The October repertoire of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre has expanded with the recent premiere performance of Boris Godunov opera and the colorful, loved by the audience ballet A Thousand and One Nights.
This month’s opera additions will include the monumental Boris Godunov staged by Sergei Bogoslavsky on October 27, 2022. For decades, many theatre venues have turned to this masterpiece, which is now one of the most performed Russian opera titles in the world. In 1990, the then Kirov Theatre reconstructed Andrei Tarkovsky’s production that had been released at London’s Covent Garden seven years earlier. This performance, supplemented by video projections by Pyotr Okunev, appeared on the Primorsky Stage in the summer of 2022 and now continues the series of Russian historical operas in the Theatre’s repertoire. The meticulously selected historical garments, grandiose mass scenes and psychologically elaborated images make this performance truly memorable. Here, Boris Godunov is shown, first of all, as a man who loves his family, albeit a doubtful ruler, for whom power turns out to be disastrous. Soloists of the Primorsky Stage Opera Company Sergei Sevastyanov (October 16, 2022) and Yevgeny Plekhanov (October 27, 2022) will take on the image of the controversial Tsar this month.
On October 29, 2022, the colorful A Thousand and One Nights ballet by Fikret Amirov will be performed twice. This performance bearing an oriental tint, and already loved by the Far Eastern audience, presents not only beautiful plastique and complex choreography, but also the richness of the Arabic music. Among the instruments in the Orchestra, there will be bongos, xylophone, drums, timpani, as well as the traditional Azerbaijani string instrument, tar. Such diversity has been authentically conveyed by the composer Fikret Amirov on the basis of a thorough study of the traditions and cultural richness of the Middle-East countries.
Besides, the October repertoire of the Primorsky Stage will include Madama Butterfly by the famous verist Giacomo Puccini (October 21 and 23, 2022). This is a story of a big drama that took place between American naval officer Pinkerton and Japanese geisha Cio-Cio-San. The whole performance is like an exquisite world filled with symbols. By the way, it was this production that brought world fame to the Polish stage director Mariusz Treliński. The masterpiece was created in 2005 at the Mariinsky Theatre, and this year it came to the Primorsky Stage.
On October 22, 2022, children’s opera Murych the Cat will await the very youngest audience in the Chamber Hall of the Theatre. This is a fascinating performance with our darling cats for main characters. Its plot is built around the celebration of the birthday of the most charming of them.
The playbill of the month will be completed by an opera “hit” by Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro (October 28 and 30, 2022), performed by the soloists of the Primorsky Stage. The famous marriage patent, enacted in the composer’s time, fundamentally changed the idea of marriage, and Mozart reflected those changes in his opera. His “musical story” is full of intrigue, humor and comical situations. Each character receives a couple not only for love, but also for status; everyone reconciles in the finale, and the curtain falls on a happy note.
