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| | | | | In the Mirror Foyer 9 February’17 Thursday 19:00 Valeria Besedina The Impostor Chamber opera in concert The Novaya Opera Theatre presents a historical opera, The Imposter, by contemporary composer Valeria Besedina and librettist Svaytoslav Besedin. In 1773, Europe noised about a woman who pretended to the Russian throne. She styled herself “Princess of Vladimir” and “Princess Elizaveta Tarakanova” and claimed to be the daughter of Empress Elizabeth of Russia and Count Alexey Razumovsky, Elizabeth’s lover. The stranger actively maintained her right to succeed to the Russian throne and sought support from enemies of the Russian Empire. Naturally, her activity could not be neglected by Empress Catherine II, who gave Count Alexey Orlov, a Russian prominent statesman and general, orders to capture the imposter by all means. The events that followed provide the basis for The Imposter.
The authors carry on the 19th-century Russian operatic tradition established by outstanding composers such as Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky. “The highly original, distinct musical style, melodism and the flavour of Russian folklore <…> make the Besedins’ opera a unique phenomenon in contemporary arts” (Irkin Gabitov, a stage director at the Mariinsky Theatre). Says composer Valeria Besedina: “After the successful premiere of the ballet “Shulamite” (1997), based on the biblical myth, it fell into my mind to write an opera in truly Russian tradition, which would be a story full of dramatic collisions and controversial characters. Because of my persistent interest in Russian history, I immediately decided on a story about Catherine II, all the more so as there were no operas about the great monarch. I’d been looking for a librettist for 12 years, and in the end the libretto was written by my 18-year-old son, Svaytoslav. He profoundly studied the rules of operatic dramaturgy and created an imaginative, thoughtful text with a rapidly unfolding, captivating plot. Many of the lines written in 2010 have proved to be prophetic: “Europe is angry with us these days, / All because of our glorious victories! Who would forgive this?” The dream of an author is to see their work on a big stage as a decent production performed by talented actors. I believe that the opera “The Imposter” will tell the world about today’s powerful Russia. For true art can often do more than diplomats and the military put together. Culture is the true face of the State!” |
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