|
The traditional Bolshoi company meeting, marking the start of the 239 season, took place on the Bolshoi's Historic Stage The new season at the Bolshoi Theatre: nine premieres of classical operas and modern ballets Changes in the ticket sales Facebook: congratulations to artists on their birthdays September 12 - the Bolshoi Theatre company meeting marking the start of the new, 239th theatre season took place on the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage Historic Stage - Boris Godunov. Opera in four acts New Stage - rehearsal day Mass media about the Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre opened the 239 season with performances of the opera "Boris Godunov". Bogdan Volkov made his debut with the part of Simpleton; Andrei Gonuykov made his debut with the part of Varlaam. Photo: Damir Yusupov The Bolshoi company meeting, marking the start of the 239 season, took place on the Bolshoi's Historic Stage Newsletter
Svetlana Shilova Boris Lifanovsky Natalia Pianova, a Bolshoi Theatre make-up artist, who has worked at the theatre for 40 years, was given an award for her long service and devotion. Olga Tadorashko, the leading set designer, and Anastasia Chernous, the designer and the stage engineer, were given awards for "outstanding achievement in creating the visual image of performances and personal contribution to the implementation of creative plans". Tatiana Sidorova, the head of the current repertoire planning department, received the award for "personal contribution and professional work in the interests of the theatre". After the award ceremony artistic directors talked about the Bolshoi's plans for the coming season; actually, nothing has changed since May, when those plans were first announced. The audience will have a chance to see six opera premieres, including the concert version of "The Maid of Orleans" by P. T chaikovsky (conductor - T ugan Sokhiev) and three new ballets. T ugan Sokhiev September, 1 6 2014 Newsletter The world premiere of the ballet "A Hero of Our Time", staged by Kirill Serebrennikova to the music by Ilya Demutsky (the theatre commissioned the composer to write this piece) is probably the biggest intrigue. This is the production that the theatre plans to close the season of 2014/15 with. The ballet "Hamlet", choreographed by Radu Poklitaru, raises some concerns. It is supposed that the action of Shakespeare's tragedy will unfold to the music of Shostakovich's Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6; however, the Bolshoi's management still cannot settle the issue of royalties with Irina Shostakovich, the composer's widow. Still, as Mr. Urin assured the reporter of "Izvestia", there should be no such problems as the Bolshoi had with the ballet "The Taming of the Shrew", which was choreographed to the music by Shostakovich as well. The General Director stated: - The music for the ballet "The Taming of the Shrew" was chosen in extreme conditions. To be honest with you, when Irina A. Shostakovich came to the premiere, I was quite nervous and could not predict what her reaction would be like. But she was very positive about everything we had done. She is now on the same page with us, and the negotiations are going smoothly. Then Mr. Urin stopped talking about the Bolshoi's plans and asked the audience to rise from their seats in order to pay tribute to the memory of their late colleagues. Almost on the same day the company paid last respects to Elena Bukanova, the pedagogue-repetiteur, who had passed away at the age of 48. "Izvetia" asked Sergei Filin about the health of the ballet company premier David Hallberg, who had not come to the meeting due to his health condition; the ballet company artistic director answered this question and talked about other losses of the previous season: - T oday Victor Alekhin was not with us; he passed away after a severe illness. Unfortunately, Vasily S. Vorokhovko, the pedagogue-repetiteur, and Elena Bukanova also passed away. As for David Hallberg, he is OK. He had an injury and surgery, this is why he could not be present at the meeting. David will not be able to dance until the New Year, but we will do everything we can in order to help him get back in shape as soon as possible. Photos: Izvestia/Vladimir Suvorov The Bolshoi Theatre will present five opera premieres in the new season "The Queen of Spades" by P. Tchaikovsky, staged by Lev Dodin, will be brought to the Bolshoi from the Paris Opera. The audience will also have a chance to see Sergei Banevich's opera for children "The Story of Kai and Gerda", Verdi's "Rigoletto" and the new production of the opera "Carmen" by G. Bizet. As the Bolshoi Theatre's music director Tugan Sokhiev announced, the concert version of Tchaikovsky's opera "The Maid of Orleans", starring the Bolshoi's famous singers and the artists of the Young Artists' Opera Program, would open the list of the opera premieres. As for the ballet, the Bolshoi will continue with the modern choreography. There will be such productions, as "Hamlet" to the music by D. Shostakovich, staged by Declan Donnellan, and "A Hero of Our Time", staged by Kirill Serebrennikov. On October 23 the Bolshoi will present the revival of the ballet "A Legend of Love", one of Yuri Grigorovich's masterpieces. T ickets to the Bolshoi Theatre performances will become more affordable Photo: Wikipedia.org/Theefer The Bolshoi Theatre has gotten rid of the seats that did not provide a good view of the stage and organized cheap standing room. The Bolshoi Theatre Deputy General Director Oleg Miskovets talked about the refurbishment of the theatre that took place prior to the start of the new season. 237 seats in the audience hall that did not provide a good view of the stage were taken out. The Bolshoi Theatre opened its 239 season with the performances of "Boris Godunov" by M. Mussorgsky This the epic production, created in the middle of the previous century, which has a museum set, and was one of the first productions to be brought back to the Bolshoi's Historic Stage after the reconstruction. It has always been popular with the audience. The part the Tsar Boris will be performed by the bass singers Mikhail Kazakov and Dmitry Beloselsky. Prior to the start of the new season the traditional company's meeting took place. The theatre management - the General Director Vladimir Urin, the music director Tugan Sokhiev and the ballet company artistic director Sergei Filin - talked about successful guest performances and plans for the future. September, 1 6 2014 Newsletter Mikhail Kazakov as Boris Godunov at the pre-premiere performance of "Boris Godunov" on the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage. Photo: ITAR-T ASS The political situation in the world has hardly influenced the schedule of the Bolshoi's guest performances. However, the Latvian director Alvis Hermanis refused to cooperate with the Bolshoi; in turn, the theatre refused the joint production of the opera "JenЕЇfa" by L. JanáДЌek, which was supposed to be staged together with The Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie (Belgium). Still, the playbill of the new season has nine premieres. T chaikovsky's opera "The Maid of Orleans", which will premiere on September 26. This will be the first time since his appointment that Tugan Sokhiev will conduct the Bolshoi Theatre's orchestra. Maestro Sokhiev will also conduct several productions of the current repertoire, "La Boheme" and "La Traviata", as well as the concert marking the 50 anniversary of the Bolshoi's and La Scala's exchange guest performances. The concert will take place on the New Stage on November 9 and will star the Bolshoi Theatre's soloists, the participants of the Bolshoi Young Artists' Opera Program, the singers from Modena Belcanto Academy and La Scala's Academy. T ugan Sokhiev will also conduct the final opera premiere of the season - "Carmen" by G. Bizet. It will be presented to the audience in July 2015. Alexei Borodin will stage the production. On December 27th "The Queen of Spades" by P. T chaikovsky will premiere on the Historic Stage. This production will be brought to the Bolshoi from the Paris Opera, where it was staged by Lev Dodin; the set was designed by David Borovsky. Michail Jurowski will conduct the orchestra. In April 2015 "Le Nozze di Figaro" by W.A. Mozart will be presented on the New Stage. The British conductor William Lacey will conduct the orchestra. Evgeny Pisarev will be the director; Zinovy Margolin will design the set. There will be a premiere for children as well; young members of the audience will have a chance to see Sergei Banevich's opera "The Story of Kai and Gerda" ("The Snow Queen"). The production team includes the conductor Anton Grishanin, the director Dmitry Belyanuskin and the set designer Valery Levental. On the contrary, the premiere of Verdi's opera "Rigoletto" is not intended for children to see it. This production, staged by a famous Canadian director Robert Carsen, was initially created on commission from The Aix-en-Provence Festival. The tenor singer that performs the part of the Duke is supposed to demonstrate not only great top notes, but his naked body as well. The ballet company's plans are much more modest than that of the opera company. There will be the revival of "A Legend of Love", choreographed by Yuri Grigorovich (Historic Stage) and two world premieres (New Stage) - "Hamlet", choreographed by Radu Poklitaru and staged by Declan Donnellan to the music by D. Shostakovich, and "A Hero of Our Time", choreographed by Yuri Posokhov and staged by Kirill Serebrennikov. The young composer Ilya Demutsky is composing the music for this ballet. The Bolshoi Theatre also promises to become more accessible and more honest with its audience. "Blind" seats in the top circle, which cost 100 rubles (approx. $ 3-4), were changed for the standing room; the third row of chairs in the boxes of the lower circles disappeared. Advanced ticket sales will take place each third Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. till 5.30 p.m. Afterwards it will be possible to buy the tickets on- line and from ticket scalpers. The Bolshoi Theatre stresses that this [ticket scalpers] is something it is not responsible for. DIRECT SPEECH Vladimir Urin, the Bolshoi Theatre General Director: - A lot of extremely talented people work at the Bolshoi Theatre. My task is to make sure that all of them are part of the creative process, each of them occupies the right position and can show his/her talent. I am not afraid of dif ficulties and failures, if these are the by-products of the creative process. OK, we made a mistake, we did not guess what the right decision was - this is one story. If there is a situation that has nothing to do with the creative process and does not really touch me, it will be very upsetting. I as a manager should organize the work in the collective; I should be guided by creative criteria, which is not always an easy thing to do at the Bolshoi Theatre. Being the Bolshoi Theatre Director, I expect people to come and take a look not only at the chandelier, but also at those productions that we create. BY THE WAY Prior to the start of the new season 247 seats that allowed spectators to see less than 90% of the stage were removed. 84 "blind" seats in the top circle, which cost 100 rubles (approx. $ 3-4), were exchanged for the standing room; 110 regular chairs were replaced with tall chairs and the third row of chairs in the boxes of the lower circles disappeared. In total, 159 new seats appeared in the audience hall. Besides, it will now be possible to get to the Bolshoi Theatre using an e-ticket without printing it. The Bolshoi considers that the new rules will save the theatre visitors' time and ef fort considerably. It is now possible to get a ticket to the Bolshoi for just 100 rubles (approx. $ 3-4) The new season brings some changes that are designed to make the theatre- goers' lives easier The Bolshoi Theatre General Director Vladimir Urin said that the ticket sales rules had changed in the new season. The advance sale will start three months prior to the date of the performance, just like it used to. Tickets will be sold on Saturdays from 10 a.m. till 5.30 p.m. After 5.30 p.m. the remaining tickets will be made available for free sale. The theatre management also came up with several hindrances that are supposed to stop ticket scalpers. From now on a person is supposed to show his passport to the cashier; besides, one person can buy only two tickets. The exception will be made for families with many children: having shown a certificate to a cashier, a person will be able to buy tickets for the whole family. By the way, the theatre management assured us that those families that do not have many children will also be able to go to the theatre all together, because there are only 3-4 performances that are very difficult to get tickets to. As for the rest of the repertoire, usually a lot of tickets are left after 5.30; it will be possible to buy as many of those left-over tickets as one wants, and no passport will be required. Other changes happened in the Historic Stage audience hall. 247 seats that allowed the spectator to see less than 50% of the stage were removed. 159 of those seats were eliminated completely, 110 were replaced with tall chairs, and 84 seats were exchanged for standing room. Standing room tickets will be made available for students; this will be a part of a special program. The sales start on the day of the performance at 4 p.m. Once all students get their tickets, any other members of the audience will be able to buy those tickets as well. The third rows in the side boxes of the dress circle disappeared; three seats were left in the side boxes of the 2 and the 3 rows. The side boxes of the first circle now have two rows of chairs instead of three; there are tall chairs in the second row. These are not the most comfortable seats, but they cost only 200 rubles (approx. $ 6-8). At the same time the seats in the first row of the same box cost 2.5-4 thousand rubles (approx. $67-108). September, 1 6 2014 Newsletter September, 1 6 2014 , 7 Bolshoi Theatre in the Internet On the Bolshoi Theatre official pages in the social networks we congratulated the Bolshoi Opera soloist Stanislav Mostovoy, who celebrated his birthday on September 13. W e wish the singer success in his creative career and new interesting projects! W e also uploaded pictures from the company's meeting, marking the start of the 239 season at the Bolshoi Theatre. Photo: Damir Yusupov For articles published 12-14 September 2014 The Times publishes an interview with British born Xander Parish who is a dancer at the Mariinsky Ballet who says that he hopes that ballet can act as a cultural bridge between Russia and the West. He says that he and David Hallberg, an American dancer at the Bolshoi in Moscow, had the power to do good. "I think David is flying the flag for America over in Moscow as a cultural ambassador, very much so," he said in an interview in Covent Garden, London, where the Royal Ballet has allowed him to train this summer. "I hope that he's having a good effect on the relationship between the two countries. T engri News reports that principal dancers of Bolshoi Theatre Alexander Volchkov and Yekaterina Shipulina will perform in Spartacus at the Astana Opera House. Classicalite announces the World Ballet Day that will take place on 1 October when scenes from backstage and rehearsals will be streamed live for 20 hours from the Australian Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet. The Toronto Star also reports about the upcoming W orld Ballet Day. The Palm Beach Pulse reports that performances of the Bolshoi Ballet will be broadcast locally in cinemas in the coming season. Ismene Brown the Arts Desk Dance critic writes in her blog based on translations of Russian newspapers about the introduction of e-tickets at the Bolshoi Theatre and plans for the 239 season. The theatre "New Ballet" will open its jubilee season with a premiere The theatre "New Ballet", established by Aida Chernova and Sergey Starukhin in 1989, opens open its jubilee 25 season with the world premiere of the production "Fortuna vis Lucem", created by the Italian choreographer Francesco Ventriglia (one performance took place on September 14; the second is scheduled for September 21 ). The premiere performances take place at the Novaya Opera. This ballet was choreographed to two famous pieces of music, "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orf and "Bolero" by M. Ravel. The first act, "Fortuna", starts to the music by Carl Orf. It is the first time on the world music stage that the choreographic plot of the production is based on the full version of the collection of poems "Carmina Burana", which inspired Carl Orf to compose his cantata. The second act, "Lucem", is an ode to the music by M. Ravel (it is about the power that a human being can demonstrate, while fighting the tides of fortune). The project stars the Bolshoi Theatre's soloists Anna Antonicheva and Andrei Merkuriev. |
