November, 19 2014 left his native theatre forever. In his interview with ITAR-T ASS Sergei Filin talked about the work of the ballet company's artistic director, the recovery after the acid attack and the future plans. IT AR-T ASS/Mikhail Dzhaparidze - To begin with, please, say a couple of words about the tour that you have not gone on yet. - This is the Bolshoi Ballet's jubilee, 20th tour to Japan. The guest performances will continue for almost three weeks, until December 7th, and will be shown in seven dif ferent cities, including Nagoya, ЕЊtsu, Toyama, Osaka, Hamamatsu and, of course, T okyo, where most performances will take place. On November 19th the tour starts in the city of Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi Prefecture, with the production of "Swan Lake". - As far as I know, to open the tour in Japan with "Swan Lake" has been a tradition? - This is true; the program of every single tour in Japan must include "Swan Lake". It is considered in the Country of the Rising Sun that this is the "trademark" of the Russian ballet, which every Japanese citizen must see". However, according to the artistic director, even though the Bolshoi Theatre agreed to bring "Swan Lake", the Japanese chose the program of the tour very carefully and meticulously. They want to bring educational, full-length and classical performances that would both be box- of fice hits and present the fullest image of the Bolshoi Theatre". He said that this time the program of the tour included not only "Swan Lake", but also "Don Quixote" and "La Bayadere". The company will give 17 performances. - To put it shortly, sanctions did not get in the way? - No, sanctions did not influence us in any way. This program was approved in advance and will be demonstrated in full accordance with the contract. As for the cast, several changes have been made. Until the very last moment it has been unclear whether the Bolshoi's prima Svetlana Zakharova will be able to go on tour or not. In the end of October the ballerina had some problems with her kidneys and had to stop performing for some time. Fortunately, no surgery was needed, and Svetlana recovered quite soon; the doctors allowed her to go on tour. Our American premier David Hallberg was supposed to be her partner. However, he had a serious injury and is now going through the rehabilitation process. Svetlana Zakharova will dance with another partner, a young and talented soloist Denis Rodkin. The Bolshoi's young star Olga Smirnova, whose name was on the playbill of the tour, could not go to Japan either. The doctors forbade her to go because of a foot injury. W e all are live people, and anything can happen to any of us. We have a very dangerous job. Therefore, when we plan the current repertoire and tours we need to make sure that there are artists that can substitute their colleagues, and do this on a very high professional level. Our company has the most talented masters that can maintain the reputation of the country's main music theatre in any given circumstances. - So who went to Japan? - Almost the whole company - about 250 people - went to Japan. The productions will star Svetlana Zakharova and Denis Rodkin, Maria Alexandrova, Ekaterina Krysanova, Anna Nikulina, Kristina Kretova, Anna Tikhomirova, Ruslan Skvortsov, Vladislav Lantratov, Mikhail Lobukhin and Semyon Chudin. The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Pavel Sorokin and Pavel Klinichev, have gone on the tour as well. The Bolshoi Theatre General Director Vladimir Urin heads the company during the opening of the tour. As for me, I plan to go to Japan near the end of the tour. I think I will join the company during their third, final week. Pedagogue-repetiteurs will be with the collective during the rest of the time. The constant presence of the artistic director is not necessary in the given situation. - Speaking of the risk of getting an injury, which the job of a ballet artist is associated with: have you had any serious injuries yourself? - It happened once. It was the last performance on the Historic Stage before it was closed for reconstruction. It was "Swan Lake", and I performed together with Nina Ananiashvili. In the fifth minute of the performance I broke my leg, but continued dancing for another hour. I clenched my teeth and kept smiling, so that no one would guess what had happened to me. Then I had two surgeries and a long rehabilitation period. - How long have you worked at the Bolshoi? - I turned 44 on October 27th. I have had a connection with the Bolshoi Theatre since childhood. At first I studied at the Moscow College of Choreography; after graduation I joined the Bolshoi Theatre Company. I danced with corps de ballet, and later became a soloist. I left the Bolshoi only for two years; in 2008 I was invited to work as a Director of Ballet at the Moscow's Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre. But in 201 1 I returned to the Bolshoi, where I was given the same position of the ballet company artistic director. - It was Vladimir Urin, who invited you to the Stanislavski Theatre; at that time he was the General Director of that theatre. At the moment he is the head of the Bolshoi. How do you get on with each other? - For me the work, coordination and support of the General Director are very important. These are the most important things. I do not feel there are any preconditions to discuss how we feel about each other and how we get on with each other. Of course, some things change. But I always remember that Mr. Urin was my first boss when he was the Director of the Stanislavski Theatre. Perhaps, he took some risks when he offered me the position of the ballet company's artistic director; still, he opened his doors to me and believed in me. Mr. Urin taught me. I can say that I have learned from him many things that I had not known before. He is my teacher in terms of administration and management. I will be grateful to him for this even after I leave the Bolshoi Theatre. - Can it really happen? - Of course, it can. On March 18th 2016 my contract expires, and it is possible that it will not be renewed. I take it easy. There is another thing that is important - whether people will shake my hand and say "thank you", or not. - Let us not rush things. But if you had to make provisional conclusions, how would you evaluate your work of the Bolshoi Ballet artistic director? - I would say that I have managed to create a good collective and to carry out many successful projects. For example, there was a concert in memory of Roland Petit, then I created the festival [email protected]; thanks to this festival we could attract many modern foreign choreographers to cooperate with the Bolshoi Theatre. This was how we met Jean-Christophe Maillot. He had been staging productions only for his Ballets de Monte Carlo for 20 years. Last season he broke that rule for the first time and staged the ballet "The Taming of the Shrew" especially for the Bolshoi Theatre. I am sure that this is only the beginning of fruitful cooperation. I consider that I also made an impact by bringing John Neumeier back to the Bolshoi's stage. After a rather long break this wonderful choreographer brought his famous "Lady of the Camellias" to the Bolshoi. The most prominent French choreographer Pierre Lacotte staged a full-length ballet "Marco Spada". A bit earlier the ballet "Onegin", one of John Cranko's best pieces, premiered at the Bolshoi. I still do not understand how I managed to convince the copyright owners of this production. - What are your plans for the near future? - T wo of my most cherished dreams are about to come true. I dreamed to dance the part of Hamlet in the same-name ballet before I had finished my dancing career. This ballet had to be a new, bright and modern production. When I became the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, I shared this idea with the famous British director Declan Donnellan and the choreographer Radu Poklitaru. This duo has already created their version of "Romeo and Juliette" for the Bolshoi Theatre. This time they are working on "Hamlet". W e decided to stage this ballet to the music of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 15. The British set designer Nick Ormerod is working on the set. The rehearsals will start in January 2015. The premiere has been scheduled for March 11th 2015. I initiated another premiere that will be presented to the audience in the very end of the season, on June 13th. This will be "A Hero of Our Time" based on Lermontov's novel. I would like to have a very Russian production, created by a Russian choreographer and a Russian composer, based on the story by a Russian writer. Newsletter

The production team consists of the choreographer Yuri Posokhov, the director Kirill Serebrennikov and the composer Yuri Krasavin. We chose "A Hero of Our Time". This project was created in 201 1, when I had just become the Bolshoi Ballet's artistic director. W e planned to mark Lermontov's jubilee with this production. But Kirill Serebrennikov did not like the music by Krasavin. The production team decided to commission another composer, Ilya Demutsky. I really like the way everything is going Regardless of the fact that Kirill Serebrennikov is often accused of staging scandalous productions, I do believe that he will create an interesting, unusual and lively performance. I have always followed his creative work. I also attended the gala, marking Stanislavski's jubilee, that was staged by Serebrennikov at the Moscow Chekhov Art Theatre. The concert took place on January 17th 2013. When I was going back home, the most terrifying tragedy in my life happened. - Y ou still have those terrible memories, don't you? - I keep thinking of the reasons that motivated them to be so cruel. If I had been a thief or had seduced ballerinas, whose names were mentioned in the court, it would have been easy to prove. But there were no evidence of this kind. So what was the reason? My professional career? Or, may be, simple envy? I cannot find an answer. But I know for sure that I would never have been able to do anything like that myself. As for those who attacked me, I forgave them. On the very firstevening. Right after the acid attack. I invited a priest to the hospital to do everything according to the orthodox rules. I did not want to allow anger and grievance to grow in my soul. It is impossible to live with such burdens. I had to concentrate on the treatment. - How are your eyes today? - Everything is OK with my eyes. This is what I have to say in order to be able to move on and hope for the best. I would never wish my worst enemy to go through what I have gone through. I find enough strength to live and work only because I have my family, my parents, my close friends and my colleagues. Of course, the main achievement of the doctors, and my doctor from the Aachen clinic in the first place, is the fact that my left eye can see. I can use it to read, write and watch performances. The injury of the right eye turned out to be much more serious. It is dif ficult to discuss any perspectives. We can only discuss whether it will be possible to keep it. There have already been 32 surgeries, and there will be more. Surgeries allow us to have some progress. According to the doctors, it will be possible to see better with my left eye. They consider that a half of what is possible to do has already been done. Once in two-three weeks I go to Germany when I have a day off (this is Monday) in order to consult with the doctors and get necessary medications. I continue to believe and hope for the best. Of course, I do realize that the serious burn to the eye will not allow me to return to my previous condition. But I am trying to be strong and energetic and to look after myself. In other words, I am trying to lead the same life I always used to lead. /…/ Who is playing: Soloists of the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, accompanied by the Russian National Orchestra. Special guests - the Bolshoi Opera's soloists Elena Manistina and Anna Aglatova. What is playing: arias from operas by P. I. Tchaikovsky, W.A. Mozart, G. Verdi, G. Puccini, C. Saint-SaГ«ns and others. Why you should go: You should listen to the golden voices of Mongolia not because this is some kind of exotic performance. There will be laureates of the most prestigious competitions and festivals that perform at the best opera theatres of the world that will represent the motherland of Genghis Khan in Moscow. Enkhbat Amartuvshin, the winner of Placido Domingo's competition OPERALIA (2012), the winner of the 2nd prize and the Audience Award of the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition is one of the most anticipated guests. By the way, quite recently this young baritone has participated in concerts, organized for members of the UN General Assembly, which took place in New York. Where, when and how much: the Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage), November 20th, 3500-10 000 rubles (approx $ 76-$217). /…/ "Golden Voices of Mongolia" in Moscow "Golden Voices of Mongolia". Photo: vk.com The gala-concert "Golden Voices of Mongolia" will take place on the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage on November 20th 2014; it will be a part of the program of cultural cooperation between Russia and Mongolia; it will be organized with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Mongolia. The concert will star leading soloists of the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, winners of prestigious international vocal competitions and participants of international music festivals that perform at the world's best opera theatres.
The singers will perform on the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage, which opened in 201 1 after six years of reconstruction; they will be accompanied by the Russian National Orchestra, directed by M. Pletnev. The singers will perform masterpieces of world and Russian opera classics. The program will include arias from operas by T chaikovsky, Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Saint-SaГ«ns and other great composers. The orchestra will be conducted by Honored Artist of Russia Alexander Polyanichko. Enkhbat Amartuvshin, the winner of Placido Domingo's competition OPERALIA (2012), the winner of the 2nd prize and the Audience Award of the XIV International T chaikovsky Competition and the laureate of the 2nd prize and two special prizes of the Francisco Viñas International Singing Contest in Barcelona (2013) is one of the most anticipated guests. Mr. Amartuvshin performed at dif ferent theatres and concert halls in Italy, France, Spain, South Korea, Romania and China. In 2012 he participated in concerts, organized for members of the UN General Assembly, which took place in New York. Amartuvshin is the first artist in the history of Mongolia, who received the title of an Honored Artist at the age of 24. The gala-concert "Golden V oices of Mongolia" will give the audience a unique chance to hear the best opera singers of the country that have been recognized by music fans and classical art fans all over the world. The Bolshoi Opera's soloists Elena Manistina (mezzo-soprano) and Anna Aglatova (soprano) will be the special guests of the concert. An exhibition about the 75 years of the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet history will open at the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage Exhibition Hall after the press- conference, at 6 p.m. This will be the first time that the Russian audience will have a chance to see the exposition which features photographs and costumes from the theatre's best productions over the last 15 years; the exhibits come from the personal archive of the theatre's Chief Designer Gungaasukh Ganbaatar. The goal of the exhibition is to provide the Russian audience with a chance to learn about the history of the legendary Mongolian theatre, demonstrate its national and traditional special features, as well as similarities and differences with Russian theatres. Together with the concert of the theatre's soloists, the exhibition will give the audience a better feeling for and understanding of the Mongolian culture. November, 19 2014 Newsletter

November, 19 2014 The Bolshoi Theatre has 12 "Golden Mask" nominations Nominees for the "Golden Mask Award" 2013-2014 were announced on November 13th at a press-conference. The Bolshoi Theatre set a record: it has 20 nominees in 12 nomination categories. The opera productions "Don Carlo" and "Cosi Fan Tutte" are nominated in the category "Opera/Best Production". Their music directors, Robert Treviño ("Don Carlo") and Stefano Montanari ("Cosi Fan Tutte") are nominated in the category "Best Conductor". The set designers Gideon Davey ("Cosi Fan Tutte") and Tobias Hoheisel ("Don Carlo") - in the nomination category "Best Designer/Music Theatre"; the costume designer Dieuweke van Reij ("Cosi fan Tutte") - in the category "Best Costume Designer/Music Theatre". Floris Visser, the stage director of the opera "Cosi Fan Tutte", was nominated in the category "Best Director". V eronika Dzhioeva (Elisabeth V alois, "Don Carlo"), Dmitry Beloselsky (Philip II, the King of Spain, "Don Carlo") and Igor Golovatenko (Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, "Don Carlo") were nominated in the categories "Best Female Singer" and "Best Male Singer". Two ballets - "Lady of the Camellias" and "The Taming of the Shrew" - were n om in a te d in th e ca te gory "B alle t/ B est Pro du ctio n ". Sve tla na Zakh aro va (Marguerite, "Lady of the Camellias") was nominated in the category "Best Female Dancer". The ballet "The Taming of the Shrew" has a record number of nominations. Its author, the choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot, was nominated for the "Golden Mask Award" in the category "Best Choreographer"; the music director of the production Igor Dronov - in the category "Best Conductor". The list of nominees includes all dancers that perform leading parts: Ekaterina Krysanova (Katharina), Vladislav Lantratov (Petruchio), Olga Smirnova (Bianca) and Semyon Chudin (Lucentio). The 21st Festival "Golden Mask" will take place from March 27th till April 17th 2015. On April 18th 2015 the award ceremony will take place at Moscow's Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre. According to the tradition, the Festival will start long time before its official opening: the production "The Indian Queen", which is staged by the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre and is a participant of the Festival's competition program, will be presented at the Bolshoi Theatre in December 2014. Dear mass media representatives! The gala concert "Golden Voices of Mongolia" will take place on the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage on November 20th; the concert is organized as a part of Russia- Mongolia cultural cooperation development program. The gala concert will star leading soloists of the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, winners of prestigious international vocal competitions and participants of international music festivals that perform at the world's best opera theatres. Golden V oices of Mongolia will be accompanied by the Russian National Orchestra, directed by M. Pletnev. W e are happy to invite you to the press conference that will take place on Thursday, November 20th 2014 at 5 p.m. at the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage Main Foyer. The press conference participants: T sagaan Puntsag - Chief of Staf f Of fice of the President of Mongolia. Oyungerel Tsedevdamba - a Member of Parliament in Mongolia; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Elena Milovzorova - Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Altangerel Shukher - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to the Russian Federation Munkhzul Chuluunbat - the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet General Director Ganbaatar Gungaasukh - Chief Designer at the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet Alexander Polyanichko - the conductor of the concert Enkhbat Amartuvshin - the "golden baritone", the winner of Placido Domingo's competition OPERALIA (2012), the winner of the 2nd prize and the Audience Award of the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition Soloists of the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, as well as the Bolshoi Theatre's soloists Elena Manistina and Anna Aglatova, who will take part in the concert as well. An exhibition about the history of the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet will open at the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage Exhibition Hall after the press conference, at 6 p.m. Please, send your accreditation requests for the press-conference and the gala concert to [email protected] For additional information please call (495) 692-08-18. Entrance to the press conference: entrance No. 12 of the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage (Theatre Square, 1) starting from 4.30 p.m. On the Bolshoi Theatre official pages in the social networks we published information about the opening of the exhibition "Shakespeare. Here and Now!" The exhibition will take place at the State Museum and Exhibition Center ROSIZO from November 13th till December 14th On November 13th an exhibition that presents works of modern theatre designers, who have created visual images from William Shakespeare's plays, opened in Moscow. The Bolshoi's Museum contributed photographs of scenes from the theatre's several most modern productions, based on Shakespeare's plays to the exposition: all of those production premiered in the 21st century, and one of them premiered this year. This was the ballet "The Taming of the Shrew", staged in summer 2014 by the famous French choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot especially for the Bolshoi. Ballet "The Taming of the Shrew" The exhibition also features photographs of the most recent version of the ballet "Romeo and Juliette" to the music by S. Prokofiev, a joint project of the famous British director Declan Donnellan and the choreographer Radu Poklitaru. This season they will work on a story from another of Shakespeare's plays; in March the Bolshoi Theatre will present the world premiere of the ballet "Hamlet". John Neumeier, a classic of modern ballet, first presented the ballet "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 1977 in Hamburg. This production has been staged in many countries around the world; in 2004 it appeared at the Bolshoi. "Scaly" costumes that reminded us of extraterrestrial civilizations were created by Jurgen Rose and allowed to convey the magical mystifications of this play in the best possible way. The exhibition will run from November 13th till December 14th 2014. The State Museum and Exhibition Center ROSIZO is situated in the Lyublinskaya Street, 48 building 1. Operating hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 1 1 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday: day off

Bolshoi Theatre in the Internet Newsletter

, 7 November, 19 2014 For articles published 17 November 2014 The Dutch newswire ANP and the newspaper De Stentor report that Dutch director Floris Visser has two nominations for the Golden Mask, a major theater prize in Russia for the successful production of Mozart's Così Fan Tutte that he staged last season at the Bolshoi Theatre. Libertas (San Marino) announces the upcoming transmission of the Bolshoi's The Pharaoh's Daughter in cinemas as part of the Ballet in Cinemas Festival there. The New York Times Review of Books reviews the Metropolitan Opera's production of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in an article titled The Opera that Stalin Hated and recounting the story of how Stalin stormed out of the production when he saw it in 1936 at the Bolshoi denouncing the opera which was subsequently withdrawn. "The Boldino Autumn" Festival in Nizhny Novgorod The 28th All-Russian Pushkin Festival "The Boldino Autumn" will continue at the Nizhny Novgorod Opera and Ballet Theatre until November 21st. The Festival opened with M. Mussorgsky's famous opera "Boris Godunov" based on Pushkin's tragedy. Vladimir Taisayev, a soloist of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre, performed the role of the Tsar Boris. Roman Muravitsky, an Honored Artist of Russia and a Bolshoi Theatre soloist, performed the part of the Pretender. The Nizhny Novgorod Opera and Ballet Theatre's music director Renat Zhiganshin conducted the orchestra. /…/
In brief