Past Production Reviews
6Verdi's opera of love and politics returns in Nicholas Hytner's production
ixteenth-century Spain resembles a prison or a madhouse in Nicholas Hytner’s Royal Opera production of Don Carlo, first seen in 2008, now on its third revival. Though it has its flaws, it reminds us of the innate bleakness of Verdi’s vision, with its irresolvable clashes between church and state, liberalism and oppression, politics and desire.
This is not the first attempt to launch Tsar Salatan into the permanent repertoire of the Kyiv theater. On September 1, 1911, on the eve of the official opening of the next theatrical season, a festive performance "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" was shown in the Kyiv Theater. In the hall - distinguished guests of the capital, led by Russian Emperor Nicholas II, who arrived in Kiev on the occasion of the unveiling of the monument to Alexander II. In the intermission after the second act, Russian Prime Minister Peter Stolypin was assassinated and mortally wounded… Since then, one of the brightest operas has been associated with tragedy. The next premiere of "Tales of Tsar Saltan" on the Kyiv stage took place only in 1917. Subsequently, the theater repeatedly turned to the masterpiece of M. Rimsky-Korsakov. The last time was in 1949, when the anniversary of Alexander Pushkin's birth was celebrated. They decided to break the 64-year-old break only now. - The repertoire of the National Opera of Ukraine includes many serious dramatic performances. Today we are turning to the Children's Opera, which we hope will be a bridge to future generations of opera fans, - says the theater's chief director Anatoly Solovyanenko. Vrubel and Vasnetsov conjured for children Rimsky-Korsakov once granted the Russian private opera the right to stage the first production of The Tale of Tsar Saltan. The success of the audience was ensured by the careful work of the conductor Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov and participation in the premiere performances of the best artists of the troupe. In addition, Mykhailo Vrubel undertook the artistic design of the play - scenery and costumes. Apollinarii Vasnetsov (brother of the famous Russian artist Viktor Vasnetsov), who was then a theatrical artist, wrote on the basis of his sketches of the scenery. For several seasons, the best and most outstanding "adult" masters of classical art worked on the Kyiv stage on the children's "Fairy Tale": conductors Eugenio Esposito, Mykhailo Shteiman, directors Mykola Bogolyubov, Oleksandr Ulukhanov. The voices of Leonida Balanovska, Mykhailo Donets, Mykhailo Mykysh, Maria Tesseir, Borys Hmyra, Larysa Rudenko sounded powerful and bright… Anatoliy Solovyanenko, the director of the modern version of "Fairy Tales", sees no differences in the approach to the work: "Despite the fact that this is a children's play, the attitude of the troupes to it is very serious. We work like adults: the best creative forces of the theater are involved, leading soloists of the opera troupe, chief conductor Mykola Dyadyura, chief artist Maria Levitska, chief choirmaster Bohdan Plish, ballet dancers. Now we grind the last details. I'm not afraid to brag - we have a very clear scenography. " The main trick is to invent a style To create all the scenographic splendor, the main artist of the theater Maria Levitskaya studied ancient icons and clothes, looked through hundreds of books, specially went to the Armory and other museums in Moscow. - "Tales of King Saltan" has a primary scenographic authorship, - says Levitskaya. - This is Ivan Bilibin. A master whose hand is unmistakably recognizable. Our task was to create an interesting and completely independent version, without repeating a single stroke. I say "we" because it is a complex and exciting process that involves many people. Our costumes are really handmade. This is probably one of the most beautiful performances we have ever performed. More than 350 costumes and more than 5,000 meters of paintings have been created for "The Tale of King Saltan"! "You can wrap and even cover the Kyiv Opera," smiles Maria Levitska. The choir is about 150 singers, they will change clothes twice during the performance. The costumes of the soloists are regally rich, "with fiction". "Precious stones?" This will not surprise anyone now. Sticking "sapphires" is not a trick. The trick is to invent a style so as not to end up in the royal chambers of Boris Godunov, says the artist. The fairy tale needs an expanded palette of colors, special decor and imagination. Bumblebee will dance and Chornomor will become a cartoon One of the director's fantasies is choreographic episodes (choreographer-director - Victor Yaremenko). Mythical characters, flowers, bumblebees - will be recreated in the language of dance. The famous scherzo, known as "Flight of the Bumblebee", has withstood many adaptations for many instruments, has become an independent and popular work. I wonder if the same popularity awaits the choreographic version? Other surprises await the audience. Some of the characters, such as Squirrel, Blackbird, Swan, Kite will be animated. So the main theater of the country is going to take another step towards the use of the latest stenographic technologies. "This is the first time we have used visual and graphic effects on this scale. We hope that this will be a successful creative experiment, "says Anatoliy Solovyanenko. The theater is convinced that "The Tale of Tsar Saltan", which will be one of the most expensive productions of the NOU, along with the most expensive premieres of the past two seasons - the ballet "Bayaderka" and the opera "Don Carlos". The play is planned to be shown during the day on weekends, so that it is convenient for the youngest spectators. In the modern version, the number of actions has been reduced from four to two and each will last no more than 50-55 minutes. We hope that the tale will appeal to both adults and children.
This performance (libretto by Vladimir Belsky based on the fairy tale by Alexander Pushkin) is designed for a family cultural trip to the theater and, first of all, for the youngest audience. Let us recall that in the capital, on the stage of the Municipal Opera for Children and Youth, a version of this wonderful musical fairy tale adapted for perception by children is successfully staged. But the directors of the National Opera: conductor Nikolai Dyadyura, director Anatoly Solovyanenko, artist Maria Levitskaya, choirmaster Bogdan Plish and choreographer Viktor Yaremenko, hope to amaze their audience not only with singing, but also with fantastic scenography, ballet and visual and graphic effects. Soloists are working on the embodiment of the main characters: Taras Shtonda, Sergey Kovnir and Andrey Gonyukov (Saltan), Victoria Chenskaya, Lesya Alekseeva (Queen Militrisa, younger sister), Daria Knyazeva, Irina Petrova (Weaver, middle sister), Natalia Nikolaishin, Tamara Kalinina, Olga Matushenko (Cook, older sister), Anzhelina Shvachka, Tatiana Piminova (Matchmaker Babaricha), Lilia Grevtsova, Olga Nagornaya (The Swan Princess), Sergei Pashchuk, Dmitry Kuzmin, Sergei Skochelias (Tsarevich Gvidon) and others. The history of productions and performances of The Tale of Tsar Saltan since its dedication to the 100th anniversary of the birth of the author of the original source, A. S. Pushkin, is interesting and varied. The right of the first production in 1900 was granted by the composer to the Russian Private Opera (conductor - Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, artist - Mikhail Vrubel, and the role of the Swan Princess was played by the outstanding singer Nadezhda Zabila-Vrubel (our countrywoman, who received her musical education at the Kiev Institute of Noble girls at Nikolai Lysenko's.) The action takes place partly in the city of Tmutarakan, partly on the island of Buyan... The Tale was first staged on the Kiev stage in 1908. It was this production that was also staged in the fateful 1911, when Russian Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin was mortally wounded during a parade performance for the court and ministers of Emperor Nicholas II... The next premiere "Tales of Tsar Saltan" took place in 1917. Subsequently, the theater turned to the masterpiece of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov more than once. The last time was in 1949 (when the 150th anniversary of the birth of A. Pushkin was celebrated). And soon the audience will see a new reading of the classics. “We are turning to children's opera, which, we hope, will become a bridge to future generations — admirers of opera art,” says director A. Solovyanenko. - "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is a very interesting work both on stage and musically.
