RUSSIA: Moscow's Bolshoi theatre looks to the future with a modern take on its most traditional opera

Towering sets, elaborate costumes and a swarming chorus -- all reassuringly familiar to the Russian audiences who have been watching this version of Modest Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov for nearly 60 years. But now Moscow's Bolshoi theatre will be reinventing the classic Russian opera, with the help of acclaimed film director Alexander Sokurov. Mussorgsky based his opera on a Pushkin poem about Boris Godunov, a fictionalised retelling of the life of a 17th century Tsar, in which he gains the throne by murdering the real heir, but is driven mad by his guilty conscience. With a score based on Russian folk music and national hymns, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov had come to be seen as the quintessential Russian epic opera. This production that is so familiar to opera-goers in Russia and the rest of the world hasn't changed since it was first staged in 1948. Based on a version of the opera arranged by composer Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, the production directed by Leonid Baratov and designed by Fyodor Fyodorovsky was originally considered very controversial -- so much so that it took almost two and a half years before authorities would allow it to be performed. A story about an autocratic leader driven mad by power was not one that was considered appropriate in Stalin's Russia. Now, however, the production is practically a Russian institution. In the Bolshoi's programme for the production, it calls Boris Godunov a national symbol which "long ceased to be simply an opera". The production itself is steeped in legend, almost mythical in the way it has survived so many generations of performers and audiences. Why then, would the Bolshoi choose to reinvent a production that holds such an important role in Russia's, and the Bolshoi's, cultural history? The Bolshoi's director, Anatoly Iksanov, believes that it is vital for classics to be reimagined as times change. "It is important to look at our serious, significant classical heritage with the eyes of 21st century people, that's why we have invited film director Alexander Sokurov, who is very famous both in Russia and abroad, to stage this new version of the opera. And for us there is a certain risk, because it is his first experience working in the opera theatre, but we see risk as a positive thing," he said. A story looking into the human side of an autocratic leader is one that seems perfect for Sokurov, famous for his much-lauded trilogy of films about famous historical leaders -- Hitler, Lenin, Hirohito. All the films showed a fascination for the effect of absolute power on a human being. He wants his theatrical debut to explore Boris Godunov's human relationships. "Without a doubt, I am interested in the character of this man [Boris Godunov], I view him as a human being. I view this as a story about man's fate and, of course, for me the most interesting thing is the theme of Boris and his son, their fate, and all this is in the opera, both in the libretto and in the music. And this side of the story will be more significant in our version than in the others, the purely emotional, human story," he said. Celebrated contemporary artist Yuri Kuper is designing the sets for the production, which will be very different from the ornate, colourful sets designed by Fyodorovsky for the 1948 production. He says he wants a simpler, darker design. "Talking about the aesthetic side of the new staging, it will be monochromatic, that's one thing. Monochromatic sets are rarely used, almost never used, but I have chosen a monochromatic design because, first of all it is Sokurov, and secondly, we are dealing with Russian history and the history of Russian opera," he said. The new production will be unveiled in April 2007. But fans of the classic production shouldn't be worried -- it will continue to be performed by the Bolshoi alongside its newer incarnation.

ITN Source | July 27, 2006

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