Richard Wagner
DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN
Tetralogy

DAS RHEINGOLD
(The preliminary evening of the tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen in four scenes)
Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes with no intermission

DIE WALKURE
(The first day of the tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen in three acts)
Running time: 5 hours with two intermissions

SIEGFRIED
(The second day of the tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen)
Running time: 5 hours 30 minutes with two intermissions

 

GOTTERDAMMERUNG
(The third day of the tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen in three acts with Prologue)
Running time: 5 hours 30 minutes with two intermissions

Libretto by Richard Wagner (Performed in German)

Production concept - Valery GERGIEV and George TSYPIN

Set Designer - George Tsypin
Costumer Designer - Tatiana Noginova
Lighting Designer - Gleb Filshtinsky
Video Projection - Greg Emetaz
Vocal and Language Preparation and Consulting - Richard Trimborn
Musical Preparation- Marina Mishuk
Production Sponsor: DaimlerChrysler (Logo)

SUMMARY
Work on Der Ring des Nibelungen lasted several decades, the decades when Richard Wagner was at the height of his talent. It became an embodiment of “the art of the future”, revealing Wagner’s thoughts about the fate of the world, its past , present , and future, the purpose of mankind, guilt and responsibility, faithfulness and treachery, love and avarice, the inevitability of death and the heroic struggle against it…
Wagner used ancient folk legends for the libretto, the main source being Scandinavian versions of Germanic legends - heroic songs of Edda and the prosaic Volsungs Saga. As always, Wagner found burning, contemporary issues in ancient folklore and enriched them with many impressions from his own life.
After the completion of Lohengrin in 1848, Wagner began Siegfrieds Tod. Taken with the image of Siegfried, he decided to expand the bloody tragedy of his death with the history of his youth; the libretto for Siegfried appeared in June 1851. This still was not enough, however… In june 1852, Die Walkure emerged and, finally, Wagner came to the begninning of the cycle: Das Rheingold.
Work on Siegfried lasted longer than on the other parts of the tetralogy, taking two decades to complete. Although the libretto for the Ring was complete in 1852, Wagner continued to work on the finale for another ten years, and Siegfrieds Tod became Die Gotterdammerung.
Wagner envisaged the tretalogy as a single entity and was opposed to its being staged in part. He could not trust an ordinary opera house to stage the Ring as he wished. He dreamed of his own theatre and, after a long search, settled for Bayreuth in Bavaria. In the summer of 1875, Wagner himself led the rehearsals and, under the baton of Hans Richter, the premiere of Der Ring des Nielungen took place from the 13th-17th August 1876.
Wagner’s music was first performed in Russia in the 1850s. He himself came to Russia in 1836, conducting several concerts to great acclaim, though not everyone understood his new ideas. Opinions on his work were divided, though he was universally praised as a conductor.
His operas were first staged in Russia in the late 1860s; Der Ring des Nibelungen was first performed in 1889. Few were able to appreciate the work’s value due to the complicated nature of the music, the absense of traditional vocals, the pre-eminence of the orchestra and the alien subject matter. Siegfried was premiered in Moscow in 1894. Unfortunately it was not a success and was dropped from the repertoire.
Edward Napravnik, Principal Conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre, was not a great fan of Wagner either. But his personal taste did give way to artistic justice; productions of Tannhauser and Tristan und Isolde won over Russian performers and work began on the ring.
The Mariinsky Theatre first staged Die Walkure in 1900. Two years later came Siegfried and one year that Die Gotterdammerung. The cycle was completed in 1905 with Das Rheingold.
Between 1907 and 1914 the Ring was staged in the proper order, and Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre staged Das Rheingold and Die Gotterdammerung at around the same time. The Ring was subsequently no longer staged in full. Later, in the 1940s, Wagner’s music disappeared from Russian theatres, and he was condemned as “the singer of Nazism”.
Wagner’s operas re=emerged in Russia only in the late 1990s under the direction of Valery Gergiev. The Mariinsky Theatre now has a production of the entire Ring in the original German and in the order proposed by Wagner himself.

Cast for the opera Das Rheingold:

Gods: Wotan, the ruling God ALEXEY TANOVITSKY
Donner, God of Thunder ANDREY SPEKHOV
Froh, God of Light YEVGENY AKIMOV
Loge, God of Fire NIKOLAI GASSIEV
Nibelungs: Alberich EDEM UMEROV
Mime, his brother VASILY GORSHKOV
Giants: Fasolt VADIM KRAVETS
Fafner GENNADY BEZZUBENKOV
Goddesses: Fricka, Wotan’s wife SVETLANA VOLKOVA
Freia, Goddess of Youth, her sister TATIANA BORODINA
Erda, Goddess of Fate EKATERINA GUBANOVA
Rhinemaidens: Woglinde TATIANA KRAVTSOVA
Wellgunde IRINA VASILIEVA
Flosshilde LYUBOV SOKOLOVA

Synopsis of the opera Das Rheingold                            

SCENE ONE
In the depths of Rhine. The Rhinemaidens Woglinde, Wellgunde and Flosshilde, three fabulous childish beings, are watching over the gold of the Rhine for their Father. Alberich, a miserable specimen of a dwarf, comes creeping along the rocky outcrop. He is seeking love, understanding, and affection. He hopes to find these with the Rhinemaidens, but they play a cruel game with him. Each of them artfully feighns love only to reject him mercilessly after a short time, mocking his appearance. Alberich grows beside himself with rage. The sun rises. The gold of the Rhine shines brightly. From one moment to the next the Rhinemaidens forget Alberich and go about their duties as priestesses of a mythical cult. Alberich learns from them that whoever gains possession of the gold of the Rhine can forge a ring that will endow him with unbridled power. That is only possible, however, after voluntarily renouncing love. The Rhinemaidens tell him all this firmly convinced that someone as obsessed with love as Alberich could never steal the gold of the Rhine. The Rhinemaidens treatment of him, however, has destroyed the yearning for love in Alberich’s soul. The humiliated creature, blinded by the idea of being able to gain power over the world, renounces love. He seizes the gold of the Rhine and disappears with it into the depths of his realm, the Nibelheim. The Rhinemaidens are enveloped in darkness.

SCENE TWO
An open area high in the mountains. Wotan is asleep. His wife Fricka is plagued by dark premonitions. She shakes her husband awake. What seemed a dream has become reality. Wotan looks at te mighty fortress of the gods that the giants Fasolt and Fafner have built on his orders. Fricka, though, can only think of the price that the gods have contracted to pay for the work - Freia, the goddess of youth, whose golden apples prevent the gods from ageing and gecaying. In desperation, Freia begs Wotan, her sister Fricka and brothers Donner and Froh to protect her from the approaching gians. Wotan has no intention of surrendering Freia. He places his trust in Loge, the elusive god of fire who cannot be kept in one place. Loge has promised to find a way out of the situation, but he has not yet appeared. The giants come to demand the agreed payment. Fafner does not trust the gods. He wants to have Freia in the hands of the giants so that, as the gods inevitably age, their power will also decline. Fasolt, though, has fallen in love with Freia - the first great love story in the Ring cycle. Wotan puts the giants off with excuses. Fasolt is stunned to realize that Wotan is intent on breaking the law and their agreement out of pure self-interest. At last Loge appears and upholds the justice of the giants’ demands. Wotan is beside himself. He whispers to Loge that he only entered into the contract because he had assured him of his help. That was true, Loge confirms, but only if a way out could really be discovered. In his search for a treasure that could be suitable to the giants as a substitute, however, he has found no-one willing to exchange love for poverty and a women for mere goods. He did come across the Rhinemaidens, though, who informed him of Alberich’s theft of the gold. He says that they ask for Wotan’s help in recovering the gold of the Rhine, the symbol in nature and all its purity. Weighed down with problems of his own, Wotan brusquely rejects any idea of involvement in the fate of the Rhinemaidens.. With the giants, however, Loge’s tale of the gold of the Rhine falls on fertile soil. They express themselves willing to accept the gold as a substitute for Freia, but insist on taking the goddess of youth with them as a guarantee until the new reward is paid.. Almost as soon as the giants disappear with Freia, the gods begin to age and decline. Loge knows what needs to be done. With an awareness of having moral right on his side, Wotan should take the treasure from Alberich and gie the Ring back to the Rhinemaidens. And so Wotan and Loge set off for Nibelheim, beneath the Earth, where Alberich reigns.

SCENE THREE
The underground chasms of Nibelheim. The Nibelungs were once a race that obtained beautiful things of earth blithely for their own pleasure. Now Alberich is forcing them to exploit the Earth’s resources brutally in order to lay up ever greater stores of riches. Mime, the Nibelungs’ skilful smith, is forced by his brother Alberich to create a magic helmet. Mime detects the power of his creation, but cannot determine what exactly its magic is. Alberich tears the work from his and reveals its properties/ This is the Tarnhelm that makes its wearer invisible. Only with the Tarnhelm can Alberich be certain of the all-embracing power of his rule, since he can now lie down to sleep reassured, without having to fear that he will be robbed. Wotan and Loge appear. Loge makes up to mime as if he is an old acquaintance. He skillfully exploits the anger, pain and hatred of the brother so recently humiliated by Alberich’s domination of the world and of the magic Tarnhelm. Mime cowes fearfully away from the approaching Alberich for the gods’ own ends. Wotan and Loge learn of Alberich’s domination of the world and of the magic Tarnhelm. Mime cowers fearfully away from the approaching Alberich. Although he encounters the intruders with deep mistrust, Alberich allows himself to be flattered into glorifying his own power with vain self-satisfaction. How though, Loge craftily inquires, does he prevent those who are exploited from stealing his power out of envy? Alberich boasts of the magical properties of the Tarnhelm. Loge says that these are mere words, and calls for a demonstration. Alberich puts on the Tarrhelm and turns into a dragon. Loge shows that he is impressed, but insists on a further trial: it would, he says, be cleverer to turn oneself into a tiny creature so as to be able to escape quickly in the event of danger. Alberich promptly responds and assumes the shape of a toad. Wotan immediately puts his foot on Alberich who is caught. Loge pulls the Tarrhelm off him. Together with Wotan he puts Alberich in chains so he cannot turn the Ring and use his power against them. Wotan and Loge drag their prisoner to the way out of his realm. The smoke of Nibelheim turns into the icy air of the place in which the family of gods that they have left behind wait, yearning for salvation.

                                                                                               
SCENE FOUR
An open area high in the mountains. In order to recover his freedom, Alberich has to summon his slaves who pile all his accumulated wealth at Wotan’s feet. Wotan wants the Tarrhelm too, and Loge adds it to the booy. When he demands the Ring as well, though,  Alberich refuses with all his might. He cries out. He himself paid for the Ring with the loss of love, while Wotan is merely acting selfishly. Wotan drags the Ring from Alberich’s finger. The betrayed dwarf pronounces a terrifying curse on whoever posseses the Ring. Wotan is not concerned. Loge announces the success of the robbery to the family of the gods. The giants return with Freia to make the exchange. Freia is to be the measure: the deal will be complete as soon as she is totally covered in gold. Finally, the Tarrhelm must be used to compensate for Freia. One of her eyes are still showing, however, and Fasolt is unable to let her go while he can still see what he is losing. So the giants demand Wotan’s Ring in order to close this last gap. Wotan’s greed knows no bounds. He would rather sacrifice Freia than the Ring. Even the urgent pleas of his family and Fricka’s supplications cannot make him see sense. Then Erda appears, the goddess and mother of all existence emerging from the primal soil and the subconscious. Wotan gives way in the face of her stern warning and prophetic vision of the inevitable demise of all those in power. The Ring is handed over. Freia, the symbol of youth, is free and the decline of the gods is halted. As Alberich’s curse predicted, an argument immediately breaks out over the division of the treasure. As Cain slew Abel, so Fafner kills his brother Fasolt. Fafner hastily withdraws with his booty. He will pile it in a cave, turn himself into a dragon using the Tarrhelm and allow no-one to get at his wealth. After the dreadful murder, the gods quickly return to their own affairs and prepare for their glorious entry into the newly-built fortress. Donner disperses the wreaths of mist and the foul air-tainted with violence, robbery and murder. Froh creates the rainbow bridge that shows the gods the way into their new realm. A terrible, crazy idea arises in Wotan’s mind, who is torn this way and that by the memory of Al;berich’s curse and the fascination of his power. He names the fortress Valhalla. There he will do something of which the others do not yet even dream: father a race of heroes with which he will prepare himself, regardless of the agreements and dependencies that blind him, for the last great devastating battle, Armageddon. The wrong Wotan inflicted upon Alberich means that the dwarf will never rest until he has recovered his Ring and his power. The gods enter Valhalla. Loge comments that this is the beginning of the end. He Rhinemaidens complain despairingly of he loss of the gold. Fasolt’s corpse is left behind. He is the first in a henceforth seemingly endless chain of love, hope and violence to have to pay for his affection for another with his life.

Cast for the opera Die Walkure:

Siegmund PLACIDO DOMINGO
Hunding FYODOR KUZNETSOV
Wotan MIKHAIL KIT
Sieglinde MLADA KHUDOLEY
Brunnhilde OLGA SERGEYEVA
Fricka LARISA DIADKOVA VALKYRIES:
Gerhilde LIYA SHEVSTSOVA
Ortlinde IRINA VASILIEVA
Waltraute ELENA VITMAN
Schwertleite LYUDMILA KANUNNIKOVA
Helmwige TATIANA KRAVTSOVA
Siegrune NADEZHDA VASILIEVA
Grimgerde ELENA SOMMER
Rossweisse LYUBOV SOKOLOVA
Loge ALEXANDER YEFREMOV

Synopsis of the opera Die Walkure

ACT I
A fierce storm is raging. Siegmund, pursued by enemies, seeks refuge in a house built around the trunk of a mighty ash-tree. This is the home of Sieglinde who is married to the brutal Hunding. Sieglinde does not realize that the wounded and exhausted stranger is her brother. While she is aring for him an unmistakable sexual tension develops between the two. Hunding returns and , in spite of his distrust of the stranger, offers him hospitality. Siegmund gives his name as Wehwalt ( Weh meaning “sorrow” ), son of Wolfe, and after some hesitiation tells his story. He has grown up in the forest with his parents and his twin sister. Returning home one day he found that marauders had burnt down their hut, killed his mother and abducted his sister. Some years later he had become separated from his father, who also disappeared, leaving him alone in the world. Siegmund had tried to mix with other men but has always been rejected as an outsider. He is now fleeing from a clan whom he had found trying to marry a girl off to a man she did not love; Siegmund killed her brothers and lost his weapons fleeing from her relations. Hunding now reveals that he himself is a kinsman of this clan. Siegmund will be protected by the laws of hospitality for the night, but in the morning Hunding will fight him to avenge his murdered kinsmen. Left alone, Siegmund cries out for help to his father Walse, who had promised that in the hour of his greatest need he would find a sword. Sieglinde returns, having drugged Hunding with a sleeping draught. She recounts how, when her abductors were marrying her to Hunding, a mysterious stranger had appeared and plunged a sword into the trunk of the ash-tree. No-one has yet been able to draw it out, but she now believes that Siegmund is her saviour and that the sword will be his. As the door of the house flies open to reveal the forest transfigured by the arrival of spring, the love which has grown up between the two breaks out uncontrollably. Siegmund reveals that he is the son of Walse and draws forth the sword, which he names Notung (Not meaning “need” or “necessity”). Sieglinde discloses that she is his own twin sister. Overcome, the two fall into a passionate embrace.

ACT II
It is the following morning. Siegmund and Sieglinde have fled from Hunding into the mountains. Wotan orders his daughter, the Valkyrie Brunnhilde, to prepare for battle in order to help Siegmund kill Hunding in their coming fight. Fricka, Wotan’s consort, now approaches. As the guardian of marriage, she demands the death of Siegmund, who is guilty of both adultery and incest. When Wotan refuses to abandon his “free hero”, Fricka lays bare his self-deception: Siegmund is in no sense independent since his fate has been preordained by Wotan, who has even indirectly led him to find the magic sword. Wotan, as guardian of oaths, is compelled to punish Siegmund and must now promise to leave him to his fate without any protection. He must also forbid Brunnhilde to aid him in his fight against Hunding. Once Fricka has left, Wotan openly expresses his despair, and in the course of a long monologue explains to Brunnhilde the story of the Ring and the curse attached to it. When Brunnhilde shows her reluctance to abandon Siegmund, Wotan threatens her with his terrible anger; he orders her to obey, and storms off. Brunnhilde sadly withdraws. Siegmund and Sieglinde now arrive; Sieglinde, half-crazed with fear, sinks into an exhausted sleep. Brunnhilde appears before Siegund to announce his forthcoming death and his reception among the heroes of Valhalla. Siegmund, however, refuses to follow her into Valhalla if Sieglinde cannot accompany him. Brunnhilde is deeply moved that a man can value love higher than the everlasting bliss of Valhalla. She is overcome with compassion as Siegmund, in a fit of despair, prepares to kill his sleeping sister after learning that she bears his child. Brunnhilde prevents him and promises to support him despite Wotan’s command. But in the fight Wotan himself unexpectedly intervines. His spear shatters the magic sword, Siegmund is killed by Hunding, and Brunnhilde, gathering up the pieces of the sword, hastily leads Sieglinde away to safety. Hunding falls dead at a contemptuous gesture from Wotan, who then hurries after Brunnhilde to punish her disobedience.
                                                                                               
ACT III
The Valkyries gather together on a rocky mountain top where they are preparing to take the bodies of the fallen heroes to Valhalla on their winged horses. Brunnhilde arrives with Sieglinde, seeking their help but the Valkyries refuse to defy Wotan. Brunnhilde prophesies that Sieglinde will give birth to “ the noblest hero in the world”- Siegfried. She gives her the fragments of the sword and advises her to take refuge in the forest to the east where Fafner guards his treasure and where Wotan will not follow her. Brunnhilde then comes forward to confront her father who, in a furious rage, pronounces her punishment: banished from Valhalla, stripped of her divinity, she will lie asleep on this rock and will belong to the man who finds her and awakens her. Horrified, the eight Valkyries scatter. Brunhilde tries to justify her obedience. She had inteneded to carry out Wotan’s real wishes, which Fricka had forced him to renounce against his will. She describes, too, how she had been so moved by wonder and pity at Siegmund’s predicament and by his love for Sieglinde that she could not refuse him her help. Wotan’s anger is calmed, and he grants Brunnhilde’s pitiful prayer to be awoken only by a hero: with a kiss on the eyes , he plunges her into a profound sleep and then summons Loge, the god of fire, to the rock to surround the sleeping Valkyrie with a ring of magic fire which can only be penetrated by a hero “ more free than the gods” who does not fear Wotan’s spear.

Cast for the opera Siegfried:

Siegfried, son of Siegmund and Sieglinde LEONID ZAKHOZHAEV
Mime, Alberich’s brother VASILY GORSHKOV
Traveller (Wotan) VADIM KRAVETS
Alberich, a Niibelung VIKTOR CHERNOMORTSEV
Fafner, a Giant MIKHAIL PETRENKO
Erda, Goddes of the Earth ZLATA BULYCHEVA
Brunnhilde, Wotan’s daughter MILANA BUTAEVA
Woodbirb ANASTASIA KALAGINA

Synopsis of the opera Siegfried

ACT I
Until recently, the universe shook from the fighting between the gods, giants and Nibelungs in the struggle for the Rhine’s fateful legacy. The power of the gold conquered and ruled the world, creating evil and violence. Now that the storms and disquiet have passed, however, the earth has become still; everything is peaceful, awaiting the coming of great new events…The Nibelung gnome Mime, a blacksmith, lives in a cave deep in a dense forest with Siegfried, his pupil. The blacksmith is unable to make sword that does not break into pieces as soon as Siegfried tries it out. Mime calls Siegfried his son, but Siegfried does not believe him, and hates his cowardly, ever-complaining teacher. Reluctantly, Mime tells Siegfried the secret of his birth: in the woods one day he found a woman, exhausted- it was Sieglinde. She herself died giving birth to her son. Before she died, Sieglinde named her son and gave the splintered fragments of the sword Nothung, which belonged to her murdered husband, to Mime for safekeeping. To this day, Mime has kept the remains of the sword. Siegfried insists that the Nibelung weld Nothung whole for him immediately. Mime is left alone, despondent; he knows that such a task is beyond him.  A Traveler appears - it is Wotan. He asks Mime for shelter, but is driven out.  The Traveler proposes a wager: whoever can answer three questions wins; the other will forfeit his head. Mime thinks up difficult questions about Nibelungs, giants and the gods, which the Traveller is able to answer with easebefore posing his own three questions. He asks which race Wotan betrayed. “The race of the Walsungs,” answers Mime. Sieglinde and Siegmund, Wotan’s children, loved one another. They had a son called Siegfried - the strongest hero of all. Mime also answers the second question about Nothung’s purpose, but when asked the third question - “ Who will be the one to weld the sword together again?” - he does not know what to say. Wotan then answers the question himself: only he who knows no fear can forge the sword. The Traveller disappears with these words. Struck with terror, Mime considers that Siegfried is fearless, so he tried to expose him to fear. He says that as Siegfried’s mother was dying, she asked Mime not to send her son out into the world until he has known the meaning of fear. Siegfried agrees to discover this new emotion. But none of Mime’s stories make any impression on him. Mime promises to take Siegfried to the dragon’s cave. But Siegfried needs the sword and he repairs Nothung himself. Mime decides to poison Siegfried after his battle with the dragon and seize the treasure.

    ACT II
That night, Alberich the Nibelung meets the Traveller in a thicket in the forest by the entrance to the dragon’s cave. The hoard of gold and the Ring that will give unlimited power over the world lie inside the cave. Wotan, the supreme god, had cheated Alberich of the treasure and giving it to the giants in exchange for their building the impregnable fortress of Valhalla. Fafner, one of the giants, killed his brother, transformed himself into a dragon and now guards the treasure in the cave. The Nibelung is powerless before the dragon and Wotan must observe the agreements they made. If Alberich ever has the Ring again, he will destroy Valhalla and rule the world. Wotan warns Alberich that Mime has the same dream. The worried Alberich foretells the death of the gods. Mime brings Siegfried to the dragon’s cave -  here he will discover the meaning of fear. Tired by the long journey, Siegfried attempts to talk with the Bird. Woken by the noise, the dragon creeps out of cave. Siegfried is not afraid of the monster and slays it. Before he dies, Fafner warns the victorious Siegfried that whoever put him up to this deed wishes to kill him. He automatically licks off the blood and is instantly able to comprehend what the birds are saying. They tell him secret power of the Ring and the helmet hidden in the cave. Of all the treasures there, Siegfried must take only these two things. He hides in the cave. Mime and Alberich appear. They are arguing over who owns the treasure now. The perfidious Mime intends to dispose of Siegfried by poisoning him, but now Siegfried can read the secret thoughts of others and he kills Mime. Alberich hides in the thicket. Exhausted, Siegfried lies down to rest. The Bird tells him that the beautiful Brunnhilde lies asleep on a high mountain surrounded by flames. Only he who knows no fear will be able to pass through the fire. Brunnhilde will be Siegried’s. The Bird will show him the way.
ACT III
One stormy, thunderous night, Wotan calls Erda, goddess of Fate, from the depths of the earth in order to know what the future holds. When she bore Wotan’s child Brunnhilde, however, she lost her gift: Mother Earth’s prophetic powers passed to her daughter. Brunnhilde will not answer Wotan either, as he renounced his daughter when she went against his will. The supreme god now freely surrenders his rule over the world: a young hero is coming, fearless and free from the power of the gods. With the Ring of the Nibelung, the value of which he does not know, he will free the earth from the curse of the gold. Day breaks. The storm has passed. Siegfried appears in the distance. Wotan tries to prevent the young hero from passing, blocking his path with his spear - the very spear that once broke Nothung. This time, however, it is the spear which shatters. Wotan disappears. The fiery wall parts before Siegfried and, at the top of crag, he sees a sleeping warrior clad with his sword - a beautiful girl lies before him. He is seized by an known feeling - could it be fear? He kisses her. The spell is broken and Brunnhilde awakes to new life and worldly love.

Cast for the opera Gotterdammerung:

Siegfried, son of Siegmund and Sieglinde VIKTOR LUTSYUK
Gunther, lord of the Gibichungs ALEXEY SPEKHOV
Hagen, Gunter’s half-brother MIKHAIL PETRENKO
Alberich, a Nibelung, Hagen’s father VIKTOR CHERNOMORTSEV
Brunnhilde, Wotan’s daughter LARISA GOGOLEVSKAYA
Gutrune, Gunther’s sister VALERIA STENKINA
Waltraute, a Valkyrie LARISA DIADKOVA
Rhinemaidens: Woglinde MARGARITA AVAVERDIAN
Wellgunde LIYA SHEVTSOVA Flosshilde LYUBOV SOKOLOVA
First Norm LYUDMILA KANUNNIKOVA
Second Norm SVETLANA VOLKOVA
Third Norm TATIANA KRAVTSOVA

Synopsis of the opera Gotterdammerung

PROLOGUE
By night on the rocky banks of the Rhine, three prophetic Noms are spinning the rope of Fate. The end of the gods’ power is nigh: in the castle of Valhalla, the supreme god Wotan is surrounded by gods and heroes, waiting for the last day. His death has been predestined by a chain of crimes, the first of which was Alberich’s stealing the gold of the Rhine and renouncing love. Wishing to hold sway over the earth, Alberich forged a ring from the gold of the Rhine, but the Ring was then stolen. There is now a dreadful curse on the Ring, which will bring about the death of anyone who wishes to possess it. Unexpectedly the rope of Fate breaks - the Norms’ prophetic knowledge has run out and they disappear. Dawn. Illuminated by the sun, Siegfried and Brunnhilde emerge from the cave. Departing for new conquests, Siegfried swears eternal love to his bride and, as a token of that love, gives her the Rng of the Nibelung. Brunnhilde brings Siegfried her  horse Grane he sets off along the Rhine below.

ACT I
The castle of the Gibichungs on the banks of the Rhine. Gunther lives there with his sister Gutrune and sly and sullen half-brother Hagen, half-man and half-gnome, the illegitimate son of his mother and Alberich the Nibelung. Gunther, a noble warrior, has amassed great power, though he has not found a suitable wife. Hagen tells him Brunnhilde, adding, however, that Siegfried alone will be able to reach her though the fire. Siegfried must be made to drink magic potion which will make him forget Brunnhilde, who will then become Gunther’s bride. Siegfried’s horn can be heard in the distance. He wants to test his strength against Gunther, but the latter proposes brotherhood instead of battle. Gutrune brings Siegfried a horn with the magic potion. Draining the horn, Siegfried departs; the magic helmet he won with the treasure of the Nibelungs when he killed the dragon guarding it will allow him to adopt Gunther’s form. Hagen is triumphant. His plan is close to fruition: deceived, Siegfried will bring Gunther his own wife; Hagen will have the gold Ring, and he will subsequently become ruler of the earth. Meanwhile, Brunnhilde cannot give up her husband’s gift. Valhalla may perish, but the Valkyrie will not surrender the Ring. Waltraute disappears in despair. Siegfried’s horn can be heard in the distance. Brunnhilde listens entranced. But her joy is suddenly replaced with terror - she is faced with a stranger calling himself Gunther. Has Wotan tricked her? Can others beside Siegfried pass through the fire to her? She tries to resist, but Siegfried, appearing in a different guise thanks to the helmet, tears the Ring from her finger - now she is betrothed to Gunther. She will spend the night with her husband in the cave. Siegfried, however, remains true to his oath of brotherhood - he places his sword on the bed between them.
                                                                                               
ACT II
It is the middle of the night and Hagen is asleep. Alberich the Nibelung approaches him. Hagan must obtain the Ring for him, then the two of them will hold sway over the earth. As the sun rises, Alberich disappears. The joyful voice of the returning Siegfried can be heard. He tells Gutrune how he led Brunnhilde from the flames and, unnoticed in the midst, placed her in Gunther’s arms. At the castle, preparations begin to celebrate the two weddings. The triumphant Gunther enters with Brunnhilde. She is startled to see Siegfried together with Gutrune. What can have happened? Could he have forgotten her? On Siegfried’s finger she notices her ring, which he forgot to give Gunther. She understands everything. The only thing she does not know is that Siegfried has forgotten her because f the magic potion. In despair, she begs the gods to grant revenge on the man who has betrayed her, insisting that he is her husband. Siegfried, however, can remember Brunnhilde only from the previous day, and swears that he did not touch his friend’s bride. But Brunnhilde proceeds to swear that she is Siegfried’s wife. Everyone is shocked - surely Siegfried would not shame Gunther’s honour and break their oath of brotherhood? Siegfried and Brunnhilde swear once again on the spear that each is telling the truth. When the guests leave, the indignanat Hagen approaches Brunnhilde, who is filled with mournful thoughts. Hagen convinces her to take her revenge, but he does not know how to accomplish this. The offended Brunnhilde tells the devilishly cunning Nibelung Siegfried’s secret - is invincible in battle as he always faces his enemy; his only weak spot is his back. Siegfried will die during a hunt…

ACT III
On the banks of the river, the three Rhinemaidens await Siegfried. Gently and mildly, they bed him to return the Ring. Siegfried begins to waver. But as soon as the Rhinemaidens tell him he will be safe only if he surrenders the Ring, he changes his mind. None shall call him a coward. In despair, the Rhinemaidens prophesy his impending death and swim away. The hunters gather. Hagen asks Siegfried to tell him how he learned the language of the birds. Siegfried recalls the past, his childhood in the woods, Mime who raised him, the blood of the dragon guarding the gold and the sleeping Valkyrie. At the very moment he turns on hearing some crows cawing, Hagen stabs him in the back. As he dies, Siegfried speaks of his love for Brunnhilde. Hagen tells Gutrune of Siegfrieds death. Hagen demands the Ring as payment for the murder, but Gunther refuses to let him have it.  Hagen then attacks Gunther and, after a short struggle, the latter falls, dead. The triumphant Hagen approaches Siegfried’s body, but the hero’s arm rises in a menacing gesture. Terror-stricken, everyone steps back. Brunnhilde orders a funeral pyre be built on the banks of the Rhine. She will die beside her husband in its flames. She removes the Ring from Siegfried’s finger - the Rhinemaidens will recover it from her ashes. The flames of the pyre will cleanse the Ring of its curse, the gold of the Rhine will return to the river and Alberich’s curse will be at an end.  Brunnhilde sends the crows to the gods at Valhalla to announce the hour of their death. She throws herself into the blazing flames. The Rhine swells and its waves wash away the remains of the pyre. Hagengives a shout and dives into the river, still hoping to obtain the Ring, but the Rhinemaidens laughingly drag him down to the river-bed. Crime on earth has come to an end. The world’s injustices have been redeemed by the death of the hero of heroes, and the cursed Ring of the Nibelung once again lies in peace in the depths of the Rhine.

Modest Mussorgsky
BORIS GODUNOV
Opera in Seven Acts (Version of 1869)

Libretto by Modest Mussorgsky based on the historical drama by Alexander Pushkin
Musical Director - Valery Gergiev
Stage Director - Victor Kramer
Set Designer - Georgy Tsypin
Costume Designer - Tatiana Noginova
Lighting Designer - Gleb Filshtinsky
Principal Chorus Master - Andrei Petrenko
Musical Preparation - Irina Soboleva

Co-Production with Teatro alla Scala (Italy)
Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes with no intermission.

Cast:

Boris: Vladimir Ognovenko Nikolay Putilin
Shuisky: Nikolay Gassiev Alexey Steblianko Konstantin Pluzhnikov
Pimen: Gennady Bezzubenkov Alexander Morozov
Dmitry, the Pretender: Oleg Balashov Maxim Aksenov
Shelkalov: Vasily Gerello Viktor Chernomortsev
The Fool: Yevgeny Akimov
Fedor: Maria Matveeva
Xenia: Anastasia Kalagina Irina Mataeva Olga Trifonova
Xenia’s Wet Nurse: Nadezhda Vassilieva Lyudmila Kanunnikova
Varlaam: Gennady Bezzubenkov Mikhail Petrenko Fyodor Kuznetsov
Missail: Viktor Vihrov
Hostess of the Inn: Lyubov Sokolova Nadezhda Vasilieva
Nikitich/Constable: Grigoriy Karasev
Boyar: Andrey Spekhov
Mityukha: Edem Umerov

Synopsis for Boris Godunov

Prologue and Scene I
A courtyard of the Novodyevichy Monastery outside Moscow
Guards and police officers are goading the people to pray that Boris Godunov will accept the throne. The Duma clerk Shchelkalov comes out and informs the people that Boris refuses to accept it.
The police officer announces the Boyar’s order: “Be in the Kremlin tomorrow and await orders”.

Scene II
A square in the Moscow Kremlin.
Boris’ coronation in the Cathedral of the Assumption. Boris appears amid bell-ringing to the people. He is afraid of the burden of power.

Scene III
A cell in the Chudov Monastery.
Monk Pimen is completing his chronicle of Russian history. The young novice, Grigory, is sleeping in the corner. He wakes from a bad dream; for the third time now he has seen himself ascend a steep staircase and look down over Moscow from a great height before falling.
Grigory listens to the story of Pimen’s earlier life and asks about the death of Tsarevich Dmitry in Uglich. “He would have been the same age as you and have ruled”, says Pimen. These words have a deep effect on Grigory, resulting in a brave and wild plan.

Scene IV
An inn on the Lithuanian border.
Having run away from the monastery, Grigory, accompanied by the two wandering monks Missail and Varlaam, intends to cross the border. Grigory learns from the hostess of the inn how to enter Lithuania, avoiding the border guards.
Police officers arrive at the inn. They are looking for the fugitive who, they say, poses a danger to Muscovy. Only Grigory can read the warrant. He reads that the novice Grigory had run away from the Chudov monastery and the Tsar has ordered his capture. The warrant contains a description of him. To save himself, glancing at Varlaam, he gives a description of the latter. He is suddenly seized with fear. Varlaam slowly reads the imperial decree. Grigory is recognized. He flees.

Scene V
The Tsar’s apartments in the Moscow Kremlin.
Xenia, Godunov’s daughter, is mouring the death of her husband. Fyodor, Boris’ son, is also there. The Tsar enters. He tries to console his daughter and is interested in his son’s lessons. All is not well with him. Boris knows that the people hate him and that he will be unable to attain their affection by any means. Boris’ reflections are interrupted by Shuisky’s entrance, his ancient enemy. It is with great schadenfreude that he informs Boris that a Pretender has appeared in Lithuania. The name of the Tsarevich Dmitry unsettles Boris. Boris orders Shuisky to fortify the Lithuanian border. He asks the Prince to confirm the Tsarevich’s death. Shuisky tells of the murder in detail. Surprised and terrified, Boris drives Shuisky out and he imagines sees the ghost of the murdered child.

Scene VI
Outside St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow
A crowd of poor and hungry people is awaiting the end of the service. Inside the cathedral, Grigory is being denounced. The word is being passed that the Pretender’s forces are approaching Moscow.
Children outside the cathedral steal a kopeck from a Simpleton. He weeps. The Tsar and his entourage leave the cathedral. The people ask him for bread. The Tsar asks the Simpleton why he is crying. The latter replies that “some boys stole my kopeck, kill them like you had the young Tsarevich killed”. Boris stops people from approaching and seizing the Simpleton, and asks him to pray for him. The Simpleton replies that “I cannot pray for Tsar Herod”.

Scene VII
The Granovitaya Chamber in the Moscow Kremlin.
A meeting of the Council of Boyars to debate what action to ought to be taken against the Pretender. The others are disturbed that Shuisky is not present. He arrives at last. His tale of Boris’ sick visions is not believed. But Boris appears with the cry of “Be gone, be gone child!”. He addresses the Boyars. Shuisky interrupts him, suggesting he listen to an old man who wishes to divulge a secret. Pimen enters. He tells the Tsar that in Uglich there has been a miracle: a blind man recovered his sight at the grave of Tsarevich Dmitry. Boris cannot take this shock. Sensing that death is near, he calls his son…
To the tolling of bells, the dying Boris indicated Fyodor with the words “There is your Tsar…”.