The Queen of Spades (Opera by Pyotr Tchaikovsky) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in two acts, seven scenes.
Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky, based on Alexander Pushkin's story of the same name
Music Director: Mikhail Pletnev
Stage Director: Valery Fokin
Set Designer: Alexander Borovsky
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Choreographer: Sergei Gritsay
Premiere of this production took place on October 5, 2007.
Presented with one interval.
Running time: 3 hours 35 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Scene 1
Petersburg. Strolling in the Summer Garden, Surin tells Chekalinsky about the previous night's gambling: as usual, Íerman had spent the whole night by the gaming table, gloomily following the game, but not taking part in it.
Íerman and Count Tomsky come into the garden. Íerman admits he is in love with a girl whose name he does not know even. He is afraid she is above him in station and therefore will prove beyond his reach.
Prince Yeletsky informs his friends that he is to get married. Íerman asks him about his betrothed. "There she is", Yeletsky replies, pointing to Liza who is in the company of the old Countess, known as The Queen of Spades. Gherman is in despair: for Liza is the very girl with whom he is in love.
"Happy day, I bless you!" Yeletsky says. "Unhappy day, I curse you!" Íerman exclaims.
Tomsky tells his friends that in her youth the Countess was a great beauty. A passionate gamblåã, in Paris she had once lost everything at the gaming table. Count Saint-German had told the 'Moscow Venus' the secret of three cards which had helped her win her fortune back. The Countess had been warned she would die at the hands of a man who, "impelled by despair", would come to her to demand the secret of the three cards.
Tomsky's story made a great impression on Íerman. The Summer Garden empties, a storm is about to break. All take shelter except Íerman who stands as if in a trance. He swears that if Liza does not become his, he will take his life.

Scene 2
Liza's room at the Countess' house. Some girls of her own age have come to see Liza. Their merrymaking is interrupted by a stern housekeeper: the Countess is annoyed - it is already late and she cannot sleep because of the noise the girls are making. Left alone, Liza confides her secret to the night: she is in love with Herman.
Herman appears at the balcony doors. He declares his love to Liza. There is a loud knocking at the door. The old Countess has come to Liza's room herself to find out what the noise is about. Hiding, Herman remembers the legend of the three cards. Overcome by a burning desire to find out the secret of the winning cards, he immediately forgets his love for Liza. The Countess leaves the room and Gherman comes to his senses. He again tells Liza he loves her. She begs him to leave but, won over by the strength of his passion, she admits to reciprocating his feelings.

Act II
Scene 3
A ball given by a rich dignitary. Yeletsky notices that Liza is out of spirits and keeps questioning her as to the cause of her malaise. Liza avoids giving an explanation. The entreaties of her fiance to whom she is indifferent, leave her cold.
Liza gives Herman the key to a secret door into the Countess' house: they must see each other. The way to Liza's room lies through the old woman's bedroom. It seems to Gherman that fate itself is helping him discover the secret of the three winning cards.

Scene 4
The Countess' bedroom. Here everything is reminiscent of the distant youth of the 'Moscow Venus' and Herman forgets why he has come. Possessed by the wish to find out the secret of the three cards, he decides to remain in the bedroom and make the Countess reveal it to him.
On her return from the ball, the Countess, having dismissed her maids and hangers on, remembers her youth and the marvelous balls in Paris. Herman suddenly appears and asks the Countess to reveal her secret to him. The old woman remains silent. Herman, threatening her with a pistol, repeats his request. The Countess dies....
Hearing the noise, Liza runs into the bedroom. Catching sight of the dead Countess, she exclaims in despair: "So it was the cards, not me you were after!"

Act III
Scene 5
Herman's quarters in the barracks. Herman is reading a letter from Liza in which she asks him to meet her on the embankment and give an explanation of his conduct. Herman is tormented by thoughts of the dead Countess. Against a background of the wailing wind and raging snowstorm outside, the old woman's ghost appears to Herman, who has gone out of his mind. She tells Herman he must marry Liza and that the secret of the three cards - Three, Seven and Ace - will be his.

Scene 6
The embankment of the Winter Canal. Dusk is falling fast. Liza is waiting for Herman hoping that he will dispel her suspicions that his murder of the Countess was premeditated. She waits a long time. Liza begins to lose hope and is ready to believe in Herman's villainy. But then Herman appears and for a brief moment it seems to them both that happiness may be possible, that all their sufferings are over. But, possessed by the thought of the three cards, Herman, half out of his mind, pushes Liza aside and runs off. Liza throws herself in the canal.

Scene 7
At the gambling house, the game is in full swing. Herman puts all his money on the three, the card named to him by the ghost, and wins. He doubles his stake. The second card, the seven, also brings him luck.
Herman, in very overwrought state, challenges anyone to stake once more. Yeletsky offers to play with him. But Gherman's third card turns out to be the Queen of Spades, not the ace. His card is trumped. Herman sees the ghost of the Countess. Gibbering with fear and rage he shoots himself.

 

Giselle (Ballet by Adolphe Adam. Production by Yuri Grigorovich) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in two acts Production by Yuri Grigorovich
Libretto by Theophile Gautier and Jean-Henry Saint-Georges
Choreography: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Mauris Petipa
Choreographic version:Yuri Grigorovich
Designer: Simon Virsaladze
Music Director: Alexander Kopylov

SYNOPSIS

Act I
A small, peaceful village, bathed in sunlight. It is inhabited by simple, artless people. Giselle, a young peasant girl, is re joicing in the sun, the blue sky, the singing of the birds and, most of all, in the happiness of pure, trusting love which has lit up her life. She is in love and is confident that she is loved. The gamekeeper, who is in love with Giselle, tries in vain to per suade her that Albrecht, her loved one, is not a peasant at all but a nobleman in disguise and that he is deceiving her.
The gamekeeper manages to steal into the cottage which Albrecht is renting in the village and here he finds a silver sword with a coat of arms on it. Now the gamekeeper knows for sure that Albrecht is concealing his noble origins.
A party of distinguished noblemen, attended by a sumptuous suite, seek rest and refreshment in the village after the hunt. The peasants give their guests a cordial welcome.
Albrecht is embarrassed by this unexpected meeting: he tries to hide the fact he knows them for, in their company, is his betrothed, Bathilde. Meanwhile the gamekeeper shows everyone Albrecht's sword and, unmasking him, tells them of the latter's deceit. Giselle is shocked to the core by the perfidy of her loved one. The pure, crystal-clear world of her faith, hopes and dreams has been destroyed. She goes mad and dies.

Act II
Night-time. The ghostly forms of the Wilis, died brides, appear among the graves of the village church yard which is bathed in moonlight. "Dressed in bridal gowns and garlands of flow ers...The irresistibly beautiful Wilis danced to the light of the moon. And as they felt the time given them for dancing was running out and that they had again to return to their icy graves, their dancing became more and more impassioned and ra­pid..." (Heinrich Heine).
The Wilis catch sight of the gamekeeper who, suffering from pangs of con science, has come to visit Giselle's grave. At the command of Myrtha, the unrelenting Queen of the Wilis, the Wilis encircle the gamekeeper and make him dance until he drops lifeless, to the ground.
Albrecht too, is unable to forget Giselle. And, at dead of night, he co mes to her grave. The Wilis immedi ately encircle the youth. Albrecht is now threatened by the same horrify ing fate as the gamekeeper. But the shadow of Giselle now appears and her eternal and self-sacrificing love protects and saves Albrecht from the anger of the Wilis.
The ghostly, white forms of the Wilis vanish with the first rays of the rising sun. And Giselle's ethereal shadow va nishes too, but Giselle will always be alive in Albrecht's memory - the ever-present regret for a lost love, a love that is stronger than death.

Giselle (Ballet by Adolphe Adam. Production by Yuri Grigorovich) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in two acts Production by Yuri Grigorovich
Libretto by Theophile Gautier and Jean-Henry Saint-Georges
Choreography: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Mauris Petipa
Choreographic version:Yuri Grigorovich
Designer: Simon Virsaladze
Music Director: Alexander Kopylov

SYNOPSIS

Act I
A small, peaceful village, bathed in sunlight. It is inhabited by simple, artless people. Giselle, a young peasant girl, is re joicing in the sun, the blue sky, the singing of the birds and, most of all, in the happiness of pure, trusting love which has lit up her life. She is in love and is confident that she is loved. The gamekeeper, who is in love with Giselle, tries in vain to per suade her that Albrecht, her loved one, is not a peasant at all but a nobleman in disguise and that he is deceiving her.
The gamekeeper manages to steal into the cottage which Albrecht is renting in the village and here he finds a silver sword with a coat of arms on it. Now the gamekeeper knows for sure that Albrecht is concealing his noble origins.
A party of distinguished noblemen, attended by a sumptuous suite, seek rest and refreshment in the village after the hunt. The peasants give their guests a cordial welcome.
Albrecht is embarrassed by this unexpected meeting: he tries to hide the fact he knows them for, in their company, is his betrothed, Bathilde. Meanwhile the gamekeeper shows everyone Albrecht's sword and, unmasking him, tells them of the latter's deceit. Giselle is shocked to the core by the perfidy of her loved one. The pure, crystal-clear world of her faith, hopes and dreams has been destroyed. She goes mad and dies.

Act II
Night-time. The ghostly forms of the Wilis, died brides, appear among the graves of the village church yard which is bathed in moonlight. "Dressed in bridal gowns and garlands of flow ers...The irresistibly beautiful Wilis danced to the light of the moon. And as they felt the time given them for dancing was running out and that they had again to return to their icy graves, their dancing became more and more impassioned and ra­pid..." (Heinrich Heine).
The Wilis catch sight of the gamekeeper who, suffering from pangs of con science, has come to visit Giselle's grave. At the command of Myrtha, the unrelenting Queen of the Wilis, the Wilis encircle the gamekeeper and make him dance until he drops lifeless, to the ground.
Albrecht too, is unable to forget Giselle. And, at dead of night, he co mes to her grave. The Wilis immedi ately encircle the youth. Albrecht is now threatened by the same horrify ing fate as the gamekeeper. But the shadow of Giselle now appears and her eternal and self-sacrificing love protects and saves Albrecht from the anger of the Wilis.
The ghostly, white forms of the Wilis vanish with the first rays of the rising sun. And Giselle's ethereal shadow va nishes too, but Giselle will always be alive in Albrecht's memory - the ever-present regret for a lost love, a love that is stronger than death.

The Queen of Spades (Opera by Pyotr Tchaikovsky) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in two acts, seven scenes.
Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky, based on Alexander Pushkin's story of the same name
Music Director: Mikhail Pletnev
Stage Director: Valery Fokin
Set Designer: Alexander Borovsky
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Choreographer: Sergei Gritsay
Premiere of this production took place on October 5, 2007.
Presented with one interval.
Running time: 3 hours 35 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Scene 1
Petersburg. Strolling in the Summer Garden, Surin tells Chekalinsky about the previous night's gambling: as usual, Íerman had spent the whole night by the gaming table, gloomily following the game, but not taking part in it.
Íerman and Count Tomsky come into the garden. Íerman admits he is in love with a girl whose name he does not know even. He is afraid she is above him in station and therefore will prove beyond his reach.
Prince Yeletsky informs his friends that he is to get married. Íerman asks him about his betrothed. "There she is", Yeletsky replies, pointing to Liza who is in the company of the old Countess, known as The Queen of Spades. Gherman is in despair: for Liza is the very girl with whom he is in love.
"Happy day, I bless you!" Yeletsky says. "Unhappy day, I curse you!" Íerman exclaims.
Tomsky tells his friends that in her youth the Countess was a great beauty. A passionate gamblåã, in Paris she had once lost everything at the gaming table. Count Saint-German had told the 'Moscow Venus' the secret of three cards which had helped her win her fortune back. The Countess had been warned she would die at the hands of a man who, "impelled by despair", would come to her to demand the secret of the three cards.
Tomsky's story made a great impression on Íerman. The Summer Garden empties, a storm is about to break. All take shelter except Íerman who stands as if in a trance. He swears that if Liza does not become his, he will take his life.

Scene 2
Liza's room at the Countess' house. Some girls of her own age have come to see Liza. Their merrymaking is interrupted by a stern housekeeper: the Countess is annoyed - it is already late and she cannot sleep because of the noise the girls are making. Left alone, Liza confides her secret to the night: she is in love with Herman.
Herman appears at the balcony doors. He declares his love to Liza. There is a loud knocking at the door. The old Countess has come to Liza's room herself to find out what the noise is about. Hiding, Herman remembers the legend of the three cards. Overcome by a burning desire to find out the secret of the winning cards, he immediately forgets his love for Liza. The Countess leaves the room and Gherman comes to his senses. He again tells Liza he loves her. She begs him to leave but, won over by the strength of his passion, she admits to reciprocating his feelings.

Act II
Scene 3
A ball given by a rich dignitary. Yeletsky notices that Liza is out of spirits and keeps questioning her as to the cause of her malaise. Liza avoids giving an explanation. The entreaties of her fiance to whom she is indifferent, leave her cold.
Liza gives Herman the key to a secret door into the Countess' house: they must see each other. The way to Liza's room lies through the old woman's bedroom. It seems to Gherman that fate itself is helping him discover the secret of the three winning cards.

Scene 4
The Countess' bedroom. Here everything is reminiscent of the distant youth of the 'Moscow Venus' and Herman forgets why he has come. Possessed by the wish to find out the secret of the three cards, he decides to remain in the bedroom and make the Countess reveal it to him.
On her return from the ball, the Countess, having dismissed her maids and hangers on, remembers her youth and the marvelous balls in Paris. Herman suddenly appears and asks the Countess to reveal her secret to him. The old woman remains silent. Herman, threatening her with a pistol, repeats his request. The Countess dies....
Hearing the noise, Liza runs into the bedroom. Catching sight of the dead Countess, she exclaims in despair: "So it was the cards, not me you were after!"

Act III
Scene 5
Herman's quarters in the barracks. Herman is reading a letter from Liza in which she asks him to meet her on the embankment and give an explanation of his conduct. Herman is tormented by thoughts of the dead Countess. Against a background of the wailing wind and raging snowstorm outside, the old woman's ghost appears to Herman, who has gone out of his mind. She tells Herman he must marry Liza and that the secret of the three cards - Three, Seven and Ace - will be his.

Scene 6
The embankment of the Winter Canal. Dusk is falling fast. Liza is waiting for Herman hoping that he will dispel her suspicions that his murder of the Countess was premeditated. She waits a long time. Liza begins to lose hope and is ready to believe in Herman's villainy. But then Herman appears and for a brief moment it seems to them both that happiness may be possible, that all their sufferings are over. But, possessed by the thought of the three cards, Herman, half out of his mind, pushes Liza aside and runs off. Liza throws herself in the canal.

Scene 7
At the gambling house, the game is in full swing. Herman puts all his money on the three, the card named to him by the ghost, and wins. He doubles his stake. The second card, the seven, also brings him luck.
Herman, in very overwrought state, challenges anyone to stake once more. Yeletsky offers to play with him. But Gherman's third card turns out to be the Queen of Spades, not the ace. His card is trumped. Herman sees the ghost of the Countess. Gibbering with fear and rage he shoots himself.

 

Giselle (Ballet by Adolphe Adam. Production by Yuri Grigorovich) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in two acts Production by Yuri Grigorovich
Libretto by Theophile Gautier and Jean-Henry Saint-Georges
Choreography: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Mauris Petipa
Choreographic version:Yuri Grigorovich
Designer: Simon Virsaladze
Music Director: Alexander Kopylov

SYNOPSIS

Act I
A small, peaceful village, bathed in sunlight. It is inhabited by simple, artless people. Giselle, a young peasant girl, is re joicing in the sun, the blue sky, the singing of the birds and, most of all, in the happiness of pure, trusting love which has lit up her life. She is in love and is confident that she is loved. The gamekeeper, who is in love with Giselle, tries in vain to per suade her that Albrecht, her loved one, is not a peasant at all but a nobleman in disguise and that he is deceiving her.
The gamekeeper manages to steal into the cottage which Albrecht is renting in the village and here he finds a silver sword with a coat of arms on it. Now the gamekeeper knows for sure that Albrecht is concealing his noble origins.
A party of distinguished noblemen, attended by a sumptuous suite, seek rest and refreshment in the village after the hunt. The peasants give their guests a cordial welcome.
Albrecht is embarrassed by this unexpected meeting: he tries to hide the fact he knows them for, in their company, is his betrothed, Bathilde. Meanwhile the gamekeeper shows everyone Albrecht's sword and, unmasking him, tells them of the latter's deceit. Giselle is shocked to the core by the perfidy of her loved one. The pure, crystal-clear world of her faith, hopes and dreams has been destroyed. She goes mad and dies.

Act II
Night-time. The ghostly forms of the Wilis, died brides, appear among the graves of the village church yard which is bathed in moonlight. "Dressed in bridal gowns and garlands of flow ers...The irresistibly beautiful Wilis danced to the light of the moon. And as they felt the time given them for dancing was running out and that they had again to return to their icy graves, their dancing became more and more impassioned and ra­pid..." (Heinrich Heine).
The Wilis catch sight of the gamekeeper who, suffering from pangs of con science, has come to visit Giselle's grave. At the command of Myrtha, the unrelenting Queen of the Wilis, the Wilis encircle the gamekeeper and make him dance until he drops lifeless, to the ground.
Albrecht too, is unable to forget Giselle. And, at dead of night, he co mes to her grave. The Wilis immedi ately encircle the youth. Albrecht is now threatened by the same horrify ing fate as the gamekeeper. But the shadow of Giselle now appears and her eternal and self-sacrificing love protects and saves Albrecht from the anger of the Wilis.
The ghostly, white forms of the Wilis vanish with the first rays of the rising sun. And Giselle's ethereal shadow va nishes too, but Giselle will always be alive in Albrecht's memory - the ever-present regret for a lost love, a love that is stronger than death.

The Queen of Spades (Opera by Pyotr Tchaikovsky) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in two acts, seven scenes.
Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky, based on Alexander Pushkin's story of the same name
Music Director: Mikhail Pletnev
Stage Director: Valery Fokin
Set Designer: Alexander Borovsky
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Choreographer: Sergei Gritsay
Premiere of this production took place on October 5, 2007.
Presented with one interval.
Running time: 3 hours 35 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Scene 1
Petersburg. Strolling in the Summer Garden, Surin tells Chekalinsky about the previous night's gambling: as usual, Íerman had spent the whole night by the gaming table, gloomily following the game, but not taking part in it.
Íerman and Count Tomsky come into the garden. Íerman admits he is in love with a girl whose name he does not know even. He is afraid she is above him in station and therefore will prove beyond his reach.
Prince Yeletsky informs his friends that he is to get married. Íerman asks him about his betrothed. "There she is", Yeletsky replies, pointing to Liza who is in the company of the old Countess, known as The Queen of Spades. Gherman is in despair: for Liza is the very girl with whom he is in love.
"Happy day, I bless you!" Yeletsky says. "Unhappy day, I curse you!" Íerman exclaims.
Tomsky tells his friends that in her youth the Countess was a great beauty. A passionate gamblåã, in Paris she had once lost everything at the gaming table. Count Saint-German had told the 'Moscow Venus' the secret of three cards which had helped her win her fortune back. The Countess had been warned she would die at the hands of a man who, "impelled by despair", would come to her to demand the secret of the three cards.
Tomsky's story made a great impression on Íerman. The Summer Garden empties, a storm is about to break. All take shelter except Íerman who stands as if in a trance. He swears that if Liza does not become his, he will take his life.

Scene 2
Liza's room at the Countess' house. Some girls of her own age have come to see Liza. Their merrymaking is interrupted by a stern housekeeper: the Countess is annoyed - it is already late and she cannot sleep because of the noise the girls are making. Left alone, Liza confides her secret to the night: she is in love with Herman.
Herman appears at the balcony doors. He declares his love to Liza. There is a loud knocking at the door. The old Countess has come to Liza's room herself to find out what the noise is about. Hiding, Herman remembers the legend of the three cards. Overcome by a burning desire to find out the secret of the winning cards, he immediately forgets his love for Liza. The Countess leaves the room and Gherman comes to his senses. He again tells Liza he loves her. She begs him to leave but, won over by the strength of his passion, she admits to reciprocating his feelings.

Act II
Scene 3
A ball given by a rich dignitary. Yeletsky notices that Liza is out of spirits and keeps questioning her as to the cause of her malaise. Liza avoids giving an explanation. The entreaties of her fiance to whom she is indifferent, leave her cold.
Liza gives Herman the key to a secret door into the Countess' house: they must see each other. The way to Liza's room lies through the old woman's bedroom. It seems to Gherman that fate itself is helping him discover the secret of the three winning cards.

Scene 4
The Countess' bedroom. Here everything is reminiscent of the distant youth of the 'Moscow Venus' and Herman forgets why he has come. Possessed by the wish to find out the secret of the three cards, he decides to remain in the bedroom and make the Countess reveal it to him.
On her return from the ball, the Countess, having dismissed her maids and hangers on, remembers her youth and the marvelous balls in Paris. Herman suddenly appears and asks the Countess to reveal her secret to him. The old woman remains silent. Herman, threatening her with a pistol, repeats his request. The Countess dies....
Hearing the noise, Liza runs into the bedroom. Catching sight of the dead Countess, she exclaims in despair: "So it was the cards, not me you were after!"

Act III
Scene 5
Herman's quarters in the barracks. Herman is reading a letter from Liza in which she asks him to meet her on the embankment and give an explanation of his conduct. Herman is tormented by thoughts of the dead Countess. Against a background of the wailing wind and raging snowstorm outside, the old woman's ghost appears to Herman, who has gone out of his mind. She tells Herman he must marry Liza and that the secret of the three cards - Three, Seven and Ace - will be his.

Scene 6
The embankment of the Winter Canal. Dusk is falling fast. Liza is waiting for Herman hoping that he will dispel her suspicions that his murder of the Countess was premeditated. She waits a long time. Liza begins to lose hope and is ready to believe in Herman's villainy. But then Herman appears and for a brief moment it seems to them both that happiness may be possible, that all their sufferings are over. But, possessed by the thought of the three cards, Herman, half out of his mind, pushes Liza aside and runs off. Liza throws herself in the canal.

Scene 7
At the gambling house, the game is in full swing. Herman puts all his money on the three, the card named to him by the ghost, and wins. He doubles his stake. The second card, the seven, also brings him luck.
Herman, in very overwrought state, challenges anyone to stake once more. Yeletsky offers to play with him. But Gherman's third card turns out to be the Queen of Spades, not the ace. His card is trumped. Herman sees the ghost of the Countess. Gibbering with fear and rage he shoots himself.

 

Giselle (Ballet by Adolphe Adam. Production by Yuri Grigorovich) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in two acts Production by Yuri Grigorovich
Libretto by Theophile Gautier and Jean-Henry Saint-Georges
Choreography: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Mauris Petipa
Choreographic version:Yuri Grigorovich
Designer: Simon Virsaladze
Music Director: Alexander Kopylov

SYNOPSIS

Act I
A small, peaceful village, bathed in sunlight. It is inhabited by simple, artless people. Giselle, a young peasant girl, is re joicing in the sun, the blue sky, the singing of the birds and, most of all, in the happiness of pure, trusting love which has lit up her life. She is in love and is confident that she is loved. The gamekeeper, who is in love with Giselle, tries in vain to per suade her that Albrecht, her loved one, is not a peasant at all but a nobleman in disguise and that he is deceiving her.
The gamekeeper manages to steal into the cottage which Albrecht is renting in the village and here he finds a silver sword with a coat of arms on it. Now the gamekeeper knows for sure that Albrecht is concealing his noble origins.
A party of distinguished noblemen, attended by a sumptuous suite, seek rest and refreshment in the village after the hunt. The peasants give their guests a cordial welcome.
Albrecht is embarrassed by this unexpected meeting: he tries to hide the fact he knows them for, in their company, is his betrothed, Bathilde. Meanwhile the gamekeeper shows everyone Albrecht's sword and, unmasking him, tells them of the latter's deceit. Giselle is shocked to the core by the perfidy of her loved one. The pure, crystal-clear world of her faith, hopes and dreams has been destroyed. She goes mad and dies.

Act II
Night-time. The ghostly forms of the Wilis, died brides, appear among the graves of the village church yard which is bathed in moonlight. "Dressed in bridal gowns and garlands of flow ers...The irresistibly beautiful Wilis danced to the light of the moon. And as they felt the time given them for dancing was running out and that they had again to return to their icy graves, their dancing became more and more impassioned and ra­pid..." (Heinrich Heine).
The Wilis catch sight of the gamekeeper who, suffering from pangs of con science, has come to visit Giselle's grave. At the command of Myrtha, the unrelenting Queen of the Wilis, the Wilis encircle the gamekeeper and make him dance until he drops lifeless, to the ground.
Albrecht too, is unable to forget Giselle. And, at dead of night, he co mes to her grave. The Wilis immedi ately encircle the youth. Albrecht is now threatened by the same horrify ing fate as the gamekeeper. But the shadow of Giselle now appears and her eternal and self-sacrificing love protects and saves Albrecht from the anger of the Wilis.
The ghostly, white forms of the Wilis vanish with the first rays of the rising sun. And Giselle's ethereal shadow va nishes too, but Giselle will always be alive in Albrecht's memory - the ever-present regret for a lost love, a love that is stronger than death.

The Queen of Spades (Opera by Pyotr Tchaikovsky) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in two acts, seven scenes.
Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky, based on Alexander Pushkin's story of the same name
Music Director: Mikhail Pletnev
Stage Director: Valery Fokin
Set Designer: Alexander Borovsky
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Choreographer: Sergei Gritsay
Premiere of this production took place on October 5, 2007.
Presented with one interval.
Running time: 3 hours 35 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Scene 1
Petersburg. Strolling in the Summer Garden, Surin tells Chekalinsky about the previous night's gambling: as usual, Íerman had spent the whole night by the gaming table, gloomily following the game, but not taking part in it.
Íerman and Count Tomsky come into the garden. Íerman admits he is in love with a girl whose name he does not know even. He is afraid she is above him in station and therefore will prove beyond his reach.
Prince Yeletsky informs his friends that he is to get married. Íerman asks him about his betrothed. "There she is", Yeletsky replies, pointing to Liza who is in the company of the old Countess, known as The Queen of Spades. Gherman is in despair: for Liza is the very girl with whom he is in love.
"Happy day, I bless you!" Yeletsky says. "Unhappy day, I curse you!" Íerman exclaims.
Tomsky tells his friends that in her youth the Countess was a great beauty. A passionate gamblåã, in Paris she had once lost everything at the gaming table. Count Saint-German had told the 'Moscow Venus' the secret of three cards which had helped her win her fortune back. The Countess had been warned she would die at the hands of a man who, "impelled by despair", would come to her to demand the secret of the three cards.
Tomsky's story made a great impression on Íerman. The Summer Garden empties, a storm is about to break. All take shelter except Íerman who stands as if in a trance. He swears that if Liza does not become his, he will take his life.

Scene 2
Liza's room at the Countess' house. Some girls of her own age have come to see Liza. Their merrymaking is interrupted by a stern housekeeper: the Countess is annoyed - it is already late and she cannot sleep because of the noise the girls are making. Left alone, Liza confides her secret to the night: she is in love with Herman.
Herman appears at the balcony doors. He declares his love to Liza. There is a loud knocking at the door. The old Countess has come to Liza's room herself to find out what the noise is about. Hiding, Herman remembers the legend of the three cards. Overcome by a burning desire to find out the secret of the winning cards, he immediately forgets his love for Liza. The Countess leaves the room and Gherman comes to his senses. He again tells Liza he loves her. She begs him to leave but, won over by the strength of his passion, she admits to reciprocating his feelings.

Act II
Scene 3
A ball given by a rich dignitary. Yeletsky notices that Liza is out of spirits and keeps questioning her as to the cause of her malaise. Liza avoids giving an explanation. The entreaties of her fiance to whom she is indifferent, leave her cold.
Liza gives Herman the key to a secret door into the Countess' house: they must see each other. The way to Liza's room lies through the old woman's bedroom. It seems to Gherman that fate itself is helping him discover the secret of the three winning cards.

Scene 4
The Countess' bedroom. Here everything is reminiscent of the distant youth of the 'Moscow Venus' and Herman forgets why he has come. Possessed by the wish to find out the secret of the three cards, he decides to remain in the bedroom and make the Countess reveal it to him.
On her return from the ball, the Countess, having dismissed her maids and hangers on, remembers her youth and the marvelous balls in Paris. Herman suddenly appears and asks the Countess to reveal her secret to him. The old woman remains silent. Herman, threatening her with a pistol, repeats his request. The Countess dies....
Hearing the noise, Liza runs into the bedroom. Catching sight of the dead Countess, she exclaims in despair: "So it was the cards, not me you were after!"

Act III
Scene 5
Herman's quarters in the barracks. Herman is reading a letter from Liza in which she asks him to meet her on the embankment and give an explanation of his conduct. Herman is tormented by thoughts of the dead Countess. Against a background of the wailing wind and raging snowstorm outside, the old woman's ghost appears to Herman, who has gone out of his mind. She tells Herman he must marry Liza and that the secret of the three cards - Three, Seven and Ace - will be his.

Scene 6
The embankment of the Winter Canal. Dusk is falling fast. Liza is waiting for Herman hoping that he will dispel her suspicions that his murder of the Countess was premeditated. She waits a long time. Liza begins to lose hope and is ready to believe in Herman's villainy. But then Herman appears and for a brief moment it seems to them both that happiness may be possible, that all their sufferings are over. But, possessed by the thought of the three cards, Herman, half out of his mind, pushes Liza aside and runs off. Liza throws herself in the canal.

Scene 7
At the gambling house, the game is in full swing. Herman puts all his money on the three, the card named to him by the ghost, and wins. He doubles his stake. The second card, the seven, also brings him luck.
Herman, in very overwrought state, challenges anyone to stake once more. Yeletsky offers to play with him. But Gherman's third card turns out to be the Queen of Spades, not the ace. His card is trumped. Herman sees the ghost of the Countess. Gibbering with fear and rage he shoots himself.

 

Rodin. Ballet by Boris Eifman - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet by Boris Eifman
Music: M.Ravel, C. Saint-Saens, J. Massenet
Scenery: Zinoviy Margolin
Costumes: Olga Shaishmelashvili
Light: Gleb Filshtinsky, Boris Eifman
World premiere took place in Saint Petersburg on the 22nd of November 2011

Boris Eifman"s new ballet, Rodin, is dedicated to the life and creative work of the great sculptor Auguste Rodin and his apprentice, lover and muse, Camille Claudel.
The story of their passionate relationship is full of drama. For 15 years Rodin and Claudel had been one sensual and creative body. But their breakup dealt a deathblow to Camille"s mental health and marked the beginning of her destruction. Almost forgotten, isolated from the outside world, vegetating in misery, Claudel went out of her mind. She was convinced of a deliberate conspiracy against her, with Rodin the main perpetrator. She spent 30 years in a mental asylum, where she died in 1943, forgotten and left by everyone.
Rodin is a massive artistic utterance about the tragic nature of the lives of geniuses. With the help of the unique body language of the modern psychological ballet, which the choreographer honed in previous works (Onegin, The Seagull, Anna Karenina, Russian Hamlet, and others), Eifman presents a new conception of the world of human passions studied masterfully by Rodin and Claudel in their works, and also creates a masterpiece dedicated to the incomprehensible mystery of the creative process.

Boris Godunov (Opera by Modest Mussorgsky) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in four acts.
Libretto by Modest Mussorgsky, based on Alexander Pushkin"s play of the same name
Version and orchestration by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Orchestration of "At St. Basil Cathedral" scene by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
Music Director: Nikolai Golovanov
Stage Director: Leonid Baratov
Designer: Fyodor Fedorovsky
Scenery revival: Nonna Fedorovskaya
Choreographer: Leonid Lavrovsky
Premiered on October 16, 1948.
Sung in Russian.
Presented with three intervals.
Running time: 4 hours 20 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Prologue
Scene 1
A crowd throngs by the high walls of the Novodevichy Monastery in Moscow. The boyar, Boris Godunov, has withdrawn to the monastery after the death of Tsar Fyodor, who did not leave an heir. That Boris will be elected to the throne is a foregone conclu sion, but he makes a show of refusing the crown so that he is not suspected of wishing to seize power. At the order of a police offi cer, the people beg Godunov to accept election to the throne:
"Do not abandon us, Father,
Do not leave us helpness!"
But Shchelkalov, secretary of the Duma, announces that Boris is implacable.

Scene 2
Square in front of the Cathedral of the As sumption in the Kremlin. A majestic pealing of bells - Boris has given his consent and is being crowned. But Tsar Boris is not happy, he is weighed down by anxiety:
"My soul is heavy,
Some instinctive fear
With ominous foreboding
Rivets my heart..."
In the Kremlin the bells are pealing and the people break out again into acclamation.

Act I
Scene 1
Late at night. A cell in the Chudov Monaste ry. By the light of an icon-lamp, the wise monk Pimen is writing a truthful chronicle of the history of the Russian state. In his chronicle, Pimen reveals the secret of the murder, by Boris Godunov, of Tsarevitch Dimitri who had stood between him and the throne. Grigory, a young novice, sharing Pimen"s cell, wakes up. He listens to the holy man"s tale and a storm of anxieties, passions and vainglorious ambitions breaks into the peace of the night. The idea comes to Grigo ry of calling himself the Tsarevitch and of doing battle with Boris for the throne.
"Boris! Boris! All tremble before you,
No one dares to remind you
Of the fate of the hapless infant...
But meanwhile a hermit in a dark cell
Is writing a terrible denunciation against you.
And you shall not escape human judgment,
As you shall not escape the judgment of heaven!"

Scene 2
An inn near the Lithuanian frontier. Three va gabond monks, Varlaam, Missail and Grigory, have dropped in on the sprightly, merry mistress of the establishment. Varlaam, a drunkard and glutton, sings a song about the capture of Kazan. Grigory, questions the mi stress of the inn on the best route to Lithuania. A police officer comes into the inn: on the Tsar"s orders he is searching for the run away monk, Grigory Otrepiev. After an un successful attempt to deflect the suspicion from himself, Grigory leaps through the win dow and makes good his escape.

Act II
Scene 3
The Tsar"s private apartment in the Kremlin. Tsarevitch Fyodor is looking at the "Book of the Big Drawing", the first map of Russia. Ksenia, Boris" daughter, is grieving before a portrait of her dead fiancé, the heir to the Danish throne. In an attempt to cheer her up, her old nurse tells her a funny story. Boris comes in and talks tenderly to his children, he is pleased to see his son gleaning wis dom from a book. But even here, with his children, Boris is tormented by anguish. Russia has been visited by a terrible famine. "Peop le affected with the plague wander about like wild animals", and the common people bla me the Tsar for all their troubles: "in the squ ares they curse the name of Boris". Some thing approaching a groan breaks out from deep down inside the Tsar:
"All around is darkness and impenetrable gloom,
O, for a fleeting glimpse of a ray of joy!..
Some secret anxiety,
One inconstantly expecting disaster!.."
The boyar, Shuisky, comes in, a cunning courtier and leader of a group of boyars with seditious intentions. He brings bad news: a pretender has raised his head in Lithuania, having taken the name of the Tsarevitch Dimi tri. He has the support of the King of Poland, the Polish nobles and the Pope. Boris requires Shuisky to tell him the truth: is he certain that the babe who was killed in the town of Uglich was the Tsarevitch Dimitri? Shuisky, enjoying the Tsar"s torment, descri bes the deep wound on the Tsarevitch"s neck, and the angelic smile on his lips...
"It seemed, that in his cradle
He was peacefully sleeping..."
Shuisky departs, having aroused with new force the fears and agitation which grip Bo ris: the latter now thinks he sees an appari tion of the murdered Dimitri.

Act III
Scene 4
A ball in the garden of Mnishek, the Governor of Sandomir. The Polish nobles are preparing to march on Moscow. They mean to place their protégé on the Russian throne: Grigory, the runaway monk from the Chudov monaste ry, who has taken the name of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri. In this they will be helped by the ambitious plans of the Governor"s daugh ter, the beautiful Marina, who dreams of beco ming the wife of the future king of Russia. The long-awaited (by the Pretender) rendez vous between Marina and Dimitri who is in love with her takes place. However, Marina's abrupt and calculating speech, and her de termination, which she makes no attempt to conceal, to sit on the Russian throne discon cert the Pretender for a brief moment. Reali zing this, Marina wins him over by false pro testations of her love for him. The Jesuit, Rangoni, celebrates his victory.

Scene 5
An early winter"s morning. A square in front of the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow. A crowd of starving people are discussing the Pretender's victories over the forces of Boris. A Simpleton comes running into the Square. Urchins surround him and take a kopek from him . The Tsar comes out of the Cathedral. "Bread, bread! Give the starving bread! Give us bread, father, for the sake of Christ!" cries the crowd. Goaded by the urchins, the Simple ton addresses the Tsar: "Order them to be killed, as you killed the little Tsarevitch". Boris tells the boyars not to seize the Simpleton:
"Let him be! Pray for me, simple person..."
But the Simpleton replies:
"No, Boris! It can not be done!
How can one pray for a Tsar Herod?
Our Lady does not allow it..."

Act IV
Scene 6
A clearing in the forest near Kromy. Night-time. The peasants, who are in revolt, lead in a Kromy boyar whom they have taken pris oner. They make fun of the boyar, reminding him of all their grudges:
"You trained us the right way,
In storms and bad weather, and when roads were impassable,
You exploited us,
And whipped us with a slender lash..."
The arrival of the monks, Varlaam and Missail, who denounce the sins of Boris, the regicide, stirs up the crowd's anger even more. They break out into a threatening song:
"A dashing young force is on the rampage,
The Cossack blood is all aflame!
A great subversive power has risen from the depths..."
Jesuit priests, the Pretender"s emissaries, appear. But the arrival of these foreigners arouses the crowd"s indignation. The peas ants drag the Jesuits into the forest to be hanged.
The Pretender, rides into the clearing, sur rounded by troops, Polish gentry and Jesu its. He frees the Kromy boyar. By promising his favor and protection, the Pretender per suades the peasants to march on Moscow. The sky lights up with the glow of a fire. The alarm bell is rung. The Simpleton appears, looking round him in fear. His prophetic words of the new troubles that await the Russian people are spoken in anguish and pain:
"Flow, flow, bitter tears,
Cry, cry, Russian Orthodox soul!
Soon the enemy will come and darkness will fall,
Black, impenetrable darkness..."

Scene 7
The Granovitaya Chamber, in the Kremlin. A session of the Duma is in progress. The boyars are discussing what punishment sho uld be meted out to the Pretender should he be caught. Shuisky appears. He describes the scene in the Tsar"s private apartment, when Boris drove off the apparition of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri. At this point, Boris comes running in, shouting: "Away, away, child!" Catching sight of the boyars, he regains his self-control and asks them for advice and help. At this, Shuisky suggests to the Tsar that he listen to a holy man who has come to tell them of a great secret. Boris ag rees. Pimen is brought in. Pimen"s tale of the miraculous cure of a sick man at the gra ve of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri, in Uglich, is more than Boris can take and he falls senseless to the floor. Regaining conscious ness, the dying Tsar gives his son advice on how to protect his kingdom:
"Don not trust the slander of the seditious boyars,
Keep a vigilant watch over their secret dealings with Lithuania,
Punish treason without mercy, without charity punish it,
Listen carefully to what the people say -
for their judgement is not hypocritical..."
To the pealing of the funeral bell and the chanting of a choir of monks, the Tsar dies. The shocked Tsarevitch Fyodor, having paid his last respects to his father, rises to his feet...And immediately, Shuisky who, unse en, had crept ahead of him, blocks his way to the throne.

Rodin. Ballet by Boris Eifman - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet by Boris Eifman
Music: M.Ravel, C. Saint-Saens, J. Massenet
Scenery: Zinoviy Margolin
Costumes: Olga Shaishmelashvili
Light: Gleb Filshtinsky, Boris Eifman
World premiere took place in Saint Petersburg on the 22nd of November 2011

Boris Eifman"s new ballet, Rodin, is dedicated to the life and creative work of the great sculptor Auguste Rodin and his apprentice, lover and muse, Camille Claudel.
The story of their passionate relationship is full of drama. For 15 years Rodin and Claudel had been one sensual and creative body. But their breakup dealt a deathblow to Camille"s mental health and marked the beginning of her destruction. Almost forgotten, isolated from the outside world, vegetating in misery, Claudel went out of her mind. She was convinced of a deliberate conspiracy against her, with Rodin the main perpetrator. She spent 30 years in a mental asylum, where she died in 1943, forgotten and left by everyone.
Rodin is a massive artistic utterance about the tragic nature of the lives of geniuses. With the help of the unique body language of the modern psychological ballet, which the choreographer honed in previous works (Onegin, The Seagull, Anna Karenina, Russian Hamlet, and others), Eifman presents a new conception of the world of human passions studied masterfully by Rodin and Claudel in their works, and also creates a masterpiece dedicated to the incomprehensible mystery of the creative process.

Boris Godunov (Opera by Modest Mussorgsky) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in four acts.
Libretto by Modest Mussorgsky, based on Alexander Pushkin"s play of the same name
Version and orchestration by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Orchestration of "At St. Basil Cathedral" scene by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
Music Director: Nikolai Golovanov
Stage Director: Leonid Baratov
Designer: Fyodor Fedorovsky
Scenery revival: Nonna Fedorovskaya
Choreographer: Leonid Lavrovsky
Premiered on October 16, 1948.
Sung in Russian.
Presented with three intervals.
Running time: 4 hours 20 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Prologue
Scene 1
A crowd throngs by the high walls of the Novodevichy Monastery in Moscow. The boyar, Boris Godunov, has withdrawn to the monastery after the death of Tsar Fyodor, who did not leave an heir. That Boris will be elected to the throne is a foregone conclu sion, but he makes a show of refusing the crown so that he is not suspected of wishing to seize power. At the order of a police offi cer, the people beg Godunov to accept election to the throne:
"Do not abandon us, Father,
Do not leave us helpness!"
But Shchelkalov, secretary of the Duma, announces that Boris is implacable.

Scene 2
Square in front of the Cathedral of the As sumption in the Kremlin. A majestic pealing of bells - Boris has given his consent and is being crowned. But Tsar Boris is not happy, he is weighed down by anxiety:
"My soul is heavy,
Some instinctive fear
With ominous foreboding
Rivets my heart..."
In the Kremlin the bells are pealing and the people break out again into acclamation.

Act I
Scene 1
Late at night. A cell in the Chudov Monaste ry. By the light of an icon-lamp, the wise monk Pimen is writing a truthful chronicle of the history of the Russian state. In his chronicle, Pimen reveals the secret of the murder, by Boris Godunov, of Tsarevitch Dimitri who had stood between him and the throne. Grigory, a young novice, sharing Pimen"s cell, wakes up. He listens to the holy man"s tale and a storm of anxieties, passions and vainglorious ambitions breaks into the peace of the night. The idea comes to Grigo ry of calling himself the Tsarevitch and of doing battle with Boris for the throne.
"Boris! Boris! All tremble before you,
No one dares to remind you
Of the fate of the hapless infant...
But meanwhile a hermit in a dark cell
Is writing a terrible denunciation against you.
And you shall not escape human judgment,
As you shall not escape the judgment of heaven!"

Scene 2
An inn near the Lithuanian frontier. Three va gabond monks, Varlaam, Missail and Grigory, have dropped in on the sprightly, merry mistress of the establishment. Varlaam, a drunkard and glutton, sings a song about the capture of Kazan. Grigory, questions the mi stress of the inn on the best route to Lithuania. A police officer comes into the inn: on the Tsar"s orders he is searching for the run away monk, Grigory Otrepiev. After an un successful attempt to deflect the suspicion from himself, Grigory leaps through the win dow and makes good his escape.

Act II
Scene 3
The Tsar"s private apartment in the Kremlin. Tsarevitch Fyodor is looking at the "Book of the Big Drawing", the first map of Russia. Ksenia, Boris" daughter, is grieving before a portrait of her dead fiancé, the heir to the Danish throne. In an attempt to cheer her up, her old nurse tells her a funny story. Boris comes in and talks tenderly to his children, he is pleased to see his son gleaning wis dom from a book. But even here, with his children, Boris is tormented by anguish. Russia has been visited by a terrible famine. "Peop le affected with the plague wander about like wild animals", and the common people bla me the Tsar for all their troubles: "in the squ ares they curse the name of Boris". Some thing approaching a groan breaks out from deep down inside the Tsar:
"All around is darkness and impenetrable gloom,
O, for a fleeting glimpse of a ray of joy!..
Some secret anxiety,
One inconstantly expecting disaster!.."
The boyar, Shuisky, comes in, a cunning courtier and leader of a group of boyars with seditious intentions. He brings bad news: a pretender has raised his head in Lithuania, having taken the name of the Tsarevitch Dimi tri. He has the support of the King of Poland, the Polish nobles and the Pope. Boris requires Shuisky to tell him the truth: is he certain that the babe who was killed in the town of Uglich was the Tsarevitch Dimitri? Shuisky, enjoying the Tsar"s torment, descri bes the deep wound on the Tsarevitch"s neck, and the angelic smile on his lips...
"It seemed, that in his cradle
He was peacefully sleeping..."
Shuisky departs, having aroused with new force the fears and agitation which grip Bo ris: the latter now thinks he sees an appari tion of the murdered Dimitri.

Act III
Scene 4
A ball in the garden of Mnishek, the Governor of Sandomir. The Polish nobles are preparing to march on Moscow. They mean to place their protégé on the Russian throne: Grigory, the runaway monk from the Chudov monaste ry, who has taken the name of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri. In this they will be helped by the ambitious plans of the Governor"s daugh ter, the beautiful Marina, who dreams of beco ming the wife of the future king of Russia. The long-awaited (by the Pretender) rendez vous between Marina and Dimitri who is in love with her takes place. However, Marina's abrupt and calculating speech, and her de termination, which she makes no attempt to conceal, to sit on the Russian throne discon cert the Pretender for a brief moment. Reali zing this, Marina wins him over by false pro testations of her love for him. The Jesuit, Rangoni, celebrates his victory.

Scene 5
An early winter"s morning. A square in front of the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow. A crowd of starving people are discussing the Pretender's victories over the forces of Boris. A Simpleton comes running into the Square. Urchins surround him and take a kopek from him . The Tsar comes out of the Cathedral. "Bread, bread! Give the starving bread! Give us bread, father, for the sake of Christ!" cries the crowd. Goaded by the urchins, the Simple ton addresses the Tsar: "Order them to be killed, as you killed the little Tsarevitch". Boris tells the boyars not to seize the Simpleton:
"Let him be! Pray for me, simple person..."
But the Simpleton replies:
"No, Boris! It can not be done!
How can one pray for a Tsar Herod?
Our Lady does not allow it..."

Act IV
Scene 6
A clearing in the forest near Kromy. Night-time. The peasants, who are in revolt, lead in a Kromy boyar whom they have taken pris oner. They make fun of the boyar, reminding him of all their grudges:
"You trained us the right way,
In storms and bad weather, and when roads were impassable,
You exploited us,
And whipped us with a slender lash..."
The arrival of the monks, Varlaam and Missail, who denounce the sins of Boris, the regicide, stirs up the crowd's anger even more. They break out into a threatening song:
"A dashing young force is on the rampage,
The Cossack blood is all aflame!
A great subversive power has risen from the depths..."
Jesuit priests, the Pretender"s emissaries, appear. But the arrival of these foreigners arouses the crowd"s indignation. The peas ants drag the Jesuits into the forest to be hanged.
The Pretender, rides into the clearing, sur rounded by troops, Polish gentry and Jesu its. He frees the Kromy boyar. By promising his favor and protection, the Pretender per suades the peasants to march on Moscow. The sky lights up with the glow of a fire. The alarm bell is rung. The Simpleton appears, looking round him in fear. His prophetic words of the new troubles that await the Russian people are spoken in anguish and pain:
"Flow, flow, bitter tears,
Cry, cry, Russian Orthodox soul!
Soon the enemy will come and darkness will fall,
Black, impenetrable darkness..."

Scene 7
The Granovitaya Chamber, in the Kremlin. A session of the Duma is in progress. The boyars are discussing what punishment sho uld be meted out to the Pretender should he be caught. Shuisky appears. He describes the scene in the Tsar"s private apartment, when Boris drove off the apparition of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri. At this point, Boris comes running in, shouting: "Away, away, child!" Catching sight of the boyars, he regains his self-control and asks them for advice and help. At this, Shuisky suggests to the Tsar that he listen to a holy man who has come to tell them of a great secret. Boris ag rees. Pimen is brought in. Pimen"s tale of the miraculous cure of a sick man at the gra ve of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri, in Uglich, is more than Boris can take and he falls senseless to the floor. Regaining conscious ness, the dying Tsar gives his son advice on how to protect his kingdom:
"Don not trust the slander of the seditious boyars,
Keep a vigilant watch over their secret dealings with Lithuania,
Punish treason without mercy, without charity punish it,
Listen carefully to what the people say -
for their judgement is not hypocritical..."
To the pealing of the funeral bell and the chanting of a choir of monks, the Tsar dies. The shocked Tsarevitch Fyodor, having paid his last respects to his father, rises to his feet...And immediately, Shuisky who, unse en, had crept ahead of him, blocks his way to the throne.

Boris Godunov (Opera by Modest Mussorgsky) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in four acts.
Libretto by Modest Mussorgsky, based on Alexander Pushkin"s play of the same name
Version and orchestration by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Orchestration of "At St. Basil Cathedral" scene by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
Music Director: Nikolai Golovanov
Stage Director: Leonid Baratov
Designer: Fyodor Fedorovsky
Scenery revival: Nonna Fedorovskaya
Choreographer: Leonid Lavrovsky
Premiered on October 16, 1948.
Sung in Russian.
Presented with three intervals.
Running time: 4 hours 20 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Prologue
Scene 1
A crowd throngs by the high walls of the Novodevichy Monastery in Moscow. The boyar, Boris Godunov, has withdrawn to the monastery after the death of Tsar Fyodor, who did not leave an heir. That Boris will be elected to the throne is a foregone conclu sion, but he makes a show of refusing the crown so that he is not suspected of wishing to seize power. At the order of a police offi cer, the people beg Godunov to accept election to the throne:
"Do not abandon us, Father,
Do not leave us helpness!"
But Shchelkalov, secretary of the Duma, announces that Boris is implacable.

Scene 2
Square in front of the Cathedral of the As sumption in the Kremlin. A majestic pealing of bells - Boris has given his consent and is being crowned. But Tsar Boris is not happy, he is weighed down by anxiety:
"My soul is heavy,
Some instinctive fear
With ominous foreboding
Rivets my heart..."
In the Kremlin the bells are pealing and the people break out again into acclamation.

Act I
Scene 1
Late at night. A cell in the Chudov Monaste ry. By the light of an icon-lamp, the wise monk Pimen is writing a truthful chronicle of the history of the Russian state. In his chronicle, Pimen reveals the secret of the murder, by Boris Godunov, of Tsarevitch Dimitri who had stood between him and the throne. Grigory, a young novice, sharing Pimen"s cell, wakes up. He listens to the holy man"s tale and a storm of anxieties, passions and vainglorious ambitions breaks into the peace of the night. The idea comes to Grigo ry of calling himself the Tsarevitch and of doing battle with Boris for the throne.
"Boris! Boris! All tremble before you,
No one dares to remind you
Of the fate of the hapless infant...
But meanwhile a hermit in a dark cell
Is writing a terrible denunciation against you.
And you shall not escape human judgment,
As you shall not escape the judgment of heaven!"

Scene 2
An inn near the Lithuanian frontier. Three va gabond monks, Varlaam, Missail and Grigory, have dropped in on the sprightly, merry mistress of the establishment. Varlaam, a drunkard and glutton, sings a song about the capture of Kazan. Grigory, questions the mi stress of the inn on the best route to Lithuania. A police officer comes into the inn: on the Tsar"s orders he is searching for the run away monk, Grigory Otrepiev. After an un successful attempt to deflect the suspicion from himself, Grigory leaps through the win dow and makes good his escape.

Act II
Scene 3
The Tsar"s private apartment in the Kremlin. Tsarevitch Fyodor is looking at the "Book of the Big Drawing", the first map of Russia. Ksenia, Boris" daughter, is grieving before a portrait of her dead fiancé, the heir to the Danish throne. In an attempt to cheer her up, her old nurse tells her a funny story. Boris comes in and talks tenderly to his children, he is pleased to see his son gleaning wis dom from a book. But even here, with his children, Boris is tormented by anguish. Russia has been visited by a terrible famine. "Peop le affected with the plague wander about like wild animals", and the common people bla me the Tsar for all their troubles: "in the squ ares they curse the name of Boris". Some thing approaching a groan breaks out from deep down inside the Tsar:
"All around is darkness and impenetrable gloom,
O, for a fleeting glimpse of a ray of joy!..
Some secret anxiety,
One inconstantly expecting disaster!.."
The boyar, Shuisky, comes in, a cunning courtier and leader of a group of boyars with seditious intentions. He brings bad news: a pretender has raised his head in Lithuania, having taken the name of the Tsarevitch Dimi tri. He has the support of the King of Poland, the Polish nobles and the Pope. Boris requires Shuisky to tell him the truth: is he certain that the babe who was killed in the town of Uglich was the Tsarevitch Dimitri? Shuisky, enjoying the Tsar"s torment, descri bes the deep wound on the Tsarevitch"s neck, and the angelic smile on his lips...
"It seemed, that in his cradle
He was peacefully sleeping..."
Shuisky departs, having aroused with new force the fears and agitation which grip Bo ris: the latter now thinks he sees an appari tion of the murdered Dimitri.

Act III
Scene 4
A ball in the garden of Mnishek, the Governor of Sandomir. The Polish nobles are preparing to march on Moscow. They mean to place their protégé on the Russian throne: Grigory, the runaway monk from the Chudov monaste ry, who has taken the name of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri. In this they will be helped by the ambitious plans of the Governor"s daugh ter, the beautiful Marina, who dreams of beco ming the wife of the future king of Russia. The long-awaited (by the Pretender) rendez vous between Marina and Dimitri who is in love with her takes place. However, Marina's abrupt and calculating speech, and her de termination, which she makes no attempt to conceal, to sit on the Russian throne discon cert the Pretender for a brief moment. Reali zing this, Marina wins him over by false pro testations of her love for him. The Jesuit, Rangoni, celebrates his victory.

Scene 5
An early winter"s morning. A square in front of the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow. A crowd of starving people are discussing the Pretender's victories over the forces of Boris. A Simpleton comes running into the Square. Urchins surround him and take a kopek from him . The Tsar comes out of the Cathedral. "Bread, bread! Give the starving bread! Give us bread, father, for the sake of Christ!" cries the crowd. Goaded by the urchins, the Simple ton addresses the Tsar: "Order them to be killed, as you killed the little Tsarevitch". Boris tells the boyars not to seize the Simpleton:
"Let him be! Pray for me, simple person..."
But the Simpleton replies:
"No, Boris! It can not be done!
How can one pray for a Tsar Herod?
Our Lady does not allow it..."

Act IV
Scene 6
A clearing in the forest near Kromy. Night-time. The peasants, who are in revolt, lead in a Kromy boyar whom they have taken pris oner. They make fun of the boyar, reminding him of all their grudges:
"You trained us the right way,
In storms and bad weather, and when roads were impassable,
You exploited us,
And whipped us with a slender lash..."
The arrival of the monks, Varlaam and Missail, who denounce the sins of Boris, the regicide, stirs up the crowd's anger even more. They break out into a threatening song:
"A dashing young force is on the rampage,
The Cossack blood is all aflame!
A great subversive power has risen from the depths..."
Jesuit priests, the Pretender"s emissaries, appear. But the arrival of these foreigners arouses the crowd"s indignation. The peas ants drag the Jesuits into the forest to be hanged.
The Pretender, rides into the clearing, sur rounded by troops, Polish gentry and Jesu its. He frees the Kromy boyar. By promising his favor and protection, the Pretender per suades the peasants to march on Moscow. The sky lights up with the glow of a fire. The alarm bell is rung. The Simpleton appears, looking round him in fear. His prophetic words of the new troubles that await the Russian people are spoken in anguish and pain:
"Flow, flow, bitter tears,
Cry, cry, Russian Orthodox soul!
Soon the enemy will come and darkness will fall,
Black, impenetrable darkness..."

Scene 7
The Granovitaya Chamber, in the Kremlin. A session of the Duma is in progress. The boyars are discussing what punishment sho uld be meted out to the Pretender should he be caught. Shuisky appears. He describes the scene in the Tsar"s private apartment, when Boris drove off the apparition of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri. At this point, Boris comes running in, shouting: "Away, away, child!" Catching sight of the boyars, he regains his self-control and asks them for advice and help. At this, Shuisky suggests to the Tsar that he listen to a holy man who has come to tell them of a great secret. Boris ag rees. Pimen is brought in. Pimen"s tale of the miraculous cure of a sick man at the gra ve of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri, in Uglich, is more than Boris can take and he falls senseless to the floor. Regaining conscious ness, the dying Tsar gives his son advice on how to protect his kingdom:
"Don not trust the slander of the seditious boyars,
Keep a vigilant watch over their secret dealings with Lithuania,
Punish treason without mercy, without charity punish it,
Listen carefully to what the people say -
for their judgement is not hypocritical..."
To the pealing of the funeral bell and the chanting of a choir of monks, the Tsar dies. The shocked Tsarevitch Fyodor, having paid his last respects to his father, rises to his feet...And immediately, Shuisky who, unse en, had crept ahead of him, blocks his way to the throne.

Boris Godunov (Opera by Modest Mussorgsky) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in four acts.
Libretto by Modest Mussorgsky, based on Alexander Pushkin"s play of the same name
Version and orchestration by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Orchestration of "At St. Basil Cathedral" scene by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
Music Director: Nikolai Golovanov
Stage Director: Leonid Baratov
Designer: Fyodor Fedorovsky
Scenery revival: Nonna Fedorovskaya
Choreographer: Leonid Lavrovsky
Premiered on October 16, 1948.
Sung in Russian.
Presented with three intervals.
Running time: 4 hours 20 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Prologue
Scene 1
A crowd throngs by the high walls of the Novodevichy Monastery in Moscow. The boyar, Boris Godunov, has withdrawn to the monastery after the death of Tsar Fyodor, who did not leave an heir. That Boris will be elected to the throne is a foregone conclu sion, but he makes a show of refusing the crown so that he is not suspected of wishing to seize power. At the order of a police offi cer, the people beg Godunov to accept election to the throne:
"Do not abandon us, Father,
Do not leave us helpness!"
But Shchelkalov, secretary of the Duma, announces that Boris is implacable.

Scene 2
Square in front of the Cathedral of the As sumption in the Kremlin. A majestic pealing of bells - Boris has given his consent and is being crowned. But Tsar Boris is not happy, he is weighed down by anxiety:
"My soul is heavy,
Some instinctive fear
With ominous foreboding
Rivets my heart..."
In the Kremlin the bells are pealing and the people break out again into acclamation.

Act I
Scene 1
Late at night. A cell in the Chudov Monaste ry. By the light of an icon-lamp, the wise monk Pimen is writing a truthful chronicle of the history of the Russian state. In his chronicle, Pimen reveals the secret of the murder, by Boris Godunov, of Tsarevitch Dimitri who had stood between him and the throne. Grigory, a young novice, sharing Pimen"s cell, wakes up. He listens to the holy man"s tale and a storm of anxieties, passions and vainglorious ambitions breaks into the peace of the night. The idea comes to Grigo ry of calling himself the Tsarevitch and of doing battle with Boris for the throne.
"Boris! Boris! All tremble before you,
No one dares to remind you
Of the fate of the hapless infant...
But meanwhile a hermit in a dark cell
Is writing a terrible denunciation against you.
And you shall not escape human judgment,
As you shall not escape the judgment of heaven!"

Scene 2
An inn near the Lithuanian frontier. Three va gabond monks, Varlaam, Missail and Grigory, have dropped in on the sprightly, merry mistress of the establishment. Varlaam, a drunkard and glutton, sings a song about the capture of Kazan. Grigory, questions the mi stress of the inn on the best route to Lithuania. A police officer comes into the inn: on the Tsar"s orders he is searching for the run away monk, Grigory Otrepiev. After an un successful attempt to deflect the suspicion from himself, Grigory leaps through the win dow and makes good his escape.

Act II
Scene 3
The Tsar"s private apartment in the Kremlin. Tsarevitch Fyodor is looking at the "Book of the Big Drawing", the first map of Russia. Ksenia, Boris" daughter, is grieving before a portrait of her dead fiancé, the heir to the Danish throne. In an attempt to cheer her up, her old nurse tells her a funny story. Boris comes in and talks tenderly to his children, he is pleased to see his son gleaning wis dom from a book. But even here, with his children, Boris is tormented by anguish. Russia has been visited by a terrible famine. "Peop le affected with the plague wander about like wild animals", and the common people bla me the Tsar for all their troubles: "in the squ ares they curse the name of Boris". Some thing approaching a groan breaks out from deep down inside the Tsar:
"All around is darkness and impenetrable gloom,
O, for a fleeting glimpse of a ray of joy!..
Some secret anxiety,
One inconstantly expecting disaster!.."
The boyar, Shuisky, comes in, a cunning courtier and leader of a group of boyars with seditious intentions. He brings bad news: a pretender has raised his head in Lithuania, having taken the name of the Tsarevitch Dimi tri. He has the support of the King of Poland, the Polish nobles and the Pope. Boris requires Shuisky to tell him the truth: is he certain that the babe who was killed in the town of Uglich was the Tsarevitch Dimitri? Shuisky, enjoying the Tsar"s torment, descri bes the deep wound on the Tsarevitch"s neck, and the angelic smile on his lips...
"It seemed, that in his cradle
He was peacefully sleeping..."
Shuisky departs, having aroused with new force the fears and agitation which grip Bo ris: the latter now thinks he sees an appari tion of the murdered Dimitri.

Act III
Scene 4
A ball in the garden of Mnishek, the Governor of Sandomir. The Polish nobles are preparing to march on Moscow. They mean to place their protégé on the Russian throne: Grigory, the runaway monk from the Chudov monaste ry, who has taken the name of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri. In this they will be helped by the ambitious plans of the Governor"s daugh ter, the beautiful Marina, who dreams of beco ming the wife of the future king of Russia. The long-awaited (by the Pretender) rendez vous between Marina and Dimitri who is in love with her takes place. However, Marina's abrupt and calculating speech, and her de termination, which she makes no attempt to conceal, to sit on the Russian throne discon cert the Pretender for a brief moment. Reali zing this, Marina wins him over by false pro testations of her love for him. The Jesuit, Rangoni, celebrates his victory.

Scene 5
An early winter"s morning. A square in front of the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow. A crowd of starving people are discussing the Pretender's victories over the forces of Boris. A Simpleton comes running into the Square. Urchins surround him and take a kopek from him . The Tsar comes out of the Cathedral. "Bread, bread! Give the starving bread! Give us bread, father, for the sake of Christ!" cries the crowd. Goaded by the urchins, the Simple ton addresses the Tsar: "Order them to be killed, as you killed the little Tsarevitch". Boris tells the boyars not to seize the Simpleton:
"Let him be! Pray for me, simple person..."
But the Simpleton replies:
"No, Boris! It can not be done!
How can one pray for a Tsar Herod?
Our Lady does not allow it..."

Act IV
Scene 6
A clearing in the forest near Kromy. Night-time. The peasants, who are in revolt, lead in a Kromy boyar whom they have taken pris oner. They make fun of the boyar, reminding him of all their grudges:
"You trained us the right way,
In storms and bad weather, and when roads were impassable,
You exploited us,
And whipped us with a slender lash..."
The arrival of the monks, Varlaam and Missail, who denounce the sins of Boris, the regicide, stirs up the crowd's anger even more. They break out into a threatening song:
"A dashing young force is on the rampage,
The Cossack blood is all aflame!
A great subversive power has risen from the depths..."
Jesuit priests, the Pretender"s emissaries, appear. But the arrival of these foreigners arouses the crowd"s indignation. The peas ants drag the Jesuits into the forest to be hanged.
The Pretender, rides into the clearing, sur rounded by troops, Polish gentry and Jesu its. He frees the Kromy boyar. By promising his favor and protection, the Pretender per suades the peasants to march on Moscow. The sky lights up with the glow of a fire. The alarm bell is rung. The Simpleton appears, looking round him in fear. His prophetic words of the new troubles that await the Russian people are spoken in anguish and pain:
"Flow, flow, bitter tears,
Cry, cry, Russian Orthodox soul!
Soon the enemy will come and darkness will fall,
Black, impenetrable darkness..."

Scene 7
The Granovitaya Chamber, in the Kremlin. A session of the Duma is in progress. The boyars are discussing what punishment sho uld be meted out to the Pretender should he be caught. Shuisky appears. He describes the scene in the Tsar"s private apartment, when Boris drove off the apparition of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri. At this point, Boris comes running in, shouting: "Away, away, child!" Catching sight of the boyars, he regains his self-control and asks them for advice and help. At this, Shuisky suggests to the Tsar that he listen to a holy man who has come to tell them of a great secret. Boris ag rees. Pimen is brought in. Pimen"s tale of the miraculous cure of a sick man at the gra ve of the murdered Tsarevitch Dimitri, in Uglich, is more than Boris can take and he falls senseless to the floor. Regaining conscious ness, the dying Tsar gives his son advice on how to protect his kingdom:
"Don not trust the slander of the seditious boyars,
Keep a vigilant watch over their secret dealings with Lithuania,
Punish treason without mercy, without charity punish it,
Listen carefully to what the people say -
for their judgement is not hypocritical..."
To the pealing of the funeral bell and the chanting of a choir of monks, the Tsar dies. The shocked Tsarevitch Fyodor, having paid his last respects to his father, rises to his feet...And immediately, Shuisky who, unse en, had crept ahead of him, blocks his way to the throne.

Giselle (Ballet by Adolphe Adam. Production by Yuri Grigorovich) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in two acts Production by Yuri Grigorovich
Libretto by Theophile Gautier and Jean-Henry Saint-Georges
Choreography: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Mauris Petipa
Choreographic version:Yuri Grigorovich
Designer: Simon Virsaladze
Music Director: Alexander Kopylov

SYNOPSIS

Act I
A small, peaceful village, bathed in sunlight. It is inhabited by simple, artless people. Giselle, a young peasant girl, is re joicing in the sun, the blue sky, the singing of the birds and, most of all, in the happiness of pure, trusting love which has lit up her life. She is in love and is confident that she is loved. The gamekeeper, who is in love with Giselle, tries in vain to per suade her that Albrecht, her loved one, is not a peasant at all but a nobleman in disguise and that he is deceiving her.
The gamekeeper manages to steal into the cottage which Albrecht is renting in the village and here he finds a silver sword with a coat of arms on it. Now the gamekeeper knows for sure that Albrecht is concealing his noble origins.
A party of distinguished noblemen, attended by a sumptuous suite, seek rest and refreshment in the village after the hunt. The peasants give their guests a cordial welcome.
Albrecht is embarrassed by this unexpected meeting: he tries to hide the fact he knows them for, in their company, is his betrothed, Bathilde. Meanwhile the gamekeeper shows everyone Albrecht's sword and, unmasking him, tells them of the latter's deceit. Giselle is shocked to the core by the perfidy of her loved one. The pure, crystal-clear world of her faith, hopes and dreams has been destroyed. She goes mad and dies.

Act II
Night-time. The ghostly forms of the Wilis, died brides, appear among the graves of the village church yard which is bathed in moonlight. "Dressed in bridal gowns and garlands of flow ers...The irresistibly beautiful Wilis danced to the light of the moon. And as they felt the time given them for dancing was running out and that they had again to return to their icy graves, their dancing became more and more impassioned and ra­pid..." (Heinrich Heine).
The Wilis catch sight of the gamekeeper who, suffering from pangs of con science, has come to visit Giselle's grave. At the command of Myrtha, the unrelenting Queen of the Wilis, the Wilis encircle the gamekeeper and make him dance until he drops lifeless, to the ground.
Albrecht too, is unable to forget Giselle. And, at dead of night, he co mes to her grave. The Wilis immedi ately encircle the youth. Albrecht is now threatened by the same horrify ing fate as the gamekeeper. But the shadow of Giselle now appears and her eternal and self-sacrificing love protects and saves Albrecht from the anger of the Wilis.
The ghostly, white forms of the Wilis vanish with the first rays of the rising sun. And Giselle's ethereal shadow va nishes too, but Giselle will always be alive in Albrecht's memory - the ever-present regret for a lost love, a love that is stronger than death.

The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Opera by Dmitry Shostakovich) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in four acts.
Libretto by Dmitry Shostakovich and Alexander Preis after the story of the same name by Nikolai Leskov
Music Director: Zoltan Pesko
Stage Director: Temur Chkheidze
Set Designer: Yury Gegeshidze
Costume Designer: Yelena Zaytseva
Lighting Designer: Vladimir Lukasevich
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Premiered on November 19, 2004.
Sung in Russian.
Presented with one interval.
Running time: 3 hours 25 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Scene 1
Yekaterina Lvovna is bored with her tedious life and loveless marriage. Boris Timofeyevich, her father-in-law, reproaches her for not yet having given his son, the rich merchant Zinovy Borisovich, an heir. Zinovy Borisovich arrives with news that a dam at the mill has broken and needs immediate repair. He personally goes to oversee the work. Before leaving, Zinovy Borisovich introduces to his father a new foreman named Sergei. Boris Timofeyevich insists that his son make his wife swear an oath to be faithful while he is away.
The cook, Aksinya, gossips that the handsome Sergei was dismissed from his last job because the mistress fell for him.

Scene 2
The male servants are molesting Aksinya. Katerina appears and steps into the breach, threatening to have Sergei beaten for inciting the others. Sergei challenges her to a fight, but in the heat of the moment Boris appears, threatening to tell Zinovy about his wife's behavior, and sends all of them back to work.

Scene 3
Katerina is in her bedroom. Sergei unexpect edly knocks at her door, interrupting her loneliness. He pretends to be asking for a book and gets Katerina into a conversation about the sad lot of women, but these are only pretexts to make a pass at Katerina, which leads on to passionate lovemaking.

Act II
Scene 4
Boris Timofeyevich cannot sleep, convinced that there are thieves around. Remembering his youth when he used to seduce other men's wives, he decides to revive old habits and sets off to see Katerina. But as he approaches her window he sees Sergei kissing Katerina good-bye. As the young man is climbing down, Boris Timofeyevich grabs him and shouts for help. After summoning Katerina to watch, he flogs Sergei who bravely does not let out a single cry. When Boris Timofeyevich gets tired of this amusement, Sergei is locked in the storeroom. Boris Timofeyevich demands something to eat and Katerina serves him mushrooms with rat poison. As the old man writhes in agony, she takes off him the keys to the storeroom. Katerina tells the priest who comes to hear her father-in-law's dying confession that he "ate mushrooms at night, a lot of people die after eating them, you know".

Scene 5
Sergei is dismayed by forthcoming arrival of Zinovy Borisovich: he does not want to be Katerina's secret lover. Katerina calms him, but she is worried her self: she has visions of the ghost of Boris Timofeyevich, cursing her for having poisoned him. Behind the door barely audible steps are heard - her husband has returned. Katerina hides Sergei. On noticing a man's belt left in her room, Zinovy Borisovich begins to beat his wife with it. Sergei jumps out at Katerina's cries, together they strangle Zinovy Borisovich and hide the corpse in the cellar.

Act III
Scene 6
The murder gives Katerina no peace. Even on the day of her wedding with Sergei, she stands around the cellar, thus alarming Sergei: "people will notice". As they leave for their nuptials, a drunken Shabby Peasant, in search of liquor, breaks down the door to the cellar and on finding the decaying corpse in horror runs off to the police.

Scene 7
Police station. The Sergeant is offended that he has not been invited to the wedding feast. When the Shabby Peasant bursts in with the news that he has found a corpse in the Izmailovs' cellar, the Sergeant and his men, glad for an excuse to spoil the celebration, hurry off to investigate.

Scene 8
The wedding feast is in progress in the Izmailovs' garden when Katerina notices that the pad lock on the cellar door has been broken. She tells Sergei that they have been found out and must leave immedi ately. As he goes to get money from inside the house, the policemen enter the garden. Katerina, realizing there is no point in feigning innocence, holds out her wrists to be handcuffed. Sergei tries to escape but is captured.

Act IV
Scene 9
A convoy of shackled convicts stops for a rest. Bribing a sentry to let her go to the men's column, Katerina finds Sergei, who rebuffs her, blaming her for his predicament. Meanwhile, Sergei flirts with another convict named Sonyetka, who promises Sergei she will be his if he can get her new stockings. Sergei goes to Katerina to trick her out of her stockings and gives them to Sonyetka. The two run off together, leaving Katerina in despair, as the rest of the women taunt her. An officer orders everyone to get ready to continue the march. Katerina goes over to Sonyetka, pushes her into the river and jumps in after her. Both women are drowned.

 

The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Opera by Dmitry Shostakovich) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in four acts.
Libretto by Dmitry Shostakovich and Alexander Preis after the story of the same name by Nikolai Leskov
Music Director: Zoltan Pesko
Stage Director: Temur Chkheidze
Set Designer: Yury Gegeshidze
Costume Designer: Yelena Zaytseva
Lighting Designer: Vladimir Lukasevich
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Premiered on November 19, 2004.
Sung in Russian.
Presented with one interval.
Running time: 3 hours 25 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Scene 1
Yekaterina Lvovna is bored with her tedious life and loveless marriage. Boris Timofeyevich, her father-in-law, reproaches her for not yet having given his son, the rich merchant Zinovy Borisovich, an heir. Zinovy Borisovich arrives with news that a dam at the mill has broken and needs immediate repair. He personally goes to oversee the work. Before leaving, Zinovy Borisovich introduces to his father a new foreman named Sergei. Boris Timofeyevich insists that his son make his wife swear an oath to be faithful while he is away.
The cook, Aksinya, gossips that the handsome Sergei was dismissed from his last job because the mistress fell for him.

Scene 2
The male servants are molesting Aksinya. Katerina appears and steps into the breach, threatening to have Sergei beaten for inciting the others. Sergei challenges her to a fight, but in the heat of the moment Boris appears, threatening to tell Zinovy about his wife's behavior, and sends all of them back to work.

Scene 3
Katerina is in her bedroom. Sergei unexpect edly knocks at her door, interrupting her loneliness. He pretends to be asking for a book and gets Katerina into a conversation about the sad lot of women, but these are only pretexts to make a pass at Katerina, which leads on to passionate lovemaking.

Act II
Scene 4
Boris Timofeyevich cannot sleep, convinced that there are thieves around. Remembering his youth when he used to seduce other men's wives, he decides to revive old habits and sets off to see Katerina. But as he approaches her window he sees Sergei kissing Katerina good-bye. As the young man is climbing down, Boris Timofeyevich grabs him and shouts for help. After summoning Katerina to watch, he flogs Sergei who bravely does not let out a single cry. When Boris Timofeyevich gets tired of this amusement, Sergei is locked in the storeroom. Boris Timofeyevich demands something to eat and Katerina serves him mushrooms with rat poison. As the old man writhes in agony, she takes off him the keys to the storeroom. Katerina tells the priest who comes to hear her father-in-law's dying confession that he "ate mushrooms at night, a lot of people die after eating them, you know".

Scene 5
Sergei is dismayed by forthcoming arrival of Zinovy Borisovich: he does not want to be Katerina's secret lover. Katerina calms him, but she is worried her self: she has visions of the ghost of Boris Timofeyevich, cursing her for having poisoned him. Behind the door barely audible steps are heard - her husband has returned. Katerina hides Sergei. On noticing a man's belt left in her room, Zinovy Borisovich begins to beat his wife with it. Sergei jumps out at Katerina's cries, together they strangle Zinovy Borisovich and hide the corpse in the cellar.

Act III
Scene 6
The murder gives Katerina no peace. Even on the day of her wedding with Sergei, she stands around the cellar, thus alarming Sergei: "people will notice". As they leave for their nuptials, a drunken Shabby Peasant, in search of liquor, breaks down the door to the cellar and on finding the decaying corpse in horror runs off to the police.

Scene 7
Police station. The Sergeant is offended that he has not been invited to the wedding feast. When the Shabby Peasant bursts in with the news that he has found a corpse in the Izmailovs' cellar, the Sergeant and his men, glad for an excuse to spoil the celebration, hurry off to investigate.

Scene 8
The wedding feast is in progress in the Izmailovs' garden when Katerina notices that the pad lock on the cellar door has been broken. She tells Sergei that they have been found out and must leave immedi ately. As he goes to get money from inside the house, the policemen enter the garden. Katerina, realizing there is no point in feigning innocence, holds out her wrists to be handcuffed. Sergei tries to escape but is captured.

Act IV
Scene 9
A convoy of shackled convicts stops for a rest. Bribing a sentry to let her go to the men's column, Katerina finds Sergei, who rebuffs her, blaming her for his predicament. Meanwhile, Sergei flirts with another convict named Sonyetka, who promises Sergei she will be his if he can get her new stockings. Sergei goes to Katerina to trick her out of her stockings and gives them to Sonyetka. The two run off together, leaving Katerina in despair, as the rest of the women taunt her. An officer orders everyone to get ready to continue the march. Katerina goes over to Sonyetka, pushes her into the river and jumps in after her. Both women are drowned.