<Translated from Russian automatically, will be edited later.>
Verdi's opera Aida was staged at the Mikhailovsky Theatre for the first time
The premiere became a landmark, perhaps even marked a new starting point for the theater. In any case, she gave music critics Vladimir DUDIN (VD) and Olga RUSANOVA (OR) plenty of food for thought.
OR As it seems to me, "Aida" is the best choice for both the theater and for Alexander Vedernikov as his inauguration as the chief conductor and musical director of the Mikhailovsky Theater. This is an absolute masterpiece, a box-office and spectator performance. And this is fundamental, because, as it seems to me, it would be strange for Alexander Vedernikov to start at the Imperial Theater with something radically modern.… So the conductor's application is perfect from all sides. In addition, until now in St. Petersburg, she could only be seen at the Mariinsky Theater.…
VD ... and in two versions: on the Historical Stage staged by Alexei Stepanyuk (a 20-year–old play, but which appears quite often in the playbill) and in the Concert Hall - in a newer version by Daniele Finzi Paschi.
OR This is the first time in the Mikhailovsky Aida Theater. What did I see at the premiere? First of all, the theater tried to show all the ingredients of the performance in the best possible way, and this is important, because in the last three years, Mikhailovsky has probably somehow lost its position, produced few premieres, especially operas, and almost fell out of the orbit of the Golden Mask. They even began to forget about him.… And finally, a bright, significant work.
VD Well, yes, "Aida", what could be better? An opera masterpiece going to the MET, the Vienna Opera, the Opera Bastille… Vladimir Kekhman, the artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Theater, has long been focused on a theater at the level of the Vienna Opera, while adhering to a conservative position: do not frighten anyone with anything. Although he had attempts to put little-known names.…
OR ... the "Judaite" Halevi, for example.
VD Oh, and Janacek's Katya Kabanova or Britten's Billy Bud directed by Willy Dekker, for which the license has already expired.
OR Yes, it was a wonderful performance.
VD "Aida" is undoubtedly a good premiere, of high quality – the kind that everyone has been waiting for. Because the new production of "Iolanta" by Andrey Zholdak (2018), in my opinion, surprised and brought some confusion to the minds more than pleased and satisfied. Therefore, "Aida" is a good choice, but we need to wait a little bit, how it will settle down, who will be called, because already at one of the first performances there was a replacement – instead of Tatiana Melnichenko, Irina Moreva (soloist of the Novaya Opera Theater) sang the role of the title character. Moreva is a bright singer of Galina Vishnevskaya's school. I remember how he and Olesya Petrova sang the duet of Aida and Amneris from the first act at the concert. Then I thought: It would be nice for them to sing together in the play. And that's what happened. And yet, for example, I am worried about the soloists-singers: now, for the first premiere episode, there are enough voices. The foreigners were completely satisfied: Riccardo Massi (Radames), Kirill Manolov (Amonasro), a strong baritone who sings on European stages, for example, Falstaff.
OR Moreover, this monumental-looking Bulgarian singer is also good as an actor, not only vocally.
VD And yet we are looking more at the game of two girls. And I wonder how this performance will live in terms of vocal content. There are still Aida and Amneris on duty at the Mariinsky. This is more difficult in Mikhailovsky. There is a full-time singer Maria Litke, who will surely sing Aida, maybe even Tatiana Ryaguzova. But I don't remember any strong mezzo-sopranos except Olesya Petrova.
OR Director Alexander Vedernikov called the team with whom he had previously worked at the Bolshoi Theater: director Igor Ushakov, with whom they created "The Flying Dutchman", "Eugene Onegin", "Boris Godunov", as well as production designer Marius Nyakrosus and costume designer Nadezhda Gultyaeva, who were both the crew and the family of the famous Aimuntas Nyakroshus, who staged the opera "Macbeth" by Verdi (2003), "Rosenthal's Children" by Desyatnikov (2005) and "The Legend of the Invisible City Kitezh and the Virgin Fevronia" by Rimsky-Korsakov (2008) at the Bolshoi Theater. And it seems to me that this production team has managed to find an approach to the play.
VD I will not rush to characterize this "Aida" as a "masterpiece" that the play should at least mature to. The director did not succeed in it: the ritual choral scenes were too static, the interpretations of the images of Aida and Amneris did not seem very clear. The real drama appeared only in the finale of the opera, when a desperate Amneris appeared with her hair down, as if on the verge of insanity.
OR But still, Marius Nyakrosus found the visual image, and it was very interesting…
VD Yes, the artist found it, but not the director. The play does not block the imagination, on the contrary, it opens the way for it with its very first "portal" – the silhouette of a house, which instantly reminded me of the shed in "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh" – Dmitry Chernyakov's famous play at the Mariinsky Theater. This association has organized a kind of meta-text. Chernyakov's house serves as a "transit point" from earth to heaven, to paradise. And in the new Aida, this silhouette will be repeated in the finale, where Aida and Radames are buried alive, from where they will also go to their paradise. The associative coordinate system of Marius Nyakroshus inherits the aesthetics of his father.
OR Unlike Chernyakov, here is still not a house as such, but a more conventional pentagon, resembling only the outlines of a house with a pointed roof, but also the contours of some ancient Egyptian tombs and frescoes, and this geometric figure here becomes a kind of visual leitmotif.
VD Yes, he is here, and the dungeon for Radames, and the entrance to the temple. Later, other visual motifs arise, giving rise to their associative meanings. For example, a painting in the courtyard of the pharaoh with ropes resembling the weaving of a web of conspiracies and intrigues, then we see a "crocodile tail", which at the same time looks like a ladder, on the back of the costume of the priest Ramphis, then beak-shaped helmets, referring to the Egyptian gods. These are also necessary geographical associations. But most of all, one feels the reflection of the Salzburg "Aida" (2017, staged by the artist Shirin Neshat). Only the Salzburg performance is colder, more concise, and less "fancy."
OR Marius Nyakroshus saw his task as follows: "Not to deviate from the topic, not to fall into a crude actualization, as it is fashionable now, not to take this story into everyday life." Is there an ancient Egypt here? Yes, absolutely, but it's so poetic and atmospheric. Well, the key to the scenic image of the play for the artist was a French engraving of the 19th century depicting a burial chamber inside a pyramid. And for director Igor Ushakov, according to him, "the main theme was human choice: choosing the right decision, choosing your own path."
VD Here, the director, in the person of Amneris and Aida, contrasted the world of ritual, petrification, armor – and vivacity, nature. This became especially clear in the finale, when the half-crazed Amneris appeared before us. I think this was one of the main ideas of the director – to contrast two value systems: the society of a deadened canon that has lost its meaning and the purity and harmony of the natural principle.
OR And at the same time, it's obvious that this is not a director's theater. And Alexander Vedernikov talked about the desire to create an atmospheric performance, far from the director's theater.
VD In many ways, the performance turned out to be a design triumph for fashion designers. The dresses of the main characters are quite suitable for our lives – take it and wear it. Art comes to life!
OR Really, there are a lot of costumes. I was particularly impressed by Aida's final dress with a geometric ornament, symbolic and fascinating. It's like Arabic script, which has replaced fine art in Islam and has become an art in itself. And here, too, letters are not letters, signs are not signs. The pictures, like in ancient Egyptian writing, are something intriguing. I generally took the set design in this performance as a separate work of art, but fortunately it did not interfere with the music. Alexander Vedernikov had a task to bring the musical side to a high level. I think he did it with an orchestra and a choir. As for the soloists, I agree, the story is not easy: we need to see who will sing next. Lately, the Mikhailovsky Theater has been leaning more heavily on ballet. But with the arrival of Alexander Vedernikov, hopefully, opera will be closely studied.
VD There are other problems that come up, for example, acoustic ones. It's like you can hear everything, but sometimes it's hard. I had to connect my head to create the impression of "fullness of perception."
OR The Chief Conductor is aware of this problem: the acoustics in the hall are a bit dry. The directors had, for example, to puzzle over the spatial solution of the last scene, the trial. They tried everything to optimally position the "priests" calling out to Radames! They eventually put it behind the doors at the end of the stalls. A similar problem arose with the stage orchestra, which it was also important to place correctly in the famous scene of the triumph of the winners from the second act. Alexander Vedernikov said that he is thinking about acoustic correction of the hall, and this is an absolutely real thing today (let us recall, in particular, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, in which acoustic properties have been significantly improved, including through special ceiling panels).
VD I know that the American company Meyer Sound, which cooperates with the Moscow House of Music, is very actively working in the field of controlled acoustics. I witnessed an experiment where they demonstrated how in a matter of seconds you can switch the acoustics from dry studio to booming temple.
OR In short, the new music director is concerned about this issue. In my opinion, he has very valid concerns. But the main thing is that the orchestra pleases him primarily because there are musicians there who really want to work. Even before his arrival, they had rehearsed "Aida" a lot on their own, without a conductor. And this, by the way, is audible: the score is "cleaned to a shine."
VD They've been waiting for a creative musician to work with them for a long time. There has been a sense of stagnation in Mikhailovsky's opera for several years, so they missed their work.
OR The choir of the Mikhailovsky Theater is also doing well. To sum it up, it turns out that there are two main issues right now – soloists and acoustics, unless, of course, you count the third one – financial. Unfortunately, the theater has money for only one opera premiere this season. It's not enough. I need at least two.
VD I would like to hope that if they want to, they will be able to find it.
Source.
Verdi's opera Aida was staged at the Mikhailovsky Theatre for the first time
The premiere became a landmark, perhaps even marked a new starting point for the theater. In any case, she gave music critics Vladimir DUDIN (VD) and Olga RUSANOVA (OR) plenty of food for thought.
OR As it seems to me, "Aida" is the best choice for both the theater and for Alexander Vedernikov as his inauguration as the chief conductor and musical director of the Mikhailovsky Theater. This is an absolute masterpiece, a box-office and spectator performance. And this is fundamental, because, as it seems to me, it would be strange for Alexander Vedernikov to start at the Imperial Theater with something radically modern.… So the conductor's application is perfect from all sides. In addition, until now in St. Petersburg, she could only be seen at the Mariinsky Theater.…
VD ... and in two versions: on the Historical Stage staged by Alexei Stepanyuk (a 20-year–old play, but which appears quite often in the playbill) and in the Concert Hall - in a newer version by Daniele Finzi Paschi.
OR This is the first time in the Mikhailovsky Aida Theater. What did I see at the premiere? First of all, the theater tried to show all the ingredients of the performance in the best possible way, and this is important, because in the last three years, Mikhailovsky has probably somehow lost its position, produced few premieres, especially operas, and almost fell out of the orbit of the Golden Mask. They even began to forget about him.… And finally, a bright, significant work.
VD Well, yes, "Aida", what could be better? An opera masterpiece going to the MET, the Vienna Opera, the Opera Bastille… Vladimir Kekhman, the artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Theater, has long been focused on a theater at the level of the Vienna Opera, while adhering to a conservative position: do not frighten anyone with anything. Although he had attempts to put little-known names.…
OR ... the "Judaite" Halevi, for example.
VD Oh, and Janacek's Katya Kabanova or Britten's Billy Bud directed by Willy Dekker, for which the license has already expired.
OR Yes, it was a wonderful performance.
VD "Aida" is undoubtedly a good premiere, of high quality – the kind that everyone has been waiting for. Because the new production of "Iolanta" by Andrey Zholdak (2018), in my opinion, surprised and brought some confusion to the minds more than pleased and satisfied. Therefore, "Aida" is a good choice, but we need to wait a little bit, how it will settle down, who will be called, because already at one of the first performances there was a replacement – instead of Tatiana Melnichenko, Irina Moreva (soloist of the Novaya Opera Theater) sang the role of the title character. Moreva is a bright singer of Galina Vishnevskaya's school. I remember how he and Olesya Petrova sang the duet of Aida and Amneris from the first act at the concert. Then I thought: It would be nice for them to sing together in the play. And that's what happened. And yet, for example, I am worried about the soloists-singers: now, for the first premiere episode, there are enough voices. The foreigners were completely satisfied: Riccardo Massi (Radames), Kirill Manolov (Amonasro), a strong baritone who sings on European stages, for example, Falstaff.
OR Moreover, this monumental-looking Bulgarian singer is also good as an actor, not only vocally.
VD And yet we are looking more at the game of two girls. And I wonder how this performance will live in terms of vocal content. There are still Aida and Amneris on duty at the Mariinsky. This is more difficult in Mikhailovsky. There is a full-time singer Maria Litke, who will surely sing Aida, maybe even Tatiana Ryaguzova. But I don't remember any strong mezzo-sopranos except Olesya Petrova.
OR Director Alexander Vedernikov called the team with whom he had previously worked at the Bolshoi Theater: director Igor Ushakov, with whom they created "The Flying Dutchman", "Eugene Onegin", "Boris Godunov", as well as production designer Marius Nyakrosus and costume designer Nadezhda Gultyaeva, who were both the crew and the family of the famous Aimuntas Nyakroshus, who staged the opera "Macbeth" by Verdi (2003), "Rosenthal's Children" by Desyatnikov (2005) and "The Legend of the Invisible City Kitezh and the Virgin Fevronia" by Rimsky-Korsakov (2008) at the Bolshoi Theater. And it seems to me that this production team has managed to find an approach to the play.
VD I will not rush to characterize this "Aida" as a "masterpiece" that the play should at least mature to. The director did not succeed in it: the ritual choral scenes were too static, the interpretations of the images of Aida and Amneris did not seem very clear. The real drama appeared only in the finale of the opera, when a desperate Amneris appeared with her hair down, as if on the verge of insanity.
OR But still, Marius Nyakrosus found the visual image, and it was very interesting…
VD Yes, the artist found it, but not the director. The play does not block the imagination, on the contrary, it opens the way for it with its very first "portal" – the silhouette of a house, which instantly reminded me of the shed in "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh" – Dmitry Chernyakov's famous play at the Mariinsky Theater. This association has organized a kind of meta-text. Chernyakov's house serves as a "transit point" from earth to heaven, to paradise. And in the new Aida, this silhouette will be repeated in the finale, where Aida and Radames are buried alive, from where they will also go to their paradise. The associative coordinate system of Marius Nyakroshus inherits the aesthetics of his father.
OR Unlike Chernyakov, here is still not a house as such, but a more conventional pentagon, resembling only the outlines of a house with a pointed roof, but also the contours of some ancient Egyptian tombs and frescoes, and this geometric figure here becomes a kind of visual leitmotif.
VD Yes, he is here, and the dungeon for Radames, and the entrance to the temple. Later, other visual motifs arise, giving rise to their associative meanings. For example, a painting in the courtyard of the pharaoh with ropes resembling the weaving of a web of conspiracies and intrigues, then we see a "crocodile tail", which at the same time looks like a ladder, on the back of the costume of the priest Ramphis, then beak-shaped helmets, referring to the Egyptian gods. These are also necessary geographical associations. But most of all, one feels the reflection of the Salzburg "Aida" (2017, staged by the artist Shirin Neshat). Only the Salzburg performance is colder, more concise, and less "fancy."
OR Marius Nyakroshus saw his task as follows: "Not to deviate from the topic, not to fall into a crude actualization, as it is fashionable now, not to take this story into everyday life." Is there an ancient Egypt here? Yes, absolutely, but it's so poetic and atmospheric. Well, the key to the scenic image of the play for the artist was a French engraving of the 19th century depicting a burial chamber inside a pyramid. And for director Igor Ushakov, according to him, "the main theme was human choice: choosing the right decision, choosing your own path."
VD Here, the director, in the person of Amneris and Aida, contrasted the world of ritual, petrification, armor – and vivacity, nature. This became especially clear in the finale, when the half-crazed Amneris appeared before us. I think this was one of the main ideas of the director – to contrast two value systems: the society of a deadened canon that has lost its meaning and the purity and harmony of the natural principle.
OR And at the same time, it's obvious that this is not a director's theater. And Alexander Vedernikov talked about the desire to create an atmospheric performance, far from the director's theater.
VD In many ways, the performance turned out to be a design triumph for fashion designers. The dresses of the main characters are quite suitable for our lives – take it and wear it. Art comes to life!
OR Really, there are a lot of costumes. I was particularly impressed by Aida's final dress with a geometric ornament, symbolic and fascinating. It's like Arabic script, which has replaced fine art in Islam and has become an art in itself. And here, too, letters are not letters, signs are not signs. The pictures, like in ancient Egyptian writing, are something intriguing. I generally took the set design in this performance as a separate work of art, but fortunately it did not interfere with the music. Alexander Vedernikov had a task to bring the musical side to a high level. I think he did it with an orchestra and a choir. As for the soloists, I agree, the story is not easy: we need to see who will sing next. Lately, the Mikhailovsky Theater has been leaning more heavily on ballet. But with the arrival of Alexander Vedernikov, hopefully, opera will be closely studied.
VD There are other problems that come up, for example, acoustic ones. It's like you can hear everything, but sometimes it's hard. I had to connect my head to create the impression of "fullness of perception."
OR The Chief Conductor is aware of this problem: the acoustics in the hall are a bit dry. The directors had, for example, to puzzle over the spatial solution of the last scene, the trial. They tried everything to optimally position the "priests" calling out to Radames! They eventually put it behind the doors at the end of the stalls. A similar problem arose with the stage orchestra, which it was also important to place correctly in the famous scene of the triumph of the winners from the second act. Alexander Vedernikov said that he is thinking about acoustic correction of the hall, and this is an absolutely real thing today (let us recall, in particular, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, in which acoustic properties have been significantly improved, including through special ceiling panels).
VD I know that the American company Meyer Sound, which cooperates with the Moscow House of Music, is very actively working in the field of controlled acoustics. I witnessed an experiment where they demonstrated how in a matter of seconds you can switch the acoustics from dry studio to booming temple.
OR In short, the new music director is concerned about this issue. In my opinion, he has very valid concerns. But the main thing is that the orchestra pleases him primarily because there are musicians there who really want to work. Even before his arrival, they had rehearsed "Aida" a lot on their own, without a conductor. And this, by the way, is audible: the score is "cleaned to a shine."
VD They've been waiting for a creative musician to work with them for a long time. There has been a sense of stagnation in Mikhailovsky's opera for several years, so they missed their work.
OR The choir of the Mikhailovsky Theater is also doing well. To sum it up, it turns out that there are two main issues right now – soloists and acoustics, unless, of course, you count the third one – financial. Unfortunately, the theater has money for only one opera premiere this season. It's not enough. I need at least two.
VD I would like to hope that if they want to, they will be able to find it.
Source.
Is there an ancient Egypt here?
Musical Life magazine, February 11, 2020
