Anna Smirnova

In 1917, the people of the Russian Empire are no longer willing to fight Germany, but the bourgeois government of Alexander Kerensky is unwilling to defy its imperialist allies and stop the war. Only Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik Party is resolute in calling for peace. In the front, the soldiers of one battalion elect three delegates to travel to St. Petersburg with donations the troops collected for the Pravda newspaper: Gudushauri, Panasiuk and Ershov. The three arrive in the capital and describe the horrendous conditions in which the soldiers live to Joseph Stalin, Lenin's trusted aid and colleague. They join the Bolsheviks and take part in the storming of the Winter Palace, led by Stalin and Lenin. Stalin announces that the great dawn of revolution has broken.

Le réalisateur Nicholas Hytner, qui a fait ses débuts au Met avec cette production, fait ressortir toute l'intensité passionnée qui est au cœur du drame monumental de Verdi. Don Carlo (Roberto Alagna), le prince héritier espagnol, et Elizabeth de Valois (Marina Poplavskaya), fille du roi de France, tombent amoureux, pour être déchirés par la politique internationale lorsque le père de Carlo, le roi Philippe II (Ferruccio Furlanetto ), décide d'épouser Elizabeth lui-même. L'ami de Carlo, Rodrigo (Simon Keenlyside), joue un jeu dangereux, équilibrant ses objectifs politiques avec la confiance de son monarque. Et lorsque la belle princesse Eboli (Anna Smirnova) découvre que son amour pour Don Carlo n'est pas rendu, sa vengeance se retourne terriblement contre lui. Yannick Nézet-Séguin dirige l'orchestre et le chœur du Met.

The first day of the war brings tragedy to a peasant woman, Pasha. Her husband and her toddler son die before her eyes. She and the other villagers leave to go into the woods. Pasha leads the villagers to fight some German troops. Coming out victories, the partisans become a feared opponent of the Germans, with the leadership of Comrade P.

The production itself is quite beautiful: recorded in the Basilica di San Marco in Venice in November 2007, it highlights the cathedral's splendor, the reverent audience, the soloists, orchestra and chorus with near-perfect cinematography. The soundtrack is also acceptable, which may have been quite a task to achieve, given the Basilica's over-reverberant acoustics. Alas, the performance itself does not rise to the occasion. Despite the occasional minor insecurity in ensemble and a visible lack of joy, the Symphonica Toscanini musicians play well, the Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino members sing equally well, and the soloists are more than adequate, almost tangibly trying to excel.

British director Phelim McDermott offers the audience a new take on the culture of the people of Ancient Egypt in Aida, one that allows us also to question the world in which we live. This new perspective entails a number of bold creative choices that do not make use of the traditional staging imagery associated with Aida. Aida’s command to Radames — “Ritorna vincitor!” — comes at a price. The triumphal march of the victorious Egyptians is a procession for the coffins of the heroes fallen in battle, the chorus are their grieving kinsfolk. McDermott’s staging resonates keenly with the images of so many civilian and military funerals that crowd our newsfeeds. Here is a triumphal march that does not seek to hide the true, lethal and disastrous nature of war, whatever side you are on.

This short film tells the story of a childhood, of a friendship and of growing up. A young man returns to the village where he grew up and discovers that both he and the place have changed. Yet, he soon finds himself immersed in his memories.

A staging of Verdi's opera "Nabucco" by Andreas Homoki. Recorded at Opernhaus Zürich.