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| | Arts Calendar / May 16 / Opera |
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 Opera in one act by Gioacchino Rossini. 165 min (with one interval). Libretto by Luigi Balocchi based on the novel "Corinne, ou L'Italie" by Germaine de Sta?l. Conductor: Tugan Sokhiev. Stage Director: Damiano Michieletto. Sung in Italian. A group of aristocratic travellers are stranded together on the way to Reims, where they’re heading to celebrate the coronation of King Charles X. Fortunately, the unlikely bunch create plenty of their own entertainment. This is an ensemble opera, which means it’s a big cast with lots of important roles. We could introduce them all, but it gets confusing! There’s a hostess, some eligible young widows, a poetess, a multinational assortment of army and navy officers, a doctor, a scholar and of course, the help: a housekeeper, courier and valet. There’s not much plot, but there’s plenty of intrigue about who is in love with who, some sentimental moments and a whole lot of comedy. No one heard this opera between 1825 and 1984, when famous conductor Claudio Abbado resurrected it for a Deutsche Grammophon recording. So there isn’t a famous aria, but there’s a brilliant ensemble written for 14 voices (!) that you can listen out for. In fact, every number in the opera is a show-stopper. It’s a musical feast.
Bolshoi Theater  |
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 Opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, 165 min (with one intermission). In Italian. One of the most popular Verdi’s opera “Rigoletto” is staged by Vladimir Pankov, the Artistic Director of the Centre for Playwrights and Directing and the founder of “SounDrama” Theatre. Commonly known for his extraordinary experience of synthesising music and drama art, Pankov explores the opera for the first time. He works with his regular co-authors Maxim Obrezkov, choreographer Ekaterina Kislova, video artist Kirill Pleshkevich and lighting designer Anna Korotkova. The Music Director of the opera is People’s Artist of Russia and the winner of the Moscow Prize Felix Korobov. This is the second production of “Rigoletto” staged in Moscow Music Theatre. The previous premiere was shown in 1939 by such prominent figures as Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vsevolod Meyerhold.
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theater |
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 Russian epic opera in seven scenes. Libretto by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov and Vladimir Belsky. Stage Director: Dmitry Bertman. Musical Director: Vladimir Ponkin. The opera “Sadko” by Rimsky-Korsakov is not an epos. It is a reflection of our life in the eyes of eternal history. “Sadko” initiated new era in “Helikon” as it was the first play staged in Stravinsky Hall after the theatre came back to its original home place on Bolshaya Nikitskaya in Moscow. “Sadko” also opened a new arch of time: first time the play was presented to the audience by Moscow S. Mamontov’s opera’s actors more than a century ago. Actors of the past could only dream of boundless possibilities that their contemporary colleagues have! Underwater world, overseas countries, Ilmen lake coast, the ancient city of Novgorod… These places magically appear on the “Stravinsky” stage. Modern plunger system easily transforms space, while unique video projections help the audience to be carried away into the world of opera’s characters. «Nothing can compete with this play’s beauty. The classical opera of Rimsky-Korsakov turned into an opera-parable about the most precious things in life – human soul and its sufferings» - Valery Kichin, “Rossiyskaya gazeta”.
Helikon Opera |
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