February, 26, 2014. Issue No. 242
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 Bolshoi"The Tsar's Bride" premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage. Photo: Damir YusupovTugan Sokhiev congratulates Gennady Rozhdestvensky. Photo: Damir Yusupov"The Tsar's Bride" returns to the Bolshoi Theatre
The Rimsky-Korsakov opera "The Tsar's Bride" premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre on Saturday. This is, in a way, a restored version of the production, which was created in the middle of the previous century. At the time of a total re-thinking of the musical classics this looks like quite a challenge. The director, Julia Pevzner, and the conductor, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, who is the music director of the production, challenge fans of opera experiments. The production is more than half a century old; for some it is a decent example of the "grand Russian style", for others - an archive rarity. Anyway, it looks like the revival of "The Tsar's Bride" will give the opera masterpiece a new life.
"The Tsar's Bride" that has been performed at the Bolshoi since 1916 in various editions for the total of more than 1000 times, has become almost 60 years younger. It has been renewed, but at the same time the production team turned to a long-
forgotten set by Fedor Fedorovsky that is now considered a part of the Bolshoi Theatre gold pool.
The director Julia Pevzner (Israel) says: "This set was used as a base; at the same time quite a few changes were made. We have actually built a new set, bearing in mind those changes. The costumes were also inspired by Fedorovsky's approach to the historic costume. We now have two scenes that did not exist in the Fedorovsky's version. But they have the same style".
Julia Pevzner, the director from Israel, saw "The Tsar's Bride" at the Bolshoi only once. She refused to reconstruct the production, but suggested to stage a new-and-
old version. The set designer Alyona Pikalova helped to bring this idea into life. She considers: "All proportions, colors and textures have been preserved. I hope that the changes will not be seen. They have turned out to be so harmonious that many people who knew the old production will probably not be able to notice them".
Only the young artists remind us of the fact that this is a new production. The libretto is based on the same-name drama by Lev Mey, which, in turn, is based on real events. The plot centers on the tragic life and death of the merchant's daughter Martha Sobakina, who was chosen to be the bride of Ivan, the Terrible.
Alexander Naumenko knows the part of Martha's father very well; he has already performed it several times. The Bolshoi Theatre soloist says: "I can relate to my character very well; it is in this part that Rimsky-Korsakov expressed the tremendous love for his daughter. This love moves him from the very first measure".
The main participant of the production is Gennady Rozhdestvensky who conducts the orchestra.
"The Tsar's Bride" at the Bolshoi: semi-centennial traditions and ultramodern technologies
The legendary N. Rimsky-Korsakov opera "The Tsar's Bride" returns to the Bolshoi Theatre. This is the seventh production that has been staged at the Bolshoi so far. It has been created by the Israeli director Julia Pevzner.This is what the composer himself said about this opera: "From my many operas I love "The Snow Maiden" and "The Tsar's Bride" most of all". The libretto is based on the drama by Lev Mey. The plot is based on real events: the merchant's daughter Martha was chosen to be the bride of Ivan the Terrible, but 15 days later the Tsar's bride died - she was poisoned. The opera was first
staged on October, 22 1899 at Mamontov's Private Russian Opera Newsletter Photo: Damir Yusupov"The Tsar's Bride" in 3D. On Saturday a great premiere took place at the Bolshoi Theatre. "The Tsar's Bride" returned to the stage; this is a new production of the opera, that is, the seventh one. It has been based on the set design created by Fedor Fedorovsky in the middle of the previous century. 60 years later the "ancient Russian" set shone anew.
Photo: Damir Yusupov
There are Russian kaftans, embroidered in gold, Russian red high boots and multicolored sarafans.
The costumes astonish with their richness and the set - with its scale.
"The Tsar's Bride" returns to the Bolshoi Theatre. This seventh production of the opera has been staged by Julia Pevzner.
According to the director, the 16 century is only the background for her. As "Vesti" reports, real passion is what comes first. The director says: "You could say this is an ordinary story. It is a love triangle. These people destroy those who are close to them".
February, 262014Newsletter The stepsisters have been in charge of the Bayreuth Festival since 2008. According to Mr. Emmerich, Katharina Wagner considers it important that Eva Wagner-
Pasquier participates in the organization of the festival in future.
The row that broke out in the musical community earlier was connected with the image of swastika on the body of a St. Petersburg singer. As a result, Evgeny Nikitin was refused the role of "Der fliegende Holländer". The artist had an opportunity to become the first Russian singer to get a main role at the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth.
"The Tsar's Bride" at the Bolshoi was staged by an Israeli director
The seventh production of N. Rimsky-
Korsakov opera "The Tsar's Bride" was staged at the Bolshoi Theatre by Julia Pevzner, a director from Israel. Julia Pevzner graduated from the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music; she began her career at the New Israeli Opera; she also worked at the Opéra Bastille, the Royal Opera House, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Bolshoi Theatre. The new version of the drama by L. Mey to the Mass media about the Theatretake a look at the exhibits during the intermission. Various rare objects were hung around the perimeter of the theatre; today I would not dare to expose them in such an open way. In 1974 they decided to create an all-time large open exposition. There were many additional offices that were allocated for it. In the beginning of the 1990s a part of those rooms were taken away from us, they squeezed us and we became the museum of the enclosed-type".
February, 262014Newsletter The Bolshoi Theatre Museum. RIA Novosti. Artem Zhitenev
There are about 200 thousand objects in the holdings of the museum. Many of these
date back to the 18 and the 19 centuries. There are various objects - real costumes (from shoes to head pieces), props, playbills from different years, ancient photographs, negative pictures on glass and film, sketches of sets and costumes and the collection of paintings. For example, in one of the offices you can see the portrait of the ballerina Olga Lepeshinskaya painted by Alexander Gerasimov. This is a life-
size portrait; Lepeshinskaya is on pointe in her pointe shoes.
Lidia Kharina says: "There are almost no such portraits, because it is incredibly difficult to pose for a painter, standing on pointe shoes. The same painting is at the Tretyakov Gallery. Gerasimov wanted to play with the light very much. He put two canvases and started painting her in the morning and in the evening light. Then, when both paintings were ready, he invited the selection committee; it chose one of the paintings, and the other was given to the Bolshoi".The life-size portrait of Olga Lepeshinskaya that she posed for wearing her pointe shoes. RIA Novosti. Artem Zhitenev
Most of the objects the museum gets from the theatre; some are purchased by the museum and some are donated by the Ministry of Culture. For example, once the Ministry donated to the Bolshoi the diaries of the choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky.
The choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky tried to write dance down on the stave. RIA Novosti. Artem Zhitenev
"These are some notebooks; they were given to the Ministry of Culture by Nijinsky's daughter, and the Ministry gave those papers to us, although the choreographer never danced at the Bolshoi. In those notebooks Nijinsky tried to create notation of the dance. Bach was the one who came up with the solfege; but they did not know how to note down the dance, although the art of ballet has existed since the time of Louis XIV. Many have tried. Today we are using the notes of a dancer and a ballet
theorist Stepanov, who worked in Saint Petersburg at the turn of the 20 century. Nijinsky also tried doing this using the stave. His notes were not published, and this is a unique document for ballet historians".
Addres: Teatralnaya square, 1. Phone number: 8-495-692-00-25
How to get there: excursions are free of charge. In order to get to the museum you need to form a group and get in touch with the museum excursions organizer.
The Olympics Diary: Gala "Svetlana Zakharova and World Ballet Stars"
The Gala of the leading ballet stars, organized by the People's Artist of the Russian Federation Igor Zelensky took place at the modern complex "Galaktika" (Esto Sadok, Krasnaya Polyana) and was a great success. This was a spectacular performance of the world ballet stars that became a part of the Olympic Games-2014 cultural program.
February, 262014The star cast included the People's Artist of Russia, the Bolshoi Theatre prima-
ballerina and Teatro alla Scala guest artist Svetlana Zakharova, 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.
There were also guest stars: the prima and the premier dancer of the Bavarian State Ballet Lucia Lacarra and Marlon Dino, as well as the prima and the premier dancer of the New York City Ballet Ashley Bouder and Daniel Ulbricht. The program included world classics: Grand Pas from the legendary ballet "Paquita", the passionate "Tarantella", the fragment from "Three Preludes", the dynamic ballet "Taras Bulba", the solo from the ballet "Bourjois" and a divertissement from the ballet "Don Quixote". The audience was composed of Russian and foreign ballet fans; they gave a particularly massive ovation to the Bolshoi Theatre prima Svetlana Zakharova, who
participated in the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on February 7, having performed the part of Natasha Rostova in the ballet scene inspired by Leo Tolstoy novel "War and Peace".
The company of the Primorsky Opera and Ballet Theatre will perform at the Bolshoi Theatre. A symphonic program will be presented as well
As RIA Novosti was informed on Tuesday by the representative of the Vladivostok theatre, the company of the Primorsky Opera and Ballet Theatre will present the ballet "The Fourteenth" to the music by D. Shostakovich at the Bolshoi Theatre this year. The representative said: "On Monday the meeting between the Primorsky Opera and Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Anton Lubchenko and the Bolshoi Theatre General Director Vladimir Urin took place in Moscow. Possible ways of cooperation were discussed during the meeting". According to the Primorsky Theatre representative, the sides reached an agreement about the Primorsky Theatre company presenting the ballet "The Fourteenth" to the music by D. Shostakovich at the Bolshoi Theatre this year; this production causes more and more interest. A symphonic program will also be presented.
The representative said: "Mr. Lubchenko mentioned that joint opera productions had become more and more popular. There is a possibility that the next calendar year the Primorsky Theatre will carry out such a joint production together with the Bolshoi Theatre. Most likely, this will be a Russian classical opera".Newsletter 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 International press analysis
Analysis of articles published February 24, 2014
All major international mass media continue to publish reports about the closing ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics with most of them mentioning the dancers
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