"Tainted vodka." Those words are how the Financial Times described the Bolshoi’s 2011 production of Mikhail Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila.
Staged as part of the re-opening of the famed Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, this version of Ruslan generated a great deal of controversy. It led to boos and screams from the audience but was also cheered for its daring.
It’s safe to say that Ruslan and Lyudmila remains much more popular in Russia than in the West. It is considered the pre-eminent Russian opera and is the most frequently performed. For the director of this new production, Dmitri Tcherniakov, the opera may have gathered a bit of a dusty feel, and so he updated the fantasy-like narrative to modern day, and added many more visual components to the piece.
Here’s the opening scene from Ruslan, in which a modern party is dressed up in period costumes.
We present the 2011 Ruslan from the Bolshoi this week on SATO. Despite the staging controversy, the music remains wonderfully Russian.
You’ll find the complete synopsis on the Bolshoi website.
It’s a largely Russian cast, the notable exception being the characters Bayan and Finn, both sung by American tenor Charles Workman. Here’s a complete cast list:
Vladimir Ognovenko, bass: Svetozar, Great Prince of Kiev.
Albina Shagimuratova, soprano: Lyudmila, his daughter.
Mikhail Petrenko, bass: Ruslan, a Kievan knight, Lyudmila’s betrothed.
Yuri Minenko, contralto: Ratmir, a Khazar prince.
Almas Shvilpa, bass: Farlaf, a Varangian knight.
Alexandrina Pendachanska, soprano: Gorislava, a captive of Ratmir.
Charles Workman, tenor: Finn, a good sorcerer.
Elena Zaremba, mezzo-soprano: Naina, an evil sorceress.
Charles Workman, tenor: Bayan, a bard.
Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and Chorus
Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski
Staging, sets and costumes: Dmitri Cherniakov
The Bolshoi Theatre re-opened officially on October 28, 2011, with a gala celebration. Tickets were hard to come by, reportedly selling on the black market for thousands of dollars. Here’s the Russian broadcast. It’s quite a night for sure, the strange construction montage that opens the night (at 17:00) is a highlight for me.
Related:
Bolshoi Theatre performances Sept. to Dec., 2012