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May 25, 1933 is considered to be the birthday of the first-ever permanent opera house in Belarus. It was on that very day that Minsk opera-lovers could listen to Bizet's Carmen, the first performance of Belarusian State Opera and Ballet Theatre. A superb cast was led by Larisa Aleksandrovskaya, who was to become the first Belarusian Opera's star. |
The gifted musician Ilya Gitgharts was the first to take up the position of General Director and Principal Conductor. In 1996 the State Academic Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre was restructured, to make the National Academic Opera Theatre and the National Academic Ballet Theatre, nowexisting separately.
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At first the productions used to be run on the stage of the Janka Kupala Theatre, but on March 10, 1939 the opening night of Eugene Tikotsky's Michas Padhorny took place in a new magnificent building designed by the architect Ilya Lanhbard. June, 1940 saw the young company's triumph at the 10-day Festival of Belarusian Art in Moscow, where the singers were hailed for their roles in three Belarusian operas. Besides Michas Padhorny, those were In Palessie 's Forests by Bogatyrev and The Happiness Flower by Turenkov. |
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Though Belarusian Opera's performances were interrupted for several months by the fascist invasion in 1942 the company began their revival in Nizhny Novgorod. No sooner had Minsk been liberated than Belarusian Opera got back home, to open the new season in December, 1944 with the premiere of Tikotsky's Alesia.
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Since the very first day of its foundation, promoting Belarusian national operas has always been the company's major concern. Collaboration with Belarusian composers brought to life such dazzlingproductions as Nadezhda Durova by Anatoly Bogatyrev, The Star of Venus and The New Land by Jury Semeniaka, The Old Legend by Dmitry Smolsky, Giordano Bruno by Serguei Kortes, The Life Path by Heinrych Vaghner, and The Prince of Navahradak by Andrej Bondarenko. Vladimir Soltan's King Stach 's Wild Hunt, Eugene Glebov's Master and Margarita, and Serguei Kortes's The Lady 's Visit are still on the repertoire list. |
But it is European and Russian classical opera that makes the backbone of the theatre's repertoire, 'giving us our daily bread.' In the former USSR Belarusian Opera was the first to stage The Terrible Court by Moniushko, Orestea by Taneev, and Maddalena by Prokofiev. Among those few who revealed Richard Strauss' legacy to the audience was also Belarusian National Opera Theatre. The company takes a great pride in the productions of Otello and Don Carlo by Verdi, Lohen grin by Wagner, Die Zauberfl ?te by Mozart, Les C'ontes d'Hoffmann by Offenbach, as well as Sadko and Golden Cockerel by Rimsky-Korsakov, Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina by Mussorgsky, and War and Peace by Prokofiev. Some of these are still run today. In the former USSR Belarusian Opera was reputed as one of the most fascinating, celebrated, and outstanding companies. More than once did Belarusian Opera show their productions on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre, the most celebrated opera house in the former USSR. After an unprecedentedly successful tour in 1964, to acknowledge the company's highest artistic achievement, the USSR government conferred upon the theatre the honorary title of 'academic'. Under the baton of such renowned conductors as Ilya Oitgharts, Lev Lubimov, Yaroslav Voschak, Tatiana Kolomiytseva, Vladimir Moshensky, and Gennady Provatorov Belarusian Opera was able to keep up to the highest standard. Directors Ilia Shlepianov, Dmitry Smolitch, Semion Stein and Margarita Izvorska-Yelizarieva staged their best productions with Belarusian Opera, with the settings designed by Sergei Nikolaev, Evgeny Chemodurov, Evgeny Lysik and Ernst Heidebrecht.
What Belarusian Opera has always been notable for is their soloists' magnificent voices and delicate treatment of the score. Larisa Aleksandrovskaya, Isidor Bolotin, Niko]ay Vorvulev, Zinovy Babiy, Ninel Tkatchenko, Tamara Nizhnikova, and Svetlana Daniluk used to star here. It was at Belarusian Opera that world-famous singers Ludmila Shemtchuk, Maria Gulegina and Viatcheslav Polozov embarked on their career. Brilliant chorus and skilful orchestra have always been the company's strong points. At present the National Academic Opera Theatre has on staff 62 soloists and 78 chorus singers, with Nina Lomanovitch as Chorus Director. 128 musicians have been assembled under the baton of the Principal Conductor Alexander Anissimov, to form the symphony orchestra of the Belarusian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. If an opera involves dancing pieces or the whole ballet acts, the National Ballet Theatre participates in the performances. Belarusian Opera is a repertoire theatre, i.e. the productions are performed for several years in a row. Most productions are performed in their original language. During each season there are 3 or 4 operatic recitals a week, with Sunday matinees showing operas for children. Since 1990 Belarusian Opera has had its Children's Musical Studio Theatre.
In 1991 the famous Belarusian composer Serguei Kortes took up the position of the Artistic Director of the National Opera Theatre, which he has held ever since. His opera The Lady's Visit grips the audience with a provocative plot, expressive and passionate music and brilliant staging.
Belarusian Opera has recently revived some of their classical productions, which either used to be performed in the past or never left the repertoire list at all. All these new versions, however different, do have one thing in common, they are no longer merely illustrative. The designers and directors do not follow the stage remarks word for word, but feature imaginative and metaphorical solutions, giving the whole production M times unexpected and even provocative traits. Yet, one thing always remains unchanged, and that is the deepest respect for the original score in music. Thus, these innovations breathed new life into the most popular productions, like Verdi's Rigoletto and La Traviata, Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, Bizet's Carmen, as well as Tchaikovsky's Iolanthe and Borodin's Prince Igor, arresting at once audiences' attention and reviving their interest in classical opera. Since 1993 Belarusian Opera has widely toured abroad. During their seven tours of Spain, the company performed much of their Italian repertoire, including II Barbiere di Seviglia, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Aida, Un BaIlo in Maschera, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, as well as Eugene Onegin. They were run in dozens of cities, e.g. Madrid, Alicante, Vigo, Salamanca, Seville, La Coruna, on stage of the theatres both old and young, in the Palace of Congresses and in the open air festivals, Verdi's Requiem was performed in majestic cathedrals of Cordoba and Zaragoza. Each production was very highly spoken of in the press, the names of Belarussian stars attracted audiences when the company returned with another production:
