STARS OF WORLD CULTURE IN RUSSIA
This month has seen many outstanding cultural events in Moscow. Early
in the season Moscow received the prominent Italian conductor Riccardo
Muti, world-famous opera singer Jessy Norman and no less famous French
choreographer Roland Petit. The orchestra and the choir of the Milan Scala
Theatre under Riccardo Muti gave a performance of Guiseppe Verdi's REQUIEM.
Jessy Norman sang music by Gustav Maler and Richard Wagner.Unpredictable
Roland Petit is staging in the Bolshoi Theatre a ballet "The Queen
of Spades" to the music of Petr Tchaikovski's Sixth Symphony; its
premiere is expected on the 26th of this month.
Riccardo Muti,Jessy Norman and Roland Petit are unique personalities,
bright persons for whom creative endeavor is a second nature.
When maestro Muti reflects on the work with an orchestra out loud he
speaks as if he should win over the trust of the musicians. Yet any orchestra
of the world sees as an honor to perform with the renowned maestro.
Riccardo Muti says: "A conductor must not compel musicians, he
should persuade them, he should show that his ideas are kind, not just
but kind. A conductor's baton is a precise measurement device; it is not
a baton of the commander. Yet this does not mean that the conductor should
listen to the opinion of all members of his orchestra. He should infect
them with his ideas, yet what he should not do is to suppress individuality
of the performers. If he can act so, he will be respected by the members
of the orchestra. If respect is supplemented with love the conductor and
the orchestra can reach a peak of musical expressiveness. Yet you can buy
neither respect nor love."
Jessy Norman is one of rare opera singers whose requirements are high
not only to music but also the lyrics. A discerning musician she has won
the reputation of soprano for intellectuals. Her sympathy for some opera
characters is proof of her inner strength. In an attempt to explain the
principle underlying a search of "her heroine" and "her
lyrics" Jessy Norman has said the following:
"Characters that attract me are versatile; they do not yield to
circumstances but they rather control them. Such characters are, say, Alceste,
in Gluck's opera, and Russian Empress Katherine the Great; unfortunately,
no opera has been devoted to her so far. I feel sympathy for such characters.
Sometimes, however, it is the lyrics that attract me. I like to sing the
music when I feel that the author of the lyrics knows well what he wants
to convey through his character. Very often, however, librettists have
a vague idea of what they are after. Lyrics mean a lot for me. That is
why Racine's PHEDRE appeals to me".
Easy-going and sociable, Roland Petit makes jokes about his status
of the most experienced choreographer. Since early in September he has
been involved into a big project in the Bolshoi Theatre, and he appears
to be dedicated to this work. Though he speaks about it with almost childish
frankness and eager, you feel as if hypnotized with his new ideas. You
can hardly resist them no matter how fantastic they can appear. Roland
Petit is staging a ballet on Alexander Pushkin's novel "The Queen
of Spades". The young character of Pushkin's novel, German, tries
to remedy his financial situation by winning cards games. Yet there is
only one person who knows the secret of the win, the old countess. Here
is more from Roland Petit.
"What I am staging is a love story of a 25-year-old young man
and an aged countess. He is as if he were just borne, while she is one
foot in the grave. This appears to be the case of the Sun and the Moon.
The gist of the ballet is in the love and duel of the two characters-German
and the countess, and their love kills them both. As for the decorations,
everything is made of cards. The countess' room is nothing else but cards,
everything that surrounds German are cards, the dancing hall is also constructed
of cards. Cards are everywhere since they should help the young man to
achieve something in his life. Cards are seen as a pretext that the young
man can use to approach an aged lady. And understanding this, she looses
her head. If there is no love story I do not stage a ballet," concludes
Roland Petit.
The stars of the world culture, Riccardo Muti, Jessy Norman and Roland
Petit possess an invaluable gift, the gift of creativity, which is undying
and inexhaustible. Though their contribution to the world culture is great
and their status in the world of arts is stable they continue their creative
search.
IZBORSK - RUSSIA'S NORTHERN
OUTPOST
By M. Faustova
For the past several years archeologists have been digging on the so-called
"Truvor Gorodische" site outside the ancient city of Pskov in
north-western Russia, in search for unique findings the land seems to abound
in. Each newly-found treasure sheds light on the history of one of Russia's
oldest fortresses - Izborsk. It's quiet here today… The massive towers
and timed-withered white-stone walls with gun holes overlook picturesque
northern plains. Nothing disturbs the serenity of the place. It takes a
stretch of imagination to picture fierce battles that once flared on here:
guns firing, arrows whistling by, enemy battering-rams pounding against
fortress walls … That's how it probably was one thousand years ago.
Izborsk
traces its history back to 862 when a Varangian named Truvor, who came
from Scandinavia, founded a settlement there. His elder brother Rurik was
invited by residents of the neighboring Novgorod princedom to be their
ruler. In the 18th century Empress Catherine II ordered to forge a metal
shield with the image of Trevor and fix it on the fortress' gate.
For centuries Izborsk protected Russia's north-western border from
repeated enemy attacks, putting up strong resistance to foreign invaders.
Only once in its history it fell over to the enemy. This happened during
a Livonian invasion in 1240. Two years later Russian troops led by Prince
Alexander Nevsky regained Izborsk after inflicting a crushing defeat on
Livonian knights at the battle on the Chudskoye Lake.
Today it's difficult to say how the fortress looked like at the beginning.
The initial design suffered numerous changes, as old buildings were reconstructed
and new ones erected to strengthen the fortress' defenses. It has one rectangular
tower, another one 18 meters tall, and two smaller round towers. The walls
are surrounded by a narrow passage called "Nikolsky zakhab" and
serving to trap enemy troops into a stone corridor where archers attacked
them from ambush.
The sound of a bell at the fortress' bell tower was heard 30 km around
and even in Pskov, warning its residents about an impending danger. Stone
steps inside the belfry slope down to a secret well that helped the fortress'
defenders survive an enemy siege.
A legend has it that in 1341 German knights besieging Izborsk tried
in vain to find the well and press the fortress to surrender.
Modern Izborsk is a unique combination of various cultures. Raising
its gilded cupolas into the sky is the white-stone Nikolsky church dating
from the 15th century. Within a walking distance from it is the convent
of the Nativity of Christ, built in the 16th century. One more religious
site is the chapel of the Icon of the Mother of God of Korsun.
A narrow path leads from the fortress' gateway down a steep slope to
12 springs spaced at intervals over a length of about 200 meters. The water
in each spring has its own peculiar taste raging from sweet to almost sour.
Its healing properties have been known since olden days and attracted crowds
of people.
"MAN'S WORK" BY TIGRAN KEOSAYAN
By V. Zherdeva
Despite his youth, Tigran Keosayan has already established himself
as a prominent moviemaker. His last film is "Man's Work" - a
16-part TV serial about events in Chechnya.
When a still a boy, Tigran knew he would follow in his father's footsteps.
Edmond Keosayan is a well-known 
Soviet-era
film director. His "Indomitable Avengers" series, "The Cook"
comedy and other films won him enormous popularity in the 60s and 70s.
Keosayan junior first made himself a name as a clip maker. In 1998
he made his debut as a full-blooded director at the Kinotavr film festival.
His first feature film "Poor Sasha", a New Year fairytale story
about a small daughter of a rich businesswoman who feels lonely because
her mother is always busy, won him the best debut prize and later - a prestigious
TEFI award. Tigran's next film "The President And His Granddaughter"
took a special prize at the Kinotavr-2001 festival. This summer he got
one more award - a prize at the "Outlet To Europe" film festival
in Vyborg, north-western Russia, for his third feature film "The Silver
Lily Of The Valley".
"Man's Work" has nothing to do with melodrama, the genre
in which all of his previous films were made. It's a thrilling blockbuster
about the anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya. The film's sponsor - the
Information and Press Ministry - gave Keosayan four months to complete
it. According to its author, the film gives an unbiased portrayal of what's
happening in Chechnya. Both the director and scriptwriter were fully aware
of how painful the Chechnya theme was, so they did their best to be maximum
objective. The plot is based on real facts - the capture of TV journalists
by Chechen militants, the training of mercenaries by Arab instructors…
The main plot line features the destiny of three friends who found themselves
on the opposite sides of the barricades.
Tigran Keosayan once told newsmen that he rejected bloody scenes. "Man's
Work" abounds in war episodes, yet none of them is brazenly cruel.
The film involves one of the regiments that took part in military operations
in Chechnya with high-ranking defense ministry and federal security agency
officials as consultants. Starring are Fedor Bondarchuk, Alexander Molokhov
and Sergei Veksler. The film is not about superheroes, but about a hard
moral choice people faced with such circumstances as those in Chechnya
have to take.
23.10.2001
BACK TO
MAIN PAGE
