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- Geisha in red: The Bolshoi Theater closed the season with the premiere of "Madame Butterfly"
Geisha in red: The Bolshoi Theater closed the season with the premiere of "Madame Butterfly"
The premiere of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly" took place on the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater. This is the fifth staging of the tragic story of Cio-Cio-san within these walls: the work was first performed here more than a hundred years ago — in 1925. The new production by director Ksenia Shostakovich offers not a classical interpretation, but a piercing look at the clash of cultures — and not only the West with the East, but also the world of the living with the world of spirits.
Uplifting drama
Years later, "Madame Butterfly" reappeared in the poster of the Bolshoi. The audience was waiting for the return of the famous opera with such attention that the tickets disappeared from the box office long before the premiere.
Bonze — Alexey Kulagin, Madame Butterfly — Dinara Aliyeva, Pinkerton — Ivan Gyngazov
From the very first minutes, the performance immerses the viewer in a mystical atmosphere. Five spirits in black with bleached faces move around the stage as if they are practicing aikido. Each of their movements is accompanied by the sound of a gong. And only after they freeze, assuming frightening poses, the overture sounds.
Ksenia Shostakovich created a parallel reality where the spirits of the ancestors relentlessly follow the main character. A 15-year-old beautiful geisha dreams of happiness and is ready for decisive actions — even to abandon faith and relatives. All this for the sake of the American sailor Pinkerton, who invited Cio-Cio-san to marry, playing with her. However, for the girl, this marriage was not a reason for frivolous jokes. She fell in love, and that was the beginning of the end. My family disowned and cursed me. She's talking to her ancestors. The heroine is accompanied by images of ottoke spirits and figurines, which she keeps in a box.
To achieve authentic Japanese flavor without caricature, the directors turned to Kabuki theater techniques — special plasticity, restrained expression and conventionality of gestures help to reveal the psychological drama of a fragile woman who blindly believes in the love of an American lieutenant.
— Our task was not to show the "beautiful East", but to expose the heroine's soul, to show her naive faith and the subsequent collapse of hopes, — said the director. — We are consciously blurring the boundaries between reality and the otherworldly: the spirits here are not an entourage, but the voice of conscience and memory.
The fate of the geisha
The musical director of the production, Valery Gergiev, emphasizes that this premiere is one of the main concluding events of the season. Under his direction, the orchestra reveals the full depth of Puccini's opera, where the European classical tradition is intertwined with Japanese intonations and rhythms. For the soloists, the new version of "Madame Butterfly" has become a challenge not only vocally, but also as an actor: the role of Cio‑Cio‑san requires impeccable voice control and the ability to exist in a complex plastic score.
Yakushide, Cio-Cio-san's uncle is Nikolai Kazansky, Cio-Cio-san's mother is Zlata Rubinova, Cio-Cio-san's aunt is Irina Rubtsova, Madame Butterfly (Cio-Cio-san) is Ramil Minikhanov
— For any artist, especially for a soprano, it becomes a kind of mono-opera. The heroine goes from a 15-year—old girl to a woman who has experienced three years of waiting and loss," admits the performer of the main role, People's Artist of Azerbaijan Dinara Aliyeva.
Valery Gergiev entrusted the role of Cio-Cio-san not only to the Bolshoi prima, but also to young soloists Anna Shapovalova, Svetlana Shapovalova, Ramila Minikanova. This is one of the largest vocal performances. The heroine is literally on stage for all three acts.
Suzuki — Alina Chertash, Pinkerton — Ivan Gyngazov, Goro — Andrey Nyukhalov
There are several compositions in Madame Butterfly. Tenors Ivan Gyngazov, Karlen Manukyan, and Mikhail Pirogov took a swing at Pinkerton in the premiere performances. The part of Suzuki, the maid of Cio-Cio-san, was performed by mezzo-sopranos Julia Mazurova, Alina Chertash, Ekaterina Vorontsova.
Almost Kabuki
The plastic component of the performance was developed by Nana Tatishvili, who has been living in Japan for more than 20 years. Director Ksenia Shostakovich invited her to work with artists using the Tadashi Suzuki method of actor training. It is based on traditional Japanese theatrical techniques, dance, and martial arts.
"There is always a danger of becoming somewhat caricatured when working with such difficult material,— says Nana Tatiashvili. — We tried very hard to avoid this, we tried to be precise in our gestures and behavior.
Pinkerton — Karlen Manukyan, Madame Butterfly — Ramilya Minikhanov
She worked with mimance artists performing spirits who used elements of Kabuki theater in their dances. Special attention is paid to the details: the movements of the choir are arranged in such a way as to create a sense of ritual action. The combination of psychological theater with elements of mysticism allows us to take a fresh look at the story of love and betrayal.
The creators of the play paid special attention to the transfer of Japanese flavor. While working on the opera, Puccini himself carefully studied ethnographic materials, folklore and turned to Japanese artists, trying to organically combine oriental motifs with the European musical tradition. In the modern production, this line was continued by the visual team: costume designer Igor Chapurin and set designer Alona Pikalova created an expressive scenic world, complemented by lighting solutions by Andrey Abramov and video content by Natalia Dmitrieva.
With a red lining
Costumes become an important part of the drama of the play. When creating them, Igor Chapurin deeply explored the history of Japanese costume from the 15th to the end of the 19th century, combining historical accuracy with symbolic content. Color plays a special role: the image of Cio-Cio-san gradually acquires red accents, revealing the inner development of the heroine.
Madame Butterfly — Dinara Aliyeva
— This is not a symbol of blood, but a reflection of its emotional drama, — explains Igor Chapurin. — And if a white wedding dress with a red lining is more like a historical graphic of a classic Japanese kimono, then in the finale the viewer sees a real couture dress. This is a heartbreaking tantrum of red color, volumes and lines, created with deep respect for the traditional Japanese costume.
A similar couture dress with a long train is worn by Death, only it is in black. She's getting closer and closer to Cio-Cio-san. They meet on a high platform facing each other. Black and red. Interestingly, the color red has a special sacred meaning in Japanese culture. It has long been believed that the scarlet hue has magical powers capable of scaring away evil forces and protecting people from disasters. But Death hands the geisha his white ritual mask at the very last moment of her life.
Madame Butterfly — Dinara Aliyeva, Suzuki — Alina Chertash, son of Cio-Cio-san — Egor Latyshev
In the directors' reading, Madame Butterfly's story is transferred to a space where the heroine will no longer have to suffer, where the only child will not be taken to a distant country.
Concluding a large-scale theatrical season, the premiere of "Madame Butterfly" on the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater combined a century-old history, high fashion and deep psychology. A new reading of Giacomo Puccini's opera has confirmed that the story of a clash of cultures and selfless love is timeless, and modern stage solutions help to reveal the drama of human emotions more deeply.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
