Theatre lovers and critics are preparing for the first operetta on the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre due to take place on March 17th. "The Bat" or "Die Fledermaus" by Johann Strauss, which is one of the best samples of the genre, was selected for the experiment.
Until recently it was hardly possible to imagine that the Bolshoi Theatre can condescend to such piece on its repertoire, considered to be "vulgar" by some people. But the new team of the theatre has another opinion. According to the musical director Leonid Desyatnikov, operetta is now perceived quite differently than 100 years ago:
"I was impressed by the purity and freshness of operetta music, says Leonid Desyatnikov, adding that "The Bat" is experiencing a boom, which started about 15-20 years ago. This title is on the bills of the leading world opera houses and the Bolshoi Theater has also included it in the context of opera culture. We are eager to accentuate the connection of the masterpiece by Johann Strauss with the traditions of the so-called "conversational opera theatre", like Mozart's "Magic Flute" and Beethoven's "Fidelio", Leonid Desyatnikov points out.
Entrusted with preparations for the premiere of "The Bat" was the 26-year-old director Vasily Barkhatov, who has already staged 5 plays in the Mariinsky Theatre. He transfers the action to a luxurious passenger cruise liner in the late 20th century. He has this to say to explain the concept of his work:
"This play is an attempt to touch upon the present-day passions. I sought to gather the characters in a confined space, where they will face all the family and personal disturbances. A ship is a neutral territory, not belonging to anyone, while on the open sea. This is a kind of a small state - the "Johann Strauss" cruise liner".
No matter how the critics evaluate the premiere, the audience will definitely go into raptures over the music and comedy plot.
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