and The Endymion Ensemble.
Source: OS
