In April, the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre will present the big premiere of the season, The Enchanted Wanderer opera by Rodion Shchedrin on two nights in a row (April 13 and 14, 2023). Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for conductor Lorin Maazel, it was created in 2002 and immediately received the status of a new operatic masterpiece. The opera is based on the novel of the same name by Nikolai Leskov. It tells the story of Ivan Flyagin, from his accidental whipping a monk to death and ten years of Tatar captivity to his tragic infatuation with a gypsy girl Grusha. On January 19 this year, the opera was performed for the first time on the Primorsky Stage with the participation of soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre from St Petersburg. For April performances, the parts are being rehearsed by soloists of the Primorsky Stage Sergei Pleshivtsev, Yevgeny Plekhanov, Tatiana Makarchuk, Natalia Yakimova, Ilya Astafurov and Mingiyan Odzhaev.
On April 1, 2023, the birthday of the outstanding Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff will be commemorated with a series of lustrous musical events, starting with a big symphony program. Spring Cantata for baritone, chorus and orchestra will be performed (soloist – Marat Mukhametzyanov), together with Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor and Symphonic Dances orchestral suite. The soloist will be Evgeny Izotov, one of the most distinctive representatives of the St Petersburg piano school.
The eventful concert program of the month will also include performances by students of the branch of the Central Music School “Primorsky” – “Young talents of Primorye” (April 8, 2023), music by Mozart and Pergolesi accompanied by sand animation at the “Stabat mater” concert (April 15, 2023), the Great Easter Concert (April 19, 2023), “Spring waters” Gala-concert of romances by Sergei Rachmaninoff (April 22, 2023) and the Cello Sonata Evening (April 29, 2023).
The operatic playbill is rich in classics and includes The Tale of Tsar Saltan (April 2, 2023) and The Tsar’s Bride (April 7, 2023) by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Le nozze di Figaro (April 5, 2023) and Die Zauberflöte (April 28, 2023) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Aida (April 9, 2023) and La traviata (April 16, 2023) by Giuseppe Verdi, historical operas Boris Godunov by Modest Musorgsky (April 21, 2023) and Mazepa by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (April 23, 2023). The month will end on a splendid note, with the performance of Die Fledermaus comic operetta by Johann Strauss II (April 30, 2023).
Ballet lovers will enjoy both the impeccable classics and original productions of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. The playbill contains Giselle (April 6, 2023) and Le Corsaire (April 22, 2023) by Adolphe Adam, Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (April 20, 2023), A Thousand and One Nights by Fikret Amirov (April 15 and 29, 2023), La Bayadère (April 27, 2023) and Don Quixote (May 1, 2023) by Ludwig Minkus. April 8, 2023, the 85th birthday of the outstanding ballet dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev, will be commemorated with a special event – performance of The Nutcracker ballet.
The Vladivostok audience will also have the chance to enjoy the performance of Renata Shakirova, one of the leading soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre. The St Petersburg ballerina will appear on the Primorsky Stage as Odette-Odile in Swan Lake (April 20, 2023) and will perform the main female part in Le Corsaire (April 22, 2023).
The Chamber Hall will continue to introduce opera to the young audiences. The children’s playbill includes performances of The Turnip by Rustam Sagdiev (April 1 and 22, 2023), Murich the Cat by Sergei Banevich (April 2, 15, 16 and 29, 2023) and The Little Prince by Leonid Klinichev (April 8 and 9, 2023).
