|
|
|
| | Arts Calendar / April 19 / Opera |
|
|
|
19:00 | Il Barbiere di Siviglia |
|
|
|
|
 Opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. Libretto by Cesare Sterbini after the comedy of the same name by Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais. Presented with one interval. Conductor: Pier Giorgio Morandi. Stage Director: Evgeny Pisarev. Set Designer: Zinovy Margolin. Sung in Italian. Rossini’s operatic masterpiece The Barber of Seville has been staged all over the world, and even children recognize Figaro’s famous aria, while Figaro qua, Figaro l? and La calunnia ? un venticello have become bywords. The witty Rossini, being not only an outstanding composer but also a brilliant cook, developed the recipe for the opera’s incessant, astounding success. Irrepressible Rosina refuses to marry her pompous old guardian. Meanwhile, a bold young count is eager to win Rosina for himself. And who’s going to make sure those two finish the opera united? The cleverest character in all of Seville: the barber Figaro, whose services are sought after by everyone for everything (the guy has a lot more talents than just cutting hair). Rossini’s music — the aural equivalent of champagne — is the last word in humor, inspiring smiles and laughter on every page of the score, which is what makes Barber the most popular of all operatic comedies.
Bolshoi Theater New Stage  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Opera by Giuseppe Verdi. 130 min. Stage Director: Dmitry Bertman. Music Director: Oliver Diaz. Sets and Costumes Designers: Igor Nezhny, Tatiana Tulubieva. The first show of the new season in "Helikon Opera" and along with that the last premiere of the previous one is «Il Trovatore» by G.Verdi. If there is a perfect opera in the world, the victory in the nomination definitely goes to "Il Trovatore", with its intricate plot, emotional intensity and brilliant music. To all of that "Helikon" added the ultra-modern stage equipment, high-tech lighting effects, a gripping detective story, a passionate love affair and an unexpected denouement – and here it is, the performance which has become a hit of the opera. The image of the sinister "grill", which roasts people’s fates, permeates the entire show. It is very realistic and therefore breathtaking. And next to that horrible grill, in the stylized ruins of Palmyra, there is the illusion theatre, where actors experience dramatical suffering, emotions and love. According to the Stage Director, "Theatre used to be a mirror of life and its reflection. Nowadays theatre has become our world, where you can find harmony, while real life seems to be an illusion, a nightmare." Responsible for the music part is Spanish Maestro Oliver Diaz, invited to Russia specially for this perfomance. The choice of the conductor was an absolute fortune for the theatre: its "Il Trovatore" is full of life, colour and energy, with Italian passion in every sound. "One of the most important words in the Italian drama is "vendetta". And I think it is present in "Il Trovatore"," said Oliver Diaz.?
Helikon Opera |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Based on the opera in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi. 130 min (with one intermission). Musical version: Evgeny Kolobov. Conductor: Valery Kritskov. Sung in Italian with Russian surtitles. This production prefers black to bright colours. Novaya Opera’s La Traviata is not a romantic love story, but a tragedy of love and death. The performance begins and ends with Violetta’s death. In the interim, Violetta, like a wounded bird, thrashes and rushes about, trying to break out from the closed circuit of her own destiny. The production reveals the gap between the current and the last century. The theatre not only feels sympathy for Violetta and Alfredo, but mourns over them. "Such a professional in all its components, complete and unpredictable performance has not been seen not only at the Novaya Opera, but in the whole of Moscow for a long time," The Kultura newspaper. "In this performance the nerves are naked. The reactions are rapid and spontaneous. The producers have enlarged the emotions of the characters, leaving only the gist of the story and throwing off what in their opinion is useless entourage, d?cor," Supplement to the Pervoe Sentyabrya — Iskusstvo newspaper. "Traviata is an example of a present-day production as it should be like but seldom is — intellectual, stylish, benecial and infatuating," The Moscow Tribune newspaper.
Novaya Opera Theatre |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini. 165 min (with two intermissions). Libretto by Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa. Music Director: Wolf Gorelik. Conductor: Vyacheslav Volich. Sung in Italian.Tosca is a political thriller, set in Rome in June 1800 (during the Napoleonic wars and a time of great political unrest). The action takes place over less than 24 hours, making it an intense experience! The plot centres around three main characters – Rome’s diva Floria Tosca, her lover Mario Cavaradossi (a painter and republican) and the corrupt Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia. Scarpia has long lusted after Tosca, and when he suspects Cavaradossi of assisting an escaped political prisoner, seizes the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. He will manipulate Tosca into revealing the prisoner’s hiding place and Cavaradossi’s involvement, and have her for himself. When Cavaradossi is captured, Scarpia offers Tosca a horrific bargain – she must give herself to Scarpia, or her lover is killed… what will she choose, and who will survive?
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theater |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The virtual community for English-speaking expats and Russians
