The magical power of art or friendly exchange years later

TALLINN. The exchange tour of "Helikon-Opera" and the Estonian National Opera ended.

The last time a full-fledged tour of the Estonian National Opera (Rahvusooper Estonia) took place in Russia a quarter century ago. Political homeostasis is not always able to keep the temperature of relations between countries at an acceptable level. Not frostbite, but palpable hypothermia. Sometimes art turns out to be a more effective diplomat, able to find the right intonation, find common ground in a mass of differences. Helikon-Opera and Rahvusooper Estonia are like-minded collectives. Communication on the same wave has been going on for 20 years, since the first Helikon tour in Tallinn. Dmitry Bertman is a frequent guest at the Estonian National Opera. He comes here not only with his team, but is also very much in demand as a director. Among the most famous productions are the operas Faust by Gounod, Love for Three Oranges by Prokofiev, Wallenberg by Erkki-Sven Tüür. For the last performance, he received the State Prize and was awarded the Order of the Land of St. Mary. Plans for the next few years include staging Russian opera at Rahvusooper Estonia.

During an exchange tour in mid-October, spectators in Moscow were able to appreciate the Estonian “Faust” from Bertman with the participation of Oliver Kuusik, Pavlo Balakin, Maria Faytova, as well as the first Estonian ballet “Goblin” (“Brownie”) by Eduard Tubin. Its premiere took place last fall. The musical director and conductor is Vello Pyahn. Amazing gala concerts “Duet of two capitals” took place in Tallinn and Moscow with the participation of actors and musicians from both theaters. Residents of the Estonian capital were lucky to see and react with a storm of applause to the legendary Helikon’s “Tsar’s Bride” Rimsky-Korsakov with Mikhail Guzhov, Dmitry Khromov, Lidia Svetozarova. Surprisingly modern, despite the corresponding historical costume costume.

The renovated building of the Moscow theater made a great impression on Estonian guests. Scale, excellent acoustics, technical equipment. The dream of reconstructing the small building of the Estonian Opera, originally intended for dramatic performances, remains just a dream.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru