Sergei Rachmaninoff’ one-act opera “Francesca da Rimini” is set to premiere 10th April at Isidor Zak concert hall. This is the first time the opera will be performed at the Novosibirsk opera and ballet theatre. Ara Karapetyan will stand as musical director.
Production’s stage director Vyacheslav Starodubtsev believes that NOVAT’s concert hall suggests using unconventional solutions and blurring the genres’ definitions. He engaged Sergey Zakharin to design blocking and stage movement for “Francesca da Rimini”. According to the director’s concept the stage movement should become the connective matter of the performance, and as for the performance, it must develop into a summit of singing and dancing.
“Visual solution is based on Gustav Doré’s prints on Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. They already possess motion and dynamics, which goes well with Rachmaninoff’s musical narration. Moreover, this opera contains several expressive musical fragments, where the singers are inactive – tells Sergey Zakharin - it’s not that we only wanted to fill these episodes with dramatic acting, but to poetize the action on stage by inserting smooth choreographic features. This is not a typical choreography, this is a plastique solution for human relations, soul motions, body poetry”.
Actor, choreographer and author of the unique system “Body language and contact improvisation as an actor’s expressive means or The philosophy of movement” Sergey Zakharin creates his second plastique solution for Vyacheslav Starodubtsev’s productions at Isidor Zak concert hall. In May 2018 Sergey Zakharin will host a master class for the Novosibirsk opera artists called “The philosophy of movement”.
Together with director and stage designer Zhanna Usacheva the stage movement designer strives to discover the potential of the concert hall, taking after the terms of immersive theatre: “Of course we follow the director’s commands. During the process we explore the entire space of the hall with soloists and chorus: the gallery, the stage, the auditorium – in keeping with the director’s goal. If we need dynamic, action takes place on the gallery, where we can afford wide energetic moves; if case we need to make a lyric thing, we bring it closer to the audience and use more subtle acting emphasizing hands, fingers, intimate touches”.
Sergey Rachmaninoff “Francesca da Rimini”. Premiere. Isidor Zak concert hall, April 10th 19:00.
Tickets are available at the box office of the theatre, on novat.nsk.ru and with our partners.