“Lakme” of the Krasnoyarsk Opera Theater conquered the Moscow public

Western aggression against the divine East

The Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater named after D. Hvorostovsky held a large-scale tour in Moscow, showing two opera and one ballet performance on both stages of the Bolshoi Theater. The big Krasnoyarsk tour ended with Delibes’ Lakme opera staged by Sergei Novikov, who manages to combine work in the highest echelons of state power (currently he is the head of the Russian Presidential Department for Public Projects) with opera directing. The performance, which was a huge success on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater, once again confirmed that miracles do happen.

It is unlikely that any other tour performance in the capital collected such a number of VIPs. It seemed that the entire theatrical community decided to get acquainted with the operatic rarity: in fact, Lakme had not been staged on the Russian stage for more than half a century. And in Europe, it is an infrequent name on the poster, although it was once a hit. However, the secret of such attention is not only in Delibes and in the interest in the highly professional Krasnoyarsk Opera House, but in the truly unique personality of the director.

Lakme is the third full production by Sergei Novikov after Iolanta at the Helikon and Oprichnik at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. There is no way to call him an amateur: the presence of a basic musical education and the acquired directorial experience allow us to speak of his own style, in which the measure of the director’s invasion of the score is observed, which guarantees a deep reading of the author’s meanings. Strengthening these meanings, emphasizing them without replacing them with your own, is extremely important and valuable. And one more detail: for Novikov, opera is, first of all, music. The center of his performances are singers, whom he does not turn into dramatic artists. Laconic and very elegant mise-en-scenes are constructed in such a way that it is convenient for singers to sing, and therefore the audience can fully enjoy their voices.

And there was plenty to enjoy. The wonderful singing ensemble sang and played the incredibly beautiful music of Leo Delibes, filled with such expressive cantilena and harmonic perfection, which are characteristic of French music of the late 19th century – not as deep and sophisticated as the Germans, not as expressive and psychological as the Italians, but but frankly, unashamedly beautiful. I would like to say about each artist separately: a wonderful female trio of Ellen (Alena Babivskaya), Rose (Ekaterina Kochetova) and Bentson (Larisa Plotnikova). For each Novikov developed a bright individual character – like in a musical. At the same time, all three singers demonstrate excellent vocals. Daria Ryabinko as Mallika is also extremely artistic. In the famous duet with the title character, her second voice sounds in complete agreement with the first – this is a truly magical scene. The role of Nilakanta performed by Sergei Telenkov is very interesting and vocally accurate. Sergey Kuzmin – Gerald – confidently acquires the status of an opera star. His strong, bright tenor full of overtones makes you want to listen and listen. Well, and Anna Grechishkina, who performed as Lakme, is the rarest example of a real coloratura soprano with full-fledged upper notes and filigree intonation, which makes a strong impression throughout her part, but especially, of course, in the aria with bells.

All this musical sorcery is inspired by maestro Alexander Rudin, under whose baton the orchestra sounds like it should be in a French opera: theatrical, colorful, with an elegant emphasis on timbres and – which is very important! – pure intonation of the string group.

Sergei Novikov moved the heroes of the opera, whose action, according to the libretto, takes place in times contemporary with Deliboux, to the present day. And this is the case when the transfer is not a formal “actualization”. Contrasting the aggressive, cynical, globalist European civilization with the Asian tradition, spirituality, unity with nature and selflessness is the key theme of today’s critical era. The world that the director builds on the stage together with artist Maria Vysotskaya is a “bipolar” picture of modern Delhi, where Hindu temples coexist with giant skyscrapers and where the owner of the Angleterre hotel chain uproots a Brahmin temple with an excavator to implement his business project. No, this is not a history of 100 years ago – these are the realities of today. The metaphor is read so clearly that the old plot that once inspired the Russian artist Vasily Vereshchagin to create the painting “The suppression of the Indian uprising by the British” (by the way, it was painted just a year after the premiere of “Lakme” – in 1884) in the paradigm of current historical events is perceived as a call for a revision of the usual geopolitical standards. This appeal, of course, is purely artistic, but sometimes art is more convincing than political declarations. So the picture of Vereshchagin at one time seemed too dangerous: bought at an auction in the United States, it disappeared. According to one version, it was destroyed by the British.

The finale of the performance is tragic, which is generally typical for the genre of lyrical opera. The heroine voluntarily chooses death. But her sacrifice is not meaningless: the Englishman Gerald, who is in love with Lakme, has already drunk the divine drink from the hands of the Brahmin’s daughter. So the Anglo-Saxon model is doomed… At least within one business project.