Olga Berg (Olga Berg) |

Olga Berg

Born in St. Petersburg. In 1925 she graduated from LCU (a student of A. Vaganova). In 1925-49 she was an actress at the Mariinsky Theatre. Parts: The Queen of the Waters (The Little Humpbacked Horse), Gulnara; Pascuala (“Laurencia”), Nune (“Gayane”), Zlyuka; Butterfly (“Carnival”), Flower Girl, Lady of the Dryads, variation in the 4th act (“Dop Quixote”), Cupid, Jeanne (“Flame of Paris”), fairies of Baits, Diamonds (“Sleeping Beauty”), Alice (“Raymonda ”, ballet dancer V. Vainonen), Mirta, pas de deux (“Giselle”), Turok (“Pulcinella”, where the dancer, like a man, on a high jump, did a cascade of double rotations in the air), Girl (“Swan lake”, ballet by A. Vaganov), Chinese dance (“The Nutcracker”), Kitri (“Don Quixote”, tour in Kyiv, 1936).

A bright, original dancer, Berg was one of the best soloists brought up by A. Vaganova. In 1930 she graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory in piano (student of O. Kalantarova). “Olga Berg,” wrote the journal Worker and Theater in 1928, “is undoubtedly a great and rare talent in terms of quality. First-class musical taste, depth of penetration into the essence of the author’s intention and emotionally intense elastic rhythm that pervades the presentation are the main elements of the young concerto’s pianism.”

In 1948 she graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory as a conductor (student of I. Sherman), in 1946 she made her debut as a conductor at the Mariinsky Theatre. In 1949-68 he was a conductor at the Maly Theatre. She toured with the theater in the UAR (1963), where she conducted the ballets Seven Beauties and Swan Lake.

Since 1968 he has been a teacher at the choreographer’s department of the conservatory (since 1974 – associate professor, since 1977 – acting professor). Creator and teacher of a new discipline – “Balletmaster’s Analysis of Scores”.

Three professions – dancer, pianist, conductor – make Berg a unique teacher of future choreographers.

Compositions: The relationship of music and choreography and the musical education of the choreographer.— In the book: Music and choreography of modern ballet. L., 1979, issue. 3.

References: Bogdanov-Berezovsky V. “Pulcinella” – Life of Art, 1926, No. 21; Antar. Concert by Olga Berg. – Worker and Theater, 1928, No. 13; Gershuni E. Actors in the ballet “The Flames of Paris” – Worker and Theater, 1932, No. 34: Piotrovsky Adr. The conquest of the dance. – Vech. red gas., 1932, November 9; Wolf-Israel E. Woman – at the conductor’s stand. – For Soviet Art, 1949, April 30; Alyansky Y. Three roads – Theater, 1960, No. 7.

A. Degen, I. Stupnikov