Libretto by G. Giacosa and L. Illiki, based
on the novel by H. Murger
Stage production by the Peoples Artist
of Russia Yuri Alexandrov
Performed in
Italian
First night performance on February 4,
5, 2011
La Boheme has never been put on stage at Saint-Petersburg Opera before. “I
often watched grown-up singers portraying young characters in this opera and
have long rejected the production” sais Yuri Alexandrov. Today I have a happy
opportunity to produce Bohemia with young talented soloists of Saint-Petersburg
Opera. Our production is about twenty-years-olds and for twenty-years-olds. It
depicts relationships between man and woman existing from the time of Adam and
Eve. The main artistic device of the performance is intentional rejection of
common theatrical decorativeness. The dominant of the scenography is the
staircase going skyward. Other elements include a stove, an easel, and a couch
and are aimed at emphasizing the realism of the action. The main point for us is
to play life, observing Puccini’s musical intonations. In fact this opera is so
harmonized and conceptual accents are so articulate that the only danger for the
director and singers is not to fit into the existing academic
framework.