Unprecedented force majeure coincided with the upcoming April 30-year anniversary of “Helikon-Opera”. About what is happening now in the theater, told the Explorer, “RG” Director of “Helikon-Opera” Dmitry Bertman:
have encountered the theatre in a situation when cancelled all performances and rehearsals?
Dmitry Bertman: With a complete unknown, that it was impossible to imagine even in a dream. For us the situation is dire – not only financial, but also moral: the artists take the stage, the empty room, “shouts” without spectators. But we all know that the taken measures – an absolute necessity: the main thing that the disease did not spread, did not increase, to avoid such tragedy, as in China, Italy, Spain.
the Arkhangelsk puppet theatre will show “unifying” the play online
While “Helikon” canceled all their performances until April 10, but next – unknown: most likely, this period will last. The main difficulty is that there is a return ticket and we are required by law to return the money. But we sell tickets a year in advance, and the money raised for the tickets, have long been in circulation: spent on new productions, on wages. It turns out the money for the return we have not, therefore we invite the audience not to take the tickets and change them for the future of our repertoire. Many, realizing the situation, come to meet us, for which we are very grateful to them. But the situation is still severe. Now we solve this problem with the Moscow Government and we are confident that we can help: we still Moscow state theatre.
state Aid in terms of coronavirus will need almost all the theatres. Many now are on the verge of financial collapse.
Dmitry Bertman: Yes, and the experience of the current situation showed that in long-standing dispute – the theatre hotel or home theater, theaters survive the home. In Germany, for example, 82 state theater ensembles, and these ensembles are now managed: they state immediately eyehall support. And those soloists who perform in the theaters at the invitation – it is actually all of today’s stars – in a single day was left without money and without plans.
you also broke the tour in Estonia, Prime Minister in Stockholm. If there are any prospects of these projects?
the little theatre has opened the online workout from the pros
Dmitry Bertman: We had a day century of Georg OTS with the play “Mr. Georg OTS” in the great hall of Tallinn. The hall was already completely sold out, the decorations went to Tallinn, started rehearsals with Estonian artists, but we didn’t go, it was cancelled. In Stockholm we have escaped the joint with the Royal Swedish Opera production of “Iolanthe” our soloists have just returned from Sweden, where the rehearsals and sit in quarantine. Everything was removed for unknown period of time. Postponed indefinitely and my production of “the Demon” Rubinstein at Nuremberg.
As of today, do you assess the damages of the theater?
Dmitry Bertman: We now threatens the amount for the return of the tickets about 21 million rubles. But it is difficult to talk about the results: we are now on a daily basis produced by the Department for culture table of losses. Loss we are still in the line of wages: the artists of the Moscow theaters effective contracts, and salaries depend on their fees.
around the world theaters now moved to the online format and broadcast their performances, so as not to lose the audience. But many Russian theatres are faced with copyright issues and have no possibility of such broadcasts.
Dmitry Bertman: Here there are all sorts of problems. First, records which are broadcast, must be of good quality, with good sound, light, otherwise, they only repel the audience. In the first days after the introduction of restrictive measures, many theaters posted a recording of his performances made by one camera, with poor microphones. We also aired the recording of “the Golden Cockerel” by Rimsky-Korsakov, our coproduction with the German Opera in düsseldorf (Deutsche Oper am Rhein). But then refused this idea, because the quality is very important. Of course, multi-camera recording with professional sound can do not every theater.
will a movie support during pandemic
We have these records because of the channel “Culture”: “Dialogues des Carmelites”, “Sadko,” “Eugene Onegin”, “Turandot”, “Mazeppa”, 12 April television premiere of “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”. But to translate we can only by arrangement with the owners. We are made “Orlando” by Handel, “La Traviata” by Verdi. I hope that many of the authors in the current force majeure realize that people are now especially in need of art in need of support in terms of isolation. The other day I called the Director of the Estonian Opera Aivar mäe and asked for a free stream of recordings of my performances staged in the National Opera “Love for three oranges”, “Faust”, “Wallenberg”. Of course, I agreed. But there are authors who do not receive any salary, and these royalties are the sole source of their existence. So be sure there will be those who object to free translations.
What the exclusive will offer viewers a “Helicon” during a theatrical pause online?
Dmitry Bertman: We are preparing to go live on our YouTube channel a number of interesting recordings that never showed. The live broadcast will hold a lecture Dina Kirnarskaya on “Nabucco,” along with the concert, our soloists on the piano will perform numbers from Verdi’s operas. This broadcast will be interactive: the audience will be able to ask questions directmo in the translation process. We also plan to conduct video tours.
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In the “Helicon” because restrictive measures do not have time to open the exhibition “the Dressing room of Andrei Mironov” with unique exhibits provided to us by Larissa Golubkina, the Bakhrushin Museum. The exposition is extremely interesting, using virtual formats: the visitor can sit at my dressing table Andrei Mironov and see in the mirror is not his own reflection, a virtual, “living” history. By the way, one of online broadcasts that we did was the concert of “Helikon” in the First Town hospital to the Day of medical worker. We dedicated the broadcast to physicians, today fighting the coronavirus. I hope that we will do several such actions for physicians and for patients who are in the hospital and for which, maybe these shows will be mental medicine.
What’s happening now in the walls of the “Helikon-Opera”?
Dmitry Bertman: we are rehearsing, there are lessons on learning the material for the upcoming fall premiere of the Opera contemporary Israeli composer Gil mania shohat. His music is performed worldwide, he has collaborated with many theatres, including Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky theatre. His Opera “alpha and omega” written in Hebrew, was already in Europe, in Israel, in Japan. The plot on the background of today’s tragedy becomes incredibly relevant: this Opera is about the creation of the world. Our artists teach now musical material, working with accompanists, coaches with the Hebrew.
whether in today’s circumstances to celebrate April 10, the 30-year jubileelay of the theater?
Dmitry Bertman: We would very much like to make it as planned, and show a live stream of the channel “Culture”. But we will have to reschedule your birthday. We are all adrift, watching what happens, corrected every day. And living each day, enjoying this day.
