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| | Arts Calendar / May 8 / Opera |
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 Pyotr Tchaikovsky's opera in two acts. 160 min (with interval). Symphonic suite Nutcracker is performed as part of the production. Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky after “King Ren’s Daughter” by Heinrich Hertz. Sung in Russian with English surtitles. Music Director: Anton Grishanin. Stage Director: Sergey Zhenovach. Designer: Alexander Borovsky. Iolanta and Nutcracker were commissioned from Tchaikovsky by the Mariinsky Theatre management. It is thought that the idea of uniting the one-act opera and two-act ballet into a single production to be shown on the same evening originated with the then director of the Imperial Theatres Ivan Vsevolozhsky. In July 1891 Tchaikovsky began composing the music for Iolanta, starting off with the Iolanta and Vaudemont duet. He was full of enthusiasm. The composer wrote to his brother Modest: "I'm in love more than ever with the subject of Iolanta, and your libretto is quite perfect… Oh yes, I will write an opera such that the audiences will weep". The production is by Sergey Zhenovach, the artistic director of The Theatre Art Studio, and an acknowledged ma?tre of giving major works of literature a new lease of life on stage. Working with him on the production were his permanent co-authors: scenographer Alexander Borovsky and lighting designer Damir Ismagilov.
Bolshoi Theater New Stage  |
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 Opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. 160 min (with one intermission) Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave based on "La Dame aux cam?lias." Music Director: Laurent Campellone. Stage Director: Francesca Zambello. Sung in Italian with Russian surtitles. During Verdi’s lifetime La Traviata was one of the most frequently performed of all operas, and it has continued to be through to the present. The opera was originally titled Violetta, after the main character. It was first performed on 6 March 1853 at the La Fenice opera house in Venice. Piave and Verdi wanted to follow Dumas in giving the opera a contemporary setting, but the authorities at La Fenice insisted that it be set in the past, "c. 1700". It was not until the 1880s that the composer's and librettist's original wishes were carried out and "realistic" productions were staged. La Traviata is the story of a lively Parisian courtesan who gives up the man she loves to save his family’s reputation. Perhaps this is the greatest theme of La Traviata; self-sacrifice. The opera is a touching story, not just because it is a story people can believe in, but because it is a story people want to believe in. It encourages the ideal that it is possible to experience the joy of a pure, redemptive love. The story shows that it is possible – no matter what hurt and offence has been caused – to right wrongs by sacrifice to the greatest good.
Bolshoi Theater |
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