Meeting of top officials. Manon Lescaut with Anna Netrebko on the historical stage of the Bolshoi Theater Anna Netrebko premiere at the Bolshoi Theater
At the Bolshoi Theater there is a grand premiere of Puccini's famous opera Manon Lescaut. The world-famous star, the inimitable Anna Netrebko, will make her debut on the Historical stage in the title role. Together with her is her husband and partner Yusif Eyvazov. The innovation of the production is such that it is already called “hooligan”, and the costumes and scenery can be shocking.
A black formal suit, but a soft charming smile on her face: Anna Netrebko came out to the press in good mood. After all, at the Bolshoi she sings the premiere of Puccini’s favorite opera “Manon Lescaut”.
“I perform it with great happiness and delight every time, and even more so when I have such a wonderful, strong and passionate partner with me,” says the singer.
He sits next to you at the table, he sings next to you on stage, and he walks next to you in life. After all, this is her husband, Yusif Eyvazov, the performer of the main male role - the Cavalier des Grieux.
For Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov, this opera is special. The fact is that they met two years ago at the rehearsal of “Manon Lescaut” in Rome. The love story of the 18th century became the beginning of modern romantic story. This was the first joint work - an opera imbued with passion and despair, where every word is about love. Chevalier des Grieux, aka Yusif Eyvazov, then discovered Manon Lescaut, aka Anna Netrebko, both as a singer and as a woman.
“I knew that she sings a certain repertoire, quite easy, that I don’t sing. Therefore, there was a special interest in her - I knew that there was such a star, singer, and so on... But this acquaintance turned into love. And we are very happy!” - says the singer.
Their duet does not play passion, it experiences it. When Manon leaves her lover for a rich patron, it is a betrayal. When Manon realizes that money did not bring her happiness and returns - this is forgiveness. When he goes into exile for her, that’s love.
This production has already been dubbed a bit “hooligan”. Here are the costumes of the heroes - long dresses and frock coats in the fashion of the 19th century, and at the same time - sneakers, knitted hats and black glasses. And the Bolshoi soloist Marat Gali came out to sing on his native stage in a ballet tutu! In this production he is the dance teacher.
“All my life I wanted to feel like I was in a ballet role, and now, after 14 years of a career at the Bolshoi Theater, I’m finally going out in a tutu. I find it very pleasant and easy!” - the singer laughs.
Anna Netrebko apparently feels the same way: in the same scene with the dance teacher, she stands on the ball without any safety net and sings at the same time!
“When we did this scene with Anna, this moment of risk came from her: “I can try to be on the ball!” But in general, an idea that is not directly related - a girl on a ball - is present,” says choreographer Tatyana Baganova.
And a six-meter doll calmly watches all this. This is also a symbol of luxury - Manon really wanted it for herself expensive toys- and partly, the heroine herself. The image of “doll with doll” becomes a farce.
“Such a living stream, young, modern in this. Especially in the first act, she somehow lifts the mood a little before lowering it completely into a complete drama,” says Anna Netrebko.
But all the same, costumes and scenery are just surroundings. Reigns over everything immortal music Puccini. And the performers of the main roles prefer not to think about the upcoming premiere in order to reduce the degree of excitement.
“If someone tells you that the singer doesn’t worry before singing “Manon Lescaut” - don’t believe it! Everyone is worried,” says Yusif Eyvazov.
“I don’t know... I’ll wake up the day after tomorrow and we’ll see!” - says Anna Netrebko.
On October 16, the opera “Manon Lescaut” by Giacomo Puccini will be presented for the first time on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. The main roles in it will be performed by Anna Netrebko (Manon) and her husband Yusif Eyvazov (Chevalier Rene Des Grieux). Tickets have been sold out for a long time. And as the director of the Bolshoi Theater, Vladimir Urin, says, he hasn’t picked up the phone for several days, because he won’t be able to give out the counterbrand even to his friends.
"Manon Lescaut" - special event for music lovers. The project was not in the plans of the Bolshoi. A year ago, the theater management began negotiations with the world opera star Anna Netrebko. She was offered any production on the Bolshoi Historical Stage. Prima chose Manon Lescaut. On the eve of the premiere, a press conference was held at the Bolshoi Theater by the creators of the opera.
“It’s an honor for me to perform on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater: I’ve never been here before,” Anna stunned the audience. - “Manon Lescaut” is one of my favorite operas. It is dramatic, about love, and I perform it with great happiness and delight.
For me, working with Anna is not only pleasure, but also learning,” said Eyvazov. - Although at home she doesn’t sing to me.
It turned out that Eyvazov is not the only one studying with Anna.
“I learn a lot from Anna and Yusif, I admire the patience with which they approach their work,” says conductor Yader Binyamini, specially invited from Italy. - Despite the fact that they are masters of the highest level, they very often ask me for advice and some recommendations. We worked in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
The director staged the opera “Manon Lescaut” drama theater Adolph Shapiro. His track record includes productions at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater, Tabakerka, Mayakovsky Theater, RAMT, etc. He is also in demand abroad. Working on the opera stage is a kind of discovery for him. And the world-famous star is just a student at work.
“I work a lot abroad, from Shanghai to Sao Paulo, and for me there are no differences between our artists or foreign ones, just as there is no difference between Smoktunovsky, Netrebko or a student,” Adolf Shapiro admitted to Izvestia. - If I adapt to them, there will be nothing left of me. As for working with Anna, I am inspired by the way she sings. She is a great artist. The very fact of such an artist being on stage becomes art. Even if she went the wrong way and did the wrong thing. I'm interested in her plasticity, reaction, nature.
Unlike the singer, the director visited the Bolshoi Theater more than once. According to Adolf Yakovlevich, in his youth as a student he looked at Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” from the third tier. And now he comes to work at Bolshoi as if it were home. Since he has been spending days and nights here for more than one month.
Do good production it was difficult, but thanks to Adolf Shapiro, working on the play was a pleasure,” says Anna Netrebko. - If I don’t like the director’s approach and his vision of the role, I just leave.
This didn't happen here. Anna and Yusif flew to Moscow a few days ago. And when she first appeared on the theater stage, she was literally shocked.
The acoustics on the Bolshoi stage are very difficult for singers. Due to the massive scenery and large space, the sound does not return to the performer. We have to work twice as hard. In the first days of rehearsals, I was in real shock. Well, then we somehow got used to it.
The ending of the opera is tragic.
There are singers who love to die on stage, they live for it,” says Netrebko. - I don’t like it, but when necessary, I enter this state. It's costing me a lot because I'm really, really stressed. Then it affects my body. Well, what can I do? I chose this profession.
As Anna jokes, after they play the play on October 22, she and her husband will celebrate their performance at the Bolshoi in a big way. And the theater management is already making plans for further projects with the couple. Anna and Yusif will return to the Bolshoi more than once; in their absence, the second cast will take the stage - Ainoa Arteta (Spain) and Riccardo Massi (Italy).
For those who cannot get to the Bolshoi Theater, the Culture channel will broadcast a broadcast of the opera Manon Lescaut on October 23.
The long-awaited event has finally happened: main Russian singer sang in the main Russian opera house. And she not only sang, but also acted in a full-fledged production. The Bolshoi staged an opera of her choice especially for Anna Netrebko - Puccini's Manon Lescaut. These are her current preferences. The singer, who once shone in frivolous soubrette roles for light soprano, now more interesting repertoire more respectable weight category. She is not afraid of a large orchestra, low register, or exhausting distances. From Mozart she purposefully moves towards Wagner and Italian verismo, one of best exhibits which is Manon Lescaut (1893; not to be confused with Massenet's French Manon, written just a few years earlier).
Another new circumstance is the tenor husband, very vocal, suitable for the role of des Grieux. So the couple prefers not to separate, if possible. And the Bolshoi Theater, of course, provided it to them. For Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov, “Manon Lescaut” is painted in additional romantic tones - it was while playing the roles of passionate but unhappy lovers on the stage of the Rome Opera a couple of years ago that they happily found each other in real life.
So, for a complete set, we also need a conductor who is attentive to the voices of the main newsmakers who are adapting for the first time to the vast space of the Historical Stage. There is such a person - the young Italian Yader Binyamini, invited by Netrebko herself. The soloists can be heard, and local singers sound confidently next to the distinguished guests, especially those performing the parts of the villains: the rich old voluptuous Geront (Alexander Naumenko) and Manon’s cynical brother, Sergeant Lesko (Elchin Azizov). The choir was less fortunate - its replicas do not always catch up with the overly lively orchestra. Lack of accuracy, however, is compensated by temperament. After the Intermezzo at the beginning of the third act, the famous symphonic sketch depicting des Grieux's longing for the arrested Manon, the maestro ceremoniously raises the orchestra in the pit to bow.
Well, you also need to choose the right production team. It cannot be said that Netrebko is a conservative who wants to stand like a bollard in the middle of the stage and care only about her voice. Not at all, she can be a very expressive actress. But it doesn’t cost her anything to rebel if something goes against her grain. Don’t forget the diva’s quarrel with the German master Hans Neuenfels at the Bavarian Opera during the production of the same “Manon Lescaut,” as a result of which two weeks before the premiere it was necessary to urgently look for a replacement for her. I must say, alternative sweet couple for this opera there are now in the world - Christina Opolais and Jonas Kaufman - and she is capable of setting the stage on stage no worse than our royal spouses.
The Bolshoi Theater invited the famous drama director Adolf Shapiro as director, Lately who began working in opera and already had experience communicating with prima donnas: his first opera production, which received “ Golden mask“He did “Lucia di Lammermoor” with Khibla Gerzmava.
The four very conventional spaces in which the plot unfolds - the peaked city of Amiens, a rich house in Paris, a port in Le Havre and some completely mysterious America - are practically not connected with each other. They are connected only by excerpts from the corresponding novel by Abbé Prevost that are displayed on a black curtain (during a change of scenery) - too long. But the pictures that appear after the curtain rises (the author of the sets and countless costumes is Maria Tregubova, the choreographer is Tatyana Baganova) reward the audience in full, delicately combining glamor, entertainment and pleasant optionality.
Damir Yusupov / Bolshoi Theater
What is there? Lovers fly away hot-air balloon to Paris and sail away on an ice floe to America. Among Manon's prison companions are a bodybuilder, a transvestite, a black woman in a wedding dress, a fat woman, a dwarf, and a snake woman. White paper town Amiens and white paper boat in Le Havre are opposed to the black kingdom of Paris luxurious life Manon, in the center of which there is a huge, slightly inclined mirror, reflecting the stage, the conductor's pit and even the first rows of the stalls. At the moment when Manon remembers the poor student des Grieux, whom she abandoned for this black boudoir, the mirror (thanks to modern scenographic miracles) ceases to be a mirror, and a piece of lost happiness shines through it. In combination with the more serious Netrebko, who instantly transforms from a doll, bitch and girlfriend of Offenbach’s Olympia into a suffering woman, this scene turns out to be very effective.
Next to the mirror is another symbol: a monstrous doll that has grown from the one that was in the hands of Manon at the time of her first appearance. She blinks her eyes frighteningly, moves her arms and is gradually covered in monstrous flies, replacing innocent cosmetic flies.
Damir Yusupov / Bolshoi Theater
The world of evil toys, painful buffoonery and bizarre fantasies suddenly ends in the last, fourth, “American” act, which outweighs everything that came before. This is, in fact, a farewell to Manon, who is dying in the arms of des Grieux; here she is not even Olympia’s friend, but the granddaughter of Wagner’s Isolde. A couple in plain black clothes stands in the middle of the stage and sings about suffering, gradually moving closer and closer to the viewer. There is no America and no scenery at all. Only a huge empty cube, along the walls of which Manon’s just written sobbing lines flow endlessly. That's all. The diva played in the performance, now she can conquer the audience with just her voice, intonation, and turn of her head. And she does it.
The first opera premiere of the Bolshoi Theater this season can hardly be called an ordinary event. It's more like a meeting of top officials. Let's assume that the meeting was successful.
Opera premiere
Anna Netrebko, together with her husband Yusif Eyvazov, performed for the first time on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in the premiere production of the opera “Manon Lescaut” by Puccini. A performance especially for the world star short term composed and staged by director Adolf Shapiro, artist Maria Tregubova and conductor Yader Binyamini. Even new production will not be included in the number of theatrical sensations, the very appearance in it star couple has already made "Manon" more than an event of the season and one of the main achievements of the new administration of the Bolshoi Theater. YULIA BEDEROVA reports.
On the world opera scenes Two “Manons” - Massenet and Puccini - go with equal success. Anna Netrebko, with her established reputation as a light soprano, but consistently expanding her repertoire, made her debut in the demanding role of Puccini’s Manon not so long ago at the Rome Opera with conductor Riccardo Muti. Success and an important biographical detail (at this production Netrebko met her future husband Yusif Eyvazov) made it so that Puccini’s “Manon” became the star couple’s favorite score. In it, the voices of both singers are revealed in all the nuances of vocal expressiveness, and stage charm adds strength and beauty main topic"Manon" is an opera about love, and Netrebko and Eyvazov play love easily, passionately and with pleasure.
In the Bolshoi Theater performance, they spend a lot of time kissing and hugging, and this circumstance can hardly be considered a drawback of the performance - rather, on the contrary. In the end, the play was staged for Netrebko’s sake; her presence explains the most fundamental moments of the premiere - from the choice of title to the choice of conductor. Yader Binyamini carefully arranges the voices of the main characters with peppy, athletic tempos in smooth balance, although the choir and ensemble of soloists (brilliant Elchin Azizov - Lescaut, spectacular and neat Alexander Naumenko - Geront, Marat Gali - Dance Teacher, Singer - Yulia Mazurova and others) have to keep all eyes on the conductor's athletically purposeful hand, so as not to disperse and not be late somewhere.
For the directors of the play, the minimum task was probably to create such a theatrical setting that would not interfere with the world star, but would only decorate her debut on the main stage. And apparently, the only thing that Netrebko had to cope with, not without effort, was the difficult acoustic situation, which probably arose due to the production decision, when the large depth of the stage box began to pick up and absorb sound. By at least This (and additional instructions from the conductor) most likely explains the unusually uncertain sound of the excellent Bolshoi Theater choir. But the main pair of soloists, remaining almost always close to the proscenium or on it itself, coped well with this problem.
Meanwhile, the performance turned out to be perhaps the most amazing production of the Bolshoi Theater in history. last years. And its main visual metaphor is a huge baby doll in huge beads with massive iron beetles and ants on a giant plastic body (the metaphorical jewels of Manon) - an image that is as powerful as it is strange and surprisingly abandoned in the final acts. If the theme of the play is the transformation of Manon, first from a child with a doll into a doll - a toy of adults and circumstances, then into a real, non-toy loving woman, then, of course, there is no time for dolls in the finale. But still, many episodes of the play look like excerpts of metaphors or spectacular visual tricks (that doll rotates his head and blinks slowly, it seems like he’s about to get up and walk like a Golem) and evoke more amazement than empathy. The parade of freaks in the scene of loading exiles onto a ship in Le Havre (not the first in the history of Manon productions) is a luxurious fireworks display of funny and monstrous types in bright colors, exploding the black and white palette of the performance. But in the meantime, in the music, a real Puccini-esque catastrophe is unfolding, the image of Manon grows to a cosmic tragic volume. The contrast of the heroine's black sadness with the circus of freaks could work on the strength of the impression, but in this crazy parade there is so much movement and eerie miracles that it inevitably takes attention to itself: Manon gets lost in the crowd, the viewer has to fish out her voice and image from the mise-en-scène.
The listener has to apply the same amount of effort to stay with the music. final scene, where, it would seem, there is no one and nothing anymore. The scenographic desert hugging the characters in the center is beautiful, but here the text projected on the backdrop (fragments of the libretto and novel) begins to speak to the audience in surprisingly detailed detail. The entertaining, explanatory pathos of the production, as if addressed to an inexperienced audience, is understandable in its own way. The lack of musicality of the theatrical solution is perhaps the main thing that can be reproached new performance. But with the task of a spectacular frame for voices and acting the main characters, from which the audience does not get bored, he copes, in the finale reverently bringing the star couple to the forefront together and at the same time paradoxically confirming the common thesis that passionate operas and great actors do not need directing at all.
The new "Manon" at the Bolshoi is one of those productions in which the opposition "traditional performance - director's performance" dies. Which would be good, but here the performance turns out to be not entirely clear. For a director's work, it lacks conceptual coherence and balance; for the feeling of simple opera organicity without concepts, it lacks sincerity and nuances. The entire tone of the production is exaggeratedly elevated, interesting solutions with unusual scaling (tiny city, huge people, a giant doll, small characters), it would seem that they are talking about something, but it turns out that they are not saying something to the end. However, they do not interfere and even help Puccini’s heroes to explain everything clearly.
Manon performed by Anna Netrebko is not only brilliant and charming, but also unusual. The star plays her Manon as almost a Wagnerian heroine, as a passionate and strong character - even in the role of a toy, she is more likely to consciously play with people than with them. Netrebko builds the part powerfully and complexly, using a huge variety of vocal colors - from subtle, almost watercolor to dark and dense. Her Manon is hypnotically attractive not only because of her vocals. It is she herself, no matter what the libretto says, who will do anything for the sake of her lover, it is she, with her power and the power of passion, who leads him into the desert of love that cancels everything, even life, to where there is only love, everything else simply doesn’t matter, nothing There is no other. And the sincerity and ardor of des Grieux’s response in the wonderful performance of Eyvazov, captivating the audience with great vocal skill and acting trepidation, becomes her reward.
This is an event that has been awaited for a very long time. Because of Anna Netrebko's appearance, the excitement around the premiere went through the roof. The price for a ticket from speculators reached 150 thousand rubles. And in the theater itself they were more excited than ever. But all work stopped when, during breaks in rehearsals, Anna talked with colleagues and friends in the atrium of the theater. And in the service buffet, where you can go through the atrium, food was running out and there was no time to boil water for tea and coffee, since almost all the employees rushed there to get at least one glance at opera diva, and if you’re lucky, take a photo with her: Anna behaved easily and friendly in the theater...
Meeting such an extraordinary level of enthusiastic expectations is an incredibly difficult task. But not for Anna Netrebko. From the moment she appears on stage, nothing that happens around her matters. Her naturalness, phenomenal beauty and sensuality of her voice are absolutely magnetic. Manon leaving her lover for a wealthy patron is a betrayal. Manon realizes that money is not the same as happiness, and returns to her beloved - this is forgiveness. He goes into exile after her - this is love. And in the case of Manon - Anna Netrebko, this is not just a performance based on an 18th-century love story described in a novel by Abbot Prevost, who inspired the creation of the opera not only by the Italian Puccini, but also by the Frenchman Massenet. This is a unique work of art that changes the soul of everyone in the room.
The presence of everyone else on stage next to such talent seems like a formality. Although among the soloists there are also quality works (Lesko - Elchin Azizov, Dance Teacher - Marat Gali, Singer - Yulia Mazurova). The only one who lives on stage in the wake of his Manon is her des Grieux - Yusif Eyvazov. Perhaps because this opera became the beginning of their personal romantic story with Anna. They met in February 2014 at a production of Manon Lescaut in Rome. This was the first collaboration. And already in December last year they became husband and wife. And each of their arias and each duet was filled with sincere passion.
And only when you get to the second cast (Manon Lescaut - Spanish Ainoa Arteta, Cavalier des Grieux - Italian Riccardo Massi) of the premiere episode, you return to the modest reality of the Bolshoi Theater. There is no truth in the relationship between them, but there is a lot of false musicianship - broken notes and discrepancies with the orchestra. The orchestra under the baton of the young Italian Yadera Bignamini sounds rough, loud and dispassionate.
The production by director Adolf Shapiro and artist Maria Tregubova looks just as insensitive. It is a collection of quotes from various plays, films and masterpieces of painting. The spectacle turns out to be deaf to Puccini's music. In this performance, Manon is a nymphet, first playing with dolls, and then herself turning into a huge monstrous baby doll, which occupies a third of the stage.
But after the intermission, the director, like a child, forgets a boring toy, he forgets about his “dolls” and turns the finale of the play into a concert.
AND main question only one: will Anna Netrebko return to the Bolshoi Theater for the sake of her Manon? Or, perhaps, for the sake of Lisa in “The Queen of Spades”, the premiere of which on the Bolshoi stage, directed by Rimas Tuminas, is planned in a season.
If we talk about opera premieres this season, it is obvious that they will remain without audience excitement. We're not talking about hit titles at all. The next premiere is scheduled for November - rare opera performed Britten "Billy Budd". This is a joint work with the English National Opera. Another rare premiere is Mieczysław Weinberg’s opera “The Idiot” based on novel of the same name Dostoevsky. It will be presented on February 12. The season will conclude with the premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Snow Maiden” in June. Besides, in concert performance by the artists of the Youth Opera Program, one of the most successful projects Bolshoi, Rossini’s “Journey to Reims” will be performed.
The only show this season that should be of interest is Verdi's Don Carlos, when Khibla Gerzmava, Ildar Abdrazakov and Dmitry Hvorostovsky make their Bolshoi Theater debuts in two December performances.
It seems that the Bolshoi Theater has finally decided to invite stars of the first magnitude, which, of course, will increase the interest of an enlightened audience, and not just tourists - lovers of selfies and buffets. But only if super singers become regular guests at the Bolshoi Theater. Anna Netrebko set the bar as high as possible.
Maria Babalova -
especially for Novaya
