Intermezzo

Carry On Bolshoi

A Russian woman has failed in her attempt to get the Bolshoi Theatre's Ruslan and Lyudmila banned.

The Tverskoy District Court dismissed Moscow resident Svetlana Voronina's claim that Dmitri Tcherniakov's controversial new production violates Glinka's opera, mocks Russian culture and besmirches the Russian people. She complained that the staging (which includes Thai massage, a brothel and a scantily-clad 'harem') evoked drunken promiscuity.

In addition to the 1m roubles (about £25,000) she had sought in damages for "mental anguish", Ms Voronina had demanded a ticket to a classical production.

Ruslan and Lyudmila from the Bolshoi

Courtesy of Arte TV, here's the renovated Bolshoi's opening production, Dmitri Tcherniakov's take on Ruslan and Lyudmila.

If the video won't load for you, try accessing it direct from Arte's site instead.

There are no subtitles, so you might want to check out Wikipedia first.

The cast includes Albina Shagimuratova (Ludmila), Mikhail Petrenko (Ruslan), Almas Svilpa (Farlaf), Yuri Minenko (Ratmir), Alexandrina Pendatchanska (Gorislava), Charles Workman (Finn/ Bayan), Elena Zaremba (Naina) andVladimir Ognovenko (Svetozar),  and the Bolshoi Orchestra and Chorus are conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

If Glinka doesn't do it for you, try the latest production from La Monnaie,  George Enescu's Oedipe.

Modernising the Bolshoi?

It may not look it, but by Bolshoi standards, this is apparently a cutting-edge production.

Director Dmitri Tcherniakov told reporters that his new Ruslan and Lyudmila, the first opera to be shown in the renovated theatre is "certainly modern in its theme. We are trying to bring the characters closer to reality so the viewer can believe that they are real and not made up."

Reuters explains further: "Large electronic screens will vie for the audience's attention with actors in full period costume, acrobats and jugglers. Naked women will dash across the stage and the cast will make sudden transitions into modern-day life. Protagonist Lyudmila, played by Russian soprano Albina Shagimuratova from Houston's Grand Opera, even receives a Thai massage from two young women while a brawny, tattooed admirer dances around her."

Obviously the naked women dashed just a little too quickly for the assembled photographers' lenses:

Angela Gheorghiu, Supersub?

It appears the Karmic Wheel has turned full circle and slapped Angela Gheorghiu upside the face.

Plácido Domingo, long-announced as the main attraction in the Bolshoi's reopening gala, withdrew late on claiming a "scheduling conflict". (A wise if tardy precaution given his past form).

Fortunately the Bolshoi had found another big name to take his place a few days before the big night. Angela Gheorghiu, more experienced at pulling out than stepping in, used a score for her aria from The Queen of Spades and according to viewers sounded underprepared.

Bolshoi Re-Opening Gala - UPDATED

Tonight's Bolshoi Grand Re-Opening Gala celebrates the theatre's controversial renovation- after six years and $750 million.

Tickets for the opera and ballet extravaganza were invitation-only, and allegedly changing hands at up to £40,000 on the black market - but you can watch it live for nothing on the Bolshoi's own YouTube channel.

The all-Russian program includes music by Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Borodin, Khachaturian, Asafiev, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich.

Placido Domingo jets straight from London to join Natalie Dessay, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Violeta Urmana and Angela Gheorghiu on stage in a programme including extracts from Iolanta and Betrothal in a Monastery.

The live stream starts at 4pm UK time.

 

*** UPDATE 29.10.11 - watch the full show below ***

Bolshoi summer visit to Covent Garden

After the Mariinsky's Ring cycle last summer, it's the Bolshoi's turn to wave the Russian flag at the Royal Opera House in August 2010.

Most of their stay will be given over to ballet, with just one opera, Eugene Onegin, on offer. Judging from previous Bolshoi visits, it may just demonstrate why the company is better known for dance, but at least there'll be the opportunity to catch 2009 Cardiff Singer of the World winner Ekaterina Scherbachenko as Tatyana (possibly in alternation with Tatiana Monogarova, it's not quite clear).

Dmitri Tcherniakov's 2006 production upset traditionalists in Moscow on its first airing, but has been highly praised in some quarters, so who knows.

Booking opens on 2 March for Friends and 6 April for everyone else. Tickets are a lot cheaper than the ROH's own, with a top price of £135.

 

Here's an extract feauturing Vladislav Sulimsky and Ekaterina Scherbachenko: