Translated material
Moscow poster (14
Moscow poster (February 14 - 20)
Publication date: February 11, 2000
Publication date: February 11, 2000
Theater
Two "Othellos" fell on Moscow at once. But if at the Army Theater the Shakespearean tragedy was staged by the inveterate traditionalist Boris Morozov, the Vakhtangovites invited former avant-garde artist Evgeniy Marcelli to the production. True, Marcelli is terribly shy on the capital's stages, is clearly shy in front of seasoned actors and, frankly speaking, has never been able to shock the sophisticated Moscow public. But the dense eroticism of Shakespeare's play could motivate him to accomplish this. But the most interesting thing will be to compare not the director’s interpretations (it’s better to wait until the great Lithuanian director Eimuntas Nekrosius brings his “Othello” to Moscow), but the acting. At the Army Theater, the role of Iago - one of Shakespeare's most interesting - is played by Boris Plotnikov. At the Vakhtangov Theater they entrusted it to Sergei Makovetsky. We are accustomed to the fact that Makovetsky is invited to immaculately positive roles of timid intellectuals in films, but this actor, of course, has his own “devilishness”. Only Alexey Balabanov felt the “Dostoevschina” in him, who invited him to play a child molester in the film “About Freaks and People.” Makovetsky portrayed the monster with gusto and seemed to like it. Let's hope that he will enrich the image of Iago, the main villain of all times and peoples, with new, unexpected nuances. If you go to the Army Theater, be sure to check who is playing Iago. If it’s not Plotnikov, there will be nothing to watch on stage.
Theater named after Evg. Vakhtangov, February 18.
Army Theater, February 20, 18:00.
Movie
The cinema center is always late with films, but it allows you to catch up if you didn’t manage to watch the current movie in time. This month you can catch the sensation of the latest Moscow film festival "Romance" by Catherine Breillat and the new film by Emir Kusturica "Black Cat, White Cat". Kusturica cast his favorite actor Mika Manojlović (remember the charming scoundrel in “Underground”: he seems like a really bad person, but it’s nice to watch) in the tiny role of a priest. He appears in the frame only in the last two minutes, but at least for these minutes the movie is worth watching. Catherine Breillat invited the main porn star Rocco Siffredi to play a similar pop role. If Manojlovic demonstrates a fiery Serbian temperament, then Siffredi demonstrates a monumental erection. Feel the difference.
Music
Cellist Ivan Monighetti, one of the leaders of the Moscow avant-garde of the 70s and 80s, now comes to Moscow no more than once a year. His program, by tradition, is exemplary. Bach and the 20th century: Valentin Silvestrov, Frangiz Alizade. Both authors are representatives of national schools (the first is Ukrainian, the second is Azerbaijani), at the same time oriented towards Western culture. Together with Monighetti the finest master of the ensemble, pianist Yuri Polubelov, will perform.
Small Hall of the Conservatory, February 15.
One of the leading Russian composers of our days is Vladimir Martynov. One of his best performers is Mark Pekarsky. One of the immediate joys of the week is the program “Music for Talking Drums” by Vladimir Martynov, performed by the Pekarsky Ensemble.
Club "Dom" (B. Ovchinnikovsky lane, 24, building 4), February 17.
Exhibitions
Two events at the Moscow House of Photography are worth attending.
The House of Photography has opened the “Eye” gallery on the premises of the Moscow Arts Center (and together with it), where it intends to sell small-circulation copies of good photographs (rarities, Soviet classics, photographic works by contemporary artists). The gallery announced an exhibition of very high quality both in terms of artistic and technical parameters. Most of the works, however, have already been presented at House events, so there are few fresh impressions, but it’s still nice to see.
At the second event, on the contrary, the unknown is expected. Young American photographer Anthony Svo holds the exhibition "Without a Wall. Eastern European Countries in Transition. 1989 -1999." Moscow is one of the points of his world tour. The press release assures that Svo is comparable to Bresson, Koudelka and Klein. In any case, you can see how you need to film to become a Pulitzer Prize winner and published in Time.
Moscow Arts Center, from February 10.
Central Exhibition Hall "Manege", from February 15.
New projects by Olga and Alexander Florensky “Taxidermy” and “Humble Architecture” will be presented by the M. Gelman Gallery. RJ wrote about this work of everyone’s favorite St. Petersburg residents without much enthusiasm, but you still need to go and have a look.
Gelman Gallery, from February 22.
The poster was prepared by Shirley McMyrley, Olga Kabanova, Petr Pospelov