May, 8, 2014. Issue No. 290May 8 - marking the Victory Day. The Bolshoi Opera Soloists Concert May 12 - press conference about the Bolshoi Theatre plans for the coming 239 seasonMass media about the TheatreStefano Montanari and Alina Yarovaya. Photo report from rehearsals: Damir Yusupov The opera "Così fan tutte" will premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre on May 24. The director Floris Visser (the Netherlands)The Bolshoi Theatre opens "La scuola degli amanti" Mozart is a God and they know it at the Bolshoi Theatre. The godlike miniature "Così fan tutte", one of the Mozart's best comic operas, is a world-record holder in terms of the number of times it has been renamed. During its performance history, it has been entitled "The Girls' Revenge" in Germany, "Quid Pro Quo" in England, and one of the French playbills even had the title "A Chinese Laborer". At the Bolshoi Theatre they decided to go with the traditional translation - "Thus do all women" - and kept the subheading, which the author himself considered to be essential - "La scuola degli amanti" ("The School for Lovers"). The director Floris Visser (the Netherlands), a young but an experienced opera director, is in charge of this school for singers that is organized at the main theatre of the country. The premiere is scheduled for May 24. "Culture News" reporters visited one of the rehearsals. The director Floris Visser almost does not leave the stage. He sometimes goes back to the to see what the whole thing looks like from outside. This is his first time in Russia and the first time he is working with Russian artists. He is usually very demanding, and stays true to his principles this time as well; together with the singers he scrutinizes every look and every note. Alina Yarovaya (Despina) gives her best at the rehearsal. She knows this director is not to be annoyed. It is prohibited to talk in the auditorium; attention is paid to what is happening on the stage only. Everything is like at the drama theatre, and actors are treated the same way; their movements should be natural and attention should be redoubled. Alina Yarovaya says: "He is very attentive and precise; he demands that we fulfill all his tasks, move and look at each other exactly the way he wants it to be done. He almost uses a tape measure before a rehearsal to find an exact place for a chair or a table. He pays a lot of attention to every detail". The cast has been rehearsing for over a month; there is very little time left before the premiere. The main thing for actors at this point is not only to learn the mise en scenes and vocal parts, but also to understand the characters of the heroes. This is one of the most difficult tasks. The Bolshoi's soloist Nikolai Kazansky treats his Don Alfonso very reverently. He takes his time. The singer says: "At this point I want to come onstage and see how it all works technically; I want to understand what it feels like to be on the stage and what it feels like to exist in the reality, created by our director. This will give me some additional feelings". From first sight it seems that the story follows the libretto closely. Young officers express certainty that their fiancées will be eternally faithful. Don Alfonso, their adviser and a tempter, wants a bet. The wager is accepted. The second part of the libretto has been changed. Floris Visser admits: "I see two problems with da Ponte's original text. First of all, it is difficult to believe that the girls will not recognize their loved ones, even though the men will change their dress. Second of all, because of the wager the lives of those couples are destroyed; there is no more love or faith. We need to have a happy-end. We need to overcome those challenges". The audience will see an ancient baroque theatre; the set will be sophisticated, the costumes and wigs will be even more sophisticated. The authors of the production promise a very unexpected finale that would have surprised both Mozart and da Ponte. Still, four broken hearts will remain broken.Newsletter An interview with Sergei Filin, the Bolshoi Ballet artistic director The ballet season at the Bolshoi Theatre will close only in July. There is another big premiere coming up: the French director Jean-Christophe Maillot is working on the My life has been divided into "before" and "after" parts - I cannot say that my eyesight has come back. But we managed to save my left eye, so I can work, read and see my children. This is a great achievement of my doctors, and a kind of miracle at the same time. People that suffered such injuries as I did are doomed to be blind. As for my right eye, the situation is much worse; the doctors do not make any predictions. But the treatment is not over, even though I have already undergone 27 surgeries; there will be more surgeries as tissues will be transplanted to my right eye. /.../ - I have had a desire to come onstage, but it was not as much about coming there as a classical dancer, but rather as a character actor. Perhaps, at a certain point I could have danced Onegin in John Cranko's ballet. I also wanted to dance the part of Armand in "Lady of the Camellias". But back then our repertoire did not have those productions. As for the part of Armand, I was too late. But I have once told John Neumeier just for fun that I wanted to dance the part of Monsieur Duval. But for the tragedy, perhaps he would have allowed me to do it.
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