Photo credit: pxhere.com (Public Domain)
The premiere of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "The Maid of Pskov" took place at the Grange Park Opera music festival near London. In the new interpretation, the performance was named "Ivan the Terrible", the musical director of the production was the famous St. Petersburg director Mikhail Tatarnikov, according to the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.
Mikhail Tatarnikov said that the performance was staged as part of the Rimsky-Korsakov cycle of operas planned for the British festival. According to him, his British colleagues know and love the history of Russia and Russian music quite well.
In the British interpretation, Ivan the Terrible appeared as a complex reflective person, torn apart by doubts. The tsar is angry, but demonstrates tenderness and sentimentality. The role of Grozny was played by the American singer Clive Bailey, who had not previously worked with Russian directors, but had performed the part of Boris Godunov. During rehearsals, Mikhail Tatarnikov showed the singers photographs of Russian nature so that they could better immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the opera.
Russkiy Mir
