February, 12, 2014. Issue No. 232

Fedorovksy was a set designer in the first place; he created the sets bearing in mind certain theatrical reality. We probably should mention another production that he worked on, that is "Boris Godunov". He had an ambitious task: ten scenes should have been acted in four hours. In the musical score there are only 30 seconds to change the set from the scene at the Novodevichy Convent to the Coronation scene. Fedorovsky followed the music and created a set for the prologue that was not dimensional; it was just a painted backdrop. Together with his students from the Bolshoi Theatre workshops he invented various ways to paint a dimensional picture on the flat. The results that they achieve were later used for other productions, even when the goals were not as ambitious.
Fedor Fedorovksy. The draft of the set for the first act
Fedorovsky's sets for "The Tsar's Bride" have three lay-outs: there is a painted background that is parallel to the footlights, then there are more painted backdrops in the middle ground that form the space for singers to act, and then there are dimensional elements at the forefront. Fedorovsky creates a complex structure as he combines two principles that seemed to be contradictory before: principles of the
classical painted set and the dimensional set that appeared at the turn of the 20 century. In the middle ground there is this transition from the painted set to the dimensional one that is impossible to create in the modern theatre so that it would look the same advantageous way it did in Fedorovsky's time. The designer had in mind special light that was used at the theatre then; everything combined harmoniously in his productions, the set, the lighting and the way the actors behaved on the stage.
Fedor Fedorovsky. A sketch of the set for the second act
Over the last few years the lighting at the theatre has changed considerably - this leap forward can be compared to the transition from gaslight to electrical one. The brightness coefficient increased so much that now it is difficult to imagine what it used to be like. In 1940s and 50s simple tungsten lamps were used; they were painted and then the lamps were turned on to half capacity so that the color would not fade. That means that theatre lights were very soft and barely had any color. All sets were Newsletter The Bolshoi Theatre in the Internet"The Tsar's Bride" will return to the Bolshoi
The most popular Rimsky-Korsakov opera returns to the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage
"The Tsar's Bride" is one of the favorite and most frequently performed operas by Rimsky-Korskakov. It was composed quite quickly: the composer started writing it in February, 1899 and ten months later the score was finished. The libretto is based on the same-name drama by Lev Mei; the composer worked on the score of the opera, while Ilya Tyumenev was responsible for the "final draft of the libretto".

"The Tsar's Bride" premiered the next season on October, 22 1899 at Mamontov's Private Russian Opera in Moscow; the opera won recognition from the public right away, although it caused some disputes among the critics. It was perceived as marking the composer's refusal of The Mighty Handful basic ideas: "on one hand "The Tsar's Bride" was the best example of modern opera technique, but it also was a certain step the composer took towards conscious apostasy of the new Russian school's main principles", as the Moscow critic E. Rozenov put it.
Rimsky-Korsakov replied: "They have a line for me, that is, fantastic music, and they do not believe I can write dramatic music. Is it right that I am doomed to portray beasts of different kinds? "The Tsar's Bride" is not fantastic at all, while "The Snow Maiden" is quite fantastic, but they both are very touching, while "Sadko" and "Saltan" are nothing of the kind. To conclude, I must say that from my many operas I love "The Snow Maiden" and "The Tsar's Bride" most of all".This opera occupies a very special place in the Bolshoi Theatre repertory. The first time it appeared on the stage was only in 1916, but it has remained in the repertory for a very long time ever since; old productions were quickly replaced by revivals. All in all, there were six productions of this opera at the Bolshoi Theatre. It was at this theatre that "The Tsar's Bride" gained the characteristics of true "grand opera"; it also remained one of the cornerstones of the theatre's Russian repertory for a whole century.

This current production, which is the 7, is carried out by the director Yulia Pevzner, whose task is quite unusual: she is going to create her version of "The Tsar's Bride" in a pre-determined set: the design created by Fedor Fedorovsky, an outstanding designer, who spent most of his life working at the Bolshoi Theatre, will be used.

The opera will premiere on February 22, 23 and 25
The cast stars the opera company leading soloists, the Bolshoi Theatre Young Artists Opera Program participants and guest soloists. Gennady Rozhdestvensky is the music director of the production.

Alyona Pikalova is working on the revival and a new version of the set design for the production. She told us about preparation process:






February, 122014Newsletter painted with due regard to this dull even light; the illusion of dimension was created by using painting and applied ornaments. Deep shadows that could not be painted We were especially excited when we were reconstructing the props and the furniture. During their long theatre life they all became worn-out and quite simple; they lost their special "character". Thus, we decided not to just create copies of these objects that have had quite long stage life; we tried to find a prototype Fedorovsky In brief International press analysis
February, 122014Newsletter 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 competitions Larisa Afanasenkova, Alexei Sidorov (guitar) and Alexei Nesterenko (piano) will take part in the concert.

Famous artists will perform in spring as well. On March 6 the Bolshoi Theatre soloist Valery Gilmanov, the Honored Artist of Ukraine Ruslan Kadirov, the laureate of the competition "Romansiada-2013" Alexander Bichev, Alexei Sidorov (guitar) and
Alexei Nesterenko (piano) will visit Zvenigorod. On April 6 the audience will hear the laureate of the competition "Romansiada-2013" Sergei Dudinsky, the vocal duet "Reflection", laureate of all-Russian and international competitions Inna Razumikhina and trio "Relikt".
A master-class for young talented musicians was organized at the Yuri Bashmet Festival. Master-class of the Bolshoi Theatre Young Artists Opera Program artistic director Dmitry Vdovin became the part of the 7th Yuri Bashmet International Winter Art Festival
As D. Vdovin opened this event, he said he was happy with the fact that the Sochi audience was still interested in classical singing even during such a global event as the XXII Winter Olympic Games. According to Vdovin, the fact that such master-
classes have become a traditional part of this festival is very important. He added: "Those who sing, do not have an instrument that they can wipe and put aside. Their bodies are their instruments; they need to take good care of their bodies". It is worth mentioning that Dmitry Vdovin was satisfied with the level of those singers who participated in the master-class, as well as those participants from other Russian cities who joined this event via a video conference connection. Among those who wanted to learn something new there also were children.Sakhalin mass media:
"Three basses" closed the concert trilogy of world opera stars in Yuzhno-
Sakhalinsk
A concert of three internationally acknowledged bass singers took place at the Sakhalin International Theatre Center named after A. Chekhov. This is the third concert that the Center has organized in cooperation with "Talents of the World" Foundation, headed by David Gvinianidze.
The Sakhalin audience heard the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, the Bolshoi Theatre soloist Vladimir Ognev, the Honored Artist of The Republic of Kalmykia, the graduate of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music Igor Lazarev and the soloist of the National Opera of Ukraine and the Israel National Opera Dmitry Ageev.
The audience in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk had already heard baritone and tenor singers. The bass singers closed this opera trilogy. The program included popular arias from the operas of Russian and foreign composers, Russian romances and folk songs from the repertory of "tsar-bass singer" Fyodor Chaliapin.