Theatre

Staging the Future. Meyerhold and Golovin’s lost production of “The Nightingale”

Brad Rosenstein, Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva

Article: 
INVESTIGATIONS AND FINDS
Magazine issue: 
#4 2019 (65)

On the evening of May 30 1918, opera lovers in Petrograd gathered at the Mariinsky Theatre to attend the Russian premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Nightingale” (Le Rossignol/Solovei').[1] The audience dodged gunfire in the streets to make their way into this jewel box of Russia’s former Imperial Theatres, and what they witnessed on its stage that night was a painful reminder of their own collapsing social world: a satiric fairytale about a dying emperor, surrounded by fawning, buffoonish courtiers and an agitated populace. That Stravinsky’s emperor is saved, at the eleventh hour, by the healing power of art - metaphorized as the song of a nightingale - must have served only to underscore the destabilizing dread of their own recently deposed emperor’s uncertain future: imprisoned at the time of the opera’s Russian premiere, the Imperial family would be executed just six weeks later. It wasn’t merely an unfortunate play of resemblances that jarred. The highly experimental production, directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold and designed by Alexander Golovin, featuring an enormous cast which included the 14-year-old dancer Georgi Balanchivadze (George Balanchine), seemed to play deliberately on tensions between a fading past and an uncertain future, and between fiction and reality.

Staging the Future. Meyerhold and Golovin’s lost production of “The Nightingale”

Towards a Public Theatre. VASILY POLENOV AND THE HOUSE OF THEATRE EDUCATION

Darya Manucharova

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#3 2019 (64)

A renowned painter, who also tried his hand at architecture, music, theatre design and teaching, the range of Vasily Polenov’s artistic talents was rich and varied. All of those forms of art would come together in his work at the “Association for Furthering the Development of Rural, Factory and School Theatres”, an involvement that, no less importantly, was closely linked to his concerns as a public figure for the development of Russian society.

Towards a Public Theatre. VASILY POLENOV AND THE HOUSE OF THEATRE EDUCATION

A renowned painter, who also tried his hand at architecture, music, theatre design and teaching, the range of Vasily Polenov’s artistic talents was rich and varied. All of those forms of art would come together in his work at the “Association for Furthering the Development of Rural, Factory and School Theatres”, an involvement that, no less importantly, was closely linked to his concerns as a public figure for the development of Russian society.

The Passionate Dance of the Avant-Garde

Tatiana Gubanova

Article: 
INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA
Magazine issue: 
#1 2006 (10)

Museum of Modern Art in Rovereto (Trento province, Italy) opened an exhibition titled ‘The Dance of the Avant-Garde" on December 16, displaying paintings, scenography and costumes from Degas to Picasso, from Matisse to Haring. Over 1,000 paintings, sculptures, graphic works and photographs created in the 20th century introduce the viewer to the magical union of dance and the visual arts, and to the wonderful century of real-life and fantastic images.

The Passionate Dance of the Avant-Garde

Museum of Modern Art in Rovereto (Trento province, Italy) opened an exhibition titled ‘The Dance of the Avant-Garde" on December 16, displaying paintings, scenography and costumes from Degas to Picasso, from Matisse to Haring. Over 1,000 paintings, sculptures, graphic works and photographs created in the 20th century introduce the viewer to the magical union of dance and the visual arts, and to the wonderful century of real-life and fantastic images.

Alexei Shchusev and the Stage

Valentina Khairova

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#2 2017 (55)

Much has been written about the famous architect Alexei Shchusev, whose career flourished both before the Russian Revolution and during the Soviet era. We have Shchusev's own memoirs as well as the remembrances of his family and friends, while the architect's versatile achievements have been well documented by scholars. However, his connections with the theatre and his work as a stage designer - such as on the 1926 Moscow Art Theatre production of "The Sisters Gerard" - are much less known.

Alexei Shchusev and the Stage

Much has been written about the famous architect Alexei Shchusev, whose career flourished both before the Russian Revolution and during the Soviet era. We have Shchusev's own memoirs as well as the remembrances of his family and friends, while the architect's versatile achievements have been well documented by scholars. However, his connections with the theatre and his work as a stage designer - such as on the 1926 Moscow Art Theatre production of "The Sisters Gerard" - are much less known.

The Determinism of Oleg Savostiuk

Vladimir Pertsov

Article: 
ARTISTS ON ARTISTS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2009 (22)

The eye-catching theatre poster is the key genre of the renowned Russian painter Oleg Savostiuk whose solo-show opened at the Russian Academy of Arts in February 2009. The bright talent of Oleg Savostiuk reveals itself in the theatre posters for the Bolshoi Theatre operas and ballets such as “Ballade of a Hussar”, “War and Pace”, “Swan Lake”, “Nutcracker”, “Ivan the Terrible”, “The Seagull” and “The Golden Age”.

The Determinism of Oleg Savostiuk

The eye-catching theatre poster is the key genre of the renowned Russian painter Oleg Savostiuk whose solo-show opened at the Russian Academy of Arts in February 2009. The bright talent of Oleg Savostiuk reveals itself in the theatre posters for the Bolshoi Theatre operas and ballets such as “Ballade of a Hussar”, “War and Pace”, “Swan Lake”, “Nutcracker”, “Ivan the Terrible”, “The Seagull” and “The Golden Age”.

Sergei Diaghilev's "Ballets Russes" on the Tretyakov Gallery Stage

Yevgenia Ilyukhina, Irina Shumanova

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#3 2009 (24)

Sergei Diaghilev occupies a special place in the culture of the 20th century – many publications have analysed his personality and artistic projects. But who can state that the puzzle of Diaghilevʼs infinite creativity has been unriddled. For many, he is not so much a real person as a composite figure of the ideal impresario, in whom the talent of an organizer was married to an exceptional sensitivity and receptivity to any innovation in art and, of course, the faculty for finding like-minded individuals and financing for his projects.

Sergei Diaghilev's "Ballets Russes" on the Tretyakov Gallery Stage

SERGEI DIAGHILEV OCCUPIES A SPECIAL PLACE IN THE CULTURE OF THE 20TH CENTURY - MANY PUBLICATIONS HAVE ANALYSED HIS PERSONALITY AND ARTISTIC PROJECTS. BUT WHO CAN STATE THAT THE PUZZLE OF DIAGHILEV'S INFINITE CREATIVITY HAS BEEN UNRIDDLED? FOR MANY, HE IS NOT SO MUCH A REAL PERSON AS A COMPOSITE FIGURE OF THE IDEAL IMPRESARIO, IN WHOM THE TALENT OF AN ORGANIZER WAS MARRIED TO AN EXCEPTIONAL SENSITIVITY AND RECEPTIVITY TO ANY INNOVATION IN ART AND, OF COURSE, THE FACULTY FOR FINDING LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS AND FINANCING FOR HIS PROJECTS.

Léon Bakst: “Dress up like a flower!”

Yelena Terkel

Article: 
EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS
Magazine issue: 
#4 2009 (25)

Léon Bakst hoped that his art would bring more harmony and joy into life. Wishing to make mankind happy and day-dreaming about antiquity and the Orient, what did he really have to offer? Something of a dandy and naive like a child, the artist often made his friends smile. Yet he would succeed in making life shinier and brighter, in bringing beauty closer to everyday life. Bakst was the first Russian artist to win worldwide recognition as a designer.

Leon Bakst: “Dress up like a flower!”

Léon Bakst hoped that his art would bring more harmony and joy into life. Wishing to make mankind happy and day-dreaming about antiquity and the Orient, what did he really have to offer? Something of a dandy and naive like a child, the artist often made his friends smile. Yet he would succeed in making life shinier and brighter, in bringing beauty closer to everyday life. Bakst was the first Russian artist to win worldwide recognition as a designer.

PICASSO AND RUSSIA

Vitaly Mishin

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2010 (26)

Of all the Picasso shows held in Russia during at least the last 50 years, the 2010 exhibition is the biggest and most representative. Other features, too, lend to this event a certain "Russian touch": the assortment of pictures on display includes several pieces from the Pushkin Museum; the show also has a whole section devoted to Sergei Diaghilev's "Ballets Russes", and presents archival documents relating to the friendship between Picasso and Ilya Ehrenburg. This article provides only highlights of the long history of the relationship between Picasso and Russia.

PICASSO AND RUSSIA

Pierre Cardin Presents

Magazine issue: 
#3 2010 (28)

I am greatly pleased to pioneer in the Tretyakov Gallery Magazine the section “Pierre Cardin Presents”, introducing my projects in which theatre, ballet, opera, dance, visual and applied arts, and fashion perfor-med spotlessly and solo are combined to achieve a synthesis that is the thing of the future.

Pierre Cardin

Pierre Cardin Presents

I am greatly pleased to pioneer in The Tretyakov Gallery magazine the section “Pierre Cardin Presents”, introducing my projects in which theatre, ballet, opera, dance, visual and applied arts, and fashion performed spotlessly and solo are combined to achieve a synthesis that is the thing of the future.


Pierre Cardin

Alexander Pushkin and Spain

Anna Volkhovskaya

Article: 
EVENT. THE YEAR OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE
Magazine issue: 
#1 2016 (50)

The exhibition “Alexander Pushkin and Spain” has been timed to mark the Year of Russian Language and Literature in Spain and the Year of Spanish Language and Literature in Russia, held in the two countries in 2015-2016. Divided into two major sections, it explores respectively the plots and images in Pushkin’s art inspired by Spain, and the periods, and accompanying attitudes, in which Pushkin’s creative works were received by Spanish readers.

Alexander Pushkin and Spain

The exhibition “Alexander Pushkin and Spain” has been timed to mark the Year of Russian Language and Literature in Spain and the Year of Spanish Language and Literature in Russia, held in the two countries in 2015-2016. Divided into two major sections, it explores respectively the plots and images in Pushkin’s art inspired by Spain, and the periods, and accompanying attitudes, in which Pushkin’s creative works were received by Spanish readers.

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