Ballet of Croatian National Theatre of Split

DEATH AND THE DERVISH

after Meša Selimović novel

Using the language of dance Igor Kirov captures the world of the metaphysical and mystical novel by Meša Selimović Death and the Dervish, a final day of reckoning where essential questions and answers always remain unattainable.

Choreographer: Igor Kirov

Composer: Goran Bojčevski

Librettist: Sasho Dimoski (after Meša Selimović novel)

Costume Designer: Aleksandar Noshpal

Set Designer: Slaven Raos

Assistants Choreographer: Mojca Majcen, Albina Rahmatullina

Mix master: Jure Repar

Light Designer: Srđan Barbarić

Sound Designer: Petar Ivanišević

Production Assistant: Gorenka Žižić Jagar

Stage Manager: Iryna Nikolenko

Cast

Ahmed Nurudin: Tomislav Petranović

Ahmed's Soul: Ajla Kadrić

Hasan, Ahmed's friend and brother of Kadi's wife: Salvatore Cerulli

Harun, Ahmed's brother: Romulus Dimache

Mula Jusuf, young dervish: Aaron Kok

Kadi: Remus Dimache

Kadi's wife: Irina Čaban Bilandžić

Muselim, Representative of Authority: Ivan Boiko

Karazim, friend: Askhatbek Yusupzhanov

Mufti: Mario Buličić

Offender, Nurudin's son: Uroš Škaper

Dervishes: Igor Gluškov, Salvatore Cerulli, Daniel Jagar, Mario Buličić, Ivan Boiko, Askhatbek Yusupzhanov, Romulus Dimache, Remus Dimache, Silviu Tanase, Pavel Alexandrov, Aaron Kok, Uroš Škaper, Eugen Dobrescu, Nikita Zdravković, Sanja Bikić, Sanja Dimache, Matea Milas.

Although being finite and fragile human beings, we should all be accustomed or susceptible to death, our horizon is regularly blurred or saturated with common and banal. We are awakened only when something essential and fateful happens in us and around us. Miraculous turns and precipitations follow then, front plans and backgrounds are in the vortex formation replacing their places hundreds of times, as we hopelessly stagger off to any solid or permanent support.

This could be written in the summary of the libretto that Saša Dimoski offered to Igor Kirov who used the language of dance to capture the world of the famous Meša Selimović's novel Death and the Dervish. This idea was joined by the music by Goran Bojčevski and the costumes by Aleksandar Noshpal, and of course the soloists and the Croatian National Theatre Split Ballet Ensemble. Perhaps their joint efforts will discourage us to repeat the opening quote of the novel Death and the Dervish: “I call to witness time, the beginning and end of all things - to witness that every man always suffers loss.” 

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