Pimmalione

PHOTOALBUM

Russian premiere
PIMMALIONE
L. Cherubini
Lyrical drama in I act
semi-stage

Libretto by Stefano Vestris of Antonio Simone Sografi's Italian translation of the text Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote for his scène lyrique Pygmalion (1770) to the same name drama scene (26.01.1790, San Samuele Theater) of Giovanni Battista Cimadoro

Stage Director - Irina Plotnikova
Musical  Director - Sergey Chechetko
Light Designer - Denis Yeniukov
Choreographer - Ksenia Lisanskaya
Duration 1 hour 20 minutes without intermission

Do you like the taste of fruit and wine? Then this opera is just what you need! “Pimmalione” keeps up the traditions of Helikon’s “Opera cafe”, where not only your ears will enjoy the beautiful music, but your stomach will be delighted as well by delicious dishes.

Don’t You know who Pygmalion is? Yes, he is the very legendary Cyprian tsar and sculptor who fell in love with his own creation – an ivory statue of the nymph Galatea.

Aphrodite heard the sculptor’s prayers and enlivened the statue. Galatea married her creator and even gave birth to their daughter Pathos afterwards.

The story about Pygmalion was very popular in XVIII century. There is countless number of performances based on it, such as Michel de la Barre’s ballet “Le Triomphe des Arts” (1700), Louis-Nicolas Clerambault’s cantata “Pygmalion” (1713), Jean Phillipe Rameau’s ballet (1748)… And these are only a few of them. Jean-Jacques Rousseau chose this story for his melodrama in 1770. The premiere of Luigi Cherubini’s opera, ordered by Napoleon Bonaparte, was staged in London in 1809.

Curiously enough, the Cherubini’s work has not been staged in Russia yet. However, there was a concert rendition of the opera as a part of “Open Stage” project in 2011.

For the first time “Helikon-Opera” presents its version of this ancient story inspired by the atmosphere of “The Great Gatsby” film. The ancient love story of Pygmalion and his statue of Galatea is performed by the theatre’s actors in art deco style, so that treatment with fruit and wine perfectly fits it. What a pleasure to reflect on vicissitudes of fate being comfortably settled in a chair with a glass of good wine…