<Translated from Russian automatically, will be edited later>
— The Bolshoi Theatre Opera Company performed at Covent Garden for the first time. Was it a success?
— There's critical success and there's public success. Public success is something you feel empirically: a warm reception and good attendance. The house was full at every performance. Everyone was shouting after "The Fiery Angel," and they were shouting after "Boris Godunov." London critics don't give definitive assessments, but you can tell by the tone of their reviews whether they were favorable or unfavorable. Some performances were more or less favorable, but there wasn't a single review that noted that someone sang or acted poorly. Everyone noted the high musical standard of the performances.
— Were the performances chosen for English audiences?
— Both operas are rarely performed in London. In 1993, Covent Garden staged its own production of "The Fiery Angel," but it's still little known. "Boris Godunov" is also a rare guest there. I'm pleased that "The Fiery Angel" opened the tour and set the tone for the critical response, because if it had been "Boris Godunov," one might say we were squandering our old fortunes. And "The Fiery Angel" is one of our recent works.
— Could one say that "Boris" is mass-market, while "Angel" is aimed at sophisticated audiences?
— "Boris Godunov" is a problematic production. The themes it addresses are complex in themselves: the relationship between power and conscience, the masses, and the role of the individual in history. And the Christian message is clearly present here. None of this will ever be mass-market. Although I understand that "Boris Godunov" is, in a good way, a decorative production. Perhaps it's easier to appreciate simply because some people are able to appreciate the music or some of the opera's ideas, while others simply enjoy the fountain playing on stage.
— Following the success of the updated "Boris", how do you view the feasibility of Alexander Sokurov's production planned for next season?
— "Boris Godunov" is a multilayered manuscript, or, as it's fashionable to say these days, a hypertext. There are many versions of the original text, as well as various editions of the music by major composers like Rimsky-Korsakov and Shostakovich. Depending on which version you choose, you get a different opera. If you choose the version that ends with the scene at Kromy, you get a folk musical drama, but if you choose the version that ends with Boris's death, you get an opera in four acts. Even earlier, Mussorgsky called this a "musical performance." This opera has enough material for several performances. Each artist chooses what interests them, so there can be many different "Borises." I don't think we'll be performing these "Borises" simultaneously simply because it's difficult for the same people to keep two musical versions in mind at once—I'm not even talking about the orchestra, but the choir. But I think that since one version is aesthetically designed for a large stage, and the other for a new one, they could be performed alternating with some frequency.
— How do you rate the work of the orchestra, choir, and soloists in London?
— I think we need to be just as hard-working in London as, say, in Petrozavodsk. The audience is an audience everywhere. I have a professional ear, and I don't have the opportunity to observe our musicians simply as a spectator. And as a conductor and musical director, I shouldn't be satisfied with anything—that's the tradeoff. The better they sing and play, the more room there is for striving: there are no final destinations in art. But I'm certainly pleased that our new generation of opera singers—Kazakov, Manistina, Shtonda, Muravitsky, Paster—have received very high praise. At the same time, I'm especially pleased that everyone unanimously praised the orchestra's excellent performance.
— The Bolshoi Opera tours less frequently than the ballet. Why?
— Firstly, opera tours are unprofitable, because the number of people involved is proportionally much larger than if a quartet, chamber orchestra (I'm speaking incrementally), symphony orchestra, dramatic production, or ballet were touring. This is an expensive pleasure and requires additional funding. And our goal isn't touring for the sake of touring. In principle, we should perform for our audiences in our permanent venues. But we also need to declare that we exist, that we are actively developing, and that we demonstrate the upward trend in our development and our quality. To do this, we need to appear from time to time in places that are iconic and important. The Royal Opera House is certainly one of them. So, sometimes it's necessary to go on tour, but it has to be a meaningful event. I'm heartened by the fact that the impact of this tour promises to be very significant. For quite a long time, there was no objective picture of what was happening in our opera abroad. In this sense, the tour was very important: certain groups of decision-makers came to the performances: leading booking agencies, theater directors, and international music organizations. Those who shape public opinion.
— Who else of the famous people attended the performances?
— Prince Michael of Kent, Baroness Thatcher, the people from Downing Street (like our presidential administration). Mrs. Thatcher said she initially had a bit of a hard time getting into the spirit of "The Fiery Angel," but after twenty minutes she was so into it that she stayed until the end, unable to tear herself away.
— You're no stranger to performing on different stages. But are there any differences in the audience's reaction there and here?
— Well, I didn't see anything! But they responded directly to the humor, clapping and laughing, although the translation wasn't quite as precise. I didn't hear anyone laughing here. The audience there is very curious. Many in the front row kept leaning over and peering into the orchestra pit. I liked their experience: in the restored Covent Garden, there are chairs with names in the first row of the stalls, apparently named after those who have donated to the charity. For some reason this is not customary here, but I think it is a very good idea.
Source
— The Bolshoi Theatre Opera Company performed at Covent Garden for the first time. Was it a success?
— There's critical success and there's public success. Public success is something you feel empirically: a warm reception and good attendance. The house was full at every performance. Everyone was shouting after "The Fiery Angel," and they were shouting after "Boris Godunov." London critics don't give definitive assessments, but you can tell by the tone of their reviews whether they were favorable or unfavorable. Some performances were more or less favorable, but there wasn't a single review that noted that someone sang or acted poorly. Everyone noted the high musical standard of the performances.
— Were the performances chosen for English audiences?
— Both operas are rarely performed in London. In 1993, Covent Garden staged its own production of "The Fiery Angel," but it's still little known. "Boris Godunov" is also a rare guest there. I'm pleased that "The Fiery Angel" opened the tour and set the tone for the critical response, because if it had been "Boris Godunov," one might say we were squandering our old fortunes. And "The Fiery Angel" is one of our recent works.
— Could one say that "Boris" is mass-market, while "Angel" is aimed at sophisticated audiences?
— "Boris Godunov" is a problematic production. The themes it addresses are complex in themselves: the relationship between power and conscience, the masses, and the role of the individual in history. And the Christian message is clearly present here. None of this will ever be mass-market. Although I understand that "Boris Godunov" is, in a good way, a decorative production. Perhaps it's easier to appreciate simply because some people are able to appreciate the music or some of the opera's ideas, while others simply enjoy the fountain playing on stage.
— Following the success of the updated "Boris", how do you view the feasibility of Alexander Sokurov's production planned for next season?
— "Boris Godunov" is a multilayered manuscript, or, as it's fashionable to say these days, a hypertext. There are many versions of the original text, as well as various editions of the music by major composers like Rimsky-Korsakov and Shostakovich. Depending on which version you choose, you get a different opera. If you choose the version that ends with the scene at Kromy, you get a folk musical drama, but if you choose the version that ends with Boris's death, you get an opera in four acts. Even earlier, Mussorgsky called this a "musical performance." This opera has enough material for several performances. Each artist chooses what interests them, so there can be many different "Borises." I don't think we'll be performing these "Borises" simultaneously simply because it's difficult for the same people to keep two musical versions in mind at once—I'm not even talking about the orchestra, but the choir. But I think that since one version is aesthetically designed for a large stage, and the other for a new one, they could be performed alternating with some frequency.
— How do you rate the work of the orchestra, choir, and soloists in London?
— I think we need to be just as hard-working in London as, say, in Petrozavodsk. The audience is an audience everywhere. I have a professional ear, and I don't have the opportunity to observe our musicians simply as a spectator. And as a conductor and musical director, I shouldn't be satisfied with anything—that's the tradeoff. The better they sing and play, the more room there is for striving: there are no final destinations in art. But I'm certainly pleased that our new generation of opera singers—Kazakov, Manistina, Shtonda, Muravitsky, Paster—have received very high praise. At the same time, I'm especially pleased that everyone unanimously praised the orchestra's excellent performance.
— The Bolshoi Opera tours less frequently than the ballet. Why?
— Firstly, opera tours are unprofitable, because the number of people involved is proportionally much larger than if a quartet, chamber orchestra (I'm speaking incrementally), symphony orchestra, dramatic production, or ballet were touring. This is an expensive pleasure and requires additional funding. And our goal isn't touring for the sake of touring. In principle, we should perform for our audiences in our permanent venues. But we also need to declare that we exist, that we are actively developing, and that we demonstrate the upward trend in our development and our quality. To do this, we need to appear from time to time in places that are iconic and important. The Royal Opera House is certainly one of them. So, sometimes it's necessary to go on tour, but it has to be a meaningful event. I'm heartened by the fact that the impact of this tour promises to be very significant. For quite a long time, there was no objective picture of what was happening in our opera abroad. In this sense, the tour was very important: certain groups of decision-makers came to the performances: leading booking agencies, theater directors, and international music organizations. Those who shape public opinion.
— Who else of the famous people attended the performances?
— Prince Michael of Kent, Baroness Thatcher, the people from Downing Street (like our presidential administration). Mrs. Thatcher said she initially had a bit of a hard time getting into the spirit of "The Fiery Angel," but after twenty minutes she was so into it that she stayed until the end, unable to tear herself away.
— You're no stranger to performing on different stages. But are there any differences in the audience's reaction there and here?
— Well, I didn't see anything! But they responded directly to the humor, clapping and laughing, although the translation wasn't quite as precise. I didn't hear anyone laughing here. The audience there is very curious. Many in the front row kept leaning over and peering into the orchestra pit. I liked their experience: in the restored Covent Garden, there are chairs with names in the first row of the stalls, apparently named after those who have donated to the charity. For some reason this is not customary here, but I think it is a very good idea.
Source
Lyubov SOROKINA, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, August 4, 2004
The Bolshoi Theatre presented an opera to London
