The June 19 premiere of Kirill Serebrennikov’s production of the Rimsky-Korsakov opera The Golden Cockerel at the Bolshoi Theater promises to fully reflect the composer’s intentions.
The June 19 premiere of Kirill Serebrennikov’s production of the Rimsky-Korsakov opera The Golden Cockerel at the Bolshoi Theater promises to fully reflect the composer’s intentions. Photo: Scene from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsavkov’s opera The Golden Cockerel at the Bolshoi Theater.
Serebrennikov has tried to direct the opera the way Rimsky-Korsakov envisioned it: not as a children’s performance, but as a blatant satire on autocracy. It is no coincidence that, due to censorship, the audience saw the first production of the opera a year after the composer’s death, in 1909. Photo: Scene from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsavkov’s opera The Golden Cockerel at the Bolshoi Theater.
The director believes that the main themes of the opera should be Tsar Dodon’s private life, the story of his last love and the impact of power on man. Photo: Vladimir Matorin as Tsar Dodon (center).
Serebrennikov’s set does not feature any of the arbitrary and fairytale-like décor prominent in previous adaptations; instead it is very concrete and recognizable. Photo: Scene from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsavkov’s opera The Golden Cockerel at the Bolshoi Theater.
The director was actively involved in costume creation along with painter Galya Solodvonikova. Photo: Scene from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsavkov’s opera The Golden Cockerel at the Bolshoi Theater.
The part of Tsar Dodon, one of the central characters, will be performed by the famous bass of the Bolshoi Theater, Vladimir Matorin, and the Polish singer Alexander Teliga in the new production.
The Queen of Shemakha’s role is sung by Venera Grimadieva, artist of the Young Opera Program, and the Polish singer Alexandra Kubas. Photo: Venera Gimadieva as the Queen of Shemakha.
The premiere series of performances will run in the Bolshoi Theater on June 19 – 23. Photo: Scene from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Golden Cockerel, directed by Kirill Serebrennikov at the Bolshoi Theater.
