NUR-SULTAN – The Yevgeny Vakhtangov State Academic Theatre will perform for the first time on the Astana Opera Grand Hall stage in 2020, reported Astana Opera press centre. The theatre will present scenes from Alexander Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” Jan. 8-9 and Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” Jan. 10-11.
The world tour, which started in the fall in Paris, is dedicated to the theatre’s 100th anniversary. The first programme will include the Russian dramas staged by artistic director Rimas Tuminas.
“What could be better than Pushkin, Lermontov, Chekhov, Gogol? With age, you get tired of telling the stories of plays in three acts – you want to return to literature, find a theatre in literature. You want to create the play with artists based on our experience, knowledge and culture. Touching the classics today gives us such unexpected revelations in the understanding of our time that there is simply nothing to replace it with,” he said.
“Eugene Onegin,” with music by Faustas Latenas, is choreographed by Angelica Choline with scenographer Adomas Yatsovkis, costume designer Maria Danilova and lighting designer Maya Shavdatuashvili.
The main roles will be played by theatre and cinema artists including Leonid Bichevin, Arthur Ivanov, Irina Kupchenko, Olga Lerman, Oleg Makarov, Sergey Makovetsky, Lyudmila Maksakova, Nikolai Romanovsky, Yuri Shlykov, Natalya Vinokurova and Maria Volkova.
The “Eugene Onegin” premiere was staged Feb. 13, 2013. The performance is the laureate of the Golden Mask Russian National Theatre Award, Crystal Turandot theatre award, MK theatre award and Nail of the Season STD RF award and winner of the Baltic House Theatre Festival prize and special prize at the Spoleto Festival.
“Uncle Vanya” is produced and directed by Tuminas, with music by Latenas, scenography and costumes by Yatsovkis and lighting designed by Shavdatuashvili.
The main roles will be performed by Anna Dubrovskaya, Yuri Kraskov, Evgenia Kregzhde, Lyubov Korneva, Makovetsky, Maksakova, Vitalis Semenovs, Shlykov and Vladimir Vdovichenkov.
“Uncle Vanya” premiered Sep. 2, 2009 on the eve of 150th anniversary of Chekhov’s birth. The masterpiece is a laureate of the Golden Mask Russian National Theatre Award, International Theatre Award named after Stanislavsky, Nail of the Season STD RF award, Crystal Turandot theatre and other prizes.
The two plays were well received by the public in Azerbaijan, the Baltic countries, Belarus, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Great Britain, Greece, Israel, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States.
The Vakhtangov Theatre performances will be held as part of the Bolshie Gastroli project established by the Russian Ministry of Culture Federal Centre for Support of Touring Activities. The theatre has been a regular participant since 2014, presenting performances in Abakan, Astrakhan, Baku, Essentuki, Khabarovsk, Kislovodsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Omsk, Petrozavodsk, Saratov, Tara, Tbilisi, Ufa, Ulan-Ude, Vladikavkaz and Vladivostok.
