Prince Igor by Borodin, Sat 21 Sep 2024, From (2024/2025), Directed by Yuri Alexandrov, Conductor Evgeny Samoilov, Anton Torbeev, Novaya Opera Theatre, Moscow, Russia

The production of Prince Igor at the Novaya Opera is based on the Glazunov-Rimsky-Korsakov version as edited by the director, Golden Mask laureate Yuri Alexandrov. Actualizing the thoughts and ideas embedded in The Tale of Igor's Campaign and to some extent hidden behind Borodin's beautiful music, the director places new accents. An interpretation of events that took place almost 1000 years ago, filled with modern allusions, a contrasting juxtaposition of red-brick Rus' and the velvet-golden East, a dashing revelry of folk scenes - the play “Prince Igor” has been hotly discussed in the press and among music lovers since its premiere. The traditional sequence of some scenes has been changed in the performance, in particular, the overture is heard after the prologue, and the villagers' chorus is heard at the opera's finale. Polovtsian dances are performed by the artists of the Novaya Opera choir. The image of Igor is interpreted ambiguously - either a guardian of the people, or a reckless commander. The unexpected symbolic ending - a chorus of villagers in a churchyard - sounds like a requiem.