The theatrical life of the country symbolizes the cultural state of society. And so it was at all times, which is confirmed by the legacy of the classics. After all, it is on the stage where the acting is carried out that the formation of public opinion takes place during the period of devaluation of spiritual priorities associated with the absence of a powerful national idea. In this regard, it is interesting to look at the musical theater "Helikon-Opera", which was founded by its current artistic director Dmitry Bertman.
The capital's theater "Helikon-Opera", located on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, by ordinary standards can be called still quite young, since its opening took place on April 10, 1990. The repertoire, consisting of operas and operettas, determines its main focus. At one time, the ambitious and promising music director Dmitry Bertman relied on a young creative team, consisting of only seven people. And today the troupe of his brainchild already consists of more than 500 artists.
Even the most sophisticated Moscow theatergoers are always able to surprise the stage of "Helikon-Opera" with a daring novelty of a creative idea that goes far beyond the boundaries of traditional stage solutions. Here the audience applauds the high level of dramatic and vocal embodiment, when the composer's idea is very accurately and carefully brought to realization. This theater stage is one of the most popular in the capital. Here everyone is already accustomed to sold-out and violent emotions in the hall.
Historical excursion
The capital of our Motherland celebrated the emergence of a new cultural institution at the very beginning of the 90s of the 20th century. "Helikon-Opera" was conceived by its creator as a musical theater from the very beginning. For this purpose, a team of young and talented like-minded people was assembled, who became the newly formed troupe.
And the theatrical name "Helikon" today has several variants of its origin. According to one version of thematic etymology, a direct relation to the name of the ancient Greek mountain, taken from the historical chronicle, is inherent. There, singers and musicians sacrificed themselves to heavenly patrons. In another interpretation, the theatrical name came from the musical sphere, as it has a similarity to a wind instrument.
The very building of "Helikon-Opera", located on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, is an architectural monument. Princess Nastasya Dashkova and Senator F. I. Glebov. Theatrical performances and musical evenings were often organized here. And at the end of the 19th century, the building was given into the ownership of the theater, where, as a rule, Italian and French artists appeared on the stage. The beginning of the 20th century was marked for the theater by the event that a chamber stage was opened here.
Thus, the walls of the building, inherited by the team of Dmitry Bertrand, remember many historical events. On April 10, 1990, the heirs of rich musical traditions that are directly related to the cultural events held here, in the number of only seven people, laid the theatrical base, which today pleases residents and guests of the capital with significant results of their work.
And in 2007, due to the technical condition of the building of the Helikon-Opera theater, it was decided to carry out a major overhaul. During a large-scale reconstruction of the premises, the artists had to perform on a different stage. Currently, the theater troupe has returned to Bolshaya Nikitskaya, where it pleases the audience in a renovated building that fully meets modern standards.
Creative team
The numerous theatrical troupe "Helikon-Opera" under the direction of Dmitry Aleksandrovich Bertman gathered on its stage many eminent musicians, conductors, vocalists and choristers. This includes the following artists today: M. Karpechenko, S. Sozdateleva, S. Rossiyskaya, D. Ponomerev, A. Miminoshvili, A. Pegova, M. Maskhulia, I. Morozov, K. Brzhinsky, M. Perebeinos, M. Barkovskaya, I. Zvenyatskaya, L. Svetozarova, V. Efimov, A. Gitsba, I. Reinard, T. Kuindzhi, V. Gofer, M. Maksakova, M. Pasteur, N. Zagorinskaya, D. Yankovsky, K. Vyaznikova, O. Tolkmit, V. Letunov, M. Kalinina, S. Toptygin, E. Ionova, I. Samoilova, K. Lisanskaya, I. Govzich, M. Guzhov.
Naturally, the "Helikon-Opera" theater owes much of its prosperity to the talent of D. A. Bertman, who has been its permanent art director for almost three decades. Moreover, Dmitry Alexandrovich also plays the role of a production director here. He is a native of Moscow, where he received a thematic education at GITIS. The professional portfolio of the famous music director today includes many theatrical performances that took place on the stage of Russia and Ukraine, starting from his student years.
In 1993 "Helikon-opera" received the status of a state theater. Currently, Bertman is actively involved in teaching and regularly conducts master classes in foreign theater institutions located around the world, including Switzerland, where his own studio is located. YES. Bertman is a multiple winner of various theater awards, including the Golden Mask (3 times), professor and head of the department of directing musical theater at GITIS.
The list of his merits in the development of domestic and world culture also includes the title of People's Artist of Russia and many thematic awards. And since 2012, he began to be a permanent member of the Council for Culture and Art under the President of the Russian Federation. It is also important that the creator and artistic director of the "Helikon-Opera" theater is engaged in performances not only on the native stage, but all over the world. His professional activity is directly related to cooperation with P. Domingo, A. Netrebko, M. Caballe, M. Rostropovich, D. Hvorostovsky and V. Gergiev.
Theater repertoire
For fans of musical performances, it will be interesting to find out up-to-date information about the current repertoire of the Helikon-Opera theater.
Currently, the stage of this musical theater staged such productions as "Visiting an Opera Fairy Tale", "Cartoon Opera", "The Love for Three Oranges", "Makropulos' Remedy", "Masquerade Ball", "Pyramus and Theisba", "Doctor Haas", "Peasant Cantata", "Tales of Hoffmann", "The Bat", "Imaginary Gardener", "Falstaff", Back in the USSR, "Gershwin-Gala", "KALMANYA", "Lulu", " Nabucco "," Fallen from the Sky "," Coffee Cantata "," Beautiful Elena "," Nightingale ", www.nibelungopera.ru," Titus' Mercy "," Queen ". "Dialogues of the Carmelites". "Mavra", "The Maid-Lady", "Apollo and Hyacinth", "Love Forever". "Rasputin", "Ban on Love", "Mozart and Salieri", "Requiem", "Vampuka, African Bride", "Siberia", "Kashchei the Immortal", "Pygmalion", "Rita" and others.
The brightest performances
The opera "Siberia", which is staged on the renewed stage of the "Helikon-Opera" by director Bertman, has been of particular interest to the audience for several theatrical seasons. This project was first staged on this stage. The famous Italian composer Umberto Giordano wrote music for him. And the plot of this melodramatic musical performance is directly related to our Motherland. It is noteworthy that the libretto is based on F. M. Dostoevsky and N. A. Nekrasov.
Domestic viewers with great enthusiasm perceive in the Italian text such Russian words as "izba", "vodka", "troika" and others. The main parts are performed by N. Zagorinskaya, D. Ponomarev and A. Vylegzhanin. The plot is based on the story of the courtesan Stephanie, who has Italian roots and lives in the city on the Neva. Having a lot of wealthy patrons, she loves the young officer Vasily, with whom she is forced to meet in secret.
To her conqueror of the heart, Stephanie is afraid to reveal a secret about her real activity. For him, she is an embroiderer. However, the truth is suddenly revealed. The consequence of this is a quarrel between Vasily and one of the girl's fans. In an armed duel, Vasily wounds his rival, and he is exiled to Siberia for this offense. Stefania also follows him there. Together they decide to escape, during which the girl is mortally wounded. This is happening in the hands of Vasily.
And for young fans of opera, these theaters are offered the performance "Visiting an Opera Fairy Tale", in which children get their first experience of perceiving this art form. Here growing up boys and girls immerse themselves in the magical atmosphere of the city Tam-There, where the Crazy Professor who invented the musical instrument, Ole Lukoil, the Chimney Sweep Magician, Clockwork Puppet Gamma, singing couplets, the Queen of the Night, sending the night darkness to the city, and others residents are rapidly developing the storyline of this fairy tale.
All the characters in this musical production perform arias from popular operas by Mozart, Lamp, Rossini and other composers.
