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| | Arts Calendar / April 24 / Opera |
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 Opera by Modest Mussorgsky. 210 min (with one interval). Conductor: Timur Zangiev. Performed in Russian. “Khovanshchina” is probably the most “Russian” opera regarding its original music and plot. The composer himself defined its genre as a folk musical drama. “Khovanshchina” consists of series of historical sketches depicting the fates of historical and fictional characters. In these sketches, the Russian people occupy a special place. It is difficult to find at least one positive character in the opera but it is easy to discern the “Russian suffering” theme that has such a vivid reflection in Russian culture. Mussorgsky began composing his grandiose historical collage in 1872, precisely at a time when public interest in Russian history was as great as ever. The plot of the opera intertwines historical events that took place between the Streletsky riot of 1682 (it gave the opera its name) and the final confirmation of Tsar Peter Alekseevich in power. The Russian people then found themselves torn apart by a dispute about the choice of their civilisational path, a dispute about the old and new faith tormented by rhetorical questions like: “who is to blame?” and “what should we do?” Any outcome of the dispute as well as any answer to those questions would have been fatal for Russia. Indeed, “Khovanshchina” could have become the most Russian opera if the composer had fulfilled his ambitions and finished it.
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theater  |
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 Opera in three acts to music by Giuseppe Verdi. Libretto by Salvatore Cammarano after the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller. Music Director: Eduard Topchjan. Stage Director: Georgiy Isaakyan. Set Designer: Alexey Tregubov. Sung in Italian. Friends greet Louise on her birthday, but the girl is waiting only for her beloved. She does not know that the young man who calls himself Carl is in fact none other than Rudolf, the son of the new master, Count Walter. Louise's father Miller senses trouble, and for good reason. Wurm, the earl's steward and rejected pretender to Louise's hand, reveals Rudolf's secret to Miller in a fit of jealousy. The father is shocked: his daughter is in danger. The love between Rudolf and Louise contradicts the intentions of Count Walter, another indignant father: he expects his son to propose not to Louise, a girl from the "lower classes", but to Duchess Federica, and thus strengthen the position of the family. Rudolf refuses. His confession outrages Federica. Miller, furious, informs Louise about the deceit of her lover. But Rudolf reveals his real name to Louise and asks Miller for her hand in marriage. Suddenly, the Count appears to destroy all hopes for happiness. The Count will not allow this union, the punishment is inevitable. Only the threat of his son to reveal the terrible secret of how the Count got his title keeps Walter from ordering to arrest Louise along with his father...
Bolshoi Theater New Stage |
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