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«THE TALE OF BORIS AND GLEB, THEIR BROTHERS YAROSLAV THE WISE AND SVYATOPOLK THE ACCURSED, THE WICKED ROBBERS, AND THE GOOD PEOPLE OF RUSSIA»
The choral opera
“My dream is that this production would go beyond festival performances, that it would be playing somewhere all the time. I would invite all my friends, everyone who likes to come to my theatre; I would tell everyone: Come and listen to this wonderful opera.”
Actor Andrey Merzlikin
The choral opera The Tale of Boris and Gleb, Their Brothers Yaroslav the Wise and Svyatopolk the Accursed, the Wicked Robbers, and the Good People of Russia was composed by Alexander Tchaikovsky at the commission of Yuri Bashmet’s Winter International Arts Festival in Moscow in 2020. Its world premiere took place on 7 February 2020 in Moscow at the Raсhmaninov Concert Hall. Based on the 12th-century Russian records, the plot revolves around the murder of the younger sons of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich.
The events of the opera refer to the tragic period of history between the death of the baptizer of Russia, Grand Prince Vladimir the Red Sun, and the reign of his son Yaroslav the Wise. The opera is based on the Old Russian chronicles, The Lection of Boris and Gleb by Nestor the Chronicler (c. 1080) and The Tale of Boris and Gleb by Jacob the Blackrobe (c. 1115).
The choral opera The Tale of Boris and Gleb is based on five choirs and has no soloists. The production engages more than two hundred people, an orchestra, and a dance collective, and the central role of Yaroslav the Wise is assigned to a dramatic actor.
“I believe in God, who helps us and takes us where we need to be. From the first rehearsal, there was a sense of joy. When I heard the music and the beautiful choral singing, I was enraptured. I stood inside it, as if I were in 3D, in 5D sound formats. There are moments when I stop and forget that I have to say the text,”, says Andrei Merzlikin.
The opera storyline develops on the intersection of two main themes: the search and punishment of those responsible for the murder of Boris and Gleb and the clash between the people and the authorities. The conflict of active will and sacrifice raises the question of the price of fulfilment of a good cause and depicts the protagonist’s hardships on his way to glory as a wise ruler and gatherer of Russian lands.
