<Translated from Russian automatically>
The opera season in the city of Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia, will open with the premiere of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia" in a joint production by the Bolshoi Theatre and the Cagliari Opera House. And not just the opera season — it is the Eighth Festival of Sant'Efisio (a prestigious music festival held by the Opera House during the days when almost all of Sardinia celebrates the ancient patron saint of its capital).
Working on the production are director Eimuntas Nekrošius, set designer Marius Nekrošius, and costume designer Nadezhda Gultyaeva, who have previously staged Verdi's "Macbeth" and Desyatnikov's "The Children of Rosenthal" at the Bolshoi Theatre. The musical director is Alexander Vedernikov.
The theatre in Cagliari is among Italy's major music theatres, having collaborated with outstanding conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lorin Maazel, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, and distinguished directors like Luca Ronconi, Pier Luigi Pizzi, or Graham Vick. The theatre has a relatively recent tradition – only ten years old, but already well-established — of opening the season with an opera never before performed in Cagliari. Thanks to this tradition, music lovers in Cagliari have heard operas like Tchaikovsky's "Cherevichki" and "The Oprichnik", Wagner's "Die Feen", Smetana's "Dalibor", R. Strauss's "Die ägyptische Helena", and Braunfels's "Die Vögel". Finally, the great opera by Rimsky-Korsakov attracted the Italians' attention, and the plans of the Bolshoi and the Cagliari Opera House converged in a remarkable way.
Alexander Vedernikov, however, is not surprised by the Italian theatre's choice: 'This is one of the few epic operas in the Russian repertoire. An epic opera encompasses more than just an isolated dramatic conflict; it touches upon issues that have equal significance not only for representatives of one nation but for all of humanity. This is its strength and relevance.
Two main problems are addressed here: the problem of the relationship between man and nature, and the problem of moral choice, and both are relevant today both in our country and beyond its borders. As we live in an era of great environmental upheavals, in an era of moral relativism and the substitution of fundamental concepts with the interests of political expediency, it is now more necessary than ever to heed the authors of the opera "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh".
I am very close to Eimuntas Nekrošius' creative method. Nekrošius has a magnificent command of the art of generalization: what happens on stage in his productions is not mundane; it is endowed with symbolic meaning, which, in my opinion, is much more interesting."
The opera's characters will be dressed and their surrounding stage world created by Italian workshops. However, the stage designs are being made with the specific characteristics of the Bolshoi Theatre stage in mind, where the production will move at the beginning of the next Moscow theatre season. Thus, technical specialists from Russian workshops have also participated in this project.
Stage design model
The vanished Kitezh will come to life thanks to the orchestra and choir of the Cagliari Opera House (choirmaster Fulvio Fogliazza) and an international cast of singers (alongside soloists from the Bolshoi Theatre, Italian artists are participating in the production).
But the main roles will be performed by "ours" — Mikhail Kazakov, Igor Matyukhin (Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich), Roman Muravitsky, Vitaly Panfilov (Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich), Tatiana Monogarova, Tatiana Smirnova (Fevronia), Mikhail Gubsky, Vitaly Tarashchenko (Grishka Kuterma), Valery Gilmanov (Bedyai), Alexander Naumenko (Burundai), Elena Manistina (Alkonost).
Working with the soloists is the Bolshoi Theatre's accompanist Margarita Petrosyan, who also acts as a Russian language coach for the foreign singers. The ringing of the bells of the city of Kitezh will be provided by recordings of authentic bell ringing – the production will use the same technology for working with the recordings that was tested on the recent production of "Boris Godunov".
Alexander Vedernikov: "'Kitezh' is very complex to perform, to present to the public, because – which is typical for works of an epic nature — it is not saturated with plot developments. Here, actions take a backseat to states [of being]. This opera has an almost liturgical, mystical character; it is not for nothing that it has been compared to Wagner's 'Parsifal'. A specific difficulty is that in our age everyone is in a hurry, and one cannot have more than one intermission, while this opera suggests a rather unhurried experience. At the same time, it is practically impossible to make cuts in it: the musical fabric is structured in such a way, everything is logical and natural. But we hope that the performance will be interesting and will draw the attention of the audience both here and there to all the important issues that this opera raises.
The premiere performances in Italy will take place on April 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, May 2 and 4; the Moscow premiere will be held on October 10 of this year.
Source.
Bells of the 'Invisible City of Kitezh' rang out in Sardinia
ITAR-TASS 26.04.2008, 12.19 PM
ROME, April 26. /ITAR-TASS Correspondent Alexey Bukalov/. The premiere of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia" (1903-07), an opera rarely performed in Europe, was held with great success at the music theatre of the city of Cagliari (Sardinia). The audience gave a standing ovation to the creators of the performance – the chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre Alexander Vedernikov, the stage director Eimuntas Nekrošius, the soloists, and the choir.
Set designer Marius Nekrošius and costume designer Nadezhda Gultyaeva also contributed to the production. The main parts were performed by Mikhail Kazakov, Igor Matyukhin (Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich), Roman Muravitsky, Vitaly Panfilov (Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich), Tatiana Monogarova, Tatiana Smirnova (Fevronia), Mikhail Gubsky, Vitaly Tarashchenko (Grishka Kuterma), Valery Gilmanov (Bedyai), Alexander Naumenko (Burundai), Elena Manistina (Alkonost).
This is a joint experimental work of the Bolshoi Theatre and their colleagues from Cagliari. Recordings of authentic Russian bell ringing were used to convey the sound of the Kitezh bells.
Source.
The opera season in the city of Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia, will open with the premiere of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia" in a joint production by the Bolshoi Theatre and the Cagliari Opera House. And not just the opera season — it is the Eighth Festival of Sant'Efisio (a prestigious music festival held by the Opera House during the days when almost all of Sardinia celebrates the ancient patron saint of its capital).
Working on the production are director Eimuntas Nekrošius, set designer Marius Nekrošius, and costume designer Nadezhda Gultyaeva, who have previously staged Verdi's "Macbeth" and Desyatnikov's "The Children of Rosenthal" at the Bolshoi Theatre. The musical director is Alexander Vedernikov.
The theatre in Cagliari is among Italy's major music theatres, having collaborated with outstanding conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lorin Maazel, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, and distinguished directors like Luca Ronconi, Pier Luigi Pizzi, or Graham Vick. The theatre has a relatively recent tradition – only ten years old, but already well-established — of opening the season with an opera never before performed in Cagliari. Thanks to this tradition, music lovers in Cagliari have heard operas like Tchaikovsky's "Cherevichki" and "The Oprichnik", Wagner's "Die Feen", Smetana's "Dalibor", R. Strauss's "Die ägyptische Helena", and Braunfels's "Die Vögel". Finally, the great opera by Rimsky-Korsakov attracted the Italians' attention, and the plans of the Bolshoi and the Cagliari Opera House converged in a remarkable way.
Alexander Vedernikov, however, is not surprised by the Italian theatre's choice: 'This is one of the few epic operas in the Russian repertoire. An epic opera encompasses more than just an isolated dramatic conflict; it touches upon issues that have equal significance not only for representatives of one nation but for all of humanity. This is its strength and relevance.
Two main problems are addressed here: the problem of the relationship between man and nature, and the problem of moral choice, and both are relevant today both in our country and beyond its borders. As we live in an era of great environmental upheavals, in an era of moral relativism and the substitution of fundamental concepts with the interests of political expediency, it is now more necessary than ever to heed the authors of the opera "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh".
I am very close to Eimuntas Nekrošius' creative method. Nekrošius has a magnificent command of the art of generalization: what happens on stage in his productions is not mundane; it is endowed with symbolic meaning, which, in my opinion, is much more interesting."
The opera's characters will be dressed and their surrounding stage world created by Italian workshops. However, the stage designs are being made with the specific characteristics of the Bolshoi Theatre stage in mind, where the production will move at the beginning of the next Moscow theatre season. Thus, technical specialists from Russian workshops have also participated in this project.
Stage design model
The vanished Kitezh will come to life thanks to the orchestra and choir of the Cagliari Opera House (choirmaster Fulvio Fogliazza) and an international cast of singers (alongside soloists from the Bolshoi Theatre, Italian artists are participating in the production).
But the main roles will be performed by "ours" — Mikhail Kazakov, Igor Matyukhin (Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich), Roman Muravitsky, Vitaly Panfilov (Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich), Tatiana Monogarova, Tatiana Smirnova (Fevronia), Mikhail Gubsky, Vitaly Tarashchenko (Grishka Kuterma), Valery Gilmanov (Bedyai), Alexander Naumenko (Burundai), Elena Manistina (Alkonost).
Working with the soloists is the Bolshoi Theatre's accompanist Margarita Petrosyan, who also acts as a Russian language coach for the foreign singers. The ringing of the bells of the city of Kitezh will be provided by recordings of authentic bell ringing – the production will use the same technology for working with the recordings that was tested on the recent production of "Boris Godunov".
Alexander Vedernikov: "'Kitezh' is very complex to perform, to present to the public, because – which is typical for works of an epic nature — it is not saturated with plot developments. Here, actions take a backseat to states [of being]. This opera has an almost liturgical, mystical character; it is not for nothing that it has been compared to Wagner's 'Parsifal'. A specific difficulty is that in our age everyone is in a hurry, and one cannot have more than one intermission, while this opera suggests a rather unhurried experience. At the same time, it is practically impossible to make cuts in it: the musical fabric is structured in such a way, everything is logical and natural. But we hope that the performance will be interesting and will draw the attention of the audience both here and there to all the important issues that this opera raises.
The premiere performances in Italy will take place on April 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, May 2 and 4; the Moscow premiere will be held on October 10 of this year.
Source.
Bells of the 'Invisible City of Kitezh' rang out in Sardinia
ITAR-TASS 26.04.2008, 12.19 PM
ROME, April 26. /ITAR-TASS Correspondent Alexey Bukalov/. The premiere of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia" (1903-07), an opera rarely performed in Europe, was held with great success at the music theatre of the city of Cagliari (Sardinia). The audience gave a standing ovation to the creators of the performance – the chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre Alexander Vedernikov, the stage director Eimuntas Nekrošius, the soloists, and the choir.
Set designer Marius Nekrošius and costume designer Nadezhda Gultyaeva also contributed to the production. The main parts were performed by Mikhail Kazakov, Igor Matyukhin (Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich), Roman Muravitsky, Vitaly Panfilov (Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich), Tatiana Monogarova, Tatiana Smirnova (Fevronia), Mikhail Gubsky, Vitaly Tarashchenko (Grishka Kuterma), Valery Gilmanov (Bedyai), Alexander Naumenko (Burundai), Elena Manistina (Alkonost).
This is a joint experimental work of the Bolshoi Theatre and their colleagues from Cagliari. Recordings of authentic Russian bell ringing were used to convey the sound of the Kitezh bells.
Source.
New "Kitezh" to be seen in Moscow and Cagliari
forum.balletfriends.ru, March 28, 2008
