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Articles by Galina Stolyarova
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Stars Head to St. Petersburg for White Nights Fest
25 May 12
Modest Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunov," which has arguably become the most popular operatic piece by a Russian composer on the international stage in the past decade, has been revamped by renowned British director Graham Vick. The production, which will be staged Friday, Saturday and June 26, opens the 20th International Stars of the White Nights festival, which runs through July 15.
Stalin Era Fashion, During Wartime And At Parties
23 May 12
How can you make a fashionable coat when the only fabric available is a piece of coarse felt used to make military overcoats? A possible solution — accompanied by spirited sewing patterns — can be found in the old, yellowing pages of a fashion magazine published in Russia in the 1920s.
Mariinsky Stages Dark, Brooding Debussy Opera
19 April 12
Claude Debussy's 1902 opera "Pelleas et Melisande" has been turned into a thriller fused with irony and trash esthetic by American director Daniel Kramer at the Mariinsky Theater.
Mariinsky Ballet Fest To Draw Dance Stars
22 March 12
Dance talent from the Bolshoi Theater, London's Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, the Wiener Staatsoper, Het Nationale Ballet and the Bejart Ballet Lausanne will join the Mariinsky Theater's top soloists at the 12th International Mariinsky Ballet Festival.
Sokurov: 'Faust' Perfect for Russia's Empty Hearts
06 February 12
Pure evil reigns in Alexander Sokurov's new film "Faust," which won the Golden Lion at last year's Venice Film Festival and starts screening in Russian movie theaters on Feb. 9.
Barkhatov's Drunk, Mad Hoffman at Mariinsky
17 January 12
Director Vasily Barkhatov's fondness for Mariinsky Theater tenor Sergei Semishkur is manifested in two ways. One is that the singer tends to appear in lead roles in most productions Barkhatov stages at the Mariinsky, and the other one is a little more unusual — Semishkur's characters inevitably have a strong drunken streak.
Russia’s Tallest Man Dead At Age 52
12 January 12
Alexander Sizonenko, Russia's tallest man, who once appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest basketball player in history, died on Jan. 5. He was 52.
Long-Lost Songs by Romanovs Surface
22 December 11
Taking 15 years to put together, a recent concert at Tavrichesky Palace in St. Petersburg could have claimed a place in "The Guinness Book of World Records." The performance, entitled "The Imperial Musical Collection," showcased 20 long-lost musical works composed exclusively by members of the Romanov family, including Tsar Alexander II and Prince Konstantin Romanov.
TV Film About Prison Camps, Honor Shelved
01 September 11
Russian director Viktor Buturlin is one of the country's most talented and successful filmmakers, the man behind the award-winning 2004 TV series "Chest Imeyu" or "I Have the Honor" about life in the Russian Army, but he does not know when his next series will be shown.
Fears for Lenfilm as Studio Gets Ready to Move
18 August 11
Lenfilm, one of Russia's oldest and most venerable motion-picture studios, looks set to pack its bags and leave its central location as it faces being absorbed at a bargain price by Sistema Financial Corporation, the country's largest diversified consumer services company, headed by tycoon Vladimir Yevtushenkov.
Gergiev: Theater Stage on Time
11 August 11
Mariinsky Theater artistic director Valery Gergiev has dismissed rumors that the opening of the theater's second stage would be delayed until 2015. Gergiev said that although the deadline for the end of the construction is currently being finalized, the maestro will personally make sure that no procrastination occurs.
Interview: Tamahori on Hussein and War
11 August 11
Lee Tamahori, director of the Bond movie "Die Another Day" and "The Devil's Double," the tale of Saddam Hussein's Caligula-like son Uday and his double, which is now on release in Moscow, is full of surprises. At the beginning of an interview during a recent visit to St. Petersburg, the filmmaker announced that he had just visited the Siege of Leningrad Museum.
Nastassja Kinski on Film, Polanski, Love
04 August 11
Àctress Nastassja Kinski can be seen on the big screen Friday in "Maria's Lovers," the 1983 film by Andrei Konchalovsky about a soldier returning home from war to his unfaithful sweetheart. It is being shown as part of a retrospective to the director.
Solti a Hit With Britten Opera
28 July 11
A twilight atmosphere, with random shades enveloping the stage, tinted mirrors and elves fluttering about all abounded at the Mariinsky Theater Concert Hall when the venue played host to the company's new premiere, Claudia Solti's mysterious take on Benjamin Britten's opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
'Aida' Wins Plaudits in Minimalist Show
23 June 11
A minimalist and deeply philosophical show is perhaps not quite what most people would expect from a production of Verdi's "Aida" directed by a man who has made an international career producing shows for a circus. Yet this is exactly what Swiss-born director Daniele Finzi Pasca is offering audiences at the Mariinsky Theater Concert Hall.
Buchbinder to Play Beethoven Sonatas
23 June 11
The ability to perform every one of Ludwig van Beethoven's 32 sonatas puts a pianist in a special club. No connections will open its doors; talent and skill are the only criteria. Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder became a member many years ago.
Daughter of Gagarin Denounces Musical
14 April 11
The daughter of the first man in space, Yury Gagarin, denounced a St. Petersburg musical production that uses her father's name as its title. Yelena Gagarina, who works as general director of the Kremlin Museums in Moscow, alleges that Music Hall's "Gagarin" may create a distorted or incorrect image of her father.
Mariinsky Stages Opera on Gogol's 'Dead Souls'
29 March 11
The Mariinsky Theater has triumphed again with a revival of Rodion Shchedrin's 1978 opera "Dead Souls," inspired by Nikolai Gogol's legendary work.
Tour, New Albums For Terem Quartet
24 February 11
They adapt classical jewels such as Chopin's nocturnes and Schubert's "Ave Maria" for a quartet of Russian folk instruments. They mix J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor with Russian folk tunes and make audiences' jaws drop. And then the audience applauds deafeningly.
Opera Star Netrebko Revisiting Mariinsky Theater
24 January 11
ST. PETERSBURG — Glamorous opera diva Anna Netrebko comes to her alma mater this week for two performances in the role of Adina in a new production of Gaetano Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” on Monday and Thursday.
Mariinsky's Kondaurova on 'Tormented Heroines'
20 December 10
Somewhere at home Yekaterina Kondaurova still has her first pointe shoes, soaked in blood. Back in Moscow, where she was born, she joined a dance class as a child. The ballerina remembers the class when the girls stood en pointe for the first time.
St. Pete's Arts Square Fest Highlights the French
17 December 10
The French connection is key to this year's international Arts Square Festival, St. Petersburg's premier classical arts winter event. Performers will include L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Trio Chausson and pianist Francois Weigel.
Mariinsky Is Grammy-Nominated
08 December 10
Russian musicians have seized four nominations at this year’s prestigious Grammy awards, presented every year by the American Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Venice Film Success Tells of Old Rituals, Love
15 November 10
The heroine of Alexei Fedorchenko’s new movie “Ovsyanki,” or “Silent Souls,” — a tender, subservient woman from provincial Russia — is a wordless role. Yulia Aug’s character, Tatyana, does not utter a single word throughout the 75-minute movie, which was an instant success at the Venice Film Festival this year.
‘Makropulos’ at Mariinsky Is Resounding Success
08 November 10
Opera singer Emilia Marty oozes so much enigma and drama that men fall at her feet after one glance, regardless of their age. It is not so much her stunning looks that they find attractive, or even her beautiful voice; it is what one of her admirers describes as “a terrible secret” and “a sense of danger.”
Lungina Doc, Internews Scandals at TEFI Awards
29 September 10
Russia’s equivalent of the Emmys, the TEFIs, have been marred by scandal as a winning filmmaker accused members of the jury of obstructing his award-winning work and organizers failed to read out the name of one winner, a journalist working for a nongovernmental organization.
Bid for Sharia Court in St. Petersburg Fails
20 August 10
A Muslim lawyer's attempt to create St. Petersburg's first sharia court flopped just weeks after the court opened amid a storm of criticism from local Muslim leaders and human rights activists that climaxed with prosecutors ordering its closure.
Malkovich Plays Killer in St. Petersburg Opera
12 July 10
Actor John Malkovich came to St. Petersburg this week as part of an international tour of the opera “The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer,” where he plays a charming serial killer.
Dreams of Turning Ship Building Into Art Space
21 April 10
A dilapidated building in a former textile factory complex in St. Petersburg, designed in the shape of a ship by expressionist German architect Erich Mendelsohn, is set for a second life as a local developer aims to turn it into an international center for arts and culture.
Prokhorov Offers to Save Aurora
09 December 09
The legendary Aurora cruiser, which played a symbolic role in the 1917 Revolution, may be turned into a naval museum under the patronage of billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.
