Lenkom honored the memory of Mark Zakharov by showing “Juno” and “Avos” for the 1850th time

The great theatergoer’s 90th birthday, which never came, was celebrated within the walls of his native theater

On October 13, a memorial evening was held in the capital’s Lenkom Mark Zakharov in honor of the great artistic director and director. It seemed that the entire theatrical Moscow had gathered for the enchanting and at the same time mournful event. On this day, in honor of Mark Anatolyevich, an exhibition was held, including unique archival photographic materials, the chamber orchestra “Moscow Virtuosi” performed for the guests, and the legendary “Juno” and “Avos” were staged on the main stage for the 1850th time.

Before the performance, Lenkom director Mark Varshaver recalled that Zakharov, despite the worldwide demand for Lenkom productions, himself practically did not go on tour. His heart was given to his native walls:

“Every day he came to the theater in his cap, looked at the stand to see what was being rehearsed that day, and quietly went up to his office.

Varshaver is confident that the fact that today there are 17 national and 18 honored artists serving in the theater is the merit of Mark Anatolyevich, who formed the troupe, invited the best directors and created an exemplary production part. Varshaver did not list Zakharov’s titles and awards – they are already known to everyone, summing up that for a man of art there is one reward – the love of the viewer.

The audience greeted these words with a long standing ovation – Mark Borisovich tried several times to continue his speech, but the applause did not subside.

Of course, the semantic center of the evening was “Juno” and “Avos”. It made no sense to “reboot” something that had been done since the first day of its existence, that is, from July 9, 1981, when the joint work of Alexei Rybnikov and Andrei Voznesensky was first staged by Zakharov. Therefore, the theater decided to simply combine the three existing casts of the play.

As a result, Sergei Piotrovsky, Igor Konyakhin and People’s Artist of Russia Dmitry Pevtsov appeared on stage in the role of the Russian nobleman Rezanov. The Californian Spaniard Conchita was “simultaneously” played by Safiya Yarullina, Alena Mitroshina and Alexandra Volkova. And the role of Fernando and the Burning Heretic was played by Alexey Kokorin, Stanislav Ryadinsky and Kirill Petrov.

In the finale, the Lenkomovites sang together the title song “Hallelujah,” where the name of the hero of the day was organically woven into the chorus “Hallelujah, love, hallelujah.”

The 90th anniversary for Mark Anatolyevich himself, born on October 13, 1933, did not come, but it became a significant fact for the history of the Russian Tetra and the history of Russia.