The Ruslan and Lyudmila opera is to premiere at the Bolshoi Theater on November 2.
The Ruslan and Lyudmila opera is to premiere at the Bolshoi Theater on November 2.
Ruslan and Lyudmila is Mikhail Glinka’s second opera. The first performance took place at the Bolshoi on December 9, 1846, followed by nine different productions and 700 performances.
Production director Dmitry Chernyakov believes the opera, the only one showing that has a happy ending, suits the momentous reopening of the historical stage best.
“The theater’s opening is a celebration after all. It would be odd to see it finish with a mass suicide from Khovanshchina or an afterlife scene from the Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh,” Chernyakov says.
Mikhail Petrenko (pictured), the Mariinsky Theater’s lead singer, and Alexei Tikhomirov of the Helikon-Opera play the role of Ruslan.
Albina Shagimuratova (pictured) plays Lyudmila. Her double is Ulyana Aleksyuk.
Finn and Bayan are played by one singer, American tenor Charles Workman.
Other actors in title roles are Lithuanian bass Almas Svilpa (Farlaf), Bulgarian singer Alexandrina Pendatchanska and Bolshoi guest soloist Veronika Dzhioeva (Gorislava), Elena Obraztsova and Yelena Zaremba (Naina), Gleb Nikolsky (Svetozar) and others.
The premiere has been surrounded with secrecy. At a press night, journalists had a chance to see only one scene from the opera (photo).
The production crew thinks Ruslan and Lyudmila is not for very young viewers. “The production features scenes that could be disturbing for a feeble mind,” conductor Vladimir Yurovsky admitted.
