March, 13, 2014. Issue No. 252March 20 - the ballet "Lady of the Camellias" will premiere on the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage March 30 - the ballet "Marco Spada" will be broadcast in the cinemas around the world On March 14 the performance for children "Be in the Mood for Opera" will be shown at the Bolshoi Theatre Beethoven Hall as a part of non-competition program. Photo: Damir YusupovJohn Neumeier brings "Lady of the Camellias" to the Bolshoi Theatre"Lady of the Camellias" at the Bolshoi TheatreJohn Neumeier brings "Lady of the Camellias" to the Bolshoi Theatre It is a well-known fact that John Neumeier is one of the most influential figures in the modern dance world. But his works hardly can be considered completely modern. When it comes to certain things, he is old-fashioned in quite a provocative way. Nowadays, when his colleagues are fond of one-act ballets, in the time of so-called "choreographic tweets" the artistic director of the Hamburg Ballet continues to stage large-scale plot-based productions. He has already staged several of those in Russia. He is now working on "Lady of the Camellias", which will be staged for the Newsletter Photo: Kurov Alexander There will be three casts. The premiere cast will star the Bolshoi Theatre prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova and Edvin Revazov, the leading soloist of the Hamburg Ballet, directed by John Neumeier. John Neumeier created "Lady of the Camellias" in 1978 for the Stuttgart Ballet. This is a large-scale plot-based ballet in three acts, based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas fils. The ballet is danced to the music by Frederick Chopin. The set was designed by Jürgen Rose. During the 35 years of its existence the production has become one of the most popular ballets in the world; it has been danced by the best dancers in many countries. John Neumeier said modestly: "I do not know at how many theatres this ballet is performed. I am quite bad at math. But it definitely has been staged at the Metropolitan-Opera, at the Teatro alla Scala, at the Paris Opera and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. As for the Bolshoi Theatre, I am deeply convinced that best productions, created by different choreographers in different time periods should be preserved at this house. It seemed to me that "Lady of the Camellias" could be performed on this stage, so I accepted the invitation from the Bolshoi Theatre".company and to choreograph a new ballet. This is how "Lady of the Camellias" was created.Mass media about the Theatre March, 132014Newsletter at the Bolshoi that he worked at for most of his life, and where he was the head designer; at the end of his life he became the vice-president at the Academy of Arts, which is quite unusual for a theatre designer. He designed the sets for such operas, as "Carmen", "The Tsar's Bride" (the set, designed by Fedorovsky, is used in the production that premiered on February 22 ), "The Maid of Pskov" and "Prince Igor"; Fedorovsky also created sets for ballet ("La Fille mal gardée", for example), although this was not his main sphere. By the way, they say that Fedorovsky was invited to the Bolshoi Theatre because of a parade. On May 1 1918 he designed the parade "In Memory of Fallen Fighters of the Great October Revolution". Later at the Bolshoi not only did he create sets for productions, but also designed the famous curtain and was responsible for the way the theatre looked during various anniversary celebrations and governmental meetings. In 1936 Fedorovsky created the Kremlin ruby stars. The organisers also want to exhibit some materials connected with this project; however, some of the documents are stored at the secret archives and no one can say whether there will be enough time to get them before the exhibition opens. The performance "Be in the Mood for Opera" will be presented at "The Golden Mask" The best musical performances, staged in Russia in the season of 2013-2014, continue to be shown as the part of the 20 "Golden Mask" Festival. Photo: Damir Yusupov On March 14 the performance for children "Be in the Mood for Opera" will be shown at the Bolshoi Theatre Beethoven Hall as a part of non-competition program (12.30 and 4 p.m.). The music director and conductor - Alexander Soloviev; the conductor - Alexei Bogorad; stage director - Igor Ushakov; scenographer - Sergei Timonin; costume designer - Irena Belousova. The cast stars: Anna Aglatova, Svetlana Shilova, Bogdan Volkov, Konstantin Shushakov, Petr Migunov, Kristina Mkhitaryan, Yulia Mazurova, Pavel Valuzhin, Andrei Zhilikhovsky, Oleg Tsybulko and the ensemble of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra soloists. "Be in the Mood for Opera" is a production for young music fans. Five opera voices live in a magical house trapped between the past and the future - the sentimental Soprano, the capricious Mezzo-soprano, the romantic Tenor, the vain Baritone and the dignified Bass. Suddenly, an Electro-ghost bursts into the opera house. The ghost wanders the world, ruining everything in his path. The fate of the opera house lies in the hands of these four heroes. Awe-inspiring characters are brought to life in combination with the operatic music of Vivaldi, Händel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi and Leoncavallo. Text: Dmitry Chernyakov Chernyakov about Mortier "Today I do not know anyone who resembles him even slightly" I knew Mortier for only 8 years. He appeared backstage at the Bolshoi Theatre on September 1 2006, after the premiere performance of "Eugene Onegin" and started talking to me at once in a rather active and attacking way. I mean, it was not even a talk, but rather his monologue that was not possible to stop. He talked about everything in a very excited manner. Later I often saw him behaving in the same way. It was a kind of seizure, seduction or recruitment. You began to… not to agree at once, but rather follow his plot development. You even nodded involuntarily. At the same time he talked to you and to no one in particular; he smiled in euphoria as he set his glasses right. Later I saw him talking to other people in the same way. Perhaps, it had partly to do with his law education and studying at the Jesuitical school; I think it also had to do with his boundless idealism. Now I think that he certainly reminds me ofFitzcarraldo, the main character from the Werner Herzog film who dreamed of building an opera theatre in the middle of the Peruvian jungle, inhabited by the Indians, despite everything, including common sense. Today, when I know quite a few different people in the world who promote the art of opera today, I understand that he was a very unusual and even weird person. He had this great idealism, fanaticism and longing for the eternal fight. Perhaps, today all of this is old-fashioned. Today I do not know anyone who resembles him even slightly; he did not care about practicality or success, he was blamed for his irrational huge financial expenditures, and he wanted to prove his point to the whole world. He considered that theatre activity always was a manifestation of solidarity or of a protest. I remember his face at times of defeat. It is strange, but he had the same face at the time of success and victories. He was very quiet and limp; he would sit somewhere in the corner with a faraway look and smiled weakly at some thoughts. I did not even March, 132014Newsletter Digest has been compiled by The Bolshoi Theatre Press Office Photos: Damir Yusupov and Mikhail Logvinov Design layout: Vladimir AndrusenkoAll materials used in the digest are the public domain of information agencies, mass media, civil society organizations and government Analysis of articles published March 11 2014 The Guardian writes about the upcoming season of the Australian ballet and says that Alexei Ratmansky the former Artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet who created Cinderella for the company is probably the biggest name in choreography today. Play Bill Arts publishes a long article about Jean-Christophe Maillot, artistic director of Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and his updated approach to the classic ballet. The article mentions that he will create The Taming of the Shrew for the Bolshoi Ballet later this year. Russie Info writes that Centre Lyric Art of the Mediterranean will welcome young singers Russians Opera Studio of the Bolshoi Moscow for an exceptional lyrical concert, Thursday, March 13, 2014. Samara mass media: "The Golden Mask Theatre Award" will soon be given out in Moscow. The ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Bolshoi Theatre on April 18. The winners of the Festival will be chosen by the jury, headed by the Latvian and Russian director Adolf Shapiro. Vadim Repin presented "The Trans-Siberian Art Festival" The program of the first Festival is diverse and rich. It includes a world premiere - the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra "Violin Voices" by Benyamin Yusupov. It also includes a Russian premiere - the unique "Pas de deux en pointe and for fingers". Few opera theatres and their directors are ready to take such risks; however, today all of them cooperate with those people that Mortier discovered at some point. Today the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, Opera in Lyon, The Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels and even the Bavarian State Opera in Munich are headed by those people, who were introduced to the opera business by Mortier - he trusted everything to them at once. He always renewed his circle of acquaintance. At different times Mortier was surrounded by completely different people. Some of them disappeared forever, and he never pronounced their names again. In the last years he made some opera plans together with Pedro AlmodГіvar and staged productions together with Michael Haneke. He brought some very interesting people from the outside; it was as if he told them- look, opera is not what you used to think, it is something interesting, relevant, intellectual and deep, it is about you and for you. I do not think that he was ever happy; his whole life was an eternal fight. Of course, the Salzburg Festival was his biggest success in life, but even then the project was the subject of everyone's endless criticism. Later the time of Mortier is remembered in Salzburg with nostalgia; they compare it with all the festival years after Mortier and say that those were the years when the standards were lowered. Madrid did not become for him the perfect place for bringing a wonderful utopia to life either; I always felt how painful it was for him, and how he became even more reserved, as if he locked himself in some tall tower. One of his last letters to me was about the cancellation of my production of Berlioz opera "Les Troyens" - this happened due to a painful reason, the lack of financing. In the end of the letter he wrote how much it hurt him to tell me this news, because it looked like it would have been our last joint production after so many years of wonderful relations; he also wrote that I could later find some other decent company that would bring my exciting ideas to life, that he had to step aside as a poor man and to admire my work from the audience. In the end there even was a small Russian circle that gathered around him; I was part of that circle as well. There were many Russian singers and conductors both in Madrid and in Paris. The trip to Moscow turned out to be his last one. Three weeks ago, being terminally ill, he came to Moscow, where, as he had heard, there was a hope to get some wonderful therapy. He lived in Moscow for 10 days very isolated, almost incognito; he rarely left his hotel room. It was in Moscow that he heard the opera for the last time; he asked to be taken to the opera theatre. At the premiere of "The Tsar's Bride" at the Bolshoi he was physically able to watch only the first act. Just like the character of Klaus Kinski in "Fitzcarraldo", Mortier was a rare example of a really obsessed person; he tried to move mountains in spite of all mistakes or defeats. He also tried to re-create his utopia, which he was aiming to see the outline of, in real life in spite of all praises and curses. In brief |
Main Stage
1 Teatralnaya ploschad (1 Theatre Square), Moscow, Russia
New Stage
Bol'shaya Dmitrovka Street, 4/2, Moscow, Russia