Alina Yarovaya as Gerda, Bogdan V olkov, Stanislav Mostovoy and Boris Rudak as Kai, Agunda Kulaeva and Svetlana Shilova as the Snow Queen. One of the casts also stars Ekaterina Arnu as the Little Robber Girl; the audience remembers her from the second season of the TV project "Big Opera". The set designer Valery Levental plays a special part in this production. The famous d esig n er ha s an ou ts ta nd in g ta le nt th a t allo w s him to cre a te so m eth in g of breathtaking beauty in the stage. We remember that Mr. Levental also designed the set for the opera "L'enfant et les sortilèges", and both children and adults could not take their eyes off the stage. So there is no doubt that we will see something extraordinary this time as well. Svetlana Shilova, Bolshoi Theatre soloist, The Snow Queen: - I remember that I watched "The Story of Kai and Gerda" at the Mariinsky Theatre when I was a child, and I liked the Little Robber Girl a lot. Today I perform the part of the Snow Queen in this opera at the Bolshoi Theatre. I like her "otherworldly" entrance in this production. This is also hard work; it is all about the best quality. But when so many professionals work together, when all of them are so passionate about the project, and when everything is being done for children, who are the most sincere audience, we understand that the miracle of coming across a fairy tale and an opera symbolizes the maximum degree of trust between the artists and the audience. Vladimir Urin, the Bolshoi Theatre General Director: -T oday there is an acknowledged world brand - the Bolshoi Ballet; unfortunately, there is no similar opera brand in our country nowadays. It is necessary to bring back the golden era of the Russian opera that is associated with the name of Elena V. Obraztsova and many other great Russian artists that could perform at the best opera theatres of the world. The question "why has it happened so?" is very, very complicated. We cannot try to solve it in the same way it was done in the times when our country was an isolated state. Today the opera world is open and commercialized. But I see the approach that will help us restore the fame and glory of the Russian opera. This approach has to be unique and not like any other; first of all, the Russian opera theatre has to be national in the best meaning of this word. A scary, scary fairy tale The series of premiere performances of the opera "The Story of Kai and Gerda" opened on the Bolshoi Theatre's New Stage on November 28th The Bolshoi trusted the 26-year old director Dmitry Belyanushkin, the winner of the International competition for young opera stage directors "NANO-opera" and the author and co-author of several productions, which provoked a lot of discussion, to stage this opera. The orchestra is conducted by the guest conductor Anton Grishanin; the legendary set designer Valery Levental created the costumes and the set. Damir Ismagilov is responsible for lighting effects and miracles that everyone is looking forward to during the holiday season. "Kultura" talked to Dmitry Belyanushkin about this long-awaited premiere of the children's opera. Kultura: Weren't you nervous to stage an opera at the Bolshoi Theatre? Belyanushkin: This is my first serious project; moreover, I have worked at the main theatre of the country. It was impossible to refuse such an offer! Vladimir Urin, the Bolshoi Theatre General Director, invited me and offered to take a look at the score of "The Story of Kai and Gerda". I listened to a great amount of dif ferent children's music and realized that there was very little good quality music for kids. Sergei Banevich is one of the few composers that wrote really good music for children. It illustrates a particular story, and there are wonderful melodies that are easy to remember. It is also important for children's perception. There are several leading motifs that a child will be able to remember easily and to sing after he watches the production. Kultura: You got the opera with the libretto. Did you base your work on this libretto, or did you refer to Hans Christian Andersen, a lonely, gloomy and melancholic fairy tale writer? Belyanushkin: When a composer writes an opera, he creates his own piece. We should not really compare "The Queen of Spades" by Pushkin and Tchaikovsky. Sergei Banevich followed the story in the fairy tale, but he got rid of some scenes and put more emphasis on other scenes; he also added wonderful text. Since I am an opera conductor, I based myself on the music. But I also re-read Andersen and understood that the fairy tale writer and the composer did not contradict each other. Kultura: The story of this piece's creation has something to do with opera as well… Belyanushkin: Yes, it does; the opera singer Jenny Lind was a prototype of the Snow Queen. She had a clean and high voice and was called the "Swedish Nightingale". Andersen was in love with her, but it was unrequited love. The fairy tale is full of the author's sorrow and has little to do with the stereotype that was formed by the popular Soviet cartoon and film. Kai and Gerda are not a brother and a sister, and the Snow Queen is neither a charming woman, nor an example of ideal beauty. She is rather the symbol of death, her world is cold, empty and static; it is inhabited by prisoners with frozen hearts. I would not like our little members of the audience to be eager to become her guests. This is a scary fairy tale… Kultura: Do you mean that you will scare children? Belyanushkin: Of course, we will not. The finale is kind and happy. But we cannot turn the sophisticated philosophical story into a sweet and trouble-free one. Children should be scared when Gerda gets into the gang of robbers that is similar to a zoo. The Little Robber Girl is lonely and savage; she has no friends, and isn't she similar to those modern children that are called "children at risk"? Of course, they are thorny, tense and strained, but, nevertheless, their hearts are warm and alive. Kultura: Whether a child will come to the theatre or not, depends on the first impression. Opera is not a simple genre. What strategies do you plan to use to catch children's attention? Belyanushkin: We tried to make this opera dynamic both in terms of events and action, so that the eyes will not be bored with a static picture. Modern children have a clip mentality: they watch cartoons, where pictures change every second. It is not very interesting for them to watch a character come to the proscenium, sing his or her area and leave. I explained to the artists that children might not hear the text and might miss something in the music, but they would always understand whether they were shown lively and dynamic events or not. There is the Lamplighter in the opera; he is a narrator. He has a lot of arias with serious text, but children will absorb those arias like the 25th shot, as they watch the miracles take place on the stage. There are circus jugglers in some scenes. The score has several symphonic pieces that are supposed to be used for dancing scenes: we have different stories to go with each symphonic piece. For example, there is a ballet miniature "A Soldier and a B alle rin a". D ance s a re ch ore og ra p he d b y N ata lia F ik se l; sh e h as a ve ry sophisticated taste for the plastique and knows how to combine classical and modern dance. The visuals, created by Valery Levental, are amazing. I am an adult, but I was very impressed by those trolls with wrinkled faces; it looks like they are parts of the rocks. Kultura: You are a young director and this time you have teamed up with a renowned designer and an experienced conductor, Anton Grishanin. What was it like to work in December, 1 2014 Newsletter

such a team? Belyanushkin: It was a wonderful experience. Levental, a great master and a wonderful designer, whose opinion I always listen to, played the first violin. One is very lucky to have a chance to communicate with him; it gives you great experience. Levental worked with my teacher, Alexander Titel, and with his teacher, the legendary Lev Mikhailov, as well. We found common grounds with the conductor Anton Grishanin; we hear each other and listen to each other, which is very important. In other words, no one bullied me. I am grateful to the artists because they trusted me. All of them, the singers of the older generation and the beginners, were involved in the process and no one demonstrated any disrespect. Kultura: We have not seen a production with six casts for a long time. Why do you have so many? Do you plan to make "The Story of Kai and Gerda" a box-of fice champion? Belyanushkin: The first premiere block has four performances; we will then have about fifteen shows, both evening performances and matinees. Kultura: An opera for children will be performed in the evening? Belyanushkin: Adults will come together with children as well. We would like to make "The Story of Kai and Gerda" an opera version of "The Nutcracker". I hope that the production will be performed for a long time. This opera has been time-tested; it has been performed 400 times at the Mariinsky Theatre; it has been performed in Novosibirsk for several years and has been a success. Banevich's opera provides great material for all ages. Children will perceive and understand one layer, while the adults will be able to decode the second and the third meaning as well… "The Story of Kai and Gerda": a must-see for children up to 106 years of age! A winter fairy tale in the end of November. One of the most awaited premieres of the season took place on the Bolshoi Theatre New Stage; the audience was presented with the opera "The Story of Kai and Gerda", composed by Sergei Banevich, a composer from Saint Petersburg, and based on the fairy tale "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen. The opera was already staged at the Mariinsky Theatre, and has been performed there for 30 years. Dmitry Belyanushkin, a winner of an international competition for young opera directors, staged this production in Moscow. Anton Grishanin, an Honored Artist of Russia, is the music director of the show. Anna Vladimirova, "Vesti FM" reporter, attended the dress rehearsal. Photo: Oleg Chernous The Snow Queen is wearing black. Kai and Gerda are not a brother and a sister, but a boy and a girl that lived next to each other and every day fell more and more in love with each other. This is what is written in Andersen's fairy tale. But romantic feelings are confronted with the forces of evil. In Andersen's fairy tale there is the ruler of cold and ice. In this production she is wearing black, and this is not for nothing. According to Svetlana Shilova (the Snow Queen), even though her character is somewhat attractive, she is supposed to make a distressing impression: "She is winter, and we interpret winter as darkness and lack of warmth. I guess, the director has made it more vivid on purpose, so that our modern children, who drown in the Internet, would get a more acute feeling of it". On one hand, there is sympathy for the main characters, who are so young and who were parted by force. On the other hand, there is respect for Gerda, who is so fragile and so brave, and who cannot accept this parting. Svetlana Shilova. Photo: Oleg Chernous Kristina Mkhitaryan (Gerda) stresses: she could create such a realistic image of Gerda because she had an understanding of this girl's character. Her heroine loves life, she is open and close to nature. "She is a very kind girl; one just has to try to live her life and feel how she treats her friend, how much she loves her grandmother, how natural is everything that happens in their city and how much she likes all of it. And, of course, she is so much in love with Kai!" She loves him. She keeps going till the very end as she tries to save her loved one. She is not scared of either cold or the dark forest. Gerda even does not lose courage when she meets the gang of robbers. The Old Robber Woman (Nikolai Kazansky) is so charming, that she is even not dangerous. By the way, Nikolai Kazansky performs three parts in this opera: he is the main leader of the robbers, a troll and a reindeer: "These characters are absolutely dif ferent: the Reindeer has an aria, and the Old Robber Woman, naturally, is a woman. I guess, it is always interesting for a male artist to perform a female part. It makes one think of "Charley's Aunt". The part of a troll is all about grotesque; it is absolutely surreal". Dmitry Belyanushkin, the stage director of "The Story of Kai and Gerda", jokes and says that he has created a show for children from 6 to 106 years of age. This touching story about the triumph of love over indifference and the victory of light over darkness will be understandable for any kind of audience. "I hope that little members of the audience and their parents will enjoy what they will see: the music and the visuals work together very well". In order for the young audience not to get too tired, the production with one interval lasts for 2 hours. In the coming months different casts will perform "The Story of Kai and Gerda" 19 times. The casts star the Bolshoi Opera Company's soloists, guest artists and participants of the Bolshoi's Young Artists Opera Program. December, 1 2014 Newsletter

The Bolshoi Theatre presents the children's opera "The Story of Kai and Gerda" The Bolshoi Theatre prepared a New Year present for children - the opera "The Story of Kai and Gerda" by Sergei Banevich, based on the famous fair tale "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen. The production premiered on the New Stage on Friday, November 28th. The opera was staged by the director Dmitry Belyanushkin; this is the first time it has been staged at the Bolshoi Theatre. "The Story of Kai and Gerda" is considered the most famous opera by Sergei Banevich, who is a modern classic. He also went down in the history of the Russian theatre as the author of music for numerous films and theatre productions. The opera was composed in the same year when the Afghan war started; even though this probably was not the best time for a such story, the opera was staged at the Kirov (Mariinsky) Theatre. The premiere was rather successful, and the production has been performed at the theatre for nearly 30 years. "Artistic Council". November 28th 2014 The Bolshoi Theatre's soloist Anna Aglatova was a guest of the nighttime TV show "Culture News" on November 28th. The Bolshoi presents the premiere of the New Y ear production "The Story of Kai and Gerda". As we approach the New Year, the theatre presents the new production for its young audience, the opera by Sergei Banevich, based on the famous fairy tale "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen. This is one of Sergei Banevich's most famous operas; this is also the first time it has been staged at the Bolshoi Theatre. All details about the production were unveiled in the program "Artistic Council", hosted by Nara Shiralieva. The program was broadcast on November 28th at 11.15 p.m. For articles published 27 November 2014 M any lo ca l edit io ns in th e U K, F ra nce and G erm any announce upco m in g transmissions of the Bolshoi's The Pharaoh's Daughter and The Nutcracker in local cinemas. The English language service of Itar T ass publishes an article about the upcoming premier on 28 November of a new opera for children at the Bolshoi Theatre "The Story of Kay and Gerda." The opera is based on a famous fairy tale "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen, but the libretto underwent serious change for the Bolshoi opera production; the author made an exclusive version of the music score especially for Bolshoi. Radio France Inter publishes a biography of Tugan Sokhiev the music director of the Bolshoi Theatre on its website and announces a radio programme with music from the Maestro who is also music director of l'Orchestre National du Capitole de T oulouse and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester de Berlin. Vladimir Nikonov, a People's Artist of Russia and a Bolshoi Theatre ballet master and repetiteur, and Victor Barykin, an Honored Artist of Russia and a Bolshoi Theatre ballet master and repetiteur, celebrated their birthdays. Our best wishes to the artists! V ictor Barykin Vladimir Nikonov en/persons/ballet/393/
Guerlain, one of the oldest perfume houses in the world, presents the exclusive perfume - Le Bolshoi Black Swan! The cooperation of Guerlain perfume and make-up and the Bolshoi Theatre continues. In 2014 Guerlain pays tribute to the Bolshoi Theatre again. The 239th theatre season opened with the ballet "Swan Lake" by P.I. Tchakovsky, marking the composer's 175th anniversary. Guerlain also decided to mark this event; the perfume house presents the exclusive perfume Le Bolshoi Black Swan! Each bottle looks like an old apothecary jar; it is decorated with a label, which has the image of the Bolshoi Theatre, a golden cord and a black sprayer at Guerlain workshops by hand. Le Bolshoi Black Swan Guerlain presented the first fragrance, inspired by the Bolshoi Theatre, in 201 1; it was Le Bolshoi. In a year the perfume house paid tribute to the theatre's opera repertoire, having presented the fragrance Le Bolshoi Saison 2012 La Traviata. The bottle was decorated with an elegant cameo that has an image of a female profile, which reminded one of Violetta, the main heroine of Verdi's opera. The new fragrance will go on sale on December 10th; the chain Mercury will be the exclusive distributor.

Mass media about the Theatre Bolshoi Theatre in the Internet December, 1 2014 Newsletter

, 7 December, 1 2014 Novosibirsk mass media: V ivaldi, Paganini, Wagner: in keeping with romantic tradition Nikita Sukhikh, a Bolshoi Orchestra violinist, played romantic music on November 30th. N ik it a S ukh ik h p erfo rm ed a t th e N ovo sib ir s k A rt C ente r. T he so lo co nce rt "Masterpieces of Virtuoso Violin Music" is the anthology of romantic pieces by composers of various epochs and styles. The program included pieces by Vivaldi, Paganini, Wagner, Diniky-Heifetz, Achron and Sarasate. A person's complicated inner world, the fight for love and truth, the worshiping of beauty - the audience had a chance to experience a whole range of dif ferent feelings as they were listening to the soloist's touching performance. Ksenia Kashcheeva (piano) took part in the concert as well. The violinist Nikita Sukhikh is a graduate of the Omsk music college named after V. Shebalin. In 2004 he received the scholarship of the Vladimir Spivakov Charity Foundation and was granted an opportunity to play a violin, provided by the Foundation. In 201 1 he graduated from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music with honors and started his post-graduate studies. He has been playing with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra since 2013. The violinist is a laureate of numerous international competitions and festivals. The concert took place at the Novosibirsk Art Center at 6 p.m. on November 30th. Samara mass media: The festival "Basses of the 21st Century" opened in Samara The 9th International Opera Festival opened at the Samara Opera and Ballet Theatre on November 28th. It opened with the opera "The Barber of Seville" by Gioachino Rossini. The cast starred Dmitry Kryzhsky as Count Almaviva and Georgy Tsvetkov as Figaro. On November 30th the opera "Prince Igor" by Alexander Borodin was presented as a part of the festival program. The cast starred Pavel Krasnov (the Rostov Theatre) as Igor Svyatoslavich. On December 2nd the festival audience will be presented with the opera "Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgsky. Soloists of the "Helikon-Opera" and the Bolshoi Theatre will perform the leading bass parts of Boris, Pimen and Varlaam. On December 4th stars of the "Helikon-Opera", "Novaya Opera", the Bolshoi Theatre and the Republic of Belarus Theatre will take part in the gala concert that will take place at the Samara Opera and Ballet Theatre. The International Festival "Basses of the 21st Century" was first organized in 1998. The idea to organize this festival belonged to Dmitry Sibirtsev, the director of the Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow, the artistic director and the producer of the art-project "Tenors of the 21st Century", a pianist, a concertmaster, a producer and a laureate of international competitions. Soloists of Russia's and the world's leading opera theatres take part in the art-project "Basses of the 21st Century". In brief