February, 25, 2014. Issue No. 241
February 22, 23 and 25 - premiere performances of the Rimsky-Korsakov opera "The Tsar's Bride"
February 23 1910 - Alexei N. Yermolaev, a ballet artist, a ballet master, a pedagogue-
repetiteur and the People's Artist of the USSR was born
February 25 - 28 - the Bolshoi Theatre will present the productions that have been nominated for "The Golden Mask" Russian National Theatre Award in "Contemporary Dance" section"The Tsar's Bride" at the BolshoiCurtain calls after the premiere of "The Tsar's Bride". Photo: Damir YusupovTugan Sokhiev congratulates Gennady Rozhdestvensky. Photo: Damir Yusupov A horsewhip in a new perspective
"The Tsar's Bride" at the Bolshoi Theatre
Photo by Eugene Gurko/Kommersant
"The Tsar's Bride" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage. The new production in reality is a free reconstruction of a 1950s historic production; there are palaces and Russian kaftans, small trees that are painted in every detail, which is touching, a cruel tsar riding a black horse and horsewhips in the hands of oprichniks. Sergei Khodnev reports.
The playbill says that Julia Pevzner is the director of the production, Alyona Pikalova is the set designer and Elena Zaitseva is the costume designer. To tell the truth, Fedor Fedorovsky probably is the main author: the 1955 production of "The Tsar's Bride" that he created the set for is the outline for the current production.
Alyona Pikalova explains that it is not right to call it a "grand revival", because the set, based on Fedorovky's sketches, is not exactly the same as the one of the old production that has been on at the New Stage until recently. There are fewer soft pieces of the set (that is, painted canvas); there are more stiff and dimensional elements. Stage directing is also new, although it adjusts to the mood that the stage design sets; still, no one would dare to say that the visual impression the production gives has changed a lot.
The details have changed, though. During the overture we see through the semitransparent curtain Martha swinging on the swing above the sleeping Gryaznoy, then the swing appears near the Sobakins house. Not only girls swing on it, but also the oprichniks, guided by Ivan the Terrible, riding a black horse, there hangs another victim in the finale of the second act. In the beginning of the third act the procession of brides wearing luxurious head pieces walks silently behind the golden prison bar; this is another detail that Fedorovsky's production did not have. In the end of the performance Malyuta Skuratov slaughters Gryaznoy, as the dying Martha goes through the crowd of the shocked boyars upstage.
The solemn statics, which is a character trait of the "grand style" obviously confuses the director a bit; thus, in the domestic scenes they tried to make the action that was taking place on the stage as lively as possible, and not to lose the general atmosphere of the production at the same time. Therefore, the oprichniks at the Gryaznoy's party start dancing with horsewhips (choreography by Ekaterina Mironova) and flirt with female servants; there also is a crowd wedding ritual for Martha, when her hair is taken out of a braid. Newsletter Photo by Eugene Gurko/Kommersant
Because it is difficult to find authentic gestures otherwise, the characters cross themselves from time to time - actually, they do it so often that the idea about taking the God's name in vain comes to mind (moreover they do it out of turn; some do it with two fingers, others- with three, and some from their left shoulder to the right).
Photo by Eugene Gurko/Kommersant
Some singers know this production (well, not exactly this one, but the previous version that existed before the revival) rather well and take to the stylistics as a duck to water. It is clear that Vladimir Matorin, for example, in the part of Sobakin, Martha's father, feels most comfortable: this is his element and there is no one else who can bow to the ground, put his hands to his sides, pat his beard and laugh as naturally as he does it. Bomelius, performed by the tenor Marat Gali, is an example of unexpected impersonation miracles: it was more than difficult to recognize the singer in this nasty foreign healer, who has a humpback and a bold spot. The fatal passions of four main characters were acted in a very provisional way, but the premiere cast did sing much better than they acted. Alexander Kasyanov performed the part of Gryaznoy rather carefully; Roman Shulakov sang the part of Lykov in a soft, but rather dull manner. Agunda Kulaeva, the new Bolshoi mezzo, performed the part of Lyubasha; the young Olga Kulchinskaya (Martha), who has a wonderful lyric soprano that is sonorous and flying, is another discovery of the Bolshoi Young Artists Opera Program. It is possible to say that the female characters were much more impressive than the male ones.
Photo by Eugene Gurko/KommersantParadoxical as it may be, but the interpretation of the conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky seems one of the main attractions of the production and one of its weakest points. The distinguished maestro, who was invited to work on the production in an emergency situation (Vassily Sinaisky was supposed to conduct this opera, but he left the theatre), nevertheless managed to do enough for this "Tsar's Bride" to be considered a serious work of authorship.
The score has been edited; the orchestration has been corrected in some places and the choir number in the beginning of the second act has been cut short.
The orchestra is doing a really good job; when it came to Russian operas, the Bolshoi has not demonstrated such high-class, intense and complicated sound that is rich in terms of timbre and style for a long time.
But the chosen tempos were slow to the point of exhaustion; this not only made the production more difficult to act, but also more difficult for the artists to sing.
Photo by Eugene Gurko/Kommersant
At the same time even this helped to create a special atmosphere for the production that regardless of all discussions about set design novelties still looks like a museum piece; it is luxurious, but long-winded. Although no one expected this several years ago, when the idea to revive "The Tsar's Bride" appeared, now it is difficult to help thinking that this premiere is not completely in its place today, when teaching of conservatism's simple truths is in fashion. Doing so with the help of a horsewhip as well.
"The Tsar's Bride" returns to the Bolshoi Theatre
Photo: RIA Novosti
"The Tsar's Bride", the most popular opera by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, returns to the Bolshoi Theatre. It is the seventh production of the opera at the Bolshoi Theatre; it
marks the 170 anniversary of the composer. The outstanding conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky is the music director of the production. Julia Pevzner, the director from Israel, has staged the production in the historic set created by the famous set
designer of the 20 century Fedor Fedorovsky in 1955.
February, 252014Bass singer Alexander Naumenko (he plays the part of Martha's father) said: "I am very grateful to the director Julia Pevzner for being very consistent while working with the musical material. At the same time she placed her own accents and the perception of modern people. I would say that as a result we have a very interesting work. We have new costumes and a new set. There are some changes in the dramaturgy and mise-en-scenes, but I would say they did something good for the opera".
Photo: RIA Novosti
The director admitted that even though "The Tsar's Bride" has had a long life at the Bolshoi Theatre, traditional clichés did not interfere with work: "Together with the artists we were creating this production from scratch; moreover the majority of the artists who participate in it are young". At the same time, the cast stars such luminaries as Vladimir Matorin and Svetlana Shilova.
The Bolshoi Theatre new music director Tugan Sokhiev says: "The cast of this opera starred the Bolshoi Theatre's great artists - Elena Obraztsova, Galina Vishnevskaya and Vladimir Atlantov. I am very happy that today young and promising singers are taking part in this wonderful production. It seems to me that this is very important, because we are thinking about the future".
Photo: RIA Novosti
The atmosphere of musical magic, musical reverence and emotional intensity that the wonderful conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky knows how to create contribute to the success of the new production. He will conduct this opera during the coming Bolshoi tour in Vienna and New York. Newsletter "What a beautiful production!", "The music is wonderful; it is so inspiring!" - the happy members of the audience exchanged their impressions after the dress rehearsal. The Moscow audience loves "The Tsar's Bride". Over a hundred years that it has been staged at the Bolshoi Theatre, the opera has never been removed from the repertory. The plot is based on historic events: Tsar Ivan the Terrible chose one of the two thousand most beautiful Russian girls to be his bride. But soon the beautiful Martha Sobakina died - she was poisoned.
The director Julia Pevzner states: "For me the 16 century is only a historical background. This is a wonderful opera; I think it tells about the faith of Martha, who became the victim of the men who were around her in a very touching way. You could say this is an ordinary story. It is a love triangle. These are people who get lost in their feelings; they destroy those who are close to them - perhaps, from the best of motives".
Photo: RIA Novosti
Julia Pevzner added: "The visual imagery of the production was programmed by the wonderful set that is a part of the Bolshoi Theatre's historic productions gold pool. We were inspired by this set, although we have changed quite a few things". The set designer Alyona Pikalova explained what those changes were:
"It was very important for us to keep the spirit of this production. Unfortunately, we cannot just take the set that was created back then, when stage lighting was completely different, and use it today with the modern lighting. We allowed ourselves to edit the set basing ourselves on the information that we found in Fedorovsky's notes. It is not like we created the painted set, but rather made it three-dimensional".
Photo: RIA Novosti
The production team also added two new scenes; the set for those scenes was created in Fedorovsky's style. So both the set and the costumes were created anew, bearing in mind modern requirements. "Figuratively speaking, if we slam the door, the walls will not move; this is an absolutely different, modern way for artists to live onstage", - Alyona Pikalova says. It is not like those changes are easy to see. The set has "come to life"; it has become brighter and more embossed.
February, 252014Newsletter Photo: RIA Novosti
Photo: RIA Novosti
The Bolshoi Theatre small joys
"The Tsar's Bride" - an attempt to reconsider the historic heritage
The swing is the only thing that the set designer added. Photo: Damir Yusupov
The opera "The Tsar's Bride" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre. The set designer Alyona Pikalova and the director Julia Pevzner worked with the theatre's historic heritage: the set of the legendary Fedor Fedorovsky is the main character of this production.An historic production was already revived at the Bolshoi; it was the famous "Boris Godunov", staged in 1946, and Alyona Pikalova was the one who revived the set. Back then, however, she had Fedorovsky's instructions that had information even about the color of the boyars' hair and how much grey there was in their beards. The technique of making the set was as close to the original as possible; at least the soft parts of the set stayed soft, and the stage directing by Baratov also remained. As a result, the theatre had a "museum" production, an example of the old style. As for "The Tsar's Bride", everything was a little different: the set was "based" on Fedorovsky, meaning that the visual imagery stayed the same as much as possible,
while 21 century technique was used. As the designer says, soft set is not in fashion today, since it moves at the slightest touch of one's finger and it is more convenient for the singers to perform in a stiff set. The paints today are also different; the painting technique, used 60 years ago, has been lost, not to speak about the progress that February, 252014Text: Elena Fedorenko
Vladimir Urin: "I know, how rumors appear "
The interest in the Bolshoi Theatre increases at an exponential rate. Each step that the administration takes is scrutinized. The latest news is about the rapid "cleansing" of the repertory. "Kultura" asked the Bolshoi General Director Vladimir Urin, what the review of the playbill means
- I am saying at once that I will not do it. Being the General Director, I will not make any decisions about the revision of the repertory without having coordinated them with the music director and the ballet artistic director. They are the ones who sign the playbill, not the General Director. We will consult with each other. I watched many productions from the current repertory and it is obvious for me that not all of them have a decent musical level. Unfortunately. I am not talking about artistic interpretation of this or that production or even about the ideas that it has. Today what I am concerned with when it comes to forming of the repertory is the level of the music. There are serious challenges in this sphere: several productions have become obsolete in terms of their musical quality and performance level. In each case we need to answer the question: is it possible to overhaul the production completely?
- We will replace the cast members with new artists where necessary and have a new conductor in order to change the sound of a production. Together with Tugan Sokhiev (the Bolshoi Theatre's new music director and chief conductor - editor's note) we are not going to say straight from the shoulder. In those cases when this overhauling demands too huge an effort, it probably makes sense to create a new production.
- I would rather not name them because of ethical reasons; this is about those people who conduct the productions and participated in the performances. The decision has been made only about "Nabucco", the destiny of other productions has not been determined yet; we are still discussing it and at this point this is the internal business of the theatre. Believe me, all of these questions are complicated and depend on how well-balanced the repertory is. There are certain productions that we do not want to remove from the playbill because it is necessary to have them. Or because there are no other productions by some classical composer in the repertory. We also need to make sure that we have over 400 performances each season.
Each performance is a different story. For example, I have recently watched "Eugene Onegin" by Dmitry Chernyakov; the cast was spectacular, and the musical level of the production was worthy of the Bolshoi Theatre. You can agree or disagree with the interpretation, the production is controversial, but there are enough music Newsletter Mass media about the TheatrePetr Pospelov
Opera frame
"The Tsar's Bride" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov was revived at the Bolshoi Theatre; the production uses the 1955 set by Fedor Fedorovsky. Young artists go together with luxurious pictures
"The Tsar's Bride" has been recently performed at the Bolshoi Theatre New Stage; now the production has been revived and brought back to the Historic Stage. The set designer Alyona Pikalova has created a stage design that is faithful to Fedorovsky; however, modern technology has been used. The four acts of the opera present the picture that was designed by Fedorovsky, but some details, first of all, those that were painted, have been made dimensional; the materials agree with the modern lighting (lighting designer - Damir Ismagilov). Elena Zaitseva has done something similar with the costumes. In a frame like this a director usually finds him/herself in a most February, 252014Newsletter professionals who take part in it. Nevertheless, the director himself talks about a new cast; he says that many years have passed since the premiere and it is the time to people inside the theatre. Sokhiev is a very promising conductor, although at the moment his name is better known in the West that in Russia.
- Yes, I do, and they are positive. I have heard him several times - at the Mariinsky Theatre and performing with The Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse. He also performed the Second Symphony by Mahler with the London Philharmonic Orchestra brilliantly.
- No, he has not, but the meeting will take place soon; in February.
- It definitely does. Each appointment causes different emotions. Are there doubts? Of course, there are. But there is no rejection.
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- I think it has not yet. Six months is too small of a period. Nevertheless, I cooperate fruitfully with many people at the Bolshoi Theatre and I hope we will have a team. As for the Stanislavksy Theatre, I did not take anyone from there and I am not going to do it. The mass media often take your words literally. I said I would not invite any of those whose absence would be bad for the Music Theatre. This is the question of principle for me. But life is life, so never say "never". This is a normal process: some people from my previous team can become redundant and I can imagine that some of those who exhaust their opportunities at that theatre will come here in the future. But this will be agreed with the Music Theatre. I am not going to destroy something I spent 18 years of my life creating.
- You have answered your question yourself. Of course, we need to bring it back. But in order to do so we need people who will be interested in it just like Alexei Ratmansky and Yuri Burlaka were interested in it. I do not see such people today.
- He feels more or less OK. He works rather actively. He went to Sochi to watch some Olympic Games last week.
- This is another exaggeration. This is just one of the issues, but because special attention is paid to the Bolshoi Theatre, every issue is discussed. Sometimes it is like "why did Urin turn his head to the right, but not to the left?" Sergei Filin initiated enlarging the artistic council. He came to me and said: "It seems to me that it is time to bring to the artistic council all pedagogues of the theatre, not only those who work with the soloists". He asked me to become the chair of the council; Mr. Filin also suggested that he and Boris B. Akimov, an experiences pedagogue and a person who has administrative experience would be deputy chairs. I liked this idea. Trust me, we did not change anything in the provision about the artistic council that was
signed by Anatoly G. Iksanov. On January 29 the artistic council had its first meeting and we had a meaningful talk about the current situation. The next meeting will take place in March; we will talk about plans for the next season. Then the artistic council will have to do a tremendous job - conduct auditions for the new artists of the ballet company. From now on not several chosen pedagogues, but over 20 people, the whole of the artistic council, will take part in this process. The choice of this or that artist will be the consolidated opinion of the majority.
- I reacted calmly. Being a professional, you know that I had nothing to do with that concert apart from my great respect to the memory of Ekaterina S. Maximova. But February, 252014The star cast included the new genius of the Russian ballet Sergei Polunin, the soloists of the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre Dmitry Zagrebin and Ksenia Ryzhkova and the Mikhailovsky Theatre soloists Leonid Sarafanov and Oksana Bondareva.
The Bolshoi Theatre prima ballerina and the guest star of Teatro alla Scala Svetlana Zakharova performed a special role. She danced the part of Natasha Rostova at the opening of the Olympic Games; this time she danced the number "Revelation" that had been staged for her.
The author of the program, the People's Artist of Russia Igor Zelensky said: "When we were designing the program of the concert we kept in mind the fact that people from different countries would come to watch it. Besides the best artists of the Russian ballet we invited ballet stars from New York and Germany. This allowed us to have a really spectacular program that included classical pieces, famous all over the world". The artist performed the world classics: Grand Pas from the legendary ballet "Paquita", the passionate "Tarantella", the fragment from "Three Preludes" to the music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, the dynamic ballet "Taras Bulba", the solo from the ballet "Bourjois" and a divertissement from the ballet "Don Quixote". Newsletter
- Maestro Sinaisky submitted his notice to terminate himself; this was done in the middle of the season, two weeks prior to the premiere. The issue with Dilyara has nothing to do with her personality. Sergei Filin came back and Galina Stepanenko became the company manager. The decision was made in order not have three managers and not to duplicate the official duties. This is nothing more than a regular harmonization of the managerial system. I understand that special attention is being paid to the Bolshoi Theatre; thus, unfortunately, I have to comment on each step I take and organize press-conferences that I am very much afraid of, because then not exact quotes appear and strange conclusions are made. I wish it did not take that much time. But what can I do? This is my position.
The Bolshoi Theatre presents modern ballets at The Golden Mask" Russian National Theatre Award
From February 25 to February 28 the Bolshoi Theatre presents productions that have been nominated for "The Golden Mask" Russian National Theatre Award in the "Contemporary Dance" section. These are: "Kvartira" by the Swedish choreographer Mats Ek and "The Rite of Spring" by Tatiana Baganova.
In the ballet "Kvartira" the music is played life by Fleshquartet: Г–rjan Högberg (viola), Sebastian Г–berg (cello), Mattias Helldén (cello) and Christian Olsson (drums,
programming and samples). Both ballets premiered on March 28 2013 at the ballet festival "Century of the Rite of Spring - Century of New Art" that took place on the
Bolshoi Theatre New Stage from March 28 to April 21. (The world premiere of the
ballet "Kvartira" took place at the Paris National Opera on May 27 2000).
Svetlana Zakharova and world ballet stars in Sochi
Another grand gala took place in Olympic Sochi; it starred Svetlana Zakharova and other ballet artists from Russia, New York and Germany.
February, 252014Newsletter February, 252014International press analysis
Analysis of articles published February 21, 22 and 23, 2014
beneath a huge chandelier, two theatre curtains drew back and dancers from the two rival ballet companies - the Bolshoi of Moscow and Mariinsky of St. Petersburg - emerged to perform some of the great dances of the genre.
music by Rachmaninov and tributes to Tolstoy and Kandinsky.
AFP writes that at the closing ceremony of Sochi Olympic Games ballerinas from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky (Kirov) ballet companies took on roles including the legendary dancer Anna Pavlova, while Associated Press reports that there was, of course, also ballet, with dancers from the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky, among the world's oldest ballet companies.
The New York Times blog writes that the: Bolshoi and Mariinsky Share the Spotlight at the same ceremony.
The Wall Street Journal writes that there was a ballet sequence featuring a giant chandelier and proscenium arches representing Russia's most famous ballet theaters - the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky.
Reporting about the same event The Globe and Mail said that viewers were treated to fine performance by the dancers of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky ballets, to the music of composer Nikokai Scheherazade. The homage to Russia's great authors - among them Tolstoy, Chekhov, Pushkin, Gogol - was a visual treat.
Channel 4 publishes the 10 best pictures of the Sochi closing ceremony including one with the Bolshoi ballerinas.
the closing ceremony featured 62 classical pianists playing at one time, members of the Bolshoi and Kirov ballets performing moments from some of Digest has been compiled by The Bolshoi Theatre Press Office
Photos: Damir Yusupov and Mikhail Logvinov
Design layout: Vladimir AndrusenkoAll materials used in the digest are the public domain of information agencies, mass media, civil society organizations and government
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