On July 16 and 17, “Helikon-Opera” is sent to the festival “Russian Opera at the Monastery Walls” in the Moscow region cities of Serpukhov and Kolomna with the play “Mazepa” by P.I. Tchaikovsky staged by Dmitry Bertman.

The festival “Russian Opera at the Monastery Walls”, organized under the auspices of the Governor’s program “Our Moscow Region” and with the blessing of Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna Juvenalia, is unique. It was created as a result of the fruitful cooperation of cultural institutions and the church and will be held for the fourth time.

The Helikon-Opera Theater is a constant partner of the project, during which more than twenty thousand spectators from Kolomna, Dmitrov and Serpukhov watched the opera performances of Boris Godunov, The Tsar’s Bride and Aleko performed by the artists of Helikon.

“Playing performances in Serpukhov and Kolomna is a great happiness! Here, everything breathes the atmosphere of real Russia – the walls of the ancient Kremlin, the amazingly beautiful monasteries and cathedrals, old buildings. We fell in love with these cities and are happy to return, ”says the artistic director of“ Helikon-Opera ”Dmitry Bertman. – Each open-air performance is unique, it is impossible to repeat it with all our wishes. Constantly something happens – the lighting changes, the color of the sky changes, the birds fly, when these “special effects” fall on the music, the result is amazing. ”

This time, the audience of the ancient Moscow suburbs will be pleased with the performance of “Mazepa” performed by leading soloists, artists of the choir and symphony orchestra of “Helikon-opera” conducted by People’s Artist of Russia Yevgeny Brazhnik.

“We treat with special responsibility the project“ Russian Opera at the Monastery Walls ”, since it is carried out with the blessing of Metropolitan Juvenal and must be immaculate in content. However, we see that the great heritage of our culture – the Russian opera – is permeated with Christian motives, contains a deep moral meaning. “Mazepa” is not an exception – it’s a complex and therefore not so often performed opera by Tchaikovsky based on Pushkin’s work “Poltava”, – noted
Culture Minister of the Moscow Region Narmin Shiraliyeva.

The main line of the opera “Mazepa” on the plot of the poem “Poltava” by Alexander Pushkin is the story of the girl Maria, who falls in love with the aged hetman Mazepa. The main plot of the opera develops around these relations: the execution of the girl’s father, the tragedy of Andrey in love with her, the collapse of the family, the insanity of Mary herself. As you know, Tchaikovsky’s work is closely connected with his biography. Virtually every composition is the composer’s confession. Work on the opera took place for Tchaikovsky against the backdrop of dramatic events in the life of his beloved niece, her affair with a man much older than her and the birth of an illegitimate child. This story is about the destructive, disastrous force of anomalous passion that can deprive a person of reason. The performance of Dmitry Bertman in “Helikon-opera” captures and does not let go until the last minute of the action!

The performance includes the leading soloists of the theater: Alexey Isaev and Mikhail Nikanorov (Mazepa), Olga Tolkmit and Olga Shcheglova (Maria Kochubey), Igor Morozov and Ivan Gingazov (Andrey), Mikhail Guzhov and Alexander Kiselev (Kochubey), Ksenia Vyaznikova and Larisa Kostiuk ( Lyubov Kochubey), Alexey Egorov (Orlik) and Ivan Volkov (Iskra).