Love all ages are submissive

While in the top of cultural news there are silverniks, “Nureyev”, “Matilda”, the dissertation of Medinsky and it seems that the world has gone crazy, the victory of the mind has been won in the Bolshoi Theater. In his repertoire now there are products of one of the smartest, virtuoso, bold and important directors of our time - British Katie Mitchell. Which is made with proper prohibitive thoroughness. And also Handel’s opera came up again - after a couple of seasons of successful “Rodelinda” that had already lived here, Altsina is now on the new stage, and musically more convincing.

Just do not relax about the word "go." Only four blocks of performances are planned for two seasons, this is a very piece of product.

“Alcin” is the co-product of the Bolshoi Theater with an opera festival in the ex-en-provence, where its premiere took place in the summer of 2015. By virtue of the name of the director and the star casting (primarily the pairs of Patricia Petibon - Philip Zharausski), the performance immediately became cult and mandatory for viewing at least in the pirate network. On the stage there is a proprietary Mitchell two-tier structure in the context (scenographer Chloe Lampford), branded silent servants in black, branded multiplicity of points of view.

The central ceremonial space is a boudoir with a large bed for the most diverse erotic games, which are called up by inventive Gendelev roulades, and the tiring eternal youth of the two local inhabitants-the sisters of the Altsina and Morgana. Each time, leaving the bedroom, both immediately turn out to be gray, tired, but good old women with flabby hands, blurry body. Mitchell frankly admires their sad eternity, their dark, compressed, dusty, old woman with boxes, caskets and an obligatory cigarette. On the top floor - a wretched machine to turn boring lovers into animals and birds. A person is placed on a tape, like a suitcase at the airport to check for explosives, a light bulb blinks, and a ready -made stuffed animal at the output. As it turns out for the final happy end-the reverse process is also possible. Devices from the "for adults" store, which are used by sisters during love pleasures, and the miracles of the second floor at first are more likely to have fun. But gradually the main emotion of the performance is sympathy, the experience of someone else's pain and longing, and the happy end is very spoiled. It is clear that Mitchell's sympathy on the side of the evil, complex and suffering old wizards, and not opposing the right young excellent students.

This whole story was precisely transferred to the Moscow performance (Mitchell herself did not come to the production, its assistants worked on a copy - this is modern opera reality). So the Moscow premiere in a sense no longer has premiere, but it is a serious exam for the theater-its staging part, orchestra, choir, and casting specialists.

The orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater (more precisely - his special squad, sympathizing with the baroque music) is given into the hands of an experienced Italian old man, harpsichordist, organist and conductor Andrea Marcon, tinted with lute, theorbo, harpsichord and colorful winds and looks very happy. From the Exovsky composition of the singers, only the Serbian Meszo of the model appearance of Katarin Bradich in the role of bradamant, looking for his missing groom in the kingdom of Altsin. She is equally good both in a male military uniform, and in a red dress and in heels that do not prevent her from hiding a pistol under a stocking elastic band. The remaining soloists are new, collected from all over the world. For the role of impressive counteratrador Rujero, for whose heart Bradamant and Alcin fight, they found the technical Australian David Hansen. The boy Oberto, who dreams of finding and beating his father, was not childishly childish, they got the excellent Alexei Korenevsky from the Gnesinsky school. For the public, he, perhaps, is even a greater miracle than a counterattack.

In the most complicated title party, a miniature American Hiser Engbrastson is confidently holding on. Handel composed a role completely unusual for his time - a large volume and inconsistency. The range of altsin’s experiences is from cold coquetry and arrogant capriciousness to bottomless suffering, when she understands that she lost her only true love. And Engbratenson - at least starting with the Great Ah ! Mio Cor ! SCHERNITO Sei ! " (“Ah! My heart! You're scolded!”) - makes you stop grief that we are not Petibon.

But the main discovery of the Moscow production was the soloist of the local troupe Anna Alglatova, well known in any repertoire, except for Gendeleevsky. Its juicy and vivid performance of the party is Morgan, as well as the incredible beauty of the solo cellist Peter Kondrashin in the orchestra, is a serious argument in favor of import substitution.