Asked from the mask: an opera about destructive passion was staged at Helikon
Sergei Prokofiev's most mysterious opera "Maddalena" was presented at the Helikon Opera. The audience saw the story of a red-haired beast who, with her charms, brought men in love with her to the grave. An exclusive feature of the production is the Venice Carnival at night before the performance. In the White-columned Hall, dressed in luxurious dresses, hiding their faces behind masks, the actors play out a story in the style of commedia dell'arte. Izvestia attended the premiere and plunged into the bloody twilight of the opera Maddalena.
Sergei Prokofiev's first adult opera
Those who bought a ticket to Maddalena were warned: "Come to the performance in half an hour, or better yet, early." While the final preparations for the premiere at the Helikon Opera were underway in the White-Columned Hall of Princess Shakhovskaya, a mysterious atmosphere had already been created in the foyer of Sergei Zimin. Spotlights illuminated the space with red lights, and the walls were decorated with the attributes of a nighttime Venetian carnival. The guests were greeted by Columbine and Pantaloon. They offered to enjoy a glass of sparkling wine.
— Good evening, gentlemen. I, Baroness Francesca Borghese, affirm that there is nothing more joyful in the world than carnival," actress Ksenia Lisanskaya, hiding behind a mask, greets a beautiful woman in a crinoline.
The Venice Carnival at night, according to the canons of Commedia dell'arte, duplicates the story that the audience will see in the hall. The choir member performs gavotes and minuets to the music of Handel and Respighi.
Maddalena can be called Sergei Prokofiev's first serious opera, apart from children's opuses. He wrote it in 1911, while a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The 20-year-old composer wanted to stage "Maddalena" with the help of the student theater, but the parts turned out to be too complicated, they are still difficult to perform. Since then, no one has taken up Sergei Prokofiev's essay. The Maddalena manuscript was considered lost until it was discovered in Paris in 1954 in the archives of the Russian Music Publishing House. The opera was first staged in Austria 70 years after it was written.
The redhead is shameless
The performance consists of just one act. The audience follows what is happening on stage like a detective story.
"The short film Maddalena is a kind of thriller opera, where events develop very quickly, and tension and passions are constantly growing,— said conductor Valery Kiryanov.
The action takes place in Venice. The production designer, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation Rostislav Protasov created the palace chambers in the chamber space of the White-Columned Hall of Princess Shakhovskaya. Behind the large screen windows, gondolas with lovers float by in the sunset. The red-haired beauty Maddalena (soprano Olga Tolkmit) is languishing waiting for the return of her husband, the artist Genaro (tenor David Posulikhin). Soon, her husband appears on the doorstep. Their love idyll is interrupted by a knock on the door. The alchemist Steno (baritone Dmitry Yankovsky) scares Maddalena in an excited state, and she disappears behind the curtain. The guest is shaking as if he has met the devil himself around the corner.
Dmitry Yankovsky creates such tension on stage that you want to follow his story closely. And now you find yourself leaning forward from your chair so that you don't miss anything.
Genaro is about to hear a story that excites his friend. Steno, in a fever, talks about love affairs with a sultry beauty. But in the detailed descriptions of the passionate girl, Genaro recognizes his Maddalena. The wife's adventure becomes the reason for a showdown with an insidious deceiver. But Maddalena, making excuses for her sins, incites her rivals to a duel. Both die in a deadly battle. And the schemer with overwhelming sexuality just smiles and admits that she didn't love any of them.
A strong woman doesn't cry at the window
Maddalena should be not just a beauty, but also a seductress. Makeup artist Natalia Blinkova said that she matched the color of the lenses to the color of the hair, skin and type of the artist. And since there are three cast members in the production, each of the actors had her own wig. Olga Tolkmit liked her bright green eyes. Galina Barosh has blue lenses, and Yulia Sitnikova has seawater—colored lenses.
The libretto for the opera was written by Sergei Prokofiev himself. He took the play in verse "Maddalena" by Magda Lieven as a basis. And the St. Petersburg poetess was inspired by Oscar Wilde's "Florentine Tragedy." In 1914, this literary foundation inspired the Italian Carlo Ravasegna to write an opera. And the passionate Italian woman, who drove men crazy, gave a reason for the flight of imagination to the Pole Alexander von Zemlinsky. Giacomo Puccini also became interested in The Florentine Tragedy, but later abandoned this story. Only Sergei Prokofiev's work received recognition.
— It seems to me that the composer was attracted by the powerful charisma of this woman, — says director Ilya Ilyin. "People like her could rule the world, but they can't control their own passions. Maddalena is a woman of mystery, including to herself. Or maybe she's a hoaxer.
The director claims that Maddalena is very modern. She is self-sufficient, and she is characterized by hyperbolized egocentrism. The more interesting it is for viewers to build their own versions, which made the beauty act cruelly with the men who loved her. Maybe Maddalena is nothing but a demon in a skirt. And the beautiful face is just a mask. Someone will see in her an unhappy woman who does not know how to love. It's a dark Venetian night, and you can't tell right away who's right and who's to blame.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
