Iolanta (Opera by Pyotr Tchaikovsky) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in two acts
Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky based on Heinrich Hertz's dramatic poem Koenig Renes Tochter
Music Director: Pavel Sorokin
Stage Director: Georgy Ansimov
Designer: Sergei Barkhin
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Premiered on June 14, 1997.
Sung in Russian.
Presented with one interval.
Running time: 2 hours 5 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

The action takes place in XV century. Iolanta, the blind daughter of the King of Provence, is whiling away the time in the gar den of the castle. As the curtain rises she is talk ing to her nurse, Marta. She tells Marta that she has never ever felt so depressed, Iolanta's friends, Brigitte and Laura, try to cheer her up by singing songs and bringing her posies of flowers. Marta also tries to comfort Iolanta by singing her favourite lullaby. This sends Iolanta to sleep. The sleeping Iolanta is carried into the castle. There is a fanfare of trumpets and Almerik, King Rene's sword-bearer, appears. He informs the castle doorman, Bertrand, that very soon the King will be arriving with a famous Physician who, it is hoped, will cure Iolanta of her blindness. The trumpets sound again, announcing the arrival of the King. King Rene enters accompanied by the Moorish Physician, Ibn-Hakia. King Rene tells Ibn-Hakia that Iolanta has been betrothed from infancy to Robert, Duke of Burgundy, and is soon to marry him, but the Duke does not know that his future wife is blind and, indeed, Iolanta herself is totally unaware of her misfortune, Iolanta had been brought up by her father in this remote cas tle and he had surrounded her with loyal retain ers whom he had ordered on pain of death not to tell her the truth. Ibn-Hakia says that the only cure for Iolanta is to inform her of her disability and then, so long as she passionately wishes to recover her sight, she will do so. King Rene, full of anxieties for his daughter, retires in indecision to the castle together with the Physician.
Robert, Duke of Burgundy, and his friend the Knight, Count Vaudemont, appear on the scene. They are impressed to find a beautiful garden in such a wild, remote spot. The notice over the entrance to the garden which threatens with death anyone entering it without permission, puz zles them. Robert is downhearted for he is soon to be united in matrimony with Iolanta whom he has never met and his heart already belongs to another, Iolanta appears on the castle terrace. Vaudemont is struck by her beauty. Hearing voic es, she does not recognize, Iolanta suggests to the strangers that they rest under the shade of the trees and she hurries off to fetch them some wine. Left alone with his friend, the Duke, who has a sceptical attitude to the world, voices his apprehensions and decides to leave; Vaudemont, who is quite enchanted by Iolanta's beauty, stays behind. When Iolanta returns he tells her of the great impression she has made on him and asks her to pick him a red rose in mem ory of their meeting, Iolanta plucks him a rose, but it is a white one. Vaudemont repeats his request and again he is handed a white rose. The Count begins to suspect something is wrong. He picks a bunch of roses and asks Iolanta to tell him how many flowers there are in the bunch, Iolanta asks him to give her the roses so that she may count them. Vaudemont now realizes that Iolanta is blind. And he tells her so. He tries, in so far as is possible, to comfort Iolanta but, getting somewhat carried away, he starts to describe to her the beauties of God's world which she is destined never to see.
Voices are heard: the King enters, followed by Physician Ibn-Hakia and servants. Rene is horrified when he learns that Vaudemont has told Iolanta of her disability; he does not know what to do to help his daughter and eventually suggests that she should try Physician Ibn-Hakia's course of treatment, Iolanta is not enthusiastic about this and says she is quite happy as she is which makes the Physician lose all hope that his treatment will be effective. Noticing that Iolanta is very much taken by Vaudemont, King Rene tells the Knight that he will be executed unless his daughter recov ers her sight, Iolanta, out of her mind with love for Vaudemont, begs the Physician to cure her and goes with him into the castle.
A fanfare of trumpets announces the arrival of the Duke of Burgundy who, with a group of armed knights, is hurrying to the rescue of his friend. Robert is amazed to see King Rene. Vaudemont confesses to Robert that he is in love with Iolanta, the latter's betrothed, and asks him to tell the King that he, Robert, has given his heart to someone else. Rene consents to the marriage of Iolanta and Count Vaudemont. Shouts of joy are heard, Iolanta, who has recov ered her sight, appears at the castle door. Overjoyed, King Rene hurries to embrace his daughter and then leads Vaudemont up to her. Falling on her knees, Iolanta gives passionate thanks to God for her recovery.

Anyuta (Ballet by Valery Gavrilin) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in two acts
Libretto by Alexander Belinsky and Vladimir Vasiliev
after the story Anna on the Neck by Anton Chekhov
Choreographer: Vladimir Vasiliev
Designer: Bella Manevich
Music Director: Alexander Lavrenyuk
Premiered on May 31, 1986.
(The world premiere took place on January 21, 1986, at Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli.)
Presented with one interval.
Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Following the death of his wife, Pyotr Leontievich, a school-teacher in a provin¬cial town, is left with three chil¬dren on his hands: a grown-up daughter, Anna (Anyuta), and two little boys, Petya and Andryusha. Grieving for the untimely passing away of his spouse, Pyotr Leontievich takes increasingly to the vodka bottle.
Modest Aleeyevich, a middle-aged official, asks for Anna's hand in marriage. Anna accepts his propos¬al in the hope her marriage will save her family from poverty and herself from a life of undiluted tedium and semistarvation. Anna breaks up with her sweet¬heart, a poor student, and goes to live with Modest Alexeyevich. She realizes only too soon that her marriage will bring her no benefits: her husband, who is close-fisted and cold-hearted, with a practical, pragmatic outlook, has no inten¬tion of helping his wife`s relatives.

Act II
At a ball given to celebrate the Christmas holiday, Anna`s youth, intelligence and beauty win the hearts of all the men present. Artynov, a rich landowner, army officers and finally even His Excellency compete for the atten¬tions and sympathy of Modest Alexeyevich`s young wife. They are ready to do anything in order to please Anna.
Anna is quite swept off her feet by her rapid ascent to fame. The attentions and love bestowed on her by the upper crust of society in a provincial town cause her to forget everything: her hateful, bor¬ing, dull-witted, as he now seems to her, husband, her drunkard father, her wretched, half-starving brothers, her former sweetheart.
Modest Alexeyevich, who immedi¬ately realizes that he stands to gain from his wife`s popularity, encour¬ages her love affairs. His career and position in society come first for Modest Alexeyevich. Very soon he is awarded the order of St. Anne and he waits impa¬tiently for new favours from his wife`s suitors.
Pyotr Leontievich is declared bank¬rupt. His few remaining belongings are confiscated and, on a frosty New Year`s Eve, he and his chil¬dren are turned out into the street.

 

La Silphide (Ballet by Herman Severin Levenskiold) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in two acts
Libretto by Adolphe Nourrit and Philippo Taglioni
Choreography by August Bournonville
Production and New Choreography: Johan Kobborg
Designer: Peter Farmer
Music Director: Pavel Klinichev
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
This version of the ballet premiered on February 20, 2008.
Presented with one interval.
Running time: 2 hours.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
A Scottish manor-house
It is the morning of James's marriage to Effie and he is asleep in his armchair. A winged figure, a Sylphide, is kneeling by his side. She kisses him on his forehead and he wakes up confused. Entranced by the vision of the Sylph, he attempts to capture her, but she escapes him; as she reaches the fireplace, she vanishes up the chimney. Troubled, he wakes his companions but none of them have seen her. Gurn, James's rival, arrives and learns that James is infatuated with someone other than Effie.
The preparations for the wedding are in full swing. James hardly notices Effie; instead she is wooed by Gurn whom she ignores. James joins in the preparations but gradually realizes that, as Effie dreams more and more of the wedding, his own dreams go far beyond the walls of the manor-house.
An old woman, Madge, has slipped unnoticed into the hall to warm herself by the fire. James, sensing that she is a sinister presence, takes an immediate dislike to her and cannot bear to see her sitting where he last saw the Sylph. He orders her to leave but Effie calms him and persuades him to let Madge tell the fortunes of some of the guests. Madge prophesies that Effie will marry Gurn, and James, furious at this, threatens Madge, who curses him. Effie runs off to dress for the wedding leaving James alone and in turmoil.
The Sylph once again shows herself to James, declares her love for him and tells him that they belong together, Gurn enters and, believing that he may have caught James talking to another woman, attempts to reveal the situation to Effie but fails
As the wedding festivities begin, the Sylph reappears and, unable to resist her enticements, James follows her into the forest. Effie is left broken-hearted.

Act II
A glade in the forest
Deep in the forest, shrouded in mist, Madge is planning her revenge. She makes a veil, irresistible to all in a magic cauldron. As the fog lifts, James enters with the Sylph, who shows him her realm. She brings him berries and water but evades his embrace. To lift his spirits she calls on her sisters and the forest fills with sylphs, who dance for James. Try as he might, he is unable to catch the Sylph in his arms
Effie and James's companions reach the glade looking for him. Gurn finds James's hat, but Madge convinces him to say nothing. He proposes to Effie and, encouraged by Madge, she accepts. Everyone leaves to prepare for the wedding of Effie and Gurn.
Meanwhile, James is desperately looking for the Sylph, and Madge convinces him that the veil she has made will enable him to catch her. The Sylph appears and, seeing the veil is totally captivated by it. She allows James to place it around her shoulders and as he does so, he kisses her. His embrace is fatal and the Sylph's wings fall to the ground. In despair James sees what should have been his own wedding party in the distance. As Madge forces him to see what he has lost, he realizes that in trying to possess the unobtainable he has lost everything.

 

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.

La Silphide (Ballet by Herman Severin Levenskiold) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in two acts
Libretto by Adolphe Nourrit and Philippo Taglioni
Choreography by August Bournonville
Production and New Choreography: Johan Kobborg
Designer: Peter Farmer
Music Director: Pavel Klinichev
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
This version of the ballet premiered on February 20, 2008.
Presented with one interval.
Running time: 2 hours.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
A Scottish manor-house
It is the morning of James's marriage to Effie and he is asleep in his armchair. A winged figure, a Sylphide, is kneeling by his side. She kisses him on his forehead and he wakes up confused. Entranced by the vision of the Sylph, he attempts to capture her, but she escapes him; as she reaches the fireplace, she vanishes up the chimney. Troubled, he wakes his companions but none of them have seen her. Gurn, James's rival, arrives and learns that James is infatuated with someone other than Effie.
The preparations for the wedding are in full swing. James hardly notices Effie; instead she is wooed by Gurn whom she ignores. James joins in the preparations but gradually realizes that, as Effie dreams more and more of the wedding, his own dreams go far beyond the walls of the manor-house.
An old woman, Madge, has slipped unnoticed into the hall to warm herself by the fire. James, sensing that she is a sinister presence, takes an immediate dislike to her and cannot bear to see her sitting where he last saw the Sylph. He orders her to leave but Effie calms him and persuades him to let Madge tell the fortunes of some of the guests. Madge prophesies that Effie will marry Gurn, and James, furious at this, threatens Madge, who curses him. Effie runs off to dress for the wedding leaving James alone and in turmoil.
The Sylph once again shows herself to James, declares her love for him and tells him that they belong together, Gurn enters and, believing that he may have caught James talking to another woman, attempts to reveal the situation to Effie but fails
As the wedding festivities begin, the Sylph reappears and, unable to resist her enticements, James follows her into the forest. Effie is left broken-hearted.

Act II
A glade in the forest
Deep in the forest, shrouded in mist, Madge is planning her revenge. She makes a veil, irresistible to all in a magic cauldron. As the fog lifts, James enters with the Sylph, who shows him her realm. She brings him berries and water but evades his embrace. To lift his spirits she calls on her sisters and the forest fills with sylphs, who dance for James. Try as he might, he is unable to catch the Sylph in his arms
Effie and James's companions reach the glade looking for him. Gurn finds James's hat, but Madge convinces him to say nothing. He proposes to Effie and, encouraged by Madge, she accepts. Everyone leaves to prepare for the wedding of Effie and Gurn.
Meanwhile, James is desperately looking for the Sylph, and Madge convinces him that the veil she has made will enable him to catch her. The Sylph appears and, seeing the veil is totally captivated by it. She allows James to place it around her shoulders and as he does so, he kisses her. His embrace is fatal and the Sylph's wings fall to the ground. In despair James sees what should have been his own wedding party in the distance. As Madge forces him to see what he has lost, he realizes that in trying to possess the unobtainable he has lost everything.

 

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.

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.

Tosca (Opera by Giacomo Puccini) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in three acts
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica based on Victorien Sardou's play of the same name
Music Director: Mark Ermler
Stage Director: Boris Pokrovsky
Designer: Valery Levental
Premiered on May 25, 1971.
Presented with two intervals.
Sung in Italian with Russian surtitles.
Running time: 2 hours 55 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Cesare Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, runs into the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle to hide in the Attavanti family chapel. At the sound of the Angelus, the Sacristan enters to pray. He is interrupted by Mario Cavaradossi, who has come to work on his portrait of Mary Magdalene - inspired by the Marchesa Attavanti, Angelotti's sister. Mario contrasts the beauty of the blond Marchesa with that of the woman he loves, the raven-haired singer Floria Tosca ("Recondita armonia").
Angelotti ventures out and is recognized by Mario, who gives him food and hurries him back into the chapel as Tosca is heard calling outside. She jealously questions Mario, then prays and reminds him of their rendezvous that evening ("Non la sospiri la nostra casetta"). Recognizing the Marchesa's likeness in the painting, she explodes with renewed suspicions, but he reassures her ("Qual'occhio al mondo"). When she has left, Mario summons Angelotti as a cannon signals that the police have discovered the escape; the two flee to Mario's villa.
Napoleon's army is supposed to have suffered defeat, and the Sacristan returns with choirboys who are about to sing a Te Deum. Their excitement is silenced by the entrance of Baron Scarpia, chief of the secret police, in search of Angelotti. When Tosca comes back looking for Mario, she encounters Scarpia, who shows her the Attavanti crest on a fan he has just found. Thinking Mario faithless, Tosca tearfully vows vengeance and leaves as the church resounds with the Te Deum. Scarpia has the diva trailed, scheming to get her in his power ("Va, Tosca!").

Act II
In the Farnese Palace, Scarpia anticipates the pleasure of bending Tosca to his will ("Ha piu forte sapore").
The spy Spoletta arrives, not having found Angelotti; to placate the baron, he brings in Mario, who is interrogated while Tosca is heard singing at a royal gala downstairs. She enters as her lover is being taken to an adjoining room for torture. Unnerved by Scarpia's questioning and Mario's screams, she reveals Angelotti's hiding place.
Mario is carried in; realizing what has happened, he rages at Tosca, but the gendarme Sciarrone rushes in to announce that Napoleon has won the Battle of Marengo, a defeat for Scarpia's side. Mario shouts his defiance ("Vittoria!").
Tosca yields to Scarpia in exchange for her lover's life. Fighting him off, she protest her fate to God, having dedicated her life to art and love ("Vissi d'arte").
Spoletta interrupts: faced with capture, Angelotti has killed himself. Tosca, forced to decide, agrees to Scarpia's proposition. The baron pretends to order a mock execution for the prisoner, after which he is to be free. Spoletta leaves.
Scarpia prepares a document of safe-conduct for the lovers. When he embraces her, Tosca stabs him with a knife, wrenches the document from his fingers and, placing candles at his head and a crucifix on his chest slips quietly out.

Act III
The voice of a shepherd is heard as church bells toll the dawn. Mario is led to the roof of Castel Sant'Angelo prison to await execution; he bribes the jailer to convey a farewell note to Tosca. Writing it, overcome with memories of love, he gives way to despair ("E lucevan le stele").
Suddenly Tosca runs in, filled with the story of her recent adventure. Mario caresses the hands that committed the murder for his sake ("O dolci mani"), and the two hail the future.
As the firing squad appears, the diva coaches Mario on how to fake his death convincingly; the soldiers fire and depart. Tosca urges Mario to hurry, but when he fails to move, she discovers that Scarpia's treachery has transcended the grave: the bullets were real.
Spoletta rushes in to arrest Tosca. She climbs the battlements and, crying that she will meet Scarpia before God, leaps to her death.

Ruslan and Lyudmila (Opera by Mikhail Glinka) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in five acts.
Libretto by Valerian Shirkov and Mikhail Glinka with the participation of Konstantin Bakhturin, Nestor Kukolnik, Mikhail Gedeonov and Nikolai Markevich after the poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin
Music Director: Vladimir Jurowski
Stage Director, Set Designer: Dmitri Tcherniakov
Costume Designers: Dmitri Tcherniakov, Yelena Zaitseva
Lighting Designer: Gleb Filshtinsky
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Assistants to Music Director: Ralf Sochaczewsky, Alexei Bogorad
Will be Premiered on November 2, 2011.
Presented with two intervals.

Lost Illusions (Ballet by Leonid Desyatnikov) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in three acts.
Composer: Leonid Desyatnikov
Choreographer: Alexei Ratmansky
Music Director: Alexander Vedernikov
Designer: Jerome Kaplan
Lighting Designer: Vincent Millet
Drama Consultant: Guillaume Gallienne
The world premiere of the ballet took place on April 24, 2011.

SYNOPSIS
The action takes place in Paris in the 30's of the 19th century

Act l
Prelude

Scene 1
Episode 1. Morning Paris
The square before the Paris Opera is living its usual, everyday life. Artists are hurrying to the morning rehearsal. Lucien, a budding composer, makes for the Theatre accompanied by his friends. He is full of hope and dreams of having his works produced on this illustrious stage... Lucien goes up to the director, but the latter gives him the brush off. His friends advise him to persist and, picking up his courage, Lucien goes through the hallowed door.

Episode 2. The Paris Opera Ballet Foyer
A rehearsal is in progress - the dancers are doing the morning exercise. The lesson is twice interrupted by the appearance of the ballerinas, Florine and Coralie, accompanied by their patrons - Camusot, who finances the Theatre, and the Duke, who is a social bon vivant. They represent, as it were, two competing parties: Camusot supports Coralie, the Duke - Florine, her rival.
A nervous Lucien enters the room. Under the curious eyes of those present the composer becomes flustered, but begs permission to perform one of his works. Lucien begins to play - at first timidly, then with greater feeling. However, his listeners do not take to his passionate music, full of romantic aspiration. The groups of guests and dancers who, initially, had gathered round the composer, start to melt away. The outcome becomes clear - for the Theatre Director is bound to abide by the opinions of his all-powerful patrons. Lucien's hopes are shattered. Desperate, his spirits in his boots, he is about to leave, when he is stopped by Coralie. She had been profoundly moved by his music. Making use of her influence with Camusot and the Director, Coralie obtains a commission for Lucien: he is to write the music for La Sylphide, a ballet specially created for Coralie.

Scene 2
Lucien's room
Lucien is struggling over the composition of his ballet. Enter Coralie. Her appearance inspires the composer, in her he acquires his Muse. The main theme of the future ballet is found. Inspiration and love uniting forces, give birth to the music.

Scene 3
Back stage at the Paris Opera
Premiere of the ballet La Sylphide. Lucien is on tenterhooks: how will the public react to his debut? Scenes from the ballet develop in his imagination. In place of the Youth, a romantic in search of happiness, he sees himself. The romantic scene of the avowal of love unfolds, bathed in elegic tones: separation is inevitable. The Sylphide must vanish - terrestrial love is forbidden for her. Slipping away as lightly as a dream, she flies off...
The premiere is a resounding success. All applaud the young composer and Sylphide-Coralie. Florine is full of envy, the Duke shares her sentiments.

Act 2
Scene 4
Coralie's room
Coralie is happy with her Lucien. The success of La Sylphide has brought them fame and love. The lovers would be totally happy were it not for the fact that everything in her home reminds Coralie that she is not free, it all belongs to her protector the banker.
Camusot turns up unexpectedly. Vexed because he is not admitted for such a long time, the banker suspects Coralie of infidelity. Coralie tries in vain to pass off Lucien's top hat, which Camusot has discovered, as part of her concert costume. Not wishing to lie, Lucien appears from the hiding place Coralie had found for him. All that remains for Camusot to do is to make his exit. The banker, however, is confident that life will again deliver Coralie into his hands.
Coralie and Lucien are as happy as can be: it is as if a terrible load has fallen from their shoulders - they are free.

Scene 5
The Duke's Palace
Forgetting their recent rivalry, Camusot and the Duke are united by their wish to subdue Lucien to their will, make him their obedient pawn. Their plot is simple: they will get the young man into their power by dazzling him with the bait of glamorous fame and money and force him to write a ballet for Florine. Florine hands Lucien an invitation for a ball at the Duke's palace.
Masked ball at the Duke's palace. Enter Lucien. He has changed - tail coat, white gloves, blase gestures. In the mad whirl of the masquerade, surrounded by beautiful women and elegant men, the young man loses his head. Lucien pursues an unknown woman wearing the Sylphide costume and tears off her mask - it is Florine, he is defenceless before her charm. At the Duke's invitation, Lucien takes his seat at the card table and starts playing: everything has been arranged so that luck is with him. The pile of gold at his side grows bigger and bigger, and the force of an unknown passion clouds his reason. All his hopes have come true: Paris is at his feet; money, women, fame - all are his. At a tense moment in the game, Florine appears. The seductive passion of her dance completely wins the young man over, and he falls at her feet.

Scene 6
Coralie's room
Coralie is worrying about Lucien. Friends try in vain to distract her. Lucien soon appears, but not alone - with him are Florine and the Duke. Lucien is in a very highly strung state. He pulls gold out of his pockets by the fistful - his winnings. Success, happiness, recognition, love will now be his forever. Intoxicated by his winnings and wine, Lucien fails to notice his friend's torment and alarm.

The Duke and Florine leave, taking Lucien with them. His departure is a catastrophe for Coralie. It mentally kills her, all her illusions come tumbling round her head. The gold Lucien left on the table gives rise to another outburst of despair. Her friends, the involuntary witnesses of the dramatic scene try, without success, to calm her down. A desperate Coralie bids farewell to her love.

Act Three
Scene 7
The Paris Opera Ballet Foyer
Lucien is disappointed and oppressed. It is as if, having attained what he wished for, he had lost his freedom and creative independence. He is composing a ballet for Florine, but Florine, the Duke and the Ballet Master reject his ideas. They want an obedient composer of banal, gay little tunes which are essential for an effective, but empty ballet about a dancer who wins over bandits with her charms. Gritting his teeth, Lucien improvises, giving in to their demands. The Duke's hypocritical approval flatters the composer, who obediently trots out trivial motifs which are easy to dance.

Scene 8
Ballet In the Mountains of Bohemia
The Duke pays claqueurs to applaud and give a rapturous reception to the new ballet, written for Florine.
Premiere. Bandits, performed by female dancers, lie in wait for passers by on a main road. A carriage appears in which a ballerina (Florine) is traveling with her maid. The bandits stop the carriage and threaten the travelers with death, but the ballerina's charms tame them. As they dance round her, the police arrive on the scene, summoned by Florine's quick-witted maid.
Claqueurs ensure a triumph for Florine, but not for Lucien: his music is no more than banal accompaniment. Only a polka, a motif commissioned by Florine, earns him applause. The Duke and Camusot cynically congratulate Lucien, Camusot presents him with a sum of money. Lucien's illusions, his hopes of success and glory, his dreams of seeing Paris at his feet go up in smoke. Realizing that for the sake of money and hypocritical compliments he had betrayed his love for Coralie and his musical talent, a horrified Lucien rushes out of the theatre.

Scene 9
Seine Embankment
The Seine embankment shrouded in thick fog. Lucien has run to the embankment with the thought of committing suicide. But he lacks the determination to die. In a deeply perturbed state, the young man thinks of Coralie - the only person who sincerely loves him. To return to her, to return his former self by making good his betrayal - with these thoughts in mind he goes in search of Coralie.

Scene 10
Coralie's Room
The room is empty: all the furnishings have been sold to pay off debts. Coralie's maid Berenice is packing her mistress's theatre costumes. At the sight of her Sylphide tunic, Coralie is overcome by memories of her former radiant illusions, now lost forever.
Enter Camusot with a confident tread. An experienced operator, he has calculated everything right and persuades Coralie to return to him. Coralie is indifferent to her fate: it is all the same to her whether she dies or returns to Camusot. She leaves with Camusot.
Lucien comes running into the empty room, but it is too late. Coralie has gone. And an anguished Lucien realizes his lost illusions will never return.

Ruslan and Lyudmila (Opera by Mikhail Glinka) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in five acts.
Libretto by Valerian Shirkov and Mikhail Glinka with the participation of Konstantin Bakhturin, Nestor Kukolnik, Mikhail Gedeonov and Nikolai Markevich after the poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin
Music Director: Vladimir Jurowski
Stage Director, Set Designer: Dmitri Tcherniakov
Costume Designers: Dmitri Tcherniakov, Yelena Zaitseva
Lighting Designer: Gleb Filshtinsky
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Assistants to Music Director: Ralf Sochaczewsky, Alexei Bogorad
Will be Premiered on November 2, 2011.
Presented with two intervals.

Lost Illusions (Ballet by Leonid Desyatnikov) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in three acts.
Composer: Leonid Desyatnikov
Choreographer: Alexei Ratmansky
Music Director: Alexander Vedernikov
Designer: Jerome Kaplan
Lighting Designer: Vincent Millet
Drama Consultant: Guillaume Gallienne
The world premiere of the ballet took place on April 24, 2011.

SYNOPSIS
The action takes place in Paris in the 30's of the 19th century

Act l
Prelude

Scene 1
Episode 1. Morning Paris
The square before the Paris Opera is living its usual, everyday life. Artists are hurrying to the morning rehearsal. Lucien, a budding composer, makes for the Theatre accompanied by his friends. He is full of hope and dreams of having his works produced on this illustrious stage... Lucien goes up to the director, but the latter gives him the brush off. His friends advise him to persist and, picking up his courage, Lucien goes through the hallowed door.

Episode 2. The Paris Opera Ballet Foyer
A rehearsal is in progress - the dancers are doing the morning exercise. The lesson is twice interrupted by the appearance of the ballerinas, Florine and Coralie, accompanied by their patrons - Camusot, who finances the Theatre, and the Duke, who is a social bon vivant. They represent, as it were, two competing parties: Camusot supports Coralie, the Duke - Florine, her rival.
A nervous Lucien enters the room. Under the curious eyes of those present the composer becomes flustered, but begs permission to perform one of his works. Lucien begins to play - at first timidly, then with greater feeling. However, his listeners do not take to his passionate music, full of romantic aspiration. The groups of guests and dancers who, initially, had gathered round the composer, start to melt away. The outcome becomes clear - for the Theatre Director is bound to abide by the opinions of his all-powerful patrons. Lucien's hopes are shattered. Desperate, his spirits in his boots, he is about to leave, when he is stopped by Coralie. She had been profoundly moved by his music. Making use of her influence with Camusot and the Director, Coralie obtains a commission for Lucien: he is to write the music for La Sylphide, a ballet specially created for Coralie.

Scene 2
Lucien's room
Lucien is struggling over the composition of his ballet. Enter Coralie. Her appearance inspires the composer, in her he acquires his Muse. The main theme of the future ballet is found. Inspiration and love uniting forces, give birth to the music.

Scene 3
Back stage at the Paris Opera
Premiere of the ballet La Sylphide. Lucien is on tenterhooks: how will the public react to his debut? Scenes from the ballet develop in his imagination. In place of the Youth, a romantic in search of happiness, he sees himself. The romantic scene of the avowal of love unfolds, bathed in elegic tones: separation is inevitable. The Sylphide must vanish - terrestrial love is forbidden for her. Slipping away as lightly as a dream, she flies off...
The premiere is a resounding success. All applaud the young composer and Sylphide-Coralie. Florine is full of envy, the Duke shares her sentiments.

Act 2
Scene 4
Coralie's room
Coralie is happy with her Lucien. The success of La Sylphide has brought them fame and love. The lovers would be totally happy were it not for the fact that everything in her home reminds Coralie that she is not free, it all belongs to her protector the banker.
Camusot turns up unexpectedly. Vexed because he is not admitted for such a long time, the banker suspects Coralie of infidelity. Coralie tries in vain to pass off Lucien's top hat, which Camusot has discovered, as part of her concert costume. Not wishing to lie, Lucien appears from the hiding place Coralie had found for him. All that remains for Camusot to do is to make his exit. The banker, however, is confident that life will again deliver Coralie into his hands.
Coralie and Lucien are as happy as can be: it is as if a terrible load has fallen from their shoulders - they are free.

Scene 5
The Duke's Palace
Forgetting their recent rivalry, Camusot and the Duke are united by their wish to subdue Lucien to their will, make him their obedient pawn. Their plot is simple: they will get the young man into their power by dazzling him with the bait of glamorous fame and money and force him to write a ballet for Florine. Florine hands Lucien an invitation for a ball at the Duke's palace.
Masked ball at the Duke's palace. Enter Lucien. He has changed - tail coat, white gloves, blase gestures. In the mad whirl of the masquerade, surrounded by beautiful women and elegant men, the young man loses his head. Lucien pursues an unknown woman wearing the Sylphide costume and tears off her mask - it is Florine, he is defenceless before her charm. At the Duke's invitation, Lucien takes his seat at the card table and starts playing: everything has been arranged so that luck is with him. The pile of gold at his side grows bigger and bigger, and the force of an unknown passion clouds his reason. All his hopes have come true: Paris is at his feet; money, women, fame - all are his. At a tense moment in the game, Florine appears. The seductive passion of her dance completely wins the young man over, and he falls at her feet.

Scene 6
Coralie's room
Coralie is worrying about Lucien. Friends try in vain to distract her. Lucien soon appears, but not alone - with him are Florine and the Duke. Lucien is in a very highly strung state. He pulls gold out of his pockets by the fistful - his winnings. Success, happiness, recognition, love will now be his forever. Intoxicated by his winnings and wine, Lucien fails to notice his friend's torment and alarm.

The Duke and Florine leave, taking Lucien with them. His departure is a catastrophe for Coralie. It mentally kills her, all her illusions come tumbling round her head. The gold Lucien left on the table gives rise to another outburst of despair. Her friends, the involuntary witnesses of the dramatic scene try, without success, to calm her down. A desperate Coralie bids farewell to her love.

Act Three
Scene 7
The Paris Opera Ballet Foyer
Lucien is disappointed and oppressed. It is as if, having attained what he wished for, he had lost his freedom and creative independence. He is composing a ballet for Florine, but Florine, the Duke and the Ballet Master reject his ideas. They want an obedient composer of banal, gay little tunes which are essential for an effective, but empty ballet about a dancer who wins over bandits with her charms. Gritting his teeth, Lucien improvises, giving in to their demands. The Duke's hypocritical approval flatters the composer, who obediently trots out trivial motifs which are easy to dance.

Scene 8
Ballet In the Mountains of Bohemia
The Duke pays claqueurs to applaud and give a rapturous reception to the new ballet, written for Florine.
Premiere. Bandits, performed by female dancers, lie in wait for passers by on a main road. A carriage appears in which a ballerina (Florine) is traveling with her maid. The bandits stop the carriage and threaten the travelers with death, but the ballerina's charms tame them. As they dance round her, the police arrive on the scene, summoned by Florine's quick-witted maid.
Claqueurs ensure a triumph for Florine, but not for Lucien: his music is no more than banal accompaniment. Only a polka, a motif commissioned by Florine, earns him applause. The Duke and Camusot cynically congratulate Lucien, Camusot presents him with a sum of money. Lucien's illusions, his hopes of success and glory, his dreams of seeing Paris at his feet go up in smoke. Realizing that for the sake of money and hypocritical compliments he had betrayed his love for Coralie and his musical talent, a horrified Lucien rushes out of the theatre.

Scene 9
Seine Embankment
The Seine embankment shrouded in thick fog. Lucien has run to the embankment with the thought of committing suicide. But he lacks the determination to die. In a deeply perturbed state, the young man thinks of Coralie - the only person who sincerely loves him. To return to her, to return his former self by making good his betrayal - with these thoughts in mind he goes in search of Coralie.

Scene 10
Coralie's Room
The room is empty: all the furnishings have been sold to pay off debts. Coralie's maid Berenice is packing her mistress's theatre costumes. At the sight of her Sylphide tunic, Coralie is overcome by memories of her former radiant illusions, now lost forever.
Enter Camusot with a confident tread. An experienced operator, he has calculated everything right and persuades Coralie to return to him. Coralie is indifferent to her fate: it is all the same to her whether she dies or returns to Camusot. She leaves with Camusot.
Lucien comes running into the empty room, but it is too late. Coralie has gone. And an anguished Lucien realizes his lost illusions will never return.

Ruslan and Lyudmila (Opera by Mikhail Glinka) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in five acts.
Libretto by Valerian Shirkov and Mikhail Glinka with the participation of Konstantin Bakhturin, Nestor Kukolnik, Mikhail Gedeonov and Nikolai Markevich after the poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin
Music Director: Vladimir Jurowski
Stage Director, Set Designer: Dmitri Tcherniakov
Costume Designers: Dmitri Tcherniakov, Yelena Zaitseva
Lighting Designer: Gleb Filshtinsky
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Assistants to Music Director: Ralf Sochaczewsky, Alexei Bogorad
Will be Premiered on November 2, 2011.
Presented with two intervals.

Swan Lake (Ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in two acts
Libretto by Yuri Grigorovich after scenario by Vladimir Begichev and Vasily Geltser
Choreographer: Yuri Grigorovich (2001 version)
Scenes in choreography by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, Alexander Gorsky used
Designer: Simon Virsaladze
Music Director: Pavel Sorokin
Lighting Designer: Mikhail Sokolov

SYNOPSIS

Act l
Scene 1
In an old German castle, the birthday of Prince Siegfried is being celebrated; today he comes of age. He is congratulated by his mother, the Princess Mother, friends and courtiers. In a majestic ceremony, Siegfried is made a knight. From this day on a sense of duty, valor will be the guiding principles in his life.
The last toasts are pronounced in his honor, young girls, his contemporaries, try to attract his attention, but Siegfried is overcome by emotions of a different order. He dreams of a pure, ideal love. The festivities draw to an end, the guests depart, leaving the prince alone with his thoughts in the gathering dusk. Night falls. Siegfried is conscious of the presence of a shadow at his side, it is as if some mysterious force is beckoning to him. It is the Evil Genius, or Fate itself, who has come to reveal some perturbing secrets to the Prince. Submitting to the powerful pull of his invisible companion's presence and full of anxious foreboding, Siegfried succumbs to the ideal world of his dreams...

Scene 2
Lured by the Evil Genius, Siegfried finds himself on the banks of a mysterious lake. In the shimmering patches of moonlight on the water, visions of bewitched swan maidens rise up before him. Siegfried catches sight of Odette, the most beautiful of the maidens. He is spell-bound, deeply struck by her beauty. At long last, he has found his romantic ideal of love. He swears to Odette that he will love her forever and be faithful to her.

Act II
Scene 3
Prospective brides-to-be are arriving at the Princess Mother's castle. The Prince must chose one of them to be his wife. But Siegfried can think of nothing but Odette and his meeting of her. He dances in an offhand way with the well-born maidens. Not one of them can compare to his ideal.
Suddenly, a mysterious knight arrives at the ball accompanied by a ravishingly beautiful young girl and a suite of black swans. It is the Evil Genius and Odile, Odette's double. Struck by their resemblance, Siegfried hurries towards Odile. The Evil Genius is putting the Prince's sentiments to the test. Siegfried is enchanted by the perfidious Odile who manages to disarm him of all his doubts. He announces Odile to be his chosen bride. At this very moment, the throne room is plunged in darkness and a vision of the beautiful Odette appears before the assembled company.
Siegfried realizes that he has become a plaything in the hands of Fate. Hoping to atone for his betrayal, he rushes in despair after the receding image of the white swan.

Scene 4
Night-time. A deep gloom overhangs the lake. Odette brings the tragic news; the Prince has broken his vow of faithfulness to her. Siegfried's conscience is deeply troubled; he hurries towards Odette begging for her forgiveness. Odette forgives the youth but she is no longer mistress of her own fate.
The Evil Genius summons up a storm which disperses, plays havoc with, the heroes of our tale, making it impossible for them to unite. Made weak by his single combat with Fate, Siegfried tries in vain to hold on to the vanish image. As dawn breaks, he finds himself alone on the empty banks of the lake of his dreams.

 

Chipollino (Ballet by Karen Khachaturyan) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in two acts
Libretto by Gennadi Rykhlov in Genrikh Mayorov's version after the fairy-tale by Gianni Rodari
Choreographer: Genrikh Mayorov
Designer: Valery Levental
Music Director: Alexander Kopylov

SYNOPSIS

Act I
There is a square of a fairy-tale town. Standing in the square are what seem to be baskets of vegetables and boxes of fruit. But appearances can be deceptive, and, in fact, these are big and small houses which are lived in by vegetables and fruit who are extraordinari ly reminiscent of real people.
The Radish and Onion families meet in the square. Mother Cipolla and Father Cipollone are ticking off their irrepressible son, Cipollino, who is fed up with having to look after his sister, Cipolette. Nearby cobbler Grape is mending shoes. Grandfather Pumpkin is searching for bricks so he can build him self a house. Professor Pear is playing the violin, and all the inhabitants of this fairy-tale town are dancing. Suddenly, Signor Tomato rushes into the square and announces that very soon Prince Lemon himself, who wishes to address his people, is due to arrive in the square. The Prince has issued a new law; everyone must now pay for their share of the sunshine, the rain, and the wind.
The Prince's subjects are indignant. In the general crush, Cipollino accidentally steps on Prince Lemon's foot. The Prince's bodyguards take umbrage. His Royal Highness has been insulted! The ‘rebel' must be punished. But he has disappeared, so the police arrest old Cipollone.
It is not only the Onion family who is grieving. Grandfather Pumpkin is having a tough time because he will never succeed in building himself a house on his own. So the inhabitants of the town, led by Cipollino, give him a helping hand. No sooner is the building work completed, than Signor Tomato appears once again. He almost bursts with anger when he sees the house. It has been built on the land belonging to the Countesses Cherry. Only the Countesses Cherry may make use of this land.
Prince Lemon's bodyguard pull down Grandfather Pumpkin's house. The poor old man is in despair. Cipollino decides to take revenge on his enemies.

Act II
Cipollino, together with his friend, Little Radish, go to the palace in order to look for the dungeon in which old Cipollone has been incarcerated by Prince Lemon. On the way they meet Count Cherry who finds life in the palace very dismal and lonely, and they become friends. During their search for Cipollone, the friends fall into the hands of Signor Tomato, but they manage to escape his clutches and, during a ball given by the Countesses Cherry in honor of Prince Lemon, set free old Chipollone.

Act III
Prince Lemon's bodyguards and the police are searching everywhere for the runaways. Cipollino manages to hide his father, and then Little Radish, but he himself is taken prisoner by the guards and thrown into the dungeon.
All is quiet in the palace. Count Cherry and the beautiful Magnolia are seeking for Cipollino. Magnolia sends the guards to sleep with her heady per fume, meanwhile. Count Cherry ties them up and sets Cipollino free.
Prince Lemon descends to the dungeon in order to punish the good-for-nothing rebel but he finds that his guards have been tied up and that the dungeon is empty. The Prince is furious and orders that the town be bombarded with cannon fire. But Cipollino and his friends stuff Prince Lemon himself into the cannon.
Once the smoke from the shot has evaporated, nei ther Prince Lemon nor the cannon, nor the bodyguards are anywhere to be seen.
From now on, for ever and ever, everyone in the fairy-tale town will live together peacefully. And under the blue sky and bathed in sunshine, a new town will grow up. A town of friends!

Ruslan and Lyudmila (Opera by Mikhail Glinka) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera in five acts.
Libretto by Valerian Shirkov and Mikhail Glinka with the participation of Konstantin Bakhturin, Nestor Kukolnik, Mikhail Gedeonov and Nikolai Markevich after the poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin
Music Director: Vladimir Jurowski
Stage Director, Set Designer: Dmitri Tcherniakov
Costume Designers: Dmitri Tcherniakov, Yelena Zaitseva
Lighting Designer: Gleb Filshtinsky
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Assistants to Music Director: Ralf Sochaczewsky, Alexei Bogorad
Will be Premiered on November 2, 2011.
Presented with two intervals.

Swan Lake (Ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky) - Bolshoi Theatre

Ballet in two acts
Libretto by Yuri Grigorovich after scenario by Vladimir Begichev and Vasily Geltser
Choreographer: Yuri Grigorovich (2001 version)
Scenes in choreography by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, Alexander Gorsky used
Designer: Simon Virsaladze
Music Director: Pavel Sorokin
Lighting Designer: Mikhail Sokolov

SYNOPSIS

Act l
Scene 1
In an old German castle, the birthday of Prince Siegfried is being celebrated; today he comes of age. He is congratulated by his mother, the Princess Mother, friends and courtiers. In a majestic ceremony, Siegfried is made a knight. From this day on a sense of duty, valor will be the guiding principles in his life.
The last toasts are pronounced in his honor, young girls, his contemporaries, try to attract his attention, but Siegfried is overcome by emotions of a different order. He dreams of a pure, ideal love. The festivities draw to an end, the guests depart, leaving the prince alone with his thoughts in the gathering dusk. Night falls. Siegfried is conscious of the presence of a shadow at his side, it is as if some mysterious force is beckoning to him. It is the Evil Genius, or Fate itself, who has come to reveal some perturbing secrets to the Prince. Submitting to the powerful pull of his invisible companion's presence and full of anxious foreboding, Siegfried succumbs to the ideal world of his dreams...

Scene 2
Lured by the Evil Genius, Siegfried finds himself on the banks of a mysterious lake. In the shimmering patches of moonlight on the water, visions of bewitched swan maidens rise up before him. Siegfried catches sight of Odette, the most beautiful of the maidens. He is spell-bound, deeply struck by her beauty. At long last, he has found his romantic ideal of love. He swears to Odette that he will love her forever and be faithful to her.

Act II
Scene 3
Prospective brides-to-be are arriving at the Princess Mother's castle. The Prince must chose one of them to be his wife. But Siegfried can think of nothing but Odette and his meeting of her. He dances in an offhand way with the well-born maidens. Not one of them can compare to his ideal.
Suddenly, a mysterious knight arrives at the ball accompanied by a ravishingly beautiful young girl and a suite of black swans. It is the Evil Genius and Odile, Odette's double. Struck by their resemblance, Siegfried hurries towards Odile. The Evil Genius is putting the Prince's sentiments to the test. Siegfried is enchanted by the perfidious Odile who manages to disarm him of all his doubts. He announces Odile to be his chosen bride. At this very moment, the throne room is plunged in darkness and a vision of the beautiful Odette appears before the assembled company.
Siegfried realizes that he has become a plaything in the hands of Fate. Hoping to atone for his betrayal, he rushes in despair after the receding image of the white swan.

Scene 4
Night-time. A deep gloom overhangs the lake. Odette brings the tragic news; the Prince has broken his vow of faithfulness to her. Siegfried's conscience is deeply troubled; he hurries towards Odette begging for her forgiveness. Odette forgives the youth but she is no longer mistress of her own fate.
The Evil Genius summons up a storm which disperses, plays havoc with, the heroes of our tale, making it impossible for them to unite. Made weak by his single combat with Fate, Siegfried tries in vain to hold on to the vanish image. As dawn breaks, he finds himself alone on the empty banks of the lake of his dreams.

 

Die Fledermaus (Operetta by Johann Strauss) - Bolshoi Theatre

Operetta in three acts.
Libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genee
Music Director: Christoph-Mathias Mueller
Stage Director: Vasily Barkhatov
Set Designer: Zinovy Margolin
Costume Designer: Igor Chapurin
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Choreographer: Denis Boroditsky
Premiered on March 17, 2010.
Presented with two intervals.
Sung in German.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Alfred sings a serenade to Rosalinde, but it is Adele who hears it. Adele, intends to go to Prince Orlofsky's ball and invents a story about an ailing aunt. Eisenstein, who should be departing for prison, goes instead to the ball. Rosalinde is counting on spending the evening with Alfred - but the latter, mistaken for Eisenstein, is taken off to prison.

Act II
The cream of society gathers at the ball: Orlofsky is bored, but Falke promises to liven things up by a practical joke; Adele pretends to be an actress, Eisenstein - a French Marquis. A mysterious Hungarian countess keeps her mask on the whole time and therefore no one recognizes her as Rosalinde. The champagne flows, the guests make merry.

Act III
Alfred sings an aria while waiting for a lawyer. Adele demonstrates her acting skills to Frank. Finding his place at prison already occupied, Eisenstein gives himself out to be the lawyer. In answer to her husband's accusations that she has deceived him, Rosalinde confronts him with the watch, presented by Eisenstein to the 'Hungarian countess'. Orlofsky reveals his true identity, Falke delights in the fact his friend has been made to look a fool. All are forgiven - it is the champagne which is at fault!

 

Die Fledermaus (Operetta by Johann Strauss) - Bolshoi Theatre

Operetta in three acts.
Libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genee
Music Director: Christoph-Mathias Mueller
Stage Director: Vasily Barkhatov
Set Designer: Zinovy Margolin
Costume Designer: Igor Chapurin
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Choreographer: Denis Boroditsky
Premiered on March 17, 2010.
Presented with two intervals.
Sung in German.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Alfred sings a serenade to Rosalinde, but it is Adele who hears it. Adele, intends to go to Prince Orlofsky's ball and invents a story about an ailing aunt. Eisenstein, who should be departing for prison, goes instead to the ball. Rosalinde is counting on spending the evening with Alfred - but the latter, mistaken for Eisenstein, is taken off to prison.

Act II
The cream of society gathers at the ball: Orlofsky is bored, but Falke promises to liven things up by a practical joke; Adele pretends to be an actress, Eisenstein - a French Marquis. A mysterious Hungarian countess keeps her mask on the whole time and therefore no one recognizes her as Rosalinde. The champagne flows, the guests make merry.

Act III
Alfred sings an aria while waiting for a lawyer. Adele demonstrates her acting skills to Frank. Finding his place at prison already occupied, Eisenstein gives himself out to be the lawyer. In answer to her husband's accusations that she has deceived him, Rosalinde confronts him with the watch, presented by Eisenstein to the 'Hungarian countess'. Orlofsky reveals his true identity, Falke delights in the fact his friend has been made to look a fool. All are forgiven - it is the champagne which is at fault!

 

Dead Souls (Opera by Rodion Shchedrin) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera scenes in three acts after the poem by N.V. Gogol
Music by Rodion Shchedrin
Libretto by the composer
Performed in Russian
The performance will have synchronised English supertitles
World premiere: 7 June 1977, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
Premiere at the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre (Mariinsky Theatre): 23 December 1978
Premiere of this production: 18 March 2011, Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg

Credits
Musical Director and Conductor: Valery Gergiev
Conductors: Pavel Petrenko & Pavel Smelkov
Director: Vasily Barkhatov
Set Designer: Zinovy Margolin
Costume Designer: Maria Danilova
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Musical Preparation: Marina Mishuk
Principal Chorus Master: Andrei Petrenko

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Scene 1. Introduction.
We hear the song The Snow Is not White, performed in the Russian folk style.

Scene 2. Lunch at the Procurator's.
The dignitaries of the town of N are giving a lunch in honour of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, attended by Manilov, Sobakevich, Nozdryov, Mizhuev, the Governor, the Procurator, the Chairman of the Chamber, the Chief of Police and the Post Master. "Vivat, Pavel Ivanovich," the town's dignitaries proclaim in chorus, in turn treating Chichikov and speaking of their admiration for him. In turn, Chichikov lavishes compliments on the "town fathers".

Scene 3. The Road.
A britzka makes its way along the road. Selifan is sitting on the coach-box, while Chichikov is in the carriage. Selifan sings the song Hey-Hey, My Hearties! He asks two approaching peasants "Is it far to Zamanilovka?" They reply that it is one verst to Manilovka, and that there is no such place as Zamanilovka. The britzka travels onwards.

Scene 4. Manilov.
The hospitable Manilov and his wife welcome Chichikov. "May Day... The name day of the heart..." Manilov sings tenderly, and croons an arioso in praise of his guest. Taking Manilov to one side, Chichikov offers to sell him dead souls. Manilov is taken aback and expresses doubt: "Will not such trade be at odds with Russia's prospects?" But Chichikov easily explains that the opposite is the case. The Manilovs and their guest dream of the joys of life aloud. Suddenly Manilov notices that Chichikov has already disappeared. He stops and ponders: "Dead souls?"

Scene 5. A Pot-Holed Road.
On the road again. Selifan complains of the infernal darkness, Chichikov suggests looking to determine if the village can be seen. Bring, oh God, a Thunderous Cloud, sings the chorus.

Scene 6. Korobochka.
A room in the house of Korobochka. Korobochka laments the "poor harvests and losses", telling Chichikov what wonderful workers have died recently. Suddenly Chichikov makes his offer: "Release them to me". Initially Korobochka cannot make head or tail of what he is talking about: the deal is tempting, but unusual. The dialogue becomes increasingly tense. Both speak faster and faster, and in the end their words cannot be made out. A pantomime scene follows. At its height, Korobochka submits: "Why are you so glum? Allow me, I will give you them for fifteen assignations". Chichikov disappears and Korobochka is left alone with her thoughts: "Why are dead souls walking today?"

Scene 7. Songs.
We hear the songs Don't Cry, Don't Cry, Beautiful Maiden, The Snow Is not White and You Are Wormwood, Wormwood Plant.

Scene 8. Nozdryov.
Nozdryov has just returned from the market - "unlucky at cards". He sits down with Chichikov to a game of draughts. During the game, the dead souls are traded. Nozdryov tries to foist a puppy and a barrel-organ onto his partner... Chichikov accuses Nozdryov of cheating. A quarrel ensues, which slowly escalates into an unimaginable scandal. Suddenly the Captain Chief of Police appears: "Mr Nozdryov, you are under arrest... You are accused of causing personal abuse to the landowner Maximov with the birch whilst drunk..."

Act II
Scene 9. Sobakevich.
Chichikov is in Sobakevich's study. Sobakevich abuses the town fathers to the last degree. Chichikov tries to carry on society small talk and refers to the "non-existent" souls. "You need dead souls?" asks Sobakevich, puzzled, naming an astronomical price - one hundred roubles per soul. The lengthy bartering process begins. From time to time during the talk, there are retorts from the portraits of Greek commanders justifying the fairness of Sobakevich's arguments. In the end, the two sides come to an agreement.

Scene 10. Selifan the Coachman.
Endless road once again, and Chichikov's britzka continues its journey. Selifan is singing a mournful song. "Is it far to Plyushkin's?" he asks the peasants he passes, but he receives no reply.

Scene 11. Plyushkin.
Plyushkin complains about life and tells Chichikov that the damned fever took "a healthy number of peasants" from him. Chichikov appears as benefactor, proposing to buy all one hundred and twenty souls.

Scene 12. The Soldier's Wife's Lament.
A peasant woman laments her fate, having lost her son who was taken from her as a soldier.

Scene 13. The Governor's Ball.
The guests are animatedly discussing Chichikov's merits and wealth. The Governor's daughter stands out among the dancers. Chichikov appears. All welcome him, congratulating him on his purchase of the peasants, not suspecting that it is a scam through which he hopes to obtain a mortgage on non-existent peasant property. The Governor's wife presents the "millionaire" to her daughter. Suddenly Nozdryov bursts in and reveals the trickery of Chichikov's deals: "I won't leave you until I know why you have bought dead souls." All are taken aback. But Korobochka appears, having come to town to find out "why dead souls are walking today". This serves to increase the confusion of all...

Act III
Scene 14. Introduction.
Again we hear the song The Snow Is not White.

Scene 15. Chichikov.
The opera's protagonist is in a hotel room. His entire cunning plot has collapsed in ruins.

Scene 16. Two Ladies.
Anna Grigorievna, "a pleasant woman in the fullest sense of the word", and Sofia Ivanovna, "simply a pleasant woman", have met to discuss the latest gossip. Anna Grigorievna confirms that with Nozdryov's assistance Chichikov plans to flee with the Governor's daughter.

Scene 17. Crowds in the Town.
The action unfolds in turns at the Chief of Police's in drawing rooms and on the streets. All the characters in the opera are discussing the case of Chichikov. New and yet newer proposals are put forward. The Postmaster confirms that "Chichikov is none other than Captain Kopeikin..." "And isn't Chichikov Napoleon dressed up?" asks the Procurator. Nozdryov relates that Chichikov is a spy, a fiscal inspector and a "man of State assignations". Nozdryov then freely confirms that he has agreed to help Chichikov to flee with the Governor's daughter. The anxiety grows. Unexpectedly it is announced that, due to the shock, the Procurator has died. The crowd is suppressed.

Scene 18. Mourning the Procurator.
A funereal procession led by the priest heads towards the graveyard. Chichikov is in his hotel room, continuing his interrupted monologue.

Scene 19. Finale.
Nozdryov tells Chichikov that he is thought to be a robber and a spy, "intent on spiriting away the Governor's daughter". Chichikov is frightened - it is time to flee. He calls for Selifan and orders the britzka be got ready. And once again the endless road, with Chichikov's britzka trundling along incognito. Selifan is singing his song. A peasant with his goat and another bearded peasant are standing by the roadside. They chime in: "You see what a wheel! What do you think, will that wheel make it, should the chance arise, to Moscow or not?" "It'll make it". "As for Kazan, I don't think it'll make it that far..." "It won't make it to Kazan". And their song continues to resound...

Die Fledermaus (Operetta by Johann Strauss) - Bolshoi Theatre

Operetta in three acts.
Libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genee
Music Director: Christoph-Mathias Mueller
Stage Director: Vasily Barkhatov
Set Designer: Zinovy Margolin
Costume Designer: Igor Chapurin
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Choreographer: Denis Boroditsky
Premiered on March 17, 2010.
Presented with two intervals.
Sung in German.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Alfred sings a serenade to Rosalinde, but it is Adele who hears it. Adele, intends to go to Prince Orlofsky's ball and invents a story about an ailing aunt. Eisenstein, who should be departing for prison, goes instead to the ball. Rosalinde is counting on spending the evening with Alfred - but the latter, mistaken for Eisenstein, is taken off to prison.

Act II
The cream of society gathers at the ball: Orlofsky is bored, but Falke promises to liven things up by a practical joke; Adele pretends to be an actress, Eisenstein - a French Marquis. A mysterious Hungarian countess keeps her mask on the whole time and therefore no one recognizes her as Rosalinde. The champagne flows, the guests make merry.

Act III
Alfred sings an aria while waiting for a lawyer. Adele demonstrates her acting skills to Frank. Finding his place at prison already occupied, Eisenstein gives himself out to be the lawyer. In answer to her husband's accusations that she has deceived him, Rosalinde confronts him with the watch, presented by Eisenstein to the 'Hungarian countess'. Orlofsky reveals his true identity, Falke delights in the fact his friend has been made to look a fool. All are forgiven - it is the champagne which is at fault!

 

Dead Souls (Opera by Rodion Shchedrin) - Bolshoi Theatre

Opera scenes in three acts after the poem by N.V. Gogol
Music by Rodion Shchedrin
Libretto by the composer
Performed in Russian
The performance will have synchronised English supertitles
World premiere: 7 June 1977, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
Premiere at the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre (Mariinsky Theatre): 23 December 1978
Premiere of this production: 18 March 2011, Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg

Credits
Musical Director and Conductor: Valery Gergiev
Conductors: Pavel Petrenko & Pavel Smelkov
Director: Vasily Barkhatov
Set Designer: Zinovy Margolin
Costume Designer: Maria Danilova
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Musical Preparation: Marina Mishuk
Principal Chorus Master: Andrei Petrenko

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Scene 1. Introduction.
We hear the song The Snow Is not White, performed in the Russian folk style.

Scene 2. Lunch at the Procurator's.
The dignitaries of the town of N are giving a lunch in honour of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, attended by Manilov, Sobakevich, Nozdryov, Mizhuev, the Governor, the Procurator, the Chairman of the Chamber, the Chief of Police and the Post Master. "Vivat, Pavel Ivanovich," the town's dignitaries proclaim in chorus, in turn treating Chichikov and speaking of their admiration for him. In turn, Chichikov lavishes compliments on the "town fathers".

Scene 3. The Road.
A britzka makes its way along the road. Selifan is sitting on the coach-box, while Chichikov is in the carriage. Selifan sings the song Hey-Hey, My Hearties! He asks two approaching peasants "Is it far to Zamanilovka?" They reply that it is one verst to Manilovka, and that there is no such place as Zamanilovka. The britzka travels onwards.

Scene 4. Manilov.
The hospitable Manilov and his wife welcome Chichikov. "May Day... The name day of the heart..." Manilov sings tenderly, and croons an arioso in praise of his guest. Taking Manilov to one side, Chichikov offers to sell him dead souls. Manilov is taken aback and expresses doubt: "Will not such trade be at odds with Russia's prospects?" But Chichikov easily explains that the opposite is the case. The Manilovs and their guest dream of the joys of life aloud. Suddenly Manilov notices that Chichikov has already disappeared. He stops and ponders: "Dead souls?"

Scene 5. A Pot-Holed Road.
On the road again. Selifan complains of the infernal darkness, Chichikov suggests looking to determine if the village can be seen. Bring, oh God, a Thunderous Cloud, sings the chorus.

Scene 6. Korobochka.
A room in the house of Korobochka. Korobochka laments the "poor harvests and losses", telling Chichikov what wonderful workers have died recently. Suddenly Chichikov makes his offer: "Release them to me". Initially Korobochka cannot make head or tail of what he is talking about: the deal is tempting, but unusual. The dialogue becomes increasingly tense. Both speak faster and faster, and in the end their words cannot be made out. A pantomime scene follows. At its height, Korobochka submits: "Why are you so glum? Allow me, I will give you them for fifteen assignations". Chichikov disappears and Korobochka is left alone with her thoughts: "Why are dead souls walking today?"

Scene 7. Songs.
We hear the songs Don't Cry, Don't Cry, Beautiful Maiden, The Snow Is not White and You Are Wormwood, Wormwood Plant.

Scene 8. Nozdryov.
Nozdryov has just returned from the market - "unlucky at cards". He sits down with Chichikov to a game of draughts. During the game, the dead souls are traded. Nozdryov tries to foist a puppy and a barrel-organ onto his partner... Chichikov accuses Nozdryov of cheating. A quarrel ensues, which slowly escalates into an unimaginable scandal. Suddenly the Captain Chief of Police appears: "Mr Nozdryov, you are under arrest... You are accused of causing personal abuse to the landowner Maximov with the birch whilst drunk..."

Act II
Scene 9. Sobakevich.
Chichikov is in Sobakevich's study. Sobakevich abuses the town fathers to the last degree. Chichikov tries to carry on society small talk and refers to the "non-existent" souls. "You need dead souls?" asks Sobakevich, puzzled, naming an astronomical price - one hundred roubles per soul. The lengthy bartering process begins. From time to time during the talk, there are retorts from the portraits of Greek commanders justifying the fairness of Sobakevich's arguments. In the end, the two sides come to an agreement.

Scene 10. Selifan the Coachman.
Endless road once again, and Chichikov's britzka continues its journey. Selifan is singing a mournful song. "Is it far to Plyushkin's?" he asks the peasants he passes, but he receives no reply.

Scene 11. Plyushkin.
Plyushkin complains about life and tells Chichikov that the damned fever took "a healthy number of peasants" from him. Chichikov appears as benefactor, proposing to buy all one hundred and twenty souls.

Scene 12. The Soldier's Wife's Lament.
A peasant woman laments her fate, having lost her son who was taken from her as a soldier.

Scene 13. The Governor's Ball.
The guests are animatedly discussing Chichikov's merits and wealth. The Governor's daughter stands out among the dancers. Chichikov appears. All welcome him, congratulating him on his purchase of the peasants, not suspecting that it is a scam through which he hopes to obtain a mortgage on non-existent peasant property. The Governor's wife presents the "millionaire" to her daughter. Suddenly Nozdryov bursts in and reveals the trickery of Chichikov's deals: "I won't leave you until I know why you have bought dead souls." All are taken aback. But Korobochka appears, having come to town to find out "why dead souls are walking today". This serves to increase the confusion of all...

Act III
Scene 14. Introduction.
Again we hear the song The Snow Is not White.

Scene 15. Chichikov.
The opera's protagonist is in a hotel room. His entire cunning plot has collapsed in ruins.

Scene 16. Two Ladies.
Anna Grigorievna, "a pleasant woman in the fullest sense of the word", and Sofia Ivanovna, "simply a pleasant woman", have met to discuss the latest gossip. Anna Grigorievna confirms that with Nozdryov's assistance Chichikov plans to flee with the Governor's daughter.

Scene 17. Crowds in the Town.
The action unfolds in turns at the Chief of Police's in drawing rooms and on the streets. All the characters in the opera are discussing the case of Chichikov. New and yet newer proposals are put forward. The Postmaster confirms that "Chichikov is none other than Captain Kopeikin..." "And isn't Chichikov Napoleon dressed up?" asks the Procurator. Nozdryov relates that Chichikov is a spy, a fiscal inspector and a "man of State assignations". Nozdryov then freely confirms that he has agreed to help Chichikov to flee with the Governor's daughter. The anxiety grows. Unexpectedly it is announced that, due to the shock, the Procurator has died. The crowd is suppressed.

Scene 18. Mourning the Procurator.
A funereal procession led by the priest heads towards the graveyard. Chichikov is in his hotel room, continuing his interrupted monologue.

Scene 19. Finale.
Nozdryov tells Chichikov that he is thought to be a robber and a spy, "intent on spiriting away the Governor's daughter". Chichikov is frightened - it is time to flee. He calls for Selifan and orders the britzka be got ready. And once again the endless road, with Chichikov's britzka trundling along incognito. Selifan is singing his song. A peasant with his goat and another bearded peasant are standing by the roadside. They chime in: "You see what a wheel! What do you think, will that wheel make it, should the chance arise, to Moscow or not?" "It'll make it". "As for Kazan, I don't think it'll make it that far..." "It won't make it to Kazan". And their song continues to resound...

Die Fledermaus (Operetta by Johann Strauss) - Bolshoi Theatre

Operetta in three acts.
Libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genee
Music Director: Christoph-Mathias Mueller
Stage Director: Vasily Barkhatov
Set Designer: Zinovy Margolin
Costume Designer: Igor Chapurin
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Choreographer: Denis Boroditsky
Premiered on March 17, 2010.
Presented with two intervals.
Sung in German.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Alfred sings a serenade to Rosalinde, but it is Adele who hears it. Adele, intends to go to Prince Orlofsky's ball and invents a story about an ailing aunt. Eisenstein, who should be departing for prison, goes instead to the ball. Rosalinde is counting on spending the evening with Alfred - but the latter, mistaken for Eisenstein, is taken off to prison.

Act II
The cream of society gathers at the ball: Orlofsky is bored, but Falke promises to liven things up by a practical joke; Adele pretends to be an actress, Eisenstein - a French Marquis. A mysterious Hungarian countess keeps her mask on the whole time and therefore no one recognizes her as Rosalinde. The champagne flows, the guests make merry.

Act III
Alfred sings an aria while waiting for a lawyer. Adele demonstrates her acting skills to Frank. Finding his place at prison already occupied, Eisenstein gives himself out to be the lawyer. In answer to her husband's accusations that she has deceived him, Rosalinde confronts him with the watch, presented by Eisenstein to the 'Hungarian countess'. Orlofsky reveals his true identity, Falke delights in the fact his friend has been made to look a fool. All are forgiven - it is the champagne which is at fault!

 

Die Fledermaus (Operetta by Johann Strauss) - Bolshoi Theatre

Operetta in three acts.
Libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genee
Music Director: Christoph-Mathias Mueller
Stage Director: Vasily Barkhatov
Set Designer: Zinovy Margolin
Costume Designer: Igor Chapurin
Lighting Designer: Damir Ismagilov
Chorus Master: Valery Borisov
Choreographer: Denis Boroditsky
Premiered on March 17, 2010.
Presented with two intervals.
Sung in German.

SYNOPSIS

Act I
Alfred sings a serenade to Rosalinde, but it is Adele who hears it. Adele, intends to go to Prince Orlofsky's ball and invents a story about an ailing aunt. Eisenstein, who should be departing for prison, goes instead to the ball. Rosalinde is counting on spending the evening with Alfred - but the latter, mistaken for Eisenstein, is taken off to prison.

Act II
The cream of society gathers at the ball: Orlofsky is bored, but Falke promises to liven things up by a practical joke; Adele pretends to be an actress, Eisenstein - a French Marquis. A mysterious Hungarian countess keeps her mask on the whole time and therefore no one recognizes her as Rosalinde. The champagne flows, the guests make merry.

Act III
Alfred sings an aria while waiting for a lawyer. Adele demonstrates her acting skills to Frank. Finding his place at prison already occupied, Eisenstein gives himself out to be the lawyer. In answer to her husband's accusations that she has deceived him, Rosalinde confronts him with the watch, presented by Eisenstein to the 'Hungarian countess'. Orlofsky reveals his true identity, Falke delights in the fact his friend has been made to look a fool. All are forgiven - it is the champagne which is at fault!

 

One act ballets: Herman Schmerman. Remansos. Cinque - Bolshoi Theatre

Herman Schmerman
Ballet in one act
Choreography, Scenary, Light: William Forsythe
Costumes: Gianni Versace, William Forsythe
Adaptation of Choreography: Noah D. Gelber
Premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre on December 22, 2010.
Rinning time: 28 minutes.

Remansos
Ballet in one act by Nacho Duato

Cinque
Ballet in one act

 

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.