Mikhailovsky went on, ''Storm''

Czech expressionist opera Leos Janacek still remained the monopoly of the Mariinsky Theatre repertoire, and the choice was "Katie Kabanova" as a regular program of the Mikhailovsky Theatre is difficult to perceive the other as a valid request from the team, claiming the redistribution of the Russian musical and theatrical market. Interest in the sparring of two leading companies in St. Petersburg opera fueled by the fact that in October of the year season premier Mariinsky Theatre has opened just Janacek - not too successful as a theatrical and musically the performance "Makropulos." Not forced to wait for a response to Michael sounded extremely convincing and compelling. The main factor of success was extremely hard work Musical Director, Principal Conductor Peter Feranec Theater: Janacek's score sounds under his hands, convex, expressive and forceful, but not without the most tender lyrics - "Katya Kabanova" as none of the last prime minister of the Mikhailovsky Theatre demonstrates a significant qualitative growth Slovakian conductor subordinate staff.

But if the positive dynamics of the orchestra was still possible to predict, here is the level of an ensemble of soloists, presented in what Michael's "Katya Kabanova," nobody could have expected - the results of the renovation of the opera company visible to the naked eye. The main event is the premiere - a forced developing Tatiana Ryaguzov in the title role, performed and played quite perfect. Voice of Mrs. Ryaguzov, of course, still needs to be cut, but today it is clear that in the company of Michael's present the singer with a powerful artistic potential. Ornament performance was just accepted into the troupe Conservatory graduate Michael Feinberg in Sofia promising party sister-in-law of the heroine Barbara. The problem of shortage of theater tenor gracefully decided not objective in the role of lover Boris Grigorievich Ukrainian tenor Dmytro Popov, a well-known in Russia mainly collaborations with Mikhail Pletnev - Opera Company Michael leadership should make every effort to ensure that partnership is rapidly making the world singing career and the St. Petersburg Theater continued in the future.

Just how independent and effective creative teams coped with Michael daunting score of the opera by Janáček, shows the willingness of the theater to the most difficult creative tasks - and this is probably the main positive outcome of the premiere art-compensated, the apparent vagueness of the staging team. In the Western cultural scenic design Volker Hintermayera takes "Katya Kabanova" from any ethnographic and household specificity of pure convention, but the weather in the operatic remake of "Thunderstorm" Ostrowski does not. Sticking up here and there fluorescent strips meter, and videooblaka videogroza at the back, the same flap cartoon eyes, blown by the wind, wings, piled into a heap of chairs formed a coherent conceptual than a picture, but in general the place of European scenery. What, however, does not interfere, "Katya Kabanova" with the purely visual side look a lot better today flooded the St. Petersburg opera scene decorative trash.

Peak career performance director Niels-Peter Rudolph was in the 1970s, and the standard operatic stage direction since then had significantly out of date. In "Katya Kabanova" is there seems to be an attempt to somehow psychologically motivate movement of the characters on stage, but the action is replete with some record number of inconsistencies and absurd illogic. For the future management of the theater is still beware of contacts with dubious dealers of art, albeit having a solid resume and recommendations of its Western partners. And it seems Vladimir Kekhman had already draw conclusions - at the premiere of "Katya Kabanova" in the company's CEO Michael was spotted one of the main characters of European dramatic scenes, Andrew Zholdak. This excellent sign, as shown by "Katya Kabanova" troupe is finally ripe for a meeting with the director-class.