Opera The Cherry Orchard (opera in concert) World famous Bolshoi Ballet and Opera theatre (established 1776) - Small Stage
Schedule for The Cherry Orchard (opera in concert) 2022
Composer: Philippe Fenelon Libretto: Alexey Parin
Orchestra: Bolshoi Theatre Symphony Orchestra
Philippe Fenelon The Cherry
Orchard Opera in two acts with prologue and epilogue world
premiere (concert performance)
Libretto by Alexey Parin based
on Anton Chekhov's play of the same name Conductor - Tito
Ceccherini
Libretto and music text copyright belongs to Zabak
Productions. Paris The right to public performance of the music has been
granted by Paris National Opera
Bolshoi Theatre of Russia and
Paris National Opera co-project presented as part of the Russia-France 2010 Year
programme
The Cherry Orchard Chekhov in the
French Style
Philippe Fenelon studied music in Olivier Messiaen's
class at the Paris Conservatoire. He admits that the desire to devote himself to
music was strengthened in him when in 1970, at the age of 17, he made his first
visit to the Bayreuth Festival. The deciding moment, however, was not a Wagner
opera but… Stravinsky’s Svadebka, presented under the auspices of the
Festival youth programme, and conducted by Pierre Boulez. "Right at the
end", the composer remembers, "to the striking of bells and the notes
of four pianos Boulez, in a simple movement of his hand, attracted the
public's attention to this sound, drawn out to infinity, to total
imperceptibility, plunging one into ecstasy. I was staggered. This was the
moment I realized I would be a composer…".
Philippe
Fenelon is the winner of many international awards, his music is played at the
Salzburg Mozarteum and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, at the Paris
Festival d’Automne and the Festival of Neur Musik, in Berlin, at
concert-halls in Amsterdam, Tokyo, Madrid, Budapest, Warsaw and Lisbon… In the
variety of genres in which the composer’s interests lie (he
has written music for the stage, symphonies, concertos, chamber-instrumental and
vocal music), a special place is occupied by opera (Le Chevalier
imaginaire, 1984-86; Les Rois, 1988-89; Salammbo, 1992-9; Faust,
2003-04; Judith, 2006-07). And given such an unusually wide-ranging
choice of subject-matter - from biblical themes to Cortazar and Kafka - that he
should turn to Chekhov is not surprising.
In
Alexei Parin's libretto - for all the outer change of emphasis the Chekhov
motifs are carefully preserved: nostalgia for what is irretrievable, long gone,
life in memories, the wish to “arrest the moment”, in order to remain forever in
the sweet torment of bidding farewell to the past. The opera is carefully
divided up into acts and scenes, but the entire plot unfolds at a ball -
the last ball at the Ranevskys' home. "The cherry orchard is sold! I have
bought it!" Lopakhin exclaims at curtain-up. And later on in monologues of
farewell, each in their own way, the characters unburden themselves to the
house, before leaving it for good.
The
composition of the opera is akin to Tchaikovsky's "lyrical scenes". The
characters in Eugene Onegin reveal their feelings against a background of
peasant choruses, urban romances, provincial dances and capital city polonaises,
here a series of soliloquy scenes alternate with choral interludes: sixteen
female voices (girls picking cherries - sic!) sing folk songs, choirs -
verses by Polonsky, Bunin and Blok; while, throughout the whole of the action,
twelve musicians on stage play - the mazurka, polka,
foxtrot, cancan...
It is as if this opera by a
French composer, born of a Russian source, was created in order to emphasize how
profound and at times indivisible are the links between the two cultures. Here
we hear the echo of the "drawn out to infinity" Stravinsky
Svadebka chord (Stravinsky's fame was to begin in Paris soon after
Chekhov's death). Numerous Tchaikovsky allusions in lyrical culminations and,
particularly, in the Grisha cradle song, bring to mind what a strong influence
the French school exerted on Pyotr Ilych himself. And
the Charlotta Ivanovna German accent - is a reflection of Monsieur Triquet's
"reverances" to the "belle Tatiana". The figure of Lyuba's drowned son -
Grishenka - goes back in its innocent vulnerability to Yniold in Pelleas et
Melisande but, after all, Debussy never made a secret of the fact that he
‘inherited’ his child characters from Mussorgsky!
Thepeculiarity, even
eccentricity, of several timbre treatmentsis linked to the musical-significance
of the semantics of the personages, each of which is invested with a genre and
also stylistic character. Firs sings mezzo-soprano since, according to the
composer, he is one of the main personages in the opera: "the patron-angel
of the house - a man without age, whose voice belongs neither to woman nor
man". While the role of Charlotta is given… to a buffoon bass (!) -
"in order to insist on this personage's comic side, verging on the pathetic
and grotesque…".
The fates of all these
people, living in the past or possessed by unclear aspirations for the future,
cross in the house with the cherry orchard. And even deceiving themselves, they
are unable to part from it, venture beyond the labyrinth of their emotions - and
they remain there, playing at hide and seek in the Epilogue, where Grisha
appears again - a hide and seek "drawn out to infinity". "Have they
forgotten me? Together we will while away eternity", these words by
Firs bring the opera to an end. The 'local color' of musical and thematic
allusions pales at the end before the eternal theme of the great Russian
Nostalgia
Synopsis
Act I
Act I opens in the early
morning hours of a day in May in the nursery of Madame Ranevskaya's ancestral estate
somewhere in the provinces of Russia just after the turn of the 20th Century.
Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya returns to her country house with her 17-year old
daughter Anya and her German governess Charlotta Ivanovna, as well as her
valet, Yasha, from Paris where they have been living for the past five years.
The trio is met by Varya, Mme. Ranevskaya's adopted daughter who has overseen
the estate in her absence; Yermolai Alexeevich Lopakhin, a local merchant and
family friend; Leonid Andreevich Gayev, Mme. Ranevskaya's brother; as well as
members of the household staff including Dunyasha, the chambermaid who behaves
like a refined lady; Semyon Yepikhodov a clumsy clerk in the Ranevskaya
household who has proposed to Dunyasha; and the aged footman, Firs, who was once
a serf to the Ranevskaya family and who, after the emancipation of the serfs in 1861, remained in their service for
lack of a better opportunity for work. Dunyasha becomes smitten with the
cultured Yasha, who steals a kiss from her while the two are alone.
Mme. Ranevskaya is
reminded that the estate will be auctioned in August to pay the estate's
mortgage. Lopakhin offers a plan to save the estate if only she will allow part
of it to be developed into summer cottages. However, this will incur the
destruction of the famous cherry orchard which Mme. Ranevskaya states is
nationally known. It is clear that the orchard has become to her a symbol of her
youth and childhood. Other solutions to the debt are also proposed but nothing
is resolved and the conversation is diverted to other topics. While Ranevskaya
enjoys the view of the orchard as day breaks, she is surprised by Petya
Trofimov, a young student who acted as tutor to Ranevskaya's son, Grisha. We
learn that Grisha drowned five years prior to the beginning of the play, and
that this was a contributing factor to Ranevskaya's fleeing Russia and her home.
Ranevskaya is grief-stricken at the reminder of this tragedy, despite Trofimov's
insistence on seeing her upon her return (much to the consternation of
Varya.)
After Ranevskaya retires
for the evening, Anya confesses to Varya that their mother is heavily in debt
and their uncle Gayev suggests sending Anya to Yaroslavl where their great aunt
lives in the hopes that she will lend them the money to save the estate. Gayev
also reminds Varya that Lophakhin is a wealthy man and has always been enamoured
of her, and that a marriage with him would ensure the family's survival. They
all go to bed with a renewed hope that the estate will be saved and the cherry
orchard preserved. Trofimov stares after the departing Anya and mutters "My
sunshine, my spring" in adoration.
Act II
Act II opens on a road
bordering the cherry orchard in mid-summer. The estate is still in jeopardy but
the family seems more concerned with courtships. Yasha and Yepikhodov are each
attempting to attract the attentions of Dunyasha. The young Anya has fallen in
love with Trofimov, infuriating Varya, who herself has become the subject of
rumours that she will be engaged to Lopakhin. Lopakhin tries to steer the
conversation towards the business of the estate but Mme. Ranevskaya reveals the
sad truth about her finances and her relationship with a man in Paris who
cruelly took advantage of her money and feelings. The old footman Firs speaks of
the past on the estate before the emancipation of the serfs. The sound of
a Jewish band is heard in the distance and Ranevskaya decides to hold a party
and invite them to play. When Trofimov appears, Lopakhin teases the boy for his
being a perpetual student and Trofimov espouses his philosophy of work and
useful purpose to the delight and humour of everyone around. During their
conversations, a dishevelled vagrant passes by and begs for money; Ranevskaya
thoughtlessly gives him all of her money, despite the protestations of Varya.
Shaken by the disturbance, the family departs for dinner, with Lopakhin futilely
insisting that the cherry orchard be sold to pay down the debt. Anya stays
behind to talk with Trofimov, who disapproves of Varya's constant hawk-like
eyes, reassuring Anya that they are "above love". To impress Trofimov and win
his affection, Anya vows to leave the past behind her and start a new life. The
two depart for the river as Varya calls scoldingly in the background.
Act III
Several months have
passed, and the evening of Ranevskaya's party has come. Offstage the musicians
play as the family and their guests drink, carouse, and entertain themselves. It
is also the day of the auction for the estate and the cherry orchard; Gayev has
received a paltry amount of money from his and Ranevskaya's stingy aunt in
Yaroslavl, and the family members, despite the general merriment about them, are
both anxious and distracted while they wait for word of their fates. Varya
worries about paying the musicians and scolds their neighbour Pischik for
drinking, Dunyasha for dancing and Yepikhodov for playing billiards. Charlotta
entertains the group by performing several magic tricks. Ranevskaya scolds
Trofimov for his constant teasing of Varya, whom he refers to as "Madame
Lopakhin". She then urges Varya to marry Lopakhin, but Varya demurs, reminding
her that it is Lopakhin's duty to ask for her hand in marriage, not the other
way around. She says that if she had money she would move as far away from him
as possible. Left alone with Ranevskaya, Trofimov insists that she finally face
the truth that the house and the cherry orchard will be sold at auction.
Ranevskaya shows him a telegram she has received from Paris and reveals that her
former lover is ill again and has begged for her to return to his aid. She also
reveals that she is seriously considering joining him, despite his cruel
behaviour to her in the past. Trofimov is stunned at this news and the two argue
about the nature of love and their respective experiences. Trofimov leaves in a
huff but offstage falls down the stairs and is carried in by the others.
Ranevskaya laughs and forgives him for his folly and the two quickly reconcile.
Anya enters declaring a rumour that the cherry orchard has been sold. Lopakhin
arrives with Gayev, both of whom are exhausted from the trip and the day's
events. Gayev is distant, virtually catatonic and goes to bed without saying a
word of the outcome of the auction. When Ranevskaya asks who bought the estate,
Lopakhin reveals that he himself is the purchaser and intends to attack the
orchard with his axe. Varya, enraged, hurls the keys to the estate on the floor,
and Lopakhin, half-drunk and smug, tells how he outbid everyone and gleefully
(and angrily) celebrates his victory. Ranevskaya, distraught, clings to Anya,
who tries to calm her and reassure her that the future will be better now that
the cherry orchard has been sold.
Act IV
It is several weeks
later, once again in the nursery (as in Act I), only this time the room is being
packed and taken apart as the family prepares to leave the estate forever.
Lopakhin arrives with champagne as a going-away present but Ranevskaya snubs him
- despite his best intentions for the family he loves, she views him as a
destroyer of her youth and happiness. Trofimov enters in search of his galoshes,
and he and Lopakhin exchange opposing world views. Anya enters and reprimands
Lopakhin for ordering his workers to begin chopping down the cherry orchard
while the family is still in the house. Lopakhin apologizes and rushes out to
stop them for the time being in the hopes that he will be somehow reconciled
with them. Anya also inquires about Firs' health and Yasha informs her that he
has been taken to a hospital that morning. Dunyasha enters and begs Yasha for
some sort of affectionate parting; Yasha for his part wants nothing to do with
her or life in Russia, as he hungers to return to Paris and to live in style.
Charlotta enters, lost and in a daze, and insists that the family find her a new
position. Gayev and Ranevskaya return to say goodbye to the room where they grew
up and spent their childhood. Gayev gaily announces that he has a job at the
local bank, and Ranevskaya reveals that she is indeed returning to Paris to be
with her former lover. She also scolds Lopakhin for not yet asking Varya to
marry him. Lopakhin concedes to do so, and the rest withdraw to give the two
some privacy. When Varya enters (knowing that he will propose to her), Lopakhin
and she converse about the weather and various mundane subjects, both trying to
find a way to reveal their feelings. One of the workers calls for Lopakhin and
he exits hastily without asking Varya to marry him. Varya is devastated and
Ranevskaya comforts her when she returns. The family and their servants all
gather to say their respective goodbyes to the estate and the cherry orchard,
one by one departing for their new lives. Ranevskaya tearfully bids her old life
goodbye and leaves as the house is shut up forever. In the darkness Firs wanders
into the room and discovers that they have left without him and boarded him
inside the abandoned house to die. He lies down on the couch and resigns himself
to his fate (apparently dying on the spot), as offstage we hear the axes as they
cut down the cherry orchard.
Schedule for The Cherry Orchard (opera in concert) 2022
|