In the 48th season, Ivan Karnaukhov — principal dancer and ballet coach at the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, and Honoured Artist of the Krasnoyarsk Region — marks 25 years on stage. He will celebrate the milestone where it belongs: on February 20, he will dance the role of Pyotr Leontyevich in Valery Gavrilin’s ballet Anuta.

A graduate of the Krasnoyarsk Choreography College, Karnaukhov has been with the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre since 2001. He also danced with the Moscow Chamber Ballet led by Honoured Figure of Culture Nikolai Basin in 2002, and with the Imperial Russian Ballet led by Gediminas Taranda (2003). Audiences in France, Germany, Belgium, Finland, New Zealand, Lithuania, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, and other countries have seen his work on tour with the Krasnoyarsk company. Since October 2022, he has served as the theatre’s principal ballet coach.

Over a 25-year career, Karnaukhov has performed more than 50 roles of striking variety. His repertoire includes princes, jesters, villains, and romantic, dramatic, and fairy-tale heroes—recently enriched by comic portrayals of elderly characters. In addition to Pyotr Leontyevich, he currently appears as the Innkeeper in Catarina ou La File du Bandit by Cesare Pugni and as the slave trader Isaac Lankendem in Le Corsaire by Adolphe Adam. He began stepping back from major roles about seven years ago, after dancing Siegfried in Swan Lake on tour for the last time. As the artist himself puts it, “You have to leave the stage in time—so you don’t end up crawling off it later, when there’s no strength, no energy, and the beauty of performance is gone.”

Why did Ivan Karnaukhov choose Anuta for his benefit performance?

“Anuta is very dear to me,” Karnaukhov says. “When Vladimir Viktorovich Vasilyev staged the ballet here in 2009, I danced the part of Student. Now, after retiring from full-time performing, I’ve taken on Pyotr Leontyevich. It’s a demanding role. Although Anuta—Pyotr Leontyevich’s daughter—is the central character, he is the thread that holds the entire drama together: my character opens the ballet and brings it to a close.”

It also should be noted that Ivan Karnaukhov will dance the Innkeeper in Catarina ou La File du Bandit on February 13 and 14.