La Serva Padrona / The telephone
Evening of one-act operas
PHOTOALBUM
Giovanni Pergolesi
LA SERVA PADRONA
opera-buffa
Libretto by Genaro Antonio Federico
Stage Director – Dmitry Bertman
Music Director – Valery Kritskov
Set and Costume Designers – Igor Nezhny and Tatiana Tulubieva
Choreographers: Leonid Varichenko, Ksenia Lisanskaya
Light design: Vladislav Alexandrov, Kirill Nilov
Premiere – May 5, 1998 and October 25, 2000
PHOTOALBUM
Giancarlo Menotti
THE TELEPHONE
Libretto by Giancarlo Menotti
Stage Director: Ilya Ilyin
Music Director and Conductor: Valery Kiryanov
Art Director: Rostislav Protasov
Light designer: Denis Enyukov
How can you see baroque Italy and America of the 20th century in one evening? In “Helikon-Opera” we came up with an idea of how to combine these two kinds of pleasure: we organise evenings of one-act operas! This novelty of the season will undoubtedly impress the audience and give an opportunity to enjoy such different but always gorgeous music.
When Giovanni Pergolesi was creating his opera-buffa “La Serva Padrona” (The Servant Turned Mistress), he could not even imagine that it would become the reason of “Querelle des Bouffons” in Paris – the name given to the irreconcilable argument of great musical philosophers about old and new opera.
However, it was not a problem for the “troublemaker” to dashingly gain popularity and make the name of the Italian composer famous all over the world. “La serva padrona” is an immortal story about old capricious bachelor Uberto, young charming servant Serpine and cunning servant Vespone. It will be performed in the first part of the evening.
In the second one Giancarlo Menotti’s opera “The Telephone” is presented. Despite an Italian name, Menotti is considered as an American composer. Giancarlo moved to America when he was 18 years old and lived there till the old age. His comic opera in one act “The Telephone” is a mosaic of all sorts of comic situations that happen during an ordinary telephone chitchat.
The plot is simple and quite modern: Ben is in love with Lucy and is going to propose to her but always fails as the girl is constantly talking on the phone. When his patience is over, a brilliant idea comes to his mind: to call Lucy and tell her about his feelings on the phone… How will this funny story end? Of course, there is a happy finale! Viewers will leave the theatre in a good mood.