"Helikon-Opera" tour to Krasnodar
23.03.2010
"Helikon-Opera" tour to Krasnodar
From the 16th till 21st of March 2010 "Helikon-Opera" theatre was touring Krasnodar. The perfomances were shown on stage of Krasnodar musical theatre of "Premiere" Creative Group named after Leonard Gatov. Kuban met Helikon people with anomalous weather, for the first time in sixty years the sunny warm weather had been giving ways to snowstorms for several times a day. The one-meter high snowdrifts were formed. But the caprices of the weather didn’t impede the loud success of “Helikon-Opera”.
The idea to show Tukhmanov’s “Tsarina” to Kuban spectators was born at producers’ minds of META Enlightment Fund together with the Governor of Krasnodar region Alexander Tkachev and Artistic Director of “Premiere” Creative Group Tatiana Gatova after Moscow’s premiere of the performance in State Kremlin Palace in November 2009. For the next five months Krasnodar changed its face awaiting “Tsarina”. The whole city was placarded with the huge number of bills. The commercials were shown on local TV channels and were broadcasted on radio. Three thousands of tickets for two performances were bought out by the beginning of March.
The performances were shown on stage of Krasnodar Musical Theatre of “Premiere” Creative Group named after Leonard Gatov. The long friendship connects Helikon and Krasnodar theatres. In 2002 Leonard Gatov opened his new theatre in Krasnodar with the premiere of “Eugene Onegin” in Dmitry Bertman’s production, which still is sold out for every performance.
“Tsarina” was sold out as well. Applauses were heard after each scene. The public was giving standing ovations for twenty minutes long. Besides Krasnodar spectators the people from nearest cities of Sochi, Novorossiysk, Anapa and some other came to see performance. The Governor of Krasnodar region Alexander Tkachev with his spouse, Vice-Governor Galina Zolina, the Head of the Department of Culture Natalia Pugacheva, the management of Kuban department of Uralsib, who supported the project, visited the shows.
The Honoured Artists of Russia Larisa Kostiuk (The Empress Catherine the Great), Maya Barkovskaya (Duchess Catherine), Elena Mikhailenko (Ekaterina II), the Honoured Artist of Russia Vadim Zaplechny (Count Grigory Orlov), Mikhail Guzhov (Count Nikita Panin), Peter Morozov (Grigory Potemkin), the People’s Artist of Russia Yuri Vedeneev (Prince Potemkin Tavrichesky), Mikhail Verbitsky (Platon Zubov), Svetlana Rossiyskaya (Countess Brius), the Honoured Artist of Russia Anna Grechishkina (Alexandrina), Oleg Riabets (Gustav IV), Andrey Palamarchuk (1st Guard, 1st Ambassador), Andrey Reichel (Peter III), artists of the chorus and orchestra of Helikon-Opera took part in the performance.
By the way, Maya Barkovskaya, the performer of Duchess Catherine, was born in Krasnodar. This southern city got into tour schedule not by random. The première of the opera took place in Alexandrinsky theatre of Saint-Petersburg, in State Kremlin Palace in Moscow and now Krasnodar, the history of which is closely connected with the famous tsarina. It is discussed at present to return to the city its historical name of Ekaterinodar.
Administration of the theatre is saying special thanks to the Artistic Director of Krasnodar musical theatre the Honoured Artist of Russia Tatiana Gatova and whole collective of the theatre for their professional work and warm reception.
The work on new tour projects of “Tsarina” has began.
At the press-conference: Peter Morozov, Maya Barkovskaya, Dmitry Bertman, Natalia Pugacheva, Valentina Sigayova | |
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In the lounge of "Premiere" theatre |
Grateful public | |
From left to right: Svetlana Rossiyskaya, Mikhail Verbitsky, Konstantin Chudovsky, Maya Barkovskaya,Yuri Vedeneev, Mikhail Guzhov and Vadim Zaplechny | |
Photos by Vladimir Gorokhov