The epic “Quiet Don” on the stage of the theater “Russian Song”

A grandiose premiere took place at the Moscow State Academic Theater “Russian Song”. The great novel about war and love “Quiet Flows the Don” by Mikhail Sholokhov is embodied on the stage. The director of the performance, Dmitry Petrun, reflected the brightest moments in the life of the heroes of the legendary novel in a three-hour performance.

The plot of the four-volume work is familiar from the school bench. Cossack Grigory Melikhov – in the play, actor Mark Bogatyrev (in line with Dmitry Miller) is in love with a married neighbor Aksinya Astakhova, whose role is played by Alexandra Nikiforova. The whole novel is participation in wars and throwing between two women, Aksinya, to whom Grigory is drawn all his life, and, as he thinks, unloved Natalya – Natalya Morozova (in line with Svetlana Rasskazova), his wife, imposed by his father. In search of his place, Melekhov adjoins either the Reds, or the Whites, or even the free Cossack associations. And all this was realized on the stage of the theater “Russian Song”. The performance turned out to be dynamic, bright, looks “in one breath”.

So, in the center of the plot is Grigory Melekhov, who fell into the millstones of historical upheavals, who managed to experience love and betrayal, passion and betrayal in a very short period of time, who managed to overcome all the blows of fate – not to break down and survive.

Not just a performance is unfolding on the stage, but a grandiose stage canvas, in which the epic scale and the tragedy of human destinies are intertwined.

It turned out a kind of film montage on the theater stage.

– I wanted to touch the characters of people who take their strength and energy from nature, and nature pushes them to commit certain acts – heroic, love, – says Dmitry Petrun. – The life of a Cossack is a cohabitation of man and nature, when the walls are forest and mountains, when the ceiling is the starry sky. Man becomes a part of this vast world. Therefore, the main characters – Grigory and Aksinya live with great feelings, greater freedom, destroying all invented prohibitions and boundaries. In love, in struggle, in jealousy … in everything they go to the end.

According to the director, while working on the performance, he observed all these qualities in the artists of the Russian Song Theater, who went to meet all his proposals.

– If you really go, then go with an open visor to any acting experiments, – Dmitry Petrun notes. – Because the work itself does not tolerate half measures, does not tolerate irony and cynicism.

The artistic director of the theatre, People’s Artist of Russia Nadezhda Babkina plays the role of Christina, the chieftain, widow of the centurion Dmitrov. As always, magnificent, the actress creates a bright, unique and ambiguous image of the chieftain.

— Of course, song material is included in the dramaturgical outline of the performance, — says Nadezhda Babkina. – Mostly – these are Cossack songs that create the atmosphere of the village on the stage. Cossacks have always loved to sing, whether at home or on a campaign … A song is very important for a Cossack. As in Sholokhov’s novel, we touch upon the theme of love, betrayal, and the tragedy of the people.

The image of Aksinya in the novel is also one of the central ones. Her difficult relationship with Grigory Melekhov, developing against the backdrop of fateful historical events, permeates the entire work like a red thread. On the stage, we see the depth of the experiences of a woman for whom love becomes, at the same time, a boon and a curse.

“Getting a role like Aksinya from The Quiet Flows the Don is a gift for any actress,” Tatyana Arntgolts is sure. – This is a passionate, self-sufficient, strong woman who, having lost the love of her closest people in childhood, puts her in the first place in life. For her, love is everything. Aksinya is one of the greatest female figures not only in Russian but also in world literature, so the sense of responsibility is off scale.

The actress’s opinion about participation in such a landmark production as “Quiet Flows the Don” is shared by her stage partners. As a colleague Dmitry Miller notes: “any artist dreams of playing Grigory Melekhov.”

“At the theater school, I was preparing an excerpt from The Quiet Flows the Don, but I could not imagine that a little more than 20 years would pass, and fate would give me such a gift – the role of Grigory Melekhov in the production of Dmitry Petrun on the stage of the Russian Song Theater,” recalls Dmitry Miller. – This image is a kind of acting pinnacle. Like Hamlet in English drama. The same scale of personality, the same insurmountable obstacles and tasks stand in his way.

Grigory Melekhov – Mark Bogatyrev:

– I have long dreamed of entering the big theatrical stage, playing a difficult role. Therefore, when the proposal for the “Quiet Don” by Mikhail Sholokhov was received, he was insanely delighted and thanked God for the opportunity.

According to the actor, “the theater at any time healed the soul.”

It is safe to say that these words are definitely about the “Quiet Don” on the stage of the “Russian Song”.

The possibilities of the theatre, modern special effects make it possible to create a spectacle of grandiose beauty and technology. Before the viewer appears the smooth surface of the Don, covered in a light morning mist, fishing boats gliding along the water surface, wooden river bridges, remote Cossack songs sound …

A sudden storm destroys this farm idyll with the usual way of life of the Cossacks, and the fate of the main characters, turns the life of the whole country upside down.

– Dmitry Petrun, an enlightened director of our time, with whom I had the good fortune to work, – says Mikhail Gorevoy, who plays the role of Panteley Melekhov (in line with Valery Afanasiev, N.A. of Russia – author’s note) – Therefore, when he invited me to take part in the play “Quiet Flows the Don” and play the father of the protagonist, of course, I immediately agreed – Pantelei Melekhov is a grandiose role, and “Quiet Flows the Don” is a powerful work. This means that the performance must be powerful.

This is how she turned out. People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Natalia Egorova is involved in the performance, in the role of Vasilisa Melekhova, the role of the rich Cossack Miron Korshunov is played by Alexander Chernyavsky (in line with Efim Shifrin), Ivan Zamotaev, Yuri Kataev, Alexander Varnaev, Anna Ishutina, z.a. Russian Petr Klyuchnikov, Natalia Volgina and others.

The Moscow State Ensemble “Russian Song”, the folk-rock group “After 11”, the ballet “Living Planet” are on stage all evening.

Lydia Milovidova.

Photo by Egor Nikolaev