CHANGES AT THE BOLSHOI?
By S. Andreyeva
The Bolshoi Theatre is generally perceived as one of the symbols of
Russia. That's probably why anything that concerns the Bolshoi immediately
comes into focus. No sooner had a frenzied controversy over the dismissal
of the theatre's former artistic director Boris Vasiliev replaced by conductor
Gennady Rozhdestvensky calmed down a little, than a new appointment came.
Boris Akimov was appointed director of the Bolshoi's ballet company.
"Of course, I am happy", says Akimov, in the past one of
the Bolshoi's leading dancers. "This is a historic stage in my life
as it would be for any other person in my situation. To my mind, things
shouldn't be over dramatized. What's important is a normal climate, a calm
and kindly human atmosphere in the troupe. High professionalism matters
much, but not all, since only in a calm atmosphere a true creativity is
born that yields colossal and wonderful fruits".
So far there are no grounds to say that the Bolshoi's ballet will change
cardinally. There will be new productions and new international projects,
but we all hope that the Bolshoi will remain, as it has always been, the
standard of classical art.
"The Bolshoi is a top national theatre, Russia's visiting card,
and therefore its repertoire must include classical performances. The theatre
boasts a vast repertoire, and even though many ballets were put on 100
or 150 years ago, they must be shown today", says ballet dancer Nikolai
Tsiskaridze, a dancer. "As you may know, all experiments to teach
modernists classical ballet ended in failure. A classical ballet dancer
can dance modern dances, jazz, anything. But if we lose classics, we will
lose our face, for Russian ballet is famous for its classical productions.
In my opinion, we must revive all ballets staged by choreographer Yuri
Grigorovich, because they enable dancers not only to jump, spin and demonstrate
their technique, but to create images".
"This season Yuri Grigorovich, once the theatre's chief choreographer,
will make his reappearance at the Bolshoi to revive his version of Tchaikovsky's
Swan Lake. I think we could also invite Forsite and Noymayer and Kilian.
The theatre is not that poor as we were able to see, judging by its premieres
over the past 5 years". And what about the repertoire? Do you think
the Bolshoi can only repeat the great discoveries made by other theatres?
"As an artist, I am not interested in experiments. What I want
is to dance a part that was previously performed by great masters",
says Tsistaridze. "I want to imitate someone's brilliant performance
and add something from myself. Ballet art cannot exist without traditions.
Anything that stood the test of time is interesting. Perhaps, I am wrong,
but that's how I feel. In recent time all leading ballet companies seem
to be returning to classics some way or another. They put on modern productions,
but realize that classics must be preserved. When people come to the theatre,
they want to relax, they look forward to a beautiful fairy tale. Life is
so diverse: not just roses but thorns too. At the theatre I, personally,
would like to watch something bright and beautiful, and all great classical
ballets are about the beautiful, are they not?.." .
YOUTH AND MATURITY HAVE NOTHING
TO DO WITH AGE
(Talk with director of the Young Russia orchestra M. Gorenshtein)
Despite its relative youth the Young Russia (Molodaya Rossia) orchestra,
set up 7 years ago, has earned international acclaim for its masterful
performance of music of various styles and epochs. It boasts 16 CDs released
in cooperation with Russian, French, US and Japanese record companies.
"The Orchestra that radiates youth ...", wrote the New York
Times in 1998... "Such enthusiasm, musicality, and eagerness to play
are rare in occurrence", noted Estonian conductor Eri Klas who once
performed with the Young Russia.
-
When you were creating the orchestra, you invited students. That's why
it was called the Young Russia. But times flows by and musicians get older
...
- We judge musicians not by their age, but by their professional level.
As for the name, to my mind it is more associated with Russia at a certain
stage in its development, the stage of renewal.
- How did you manage to do so much over a short period of time?
- In my opinion, every season an orchestra must go several steps up.
What's important is that it mustn't stop, but continue striving forward
to new heights. We carefully choose our repertoire. By now we have already
performed nearly all Russian classics, especially Skryabin, Rakhmaninov,
Shostakovich. So repeats are inevitable.
Most critics praise the Young Russia and its conductor Mark Gorenshtein
for original interpretation of romantic music. The strings are amazingly
expressive and melodious as if playing solo... Gorenshtein started his
musical career first as a violinist. He studied at the famous Stolyarsky
music school in Odessa (Ukraine) and than at the Kishinev conservatory
(Moldova). Later he mastered the art of conducting at the Novosibirsk conservatory
in the class of professor Arnold Kats.
The Young Russia was invited to accompany violinists at the last international
Tchaikovsky competition. Another move attesting to its high professionalism
is that it was entrusted to perform a concert version of Tchaikovsky's
opera Evgeny Onegin timed to the bicentennial of the great Russian poet
Alexandr Pushkin.
- Are there any new opera projects?
- That's a big problem. Outstanding vocalists are needed to make these
projects interesting. In 2000 we took part in the all-Russia festival of
classical music stars, performing together with well-known pianists Nikolai
Vetrov and Nikolai Lugansky, violinist Maxim Fedotov and other 7 young
talented musicians. The festival is a major project embracing 7 Russian
regions. It will on December 12 with a gala-concert in Moscow.
Orchestras seldom tour Russia these days. Though each region has its
own orchestras, people miss classical music. We got a warm reception. The
audience varied from students to pensioners. In many cities people would
start asking passers-by for "a spare ticket" several blocks away
from the concert hall .
MEET A RUSSIAN AGATHA CHRISTIE
By S. Andreyeva
Alexandra Marinina, in real life Marina Alexeyeva, is one of the most
popular Russian detective writers. In a few years that followed the Gorbachev
"perestroika" she turned out 23 detective novels that have been
reprinted more than 200 times with an overall number of copies totaling
22 million. Among the admirers of her talent are Germans, Frenchmen and
Japanese. Her bestsellers have been translated into many languages.
Marinina gets irritated when she is called a Russian Agatha Cristie.
"The only thing we have in common is that we are both women",
she says. Who is she, the writer that captivated millions of readers in
Russia and abroad?
Her
career list is impressive. A Lieutenant-Colonel of the Russian militia,
for years Marinina was engaged in research work in law-enforcement bodies.
For a woman in Russia and elsewhere in the world this is quite an extraordinary
choice. Today she is a housekeeper, or to be more specific - a pensioner.
Foreigners on their first visit to Russia, seeing people in municipal
transport or on benches in boulevards and parks, immersed in reading, often
wonder what are those books they read so avidly. More often than not those
are who's-done-it novels. 70% of the lovers of detective genre prefer Marinina.
"Detective novels have always been in great demand in Russia,"
says Marinina. "People craved for them, for one because they helped
them to escape from dreary routine...True, in Soviet times a comparatively
small number of police novels were published. Today, when publishers are
free in their choice, they choose books that are popular with readers".
If you drop into a bookshop or a specialized book market, you will
see that detective stories account for more than half of the books available
for sale. Strikingly, the number of female authors prevails. Has any of
your female colleagues influenced you?
"No. When I began writing my novels there were no other women
to challenge me", says Marinina. "I was the first and for a long
time the only one. No one influenced me".
The main character of her detective novels is Anastasia Kamenskaya.
By the author's admission, Kamenskaya is 90% her own prototype. Just like
Marinina, Anastasia hates housework and her husband has to take on the
duties of a housekeeper to the delights of feminists.
"I see nothing bad in a woman, who by her cast of mind, education
and natural faculties, can provide for her family", says Marinina.
"There is nothing bad or tragic in that her husband earns less. Everyone
is free to do what he can do best. It's not feminism. It's the equality
of genders."
After Russian television ran a serial based on Marinina's books, millions
of viewers began to identify her as Anastasia Kamenskaya. Seeking to tear
herself away from her prototype, Marinina decided to try her hand in drama.
"I am writing a play now", says Marinina. "I'll show
it to people close to the theatre who know more about drama and what a
play should be like. Three alternatives are possible. First - the play
is wonderful, second - it's bad, and third it's not bad, but needs polishing".
And what about Kamenskaya?
"My autumn schedule is tense", says Marinina. "I have
to travel a lot. It's impossible to write a book one week at home and one
week at a hotel. I must immerse myself into a book and work on it for months
on end. So until the end of autumn, I will be writing a play and reading,
not writing, books".
In September another of Marinina's novels, "When Gods Laugh",
appeared on bookstalls and immediately became a bestseller. Still ahead
are negotiations with an Italo-Canadian company over 12 two-hour films
based on her books .
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