RUSSIAN SEASONS IN MOSCOW
A pleasant surprise for those who revere the work of A. S. Pushkin was the evening devoted to the 190th anniversary of his birth, held at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. With it the Soviet Culture Foundation opened a new page of charity evenings which in time will become part of the broad programme of the "Russian Seasons".
The evening "To Pushkin…" was an evening of premieres. It opened with a cantata for soloists and chamber orchestra by the young Leningrad composer L. Desyatnikov, "The Pinega Tale of Pushkin's Duel and Death", heard in Moscow for the first time. Igor Stravinsky's comic opera "Mavra" was also received with interest — an original composition organically combining the composer's music with A. S. Pushkin's poem "The Little House in Kolomna" (produced by Y. Borisov).
In the second half the audience saw the ballet "The Tale of the Priest and His Workman Balda", revived in a stage version by Vladimir Vasiliev, People's Artist of the USSR, to Dmitry Shostakovich's music for the animated film of the same name, which has not survived.
High professionalism, artistic maturity, invention and humour distinguish this production.
And, of course, the meeting with Oleg Borisov, People's Artist of the USSR, who won the hall over by the poetry of Pushkin's word, was a celebration for the audience.
It remains to add that the success of the first evening of the "Russian Seasons" cycle, organized by the Soviet Culture Foundation and the Soviet Peace Foundation, was helped by the ballet soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre of the USSR, of the Leningrad Maly Theatre of Opera and Ballet, of the Moscow Musical Theatre named after K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko and of the Moscow Chamber Musical Theatre, by students of the State College of Circus and Variety Art, and by the Ulyanovsk Symphony Orchestra (artistic director and principal conductor N. Alekseyev).
Gr. GOGOBERIDZE
[A scene from I. Stravinsky's opera "Mavra". R. Khachatryan, People's Artist of the Armenian SSR, presented a portrait of A. S. Pushkin to the Soviet Culture Foundation. Opening remarks by V. Vasiliev, People's Artist of the USSR. Photographs by A. Sizukhin.]
