NCPA International Theatre Festival 2016
Venue
Dates
Duration
Approximate 150 mins (Intermission Included)About
Synopsis
Creative
Artist
Presenter
The poetic drama by Mikhail Lermontov uncovers the ruthless truth about people and the world they live in, the severe world where the morality teeters on the razor's edge. At the masquerade - a feast with enchanting music, bright costumes, mysterious masks and alluring power of revelry - people make fun, slander and gammon, without being recognized, as they are free from everything including their own selves. Masquerade is a theatre of characters, intrigues, flirting, intense and dangerous confessions, where fools and scoffers, dissemblers and clowns, lovestruck heroes and hoaxers run together with no sense of shame under the masks.
Masquerade is a game with the partner and with his destiny. Here you get killed with words and gossips. And when the mask is off you shed slops of compassionate tears.
What a capturing and guileful world is a masquerade. A thoughtless intrigue gathers like a snowball and rolls down to the victim and the temper.
Masquerade is a restless run inside the circle where you get seized by the swift whirlwind, bravura revelry takes your mind away.
Credits
Director: Rimas Tuminas
Set Designer: Adomas Jacovskis
Costume Designer: Maxim Obrezkov
Lighting Designer: Maya Shavdatuashvili
Music: Faustas Latenas
The waltz used in the play was created by Aram Khachaturian.
Masquerade is a dream. You discover the meaning of it with the last chord of the Waltz. Those who were lucky to see Tuminas’s “Masquerade” in the Vilnius Small Theatre should not compare it with The Vakhtangov Theatre performance. That will make no sense as the performance is not a copy but an author’s replication. Director’s ideas broke in through the individuality of Vakhtangov’s actors, as each of them has his own distinctive voice.
Rimas Tuminas’s Masquerade is a tragic farce, a sad Commedia dell’Arte, leaned into nowadays, spinning to the sound of the Waltz by Aram Khachaturyan that over the decades returned to The Vakhtangov stage for which it was written.
Born on the 20th of January 1952 in Kelme, Lithuania, Rimas Tuminas now serves as the Artistic Director of Vakhtangov Theatre and has been the winner of the State Prize of the Russian Federation and the 'Golden Mask' Award in Russian Festival of Performing Arts.
In 1970-1974 he studied at the Conservatory of Lithuania and graduated from GITIS Academy in 1978, where he took the directing course taught by Joseph Tumanov.
The first performance, directed by Rimas Tuminas, was Yordan Radichkov's January (1978) staged at the Drama Theatre of Lithuania. The first performance launched in Moscow was Oswald Zagradnik's Peacock Melody at the Stanislavsky Theatre.
Creating a concert performance of ensemble productions, he gave a reason for critiques to write about the 'harmony of discomfort' in his early performances.
From 1979 to 1990 Rimas Tuminas worked as a director at the State Academic Theatre of Lithuania and as the chief director since 1994. He earned this title at the National Theatre since 1998.
In 1999, Rimas Tuminas left the theatre after directing his last two performances, including Oedipus the King by Sophocles and Shakespeare's Richard III.
Rimas Tuminas directed more than 20 plays in different theatres of Lithuania and in other countries. Among his foreign works are Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (1992), The Seagull (1993) staged in Finland, and Moliere's Don Juan (1995) in Iceland. One of the performances - There Will Be No Death - was written in collaboration with poet Valdemaras Kukulas.
In 1990 Rimas Tuminas founded the Little Theatre of Vilnius. Here Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1990), Bertolt Brecht's Life of Galileo, Grigory Kanovicius's Dear God, Give Us a Smile (1994) and Mikhail Lermontov's Masquerade (1997) were staged. The theatre toured abroad extensively (Finland, Sweden, Poland, Iceland and other countries).
The play Masquerade won the Russian National Theatre Award 'Golden Mask' in the category 'Best foreign play of 1998' and brought Tuminas an invitation to the 3rd Chekhov International Theatre Festival in Moscow with the contemporary works of the theatre. Later in 2000, the theatre released a performance of Play Schiller ...! adapted from Fr. Schiller's Mary Stuart.
In his work, he has created a spectacle where he played with everything: with props, actors' abilities, audience expectations, and above all, with the usual notion of what should be a tragedy in our time.
In 2002, Rimas Tuminas staged at the Theater of Eug. Vakhtangov the play of N.V. Gogol's Inspector, which critics have called 'the most scandalous and controversial performance of the season at the same time.'
Tuminas build relationships among classical Gogol's characters without haste, without fuss. And the effect was stunning, when suddenly, instead of social masks and exaggerated caricatures, appeared lively and distinctive human faces, with their joys and sorrows, dreams and losses. Tuminas' desire to 'inspect' Gogol was also revealed in this play, which was perhaps a way to make a graceful curtsy Meyerhold, a representative of Russian theatrical school who staged Gogol's Efros oshinelit.
The visual enjoyment of the show is becoming increasingly important for Tuminas. At first, he has worked with various directors, including Kapyazhinskas, I. Popov, V. Idzelite, R. Daunoravichene, but in recent years, he prefers to collaborate with director Adomas Yatsovskisu and has kept loyalty to Composeru Faustas Latenas.
From 1979 he taught at Lithuanian Conservatoire (now Lithuanian Academy of Music). And in 2007, Rimas Tuminas headed Theatre Eug. Vakhtangov as the Artistic Director.
Fulfilling a promise given to G.B. Volchek earlier, Rimas Tuminas included the play Woe from Wit into the contemporary works of the theatre, which premiered on December 9th, 2007.
With Rimas Tuminas as the Artistic Director, the Vakhtangov Theater has occupied a leading position among the theatres, not only in Moscow but also other cities in Russia. In 2011, this theatre was recognized as 'the Most Visited Theatre' in Moscow.
The theatre is the constant participant of many theatre festivals in Russia and abroad, including 'The Baltic International Theatre Festival', 'Baltic House' in St. Petersburg, 'Baltic Seasons' in Kaliningrad (with his works Life and Contact), Chekhov International Theatre Festival, the theatre festival held by Gesher Theatre in Israel, the theatre festival in autumn season held in Madrid, the Sabanci International Theatre Festival in Turkey and the International Theatre Festival in Prague.
Born on January 14th, 1948 in Vilnius, Lithuania, Adomas Jacovskis has been the winner of the national and international stagecraft awards, as well as the National Lithuanian Arts and Culture Award.
In 1973 he graduated from the Theatre Art Department in the Vilnius Academy of Art. His first stage work was Strindberg's Miss Julie.
In 1978-1983 Jacovskis worked as an Art Director of The Lithuanian Youth Theatre, and has been a professor of stagecraft in the Lithuanian State Art Academy since 1989.
Adomas Jacovskis has created stage works for more than 80 dramas, operas and ballets for theatres both at home and abroad, including The Lithuanian National Drama Theatre, The Lithuanian Youth Theatre, The Vilnius Maly Drama Theatre, LIFE Festival, The Lithuanian Opera House, The Kaunas Drama Theatre, The Riga National Opera House, The Modern Theatre (Wroclaw, Poland), The Sovremennik Theatre, The Vakhangov Theatre, Rep Theatre (Scotland), The National Theatre (Reykjavik, Iceland), The Gothenburg Theatre (Sweden) and many others.
Jacovskis has been working with Rimas Tuminas since 1994 on such plays as Kanovicius' Smile to Us, O Lord, Lermontov's Masquerade, Schiller's Mary Stuart, Chekhov's Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Gogol's The Auditor, and Griboedov's The Woes of Wit. Adomas Jacovskis also works actively as a painter and has participated in many national and international exhibitions.
Art Director of The Tbilisi Central State Children Theatre, Obrezkov is also a member of the Theatre Workers Union of the Russian Federation, the Artists Union of the Russian Federation and the International Association of Art (AIAP, working in partnership with UNESCO).
Maxim Vladimirovich Obrezkov was born into a family of actors on November 16th in Tbilisi, Georgia.
In 1997 Maxim Obrezkov graduated from The Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi State Theatre, Music and Cinema Institute, where he took the course taught by Georgi Gunia and Nino Gunia.
In 1997-2001, he served as the Art Director of The Tbilisi Central State Children Theatre.
In 2003 Obrezkov finished his postgraduate studies at Stagecraft Department in The Russian Academy of Theatre Arts, where he studied under the guidance of S. M. Barkhin. He worked at The Vakhtangov Theatre since 2001 and became its Art Director in 2004.
Maxim Obrezkov has worked as a decorator in more than 60 plays both in Russia and other countries like Germany, Georgia and Estonia. Those plays include Jean Anouilh's Antigone, Evgeny Shvarts's The Snow Queen, Anton Chekhov's The Bear, Marriage, Fyodor Sologub's Woe, Maurice Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird, Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House and Laura Cherniauskaite Liuce Skates, Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman, Alexander Volodin's Five Evenings, Mikhail Bulgakov's Hot Dog and Morphine, Oscar Wilde's The Fisherman and His Soul, Choderlos de Laclos's The Dangerous Liaisons, Harold Pinter's Kitchen Lift, Igor Stravinsky's The Wedding, William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Henry Purcell's King Arthur, Alexander Ostrovsky's Forest, and many others.
Apart from plays, Maxim Obrezkov also participated in exhibitions including Shota Rustaveli's Music and Cinema Exhibition, Tbilisi Royal Theatre exhibition, Georgia's State Art Academy, Exhibition Hall TMS (Tbilisi), KLIN-2 exhibition (Moscow), Season's Results (Itogi Sezona, Moscow), King Lear of Our Time (Prague Quadriennale), Theatre Costumes (Moscow), Russia's Youth (Moscow), Theatre Artists (Toliatti), and Tallin's Russian Drama Theatre.
Born into a theatre family in 1972 in Saint Petersburg, she has been the winner of Golden Nail Award.
In 1995 she graduated from the Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy, majoring in stagecraft and arts, lighting design. In 1995-2004 Maya Shavdatuashvili worked as a Lighting Designer and an Assistant Art Director of Mariinsky Theatre and took part in staging of such plays as Ghostly Ball, Dmitry Bryantsev's Nine Tango and Bach, Oleg Vinogradov's Futile Precautions and many others. The experience that Maya Shavdatuashvili had gained during her work in Mariinsky Theatre allowed her to work and reconstruct classic Russian stage plays in such famous theatres as Royal Opera House (London), La Scala (Milan), Metropolitan Opera (New York), Real Theatre (Madrid), NHK (Tokyo), Kennedy Centre (Washington DC), Opera Chatle (Paris), theatres of Baden-Baden, Budapest, Shanghai and many others.
Since 2001 Shavdatuashvili has staged plays in numerous Russian theatres, namely The Vakhtangov Theatre, The Moscow Art Theatre, Modern theatre, Kremlin Ballet, New Opera, The Bryantsev Youth Theatre and Ballet on Ice (St. Petersburg), The Omsk Drama Theatre, and Novosibirsk Music Theatre 'The Globe'.
As a Chief Lighting Designer, Maya Shavdatuashvili used to work in such Moscow theatres as Modern and Et Cetera under the guidance of Alexander Kalyagin. Now Shavdatuashvili is a Chief Lighting Designer of The Evgeny Vakhtangov Theatre.
From 2009 she began to set stage at The Vakhtangov Theatre.
Faustas Latenas was born on May 16th, 1956 in Dusetos, Lithuania.
In 1980 Latenas graduated from the Composition Department at The Lithuanian State Conservatory, where he took Professor Eduard Balsis's course. In 1979-1989 he worked as a Music Director of The Lele Puppet Theatre (Vilnius) and in 1989-1991 was the Director of the theatre. This period was marked with such works as Thumbelina, Black Hen, Elenite The Orphan and Her Brother Ionukas, Maya The Bee, Cinderella, Little Red Hood, Three Jewels, The White Tale, Doctor Dolittle, Egle The Queen of Serpents.
In 1991-1995 Latenas worked as a Music Director of The Vilnius Little Theatre, and in 1995-1996 became the Artistic Director, and in 2005 was working both as a Music and Artistic Director as well.
In 1996-1997 Faustas Latenas worked at The National Lithuanian Drama Theatre and became its Managing Director from 1999 to 2000.
In 1996 Latenas served as the Deputy Minister of Cultural Affairs, and became the State Cultural Affairs Advisor in 1997-1999.
In 2005-2006 he resumed his position as the Deputy Minister of Cultural Affairs and in 2006 became the Advisor to the Prime Minister.
In 2012 Latenas served as the Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of Lithuania in the Russian Federation.
Faustas Latenas has created numerous compositions for orchestra, individual instruments, chamber music, as well as vocal and choral pieces. He has also written music for numerous music and television films and documentaries.
USSR People’s Artist, hero of Socialist Labor, Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was born on June 6th, 1903 in Tiflis.
When he was 18 years old, Aram Khachaturian had no lessons in music and no idea of the symphonic and operatic music. On arriving in Moscow, he entered Moscow University in the department of physics and mathematics.
Lacking a systematic musical training, Aram entered the Gnesin School of Music a year later and graduated with distinction from the Moscow Conservatory Symphony class. The first works of Khachaturian showed that he was an artist with a natural melodic gift and an outstanding sense of harmonic color. In 1937 he first performed 'Concerto for Violin and Orchestra', which brought Khachaturian international fame.
During the war, Khachaturian has worked the All-Union Radio, writing songs and marches of the country. At the same time, the first Armenian ballet Happiness, which was later called Gayane, made its debut. The music in the play was so outstanding that it later became the well-known Sabre Dance. A year later, Khachaturian got for this ballet one of the highest awards of the time in the field of culture - the first place of the Stalin Prize. After the war, Khachaturian created one of his greatest work, the Ballet Spartacus, which, after its premiere in 1956, was played on the best ballet scenes in the world.
Aram Khachaturian has worked in both film and theatre, as well as wrote music for theatrical productions and films.
His artistic creativity in drama theatre reached its peak when he was creating Masquerade. Written for the Theatre Performance Vakhtangov, this piece of music was used subsequently in many other theatres. The Waltz used in the play Masquerade is called Magic link, which the composer dedicated to the young singer as Nina Alia Kazan.
It was a rare artistic success. Today waltz is performed not only by the best orchestras of the world, but by pianists, violinist ensembles and brass bands.
Aram has wrritten music for more than 20 plays, through which we could easily recognize his unique tone of voice.
The music pieces he created for the movie has also become famous. The most famous film music are Admiral Ushakov, The Battle of Stalingrad as well as Othello.
Since 1950 Khachaturian taught at the Moscow Conservatory and the Gnessin Institute. His students included such prominent composers as A. Eshpai, Rybnikov, M. Tariverdiev and M. Minkowski.
He has won the title of “People' Artist of the Russian Federation” and has been the winner of State Prize of the Russian Federation. Graduating from B.V. Schukin Theater School in 1982, he was was admitted to the company of Evg. Vakhtangov Theater in the same year. And since 2003, he has been a rector of B.V. Schukin Theater Institute.
She is the winner MK award. Graduating from B.V. Schukin Theater School in 2008, Maria Volkova was admitted to the company of Evg. Vakhtangov Theater in the same year.
Graduating from B.V. Schukin Theater School in 2008, Olga Nemogay was admitted to the company of Evg. Vakhtangov Theater in the same year.
Graduating from B.V. Schukin Theater School in 2006, Leonid Bichevin was admitted to the company of Evg. Vakhtangov Theater in the same year.
As the honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Lidia Velezhova was born in Kiev on October 2. At the age of 13 she filmed in a motion picture Expectation produced by Dovzhenko Film Studio. Graduating from B.V. Schukin Theater School in 1988, she was admitted to the company of Evg. Vakhtangov Theater in the same year and has been teaching in B.V. Schukin Theater School since 2010.
As the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Alexander Pavlov graduated from B.V. Schukin Theater School in 1968 and in the same year was admitted to the company of Evg. Vakhtangov Theater.
Graduated from B.V. Schukin Theater School in 1980, Alexander Ryshchenkov was admitted to the company of Evg. Vakhtangov Theater in the same year.
As the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Vaskov graduated from B.V. Schukin Theater School in 1977 and in the same year was admitted to the company of Evg. Vakhtangov Theater.
Graduating from B.V. Schukin Theater School in 1979, Andrei Zaretskiy was admitted to the company of Evg. Vakhtangov Theater in the same year.
As the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Yury Shlykov graduated from B.V. Schukin Theater School in 1974.
In the period from 1976 to 1979 he was an actor of Taganka Theater of Drama and Comedy.
In 1981 he was admitted to the company of Evg. Vakhtangov Theater and has served as the professor of Department of Acting at B.V. Schukin Theater School.A large colonnaded building, loved by many generations of Muscovites, is located in the center of Arbat (Old) Street. This building is owned by the remarkable Vakhtangov Theatre. It has become not only the physical node but also the cultural hub of the central heritage district of Moscow. The numerous lanes that branch out from the main street commemorate the many trailblazers of this famous theatre. The names of these celebrities are inscribed in memorial plaques, embedded on stone monuments, making the atmosphere of this side of Old Moscow even more remarkable.
The creative life of the Vakhtangov Theatre is inseparable from ancient Russian culture, but at the same time it sets its gaze on the future. While the Theatre’s creativity remains committed to the legacy of its founder, the outstanding director and personality Evgeny Vakhtangov, it is this very legacy that reminds us of the necessity to be alive to the challenges of modern-day life.
The work of this Theatre is a combination of brilliant form and deep content. Here you can experience a variety of genres, from classic tragedy to mischievous vaudeville. In all these genres you will witness powerful Russian actors.
The Vakhtangov Theatre has conquered the hearts of millions of people in Russia, Paris, London, Vienna, Venice, Athens, Stockholm, Prague, Warsaw, Berlin, Budapest, Madrid, and many other foreign cities.
The Vakhtangov Theater is already 94 years old. The Theatre’s secret lies in the spirit of its young actors and stage-directors (both well-established and new-comers), its ambition to deal with complex moral issues, and its desire to awaken warm human feelings in the audience.
Box officeNorth Gate of NCPA, No. 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, China
Tickets collection hours9:30-19:30 (CST) on performance day
9:30-18:00 (CST) for days without performance
Booking line+86 10 6655 0000
Booking hours9:30-18:00 (CST) Monday to Friday
We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information, however the hours, prices, and program details may vary due to last minute changes.
WHAT'S ON
CALENDAR Full Calendar
GENREOperaConcertDance & BalletTheatreChinese Traditional Opera
Festivals & Series* NCPA May Festival 2024* NCPA Piano Virtuosos 2024* Charm of China—Maestros of Chinese Traditional Music
PRODUCTION
ProductionsRepertoireFilmsVideos
Resident CompaniesChina NCPA OrchestraChina NCPA Chorus
VISIT
Explore NCPA Buildings Exhibitions
Visit Info Opening Hours Guided Tours Services Getting Here
Dine&Shop Western Cuisine NCPA Café Arts Gifts
EXCHANGE & EDUCATION
NCPA & The World The Moment Arts Exchange Events World Music Series Co-operative Organizations
Education & Outreach Weekend Concert Classic Arts Lecture Enter the World of Record Taihu Weekly Concert Outreach
ABOUT US
THE NCPA Facilities Membership Philosophy Leadership Contact Us Operation
Tickets and Information:8610-6655 0000
No.2 West Chang'an Avenue,
Xicheng District,
Beijing, P. R. China
© Copyright 2024 China NCPA
Search
Dedicated to the staging of epic operas, ballets and dance dramas, the golden Opera House is considered the centerpiece of the NCPA. Its main tone is golden color, which looks glamorous and splendid. In the auditorium are the stalls and three higher levels of balconies, which can seat an audience of 2,207, including the venue of SRO. It is equipped with a modern stage that can be moved up/down/backward/forward or rotated, a ballet stage that can slant, and a rising orchestra pit for the triple winds orchestra. All the cutting-edge staging mechanism provides artists with enormous possibilities of creative performance.
Dedicated to the staging of epic operas, ballets and dance dramas, the golden Opera House is considered the centerpiece of the NCPA. Its main tone is golden color, which looks glamorous and splendid. In the auditorium are the stalls and three higher levels of balconies, which can seat an audience of 2,207, including the venue of SRO. It is equipped with a modern stage that can be moved up/down/backward/forward or rotated, a ballet stage that can slant, and a rising orchestra pit for the triple winds orchestra. All the cutting-edge staging mechanism provides artists with enormous possibilities of creative performance.