War and Peace (2010-2011 film)

War and Peace (Russian: Война и мир) is a contemporary opera by composer Alexei Rybnikov. The opera was written in 2010-2011. Under the name "Living Pictures" fragments are performed at the Rybnikov Theater.

Upon creation, it received the working title “Living Pictures from the Times of Alexander I and Napoleon Bonaparte based on the novel by Count Leo Tolstoy“ War and Peace ”and historical chronicles.”

Polt
The composer did not initially intend to call his work “opera”: “I did not want to call it opera. Firstly, there is already a masterpiece of Sergei Prokofiev - the classic opera War and Peace. But I did not want to write opera also because Leo Tolstoy really did not like opera. And in the novel War and Peace, he scoffed at her very caustically and sharply. And I wanted to make the classics like it.” “In terms of the genre, this does not intersect with Prokofiev, because here everything will happen a little differently than in the classical opera.”

The author described the music he wrote as follows: “This is a musical drama, to be sure. The 21st century is distinguished by the fact that now there are the most unthinkable mixes of all styles, all forms. This is a dramatic performance, and a modern opera, where people sing in microphones, and a classic opera, where people will sing without microphones. There is a large symphony orchestra and a rock band - when the action goes into a certain conventional layer and breaks away from that historical time. So there is a whole range of theatricalization. And conversational dialogues, and singing, and recitative. Music sounds constantly, not stopping for a second. ”

According to Rybnikov, the idea of ​​creating “War and Peace” arose in the early 2000s: “I thought that“ War and Peace ”is really such literature on the basis of which one can write operas, ballets, musicals, rock operas, anything. This is our Russian heritage, which can be embodied in a wide variety of art forms. Nevertheless, I did not start this work for a very long time. Although he gradually thought about this subject, and I began to accumulate musical material. When he reached a critical mass, I threw everything away, went to Venice on the island of San Clemente, picked up Tolstoy’s novel and did nothing else, as soon as I read, read, read ... I was captivated by the modernity of this work. I realized that it is about young people who are over twenty years old. It dawned on me that Pierre Bezukhov is a frivolous young man who commits insanity. That Andrei Bolkonsky is a relatively wise person who is 27 years old at the beginning of the novel. And I found the key to War and Peace. I chose those episodes that do not intersect with Prokofiev’s opera. "I start with Madame Scherer’s salon and end with the last scene when Pierre comes to Natasha."

The first numbers of the opera “Andrei Bolkonsky’s Aria”, “Na-ta-sha”, “Napoleon’s Aria”, “Natasha Rostova’s Ball”, “Austerlitz” were presented to the public in the performance of Aleksey Rybnikov’s Theater “Hallelujah of Love” on the stage of the Moscow House of Music in autumn 2012 of the year.

In the stage version, it is planned to use large-scale video installations, the scenery of a giant carousel and colorful costumes. At the same time, the latest achievements of scenography, ultramodern lighting devices and lasers will be used in it.

It was originally planned to be staged in the anniversary year of 2012, but these plans could not be implemented.

Performed in a symphonic version.

The libretto of the opera was written by the composer himself and is based not only on the novel by Leo Tolstoy, but also on various historical sources - the text of the speech of the Russian emperor Alexander I and Napoleon's diaries. “In the end, I introduced a new scene that Tolstoy does not have. This is the Russian entry into Paris, where Alexander gives a speech in the square. The triumph, the victory of Russia is the final point in the development of relations between Napoleon and Alexander. ”

Of all the many storylines of the novel, Rybnikov focuses only on the fate of several main characters, for example, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky.

Alexei Rybnikov made the libretto as convenient as possible for the stage production. The opera consists of 3 acts and 12 scenes.

Cast

 * Prince Andrei Bolkonsky
 * Natasha Rostova
 * Pierre Bezukhov
 * Anatole Kuragin
 * Sonia
 * Napoleon
 * Alexander I
 * Helen Kuragin
 * Maria
 * Pelageyushka
 * Mother Natasha Rostova
 * Priest
 * Deacon
 * Doctor
 * Lisa Bolkonskaya
 * Dolokhov
 * Italian singer
 * Rastopchin
 * Vereshchagin
 * Crazy, mummers, officers, soldiers, courtyards, servants