Rodion Shchedrin. Not Only Love

The Orpheus video platform presents a joint project between the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Musical Theatre and the Orpheus Television and Radio Broadcasting Center: Rodion Shchedrin's lyrical opera "Not Only Love." Directed by Evgeny Pisarev, the production's musical director and conductor is Felix Kolobov. The premiere took place on March 6, 2024. The production won the Golden Mask National Theatre Award in the "Best Performance. Opera" and "Best Director. Opera" categories, as well as the Onegin National Opera Award in the "Event (Traditions)" category.

The opera "Not Only Love" was written in 1961 and was the composer's first work in the opera genre. The libretto was written by Vasily Katanyan, based on stories by Sergei Antonov ("Aunt Lusha," "Poddubensky Chastushki (from a Land Surveyor's Notes), and others). Rodion Shchedrin made extensive use of the chastushki form in this opera. But the opera had a difficult fate. The first production took place in Novosibirsk in November 1961. "In Novosibirsk, it was a complete failure, and the opera was performed only once," recalled Rodion Shchedrin. That same year, the opera was staged in Perm and Moscow. The premiere at the Bolshoi Theater was conducted by Yevgeny Svetlanov. Maya Plisetskaya participated in the dance scene in Act II.

Rodion Shchedrin saw the production at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater and praised it highly: "I hope that my opera will have a happy life at your theater."

Opera's Action Set in a Soviet collective farm village 10 years after the end of the Great Patriotic War, the plot centers on the story of the main character, Varvara Vasilyevna, the collective farm chairwoman, who faces a difficult choice between her feelings for a young man and her professional duty.

According to director Yevgeny Pisarev's vision, the play is entirely tied to the historical era described in the libretto. "Of course, the main thing is that this is a lyrical story about failed love," explains the director. "It's about the broken souls of strong people. These people are broken by war, stifled by the harsh reality of collective farm life." And yet, they are harmonious and full of the desire to live and love."

The theater's chief conductor, Felix Korobov, had long dreamed of staging this work: "This opera, which lasts about two hours, contains a vast spectrum of emotions, feelings, and various plot lines, ranging from irony, jokes, and genuine heartbreak to great tragedy. I'm happy that now the opera will live on not only as a performance, but also, thanks to Orpheus and our collaboration, many viewers across the country will be able to see it."

PERFORMERS:

Larisa Andreeva as Varvara Vasilyevna, the collective farm chairperson

Kirill Matveyev as Volodya Gavrilov

Maria Makeeva as Natasha, Volodya's fiancée

Felix Kudryavtsev as Fedot Petrovich, the tractor driver foreman

Stanislav Li as Ivan Trofimov, the tractor driver

Arseniy Kim as Mishka, the tractor driver

Kirill Zolochevsky as Grishka, the tractor driver

Veronika Vyatkina as Katerina, the divorcee

Maksim Osokin as S. Kondurushkin, the director of the amateur orchestra

Andrey Alshaov as Andryusha, the village idiot

Anna Kononenko as Anyutka

Dmitry Nikanorov - a guy,

Nikita Govorov - balalaika player;

Symphony Orchestra of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre,

Conductor - Felix Kolobov;

Director - Evgeny Pisarev,

Set Designer - Maxim Obrezkov.

Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre, Moscow