Break 15:00–16:00
Break 15:00–16:00
The Russian-Egyptian Year of Humanitarian Cooperation: the tour of the St. Petersburg Opera becomes a significant cultural event in Cairo
People's Artist of Russia, Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg Opera Yuri Alexandrov, Director of the St. Petersburg Opera Evgenii Malygin, and Director of the Russkiy Dom in Cairo, Alexey Tevanyan, spoke about the tour program and the Year of Humanitarian Cooperation.
The musical drama Rigoletto, directed by Yuri Alexandrov, aroused genuine interest among journalists and local audiences. The performances will take place on June 10 and 11 at the main hall of the Cairo Opera House.
“The Russian-Egyptian Year of Humanitarian Cooperation is receiving increased attention from the governments of our countries. Even before the official opening, on June 17 in Egypt, there will be numerous concerts and other cultural events, among which will be St. Petersburg Opera performances.” - Alexey Tevanyan, Director of the Russkiy Dom in Cairo.
“The tour of our company is supported by the Government of St. Petersburg. We thank the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Arab Republic of Egypt and personally Russian Ambassador to Egypt Georgiy Borisenko, Director of the Russkiy Dom in Cairo Alexey Tevanyan, Acting Cultural Attache of the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Moscow Dr. Mohamed Elsergani, as well as the Cairo Opera House and personally the Chairman of the Board of the National Cultural Center (Cairo Opera House) Dr. Magdy Saber.” - Evgenii Malygin, Director of the St. Petersburg Opera Evgenii Malygin.
Rigoletto is one of the most famous works of Verdi. The production boldly shatters the opera clichés that have developed in the process of staging Rigoletto. According to Yuri Alexandrov, the court jester is not a hunchback at all, but a sarcastic, intelligent, and wicked, but not at all an old man. The hump and the mask are merely the buffoonish guises he wears at the Duke's court. However, one cannot remove moral ugliness like a mask. An extraordinary man, forced to endure constant humiliation, he entertains intrigue, willingly taking part in the amusement of the Duke and his entourage.
“The troupe of the St. Petersburg Opera arrived in Cairo with a large opera production. This production wasn't exactly designed for international tour activities; it's notably difficult, mostly because the vocals and direction in “Rigoletto” are very complicated. Nevertheless, we decided to show this great opera in Cairo. We have shown our large-scale performance of Verdi's masterpiece in many countries and always with constant success thanks to the professionalism of our soloists who perform the most difficult music with virtuosity. We sincerely hope that the audience will enjoy our performance and that it will be the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship.” - Yuri Alexandrov, National Russian Artist, Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg Opera.
