MADDALENA is Now Playing at Bolshoi

Sergei Prokofiev's Maddalena comes to the Bolshoi. Libretto based on the play by Magda Lieven, and orchestration by Edward Downes. The score has been made available by Boosey & Hawkes Publishers Limited.

Maurice Ravel
L'heure espagnole
Libretto by Franc-Nohain

Conductor: Alexey Vereshchagin
Director, Set Designer and Costume Designer: Vladislavs Nastavševs
Lighting Designer: Anton Stikhin
Choreographer: Ekaterina Mironova
Chorus Master: Pavel Suchkov

Maddalena by Sergei Prokofiev and L'heure espagnole by Maurice Ravel have never been shown in the same evening together. However, these two one-act operas have a lot in common. Both of them saw the light at the beginning of XX Century. Driving force behind both plots - love passion of several men towards one woman fueled by south blood (action of the first story takes place in Venice, second - Toledo). Swiftness of time passing through is similar in both operas: rapid heart rate like a barometer fixates disturbing atmosphere of approaching world cataclysms of the beginning of XX Century.

At the same time, operas-peers are in contrast with one another. Maddalena is a gloomy, almost expressionistic tragedy, where the whole action focuses on bloody outcome - the fight. L'heure espagnole is a light comedy of errors. According to Vladislavs Nastavševs, production director, this contrast is a reflection of two cultures - Russian and French: "Where Russians see fatal passions, French see chance to smile and make a joke".

Performances begin 24 March. Learn more at https://2011.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/10031/.