February, 7, 2014. Issue No. 229February, 6 - the 125 anniversary of the outstanding opera singer Ksenia G. Derzhinskaya February, 8 - Debut in the ballet "The Sleeping Beauty". Olga Smirnova, a student of M. Kondratieva, will make her debut in the role of Princess Aurora that was formerly danced by her teacherMass media about the Theatre February 6 - the 125 anniversary of the outstanding opera singer Ksenia G. Derzhinskaya. Photo: the Bolshoi Theatre Museum On March, 2 the recording of the ballet "Lost Illusions" will be transmitted in 24 cities in Russia and 3 cities in KazakhstanDeputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Elena Milovzorova confirmed that the Ministry was ready to support the Bolshoi Theatre Russian tour. It was also stated that from now on the information about termination of contracts will be announced by the Bolshoi management at least a year in advance. For example, if it is decided not to prolong the contract with the artistic director (or if he expresses a Newsletter There is some other great news - the Bolshoi Theatre is going to sell discount tickets for dress rehearsals for people under thirty. The cost for the tickets has not been determined yet, but everyone will be able to afford them. The same will be done in the New Stage audience hall. As for tours, the London Royal Opera Company will come to the Bolshoi in summer. There is a chance that Kaunas State Musical Theatre will bring its "Tsar's Bride" by Rimsky-Korsakov. Vladimir Urin said: "The Bolshoi Theatre does not cover tour-related costs. Those who would like to come to Moscow and show their performances take the initiative. Then we need to see if there is such a possibility and if we are ready to participate in this… At the same time, there are so-called exchange tours. I would like to note that the visit of the Royal Opera Company has nothing The production is "dead". Long live the production! Talking about new tendencies at the Bolshoi The Bolshoi Theatre new General Director made several statements: there will be standing room at the theatre again and it is planned to "clean" the repertory considerably. Vesti FM reporter Grigory Zaslavsky provides more details: The Bolshoi Theatre General Director Vladimir Urin made several statements that can be used to make conclusions about the program of the Bolshoi's new head. At first, the theatre plans to get rid of uncomfortable seats and bring back standing room; Vladimir Urin considers that those places will be affordable for students in the first place. By the way, there is standing room in many ancient multi-storied theatres where people used to come not to look at the stage and listen to the opera, but rather to look at the boxes through a lorgnette, just as A. Pushkin wrote in his "Eugene Onegin". There is some more news that, perhaps, gives an even better idea about his program: Vladimir Urin promises to remove from the repertory several productions that in his opinion are "dead", or, to put it mildly, are outdated. Mr. Urin considers such productions to be serious drawbacks of the repertory. Of course, one way to deal with this issue is to have massive revivals; Yuri Grigorovich, for example, was invited by the previous theatre management so that he would bring his most legendary ballets back to the playbills. But if there is no such person - I mean, if there are neither directors nor some other people who would be willing to take this burden, or if the director simply has some other plans - it is much wiser to stop pretending that there are productions in the playbill for every taste and get rid of those shows that you cannot really invite your relatives or friends to. By the way, this is a common thing to do: for example, the first thing that Boris Yukhananov, who has recently been appointed the artistic director at the Stanislavsky Drama Theatre, did was to remove all productions from the repertory and devote a whole year, as the building was being renovated, to get some new productions so that there would be something new at the end of the year when the theatre opened. When Kirill Serebrennikov started creating "Gogol-Center" instead of the Gogol Theatre he also removed from the repertory all productions that had been staged before he came. "Gogol-Center" already has a new repertory. This is an honest thing to do. This is much more honest than having in the repertory the productions that were supposedly staged by Stanislavsky, Sulerzhitsky or Ivan Moskvitin or "The Seagull", staged by Oleg Efremov, when there are no actors who actually rehearsed with Stanislavsky or Efremov, and there are none of those that Efremov staged his "Seagull" for. The Bolshoi Theatre repertory will be revised; the seats in the audience halls will be audited as well The Bolshoi Theatre General Director Vladimir Urin is going to remove from the repertory more than ten productions and to introduce standing room tickets At a meeting with Russian mass media representatives the Bolshoi Theatre General Director Vladimir Urin discussed what the company had as it started the year of 2014. "Izvestia" was present and selected quotes from the hour and a half discussion. Instead of 247 seats there will be standing room at the Bolshoi Theatre Historical Building; the tickets will cost no more than 100 rubles (approx. $ 3). The Bolshoi Theatre management sent a letter about it to the Ministry of Culture. The General Director does not expect to hear any objections from the founders; there is a problem that needs to be solved. At the moment those seats that barely give you any view are sold at regular Bolshoi prices, which means, they are expensive. Vladimir Urin explained some of the decisions related to the HR policies, for example, firing the advisor of the Bolshoi Ballet artistic director Dilyara Timergazina. - In fact, she carried out the responsibilities of the company manager, - the General Director said. - Today Sergei Filin is the artistic director of the company, and Galina Stepanenko is the company manager; there is no need to have this position. The Bolshoi management will inform the representatives of the artistic administration about prolongation or termination of their contracts at least a year in advance. - This is the way it is done at the European theatre, so we will follow this policy as well, - Mr. Urin said. For example, Sergei Filin, whose contract terminates in March, 2016, will be informed about what will happen in future in March 2015. If the Bolshoi Theatre Newsletter decides not to prolong his contract or if the artistic director expresses such a desire himself, the management will announce the name of his successor who will have a year to take over his duties. Journalists were concerned with the sudden departure of the Bolshoi music director Vassily Sinaisky. The General Director replied that he could only speculate about the reasons of Sinaisky's departure, but he did not consider he had the right to make those speculations public. However, he named three reasons that the music director gave to explain his departure. First of all, performances of "Der Rosenkavalier" were re-scheduled, but maestro Sinaisky was not informed about it. Second of all, the concert of the famous director was re-scheduled as well. According to the General Director, he explained the reasons and apologized in both cases. - I do not consider Vassily Sinaisky to be a team player, - the General Director concluded. - This is why I signed his notice of termination right away. The head of the Bolshoi also talked about complicated relations inside the company, who are "natural for a creative collective". He denied rumors about John Cranko Foundation prohibiting prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova's participation in the production of "Onegin" after she refused to dance in the second cast at the ballet premiere. February, 72014Photo: the Bolshoi Theatre press office/Elena Fetisova Vladimir Vasiliev was the one who initiated the Gala and became its ideologist. He also was the director of the concert. The program included pieces created in different styles, which were not, however, on the same creative level; the pieces were mainly choreographed by young choreographers. Petit Fleur. Photo: the Bolshoi Theatre press office/Elena Fetisova Empty Room. Photo: the Bolshoi Theatre press office/Elena FetisovaNewsletter Ministry of Culture did not include the Bolshoi Theatre in the list of those theatres that the Center will help organize tours in Russia. The General Director considers that the Bolshoi tours in Russia should have a special program; he is going to discuss this program with the Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets. - The best Bolshoi productions that are suitable for such performances should be shown at the theatre. There are such theatres in Novosibirsk, Vladivostok and Astrakhan. The Bolshoi Theatre should go on tour in Russia at least once a year, - Vladimir Urin considers. Vladimir Vasiliev danced in memory of Ekaterina Maximova Photos: the Bolshoi Theatre press-office/Elena Fetisova The Gala "Everything that you have done. In memory of Ekaterina Maximova" took place on the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage. On February 1st 2014 she would have celebrated her 75th birthday. An exhibition marking the jubilee of Ekaterina Maximova was installed in the Historic Stage atrium. The paintings from the series "Big Images" by the artist Valery Kosorukov make the biggest part of the exhibition. There are portraits of Ekaterina Maximova and Vladimir Vasiliev working on famous roles and pictures of Maximova's pedagogues, Elizaveta Gerdt and Galina Ulanova. Next to the pictures there are costumes that Maximova and Vasiliev wore in the Bolshoi Theatre productions. Luminaries of Russian culture, including The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts President Irina Antonova, the writer Zoya Boguslavskaya, the actor Vladimir Zeldin, the director Roman Viktyuk and Bolshoi Ballet representatives together with their pedagogue- repetiteurs Marina Kondratieva and Boris Akimov came to pay tribute to the People's Artist of Russia. Irina Antonova admitted, that Ekaterina Maximova and Vladimir Vasiliev were her "favorite dancers". Photo: the Bolshoi Theatre press office/Elena Fetisova - I followed their creative career starting from the time when they graduated from the Moscow Choreographic Institute. I remember the whole of their careers at the Bolshoi Theatre. I love Ekaterina Maximova and Vladimir Vasiliev very much; I love ballet in general. All performances where they danced were very good. These are great memories, - Irina Antonova stressed. February, 72014As she created the image of Liza from "The Queen of Spades", Derzhinskaya depicted the inner world of this heroine in a very frank and emotional manner. She conveyed the charm of this strong and integral personality that was obsessed with an all-consuming passion. Neither the conventions of high society nor the fear of the insuperable obstacles that got in her way could stop her. The belief in people, the desire to perform an exploit, the need to break away from the formalities of the upper class - her Liza had it all in her passionate and devoted love. Fevroniya, "The Invisible City of Kitezh" Turandot; photo by M. SakharovNewsletter The final piece - "Empty Room" by the Israeli choreographer Ido Tadmor - became the anti-climax of the Gala. The dancers finished the number and even came for the curtain calls. However, the caricature demonstration of love play, presented by Ido Tadmor himself together with his partner Mira Rubinstein shocked the audience so much, that people hissed dancers from the stage and started yelling "Shame on you"; some left. It is worth mentioning that Ekaterina Maximova herself was much more tolerant of modern novelties and would hardly debar the young people from the right to their own vision. The audience calmed down when the lights went off and the spotlight outlined the solitary figure of Vladimir Vasiliev on the stage. The actor Valentin Gaft read his poem "Fouette", dedicated to Maximova, and then Vladimir Vasiliev performed a short choreographic and dramatic piece. At the end of the Gala all artists that participated in the concert laid flowers near the portrait of Ekaterina Maximova. The overcrowded audience hall rose to pay the tribute to the memory of the ballerina. The Bolshoi promises low prices From the beginning of the 2014/2015 Season standing room tickets to the Bolshoi Theatre performances will be sold at the price of 100 rubles (approx. $3). This is one of those new things that the Bolshoi Theatre General Director Vladimir Urin announced to the mass media. According to him, over the summer months the Historic Stage audience hall will be renovated a bit so that all members of the audience will be able to see the stage better. Some seats that do not allow the spectator to see the whole of the stage will be raised, but 247 seats will be taken away. This will give space for standing room, just like it is done at many Western European theatres. Besides, starting from this season the theatre is going to sell tickets to dress rehearsals for spectators under thirty (provided that production teams do not object). Apparently, prices for such tickets will be determined following the European example, where young spectators usually pay around €10. Students will still have a chance to buy discount tickets; it is also planned to have the distribution of tickets for socially disadvantaged and low-income citizens. However, in order for this to become a reality, it is necessary to have the support of the Moscow government. According to Vladimir Urin, there has been no reaction to the Bolshoi Theatre initiative. The theatre also plans to fight ticket scalpers by toughening the ticket offices' and ticket collectors' work rules. At the same time the Bolshoi insists that not the theatre administration, but law enforcement bodies should tackle this situation in a much better way. Vladimir Urin promised that in the future the theatre would have a new ticket office building; it would be more spacious, so that people would not have to wait in the cold or in the rain, it would be more comfortable and it would have an electronic queue. We have published some information about the outstanding opera singer Ksenia G. Derzhinskaya in our regular column "Invitation to the Museum" to mark the 125 anniversary of the singer. She was born in 1889 in Kiev. She wanted to become an opera singer from an early age; when she was still studying at the gymnasium, she took singing, plastique, body language and make-up lessons. The meeting with the composer S.V. Rachmaninoff in 1911 played a major role in her creative career; the composer listened to her and supported her idea of becoming a professional singer. In 1911 Derzhinskaya took lessons from E.O. Terian-Karganova; a year later she worked on building her opera repertory together with L. P. Steinberg. In 1913 she joined the Moscow Opera House "NarodnГЇy Dom". In 1914 Derzhinskaya was invited to join the Bolshoi Theatre Company. On January 15 1915 she made her debut with the part of Yaroslavna in the opera "Prince Igor". As she performed this role year after year, the singer kept working on it and gradually made the interpretation of this image more and more profound. At first her Yaroslavna was simply a faithful, caring and loving wife; later she became more of a brave and courageous woman, a decent representative of her people who managed to cope with her personal grief and take on the burden of state business in the troubled times. The Bolshoi Theatre in the Internet February, 72014Newsletter 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 Derzhenskaya created unforgettable images of Russian women, full of charm and some spiritual purity; she performed such parts, as Maria ("Mazepa"), Fevroniya ("The Invisible City of Kitezh"), Tsaritsa Militrisa ("The Tale of Tsar Saltan"), Vera Sheloga ("The Noblewoman Vera Sheloga") and others. The Russian classical opera suited her talent and artistic aspirations best. However, she created a lot of significant and touching images in the operas from the Western repertory as well. These parts include Margarita in "Faust", Bíјnnhildein "Die Walküre", Turandot and Tosca in the same-name operas. Derzhinskaya was a very active public figure as well. She held key positions in the committee on Stalin prizes and the expert committee on the musical art affiliated to the State Commission for Academic Degrees and Titles. The singer passed away in June, 1951; starting from 1947 and till her dying day she worked as a professor at the Moscow State Conservatory. Not only did she teach, but she also participated in developing vocal methodology. In 1928 Derzhinskaya was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Republic; in 1933 - the title of People's Artist of the Republic. In 1937 she was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR; she was also awarded the Lenin medal. In 1943 she was awarded the Stalin prize, First Class. In 1951 she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.International press analysisIn brief Analysis of articles published February, 5 2014 AFP the Agence France Presse newswires reports about an interview with Bolshoi Theatre general director Vladimir Urin saying that he is determined to normalise the situation at the theatre after the scandals and that in future there will be cheap standing room tickets for sale for Bolshoi productions The Opera and Ballet Theatre presents "Boris Godunov" This week the Krasnoyarsk audience will have a chance to see another historic variation of Boris Godunov's rule. The Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre will present its premiere production of the Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunov". The preparation period has been long. Nine bells were made for this production at a factory in Yaroslavl region following the ancient Russian technology. Besides, the Bolshoi Theatre handed over for the free use about 800 unique authentic costumes for a period of three years. The total cost of these costumes is about 67 mln rubles (approx. $ 2.2 mln). Vladimir Kudashev and Vitaly Efanov, "Novaya Opera" artists, will perform the aria of Boris Godunov at the premiere performances. In general 227 artists participate will in the production. /…/ |
Main Stage
1 Teatralnaya ploschad (1 Theatre Square), Moscow, Russia
New Stage
Bol'shaya Dmitrovka Street, 4/2, Moscow, Russia