(*This is a continuation of my trip to Russia last October, which I still haven’t finished writing.
We left the Petropavlovsk Fortress and went to the hotel once. After resting for about an hour in the hotel, we came to Mariinsky again.
Here’s today’s performance.
Les Troyens (epic opera duologue)
Composer: Hector Berlioz
Principal Chorus Master: Andrei Petrenko
Stage Director: Carlus Padrissa
Costume Designer: Chu Uroz
Cinematographer: Franc Aleu
Musical Director: Maestro Valery Gergiev
Musical Preparation: Natalia Mordashova
Lighting Designer: Peter van Praet
Set Designer: Roland Olbeter
Orchestra: Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra
Baritone: Alexander Gergalov
Mezzo soprano: Natalia Evstafieva
Bass-baritone: Edward Tsanga
Mezzo soprano: Lyubov Sokolova
Soprano: Larisa Gogolevskaya
Conductor: Mikhail Tatarnikov
Tenor: Leonid Zakhozhaev
Bass: Nikolai Kamensky
Soprano: Zhanna Dombrovskaya
Well, I don’t have the Japanese version of Wikipedia. Well, I don’t know the story, but I’ll manage. I bought a pamphlet at the entrance. There was also an English version, so I bought that one.
Now it’s time to go inside. The size of the theater is about the same as a standard European theater. It is shining and sparkling. It may be a characteristic of Russia that it is gorgeous in a good feeling.
It was a Saturday night, but there were very few customers…. There were many empty seats. I wonder if this is because the songs are not major and the show starts at 18:00 and ends at 23:00, which is too long. It’s better to see the show when it’s empty, though.
So, as a memorial, we will watch the first act in the first floor seats, which seem to have good acoustics even if they are a little expensive.
Here’s a quick bullet list of what I felt.
- 音響が思った以上に良い
- 演奏はやっぱりものすごく上手
- 歌手もすばらしい
- 無駄に長いけど、音楽そのものも聴きやすい、初心者向け（まあベルリオーズって感じ）
- バンダ演出が効果的、舞台裏だけでなく天井（舞台上方）などからも聴こえた
- なんと時代設定が未来というか、、宇宙＆未来＆SFという感じ
- レーザー照明を駆使した斬新な演出
- CGも使っている
- 透明な舞台を閉める幕を下ろしてそこにレーザー光を当てることで3D的な演出をしている
The 3D performance at the end was quite spectacular. The mechanism is simple, but it’s an opera, isn’t it? I was surprised.
Because of this, I had the impression that the first act was over earlier than I had expected. But even though the seats were empty, the chairs on the first floor were old-fashioned wooden chairs, and I was a little tired of sitting on them.
For example, to quench your thirst during the intermission between acts.
The promised Okepi is also taken.
I moved to two seats during this time. It was because the distance to the stage was surprisingly short and the acoustics seemed to be expected everywhere. Also, these seats are cheaper than the ones I have, so I thought I could make it work.
There’s no one here at all anymore, so you get the box seats all to yourself!
The stage is a little harder to see, but the chairs are much more comfortable.
After that, I was able to see the second and third acts in a very relaxed atmosphere in this box seat that I had all to myself.
At first I thought it would be too long, but thanks to this comfortable viewing environment, I felt that the five hours passed in a flash. Of course, one of the reasons is that the performance was wonderful.
But still, a lot of people were leaving during the intermissions of acts 2 and 3…. Probably there were less than 100 people at the end.
We enjoyed our last night in St. Petersburg. Two days went by so fast, and tomorrow I’m going back home.
（続く）
