Performance blue monster. Tickets for the blue monster

Circus (3h) 12+

C. Gozzi
Director: Konstantin Raikin
Zelu: Anton Egorov, Sergey Sotnikov
Dardane: Evgenia Abramova, Alena Razzhivina, Maryana Spivak
Taer: Alexey Bardukov, Yakov Lomkin
Fanfur: Alexey Yakubov
Gulindi: Julia Melnikova
Smeraldina: Elena Bereznova, Marina Drovosekova, Polina Raikina
Pantalone: Anton Kuznetsov, Artem Osipov
Tartaglia: Igor Gudeev, Sergey Klimov
Truffaldino: Georgy Lezhava
Brighella: Alexander Gunkin, Ivan Ignatenko
Guard: Alexey Koryakov S 29.07.2015 There are no dates for this show.
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Review of "Afisha":

Carlo Gozzi's fairy tale "The Blue Miracle Vishche" is a rare guest, especially on the Russian stage. But Konstantin Raikin loves Western dramaturgy both of past centuries and of the present. Today, the great Italian playwright gave the director the opportunity to seem to merge what was once with what is now, and, apparently, with mischief to hint that at the moment Shakespeare's saying that the whole world is a theater , and the people in it are actors, if not outdated, then lost their relevance. The whole world is a circus, and the people in it are acrobats, jugglers, illusionists, tamers, entertainers. Everyone turns out talk show participant, the topics of which are inexhaustible, like life itself.

With the light and talented hand of Alla Kozhenkova, the Satyricon stage really turned into a circus arena. How else? After all, the program states that the "Blue Monster" is a circus in 2 parts. Yes, and all the circus props from trapeze to "magic boxes" are available. Artists fly under the grates, show tricks, dance and sing, and four clowns, they are Pantalone (Artem Osipov), Truffaldino (George Lezhava), Tartaglia (Igor Gudeev) and Brighella (Ivan Ignatenko), will make the audience laugh with all their might and periodically explain them, what is still happening in circus Venice. What passions rage in this phantasmagoric world?

The following happens. The blue monster Zelu (Anton Egorov) dreams of being freed from magical captivity. To do this, he needs a young man and a girl who are in love with each other. They are, of course, there. This is Taer (Aleksey Bardukov) and his young wife Dardane (Alena Razzhivina). Under the influence of the necessary witchcraft, Taer was turned into the Blue Monster. And now, if Dardane does not fall in love with him in this guise, then inevitable death awaits him, especially since he should not tell anyone his real name. The real Zelu disappears forever, and Dardane and Taer must by all means "see" each other in this crazy carnival, characters who change their masks with virtuoso speed.

The fairy-tale plot of Gozzi was not an end in itself for the Satyricon. This end in itself was revealed in a completely different way - to clearly, catchy and temperamentally demonstrate the physical capabilities of young theater artists who, having passed through the crucible of the Blue Monster, are able to embody on the stage of the Satyricon the most time-consuming plastic tasks that the director, who is exacting in this part, will put before them. .

Directed by K. Raikin. Artist A. Kozhenkova. Director-consultant of circus performances E. Morozova. Director of the stage fight V. Rybakov.

The play "The Blue Monster", to which the theater "Satyricon" invites its audience, is a tragicomic tale based on the play by Carl Gozzi. A captivating, vibrant production that will surely resonate in the hearts of the audience. different ages. Booking tickets for the "Blue Monster" is a great opportunity to provide a pleasant holiday in a cheerful atmosphere of theatrical action for the whole family. The light unobtrusive plot, which formed the basis of the production of "The Blue Monster", "Satyricon" turned into a real extravaganza filled with humor, tricks, music and drama.

Spectators who have decided to buy tickets for the "Blue Monster" follow with bated breath the dynamic action in which the main characters are the characters of the Italian comedy of masks. "The Blue Monster" is a twisted story that mixes love and betrayal, witchcraft and heroic deeds in one bubbling cocktail.

Tale of our days

Gozzi came up with his own play to save a dying man Italian theater masks. According to the conceived plot, for the sins committed, the son of the Chinese emperor was turned into a monster, which, like his faithful servants, was deprived of memory by a magic potion. And only the selfless and true love of his wife Dardane will be able to remove the curse. Spectators who decide to order tickets for the "Blue Monster" performed by the actors of "Satyricon" will see a modern interpretation of this plot, where the witch's potion is television, which has captured the entire information space of a person, making it impossible to perceive true beauty and feelings. In opposition to these evil charms, all kinds of art are collected on the stage of the Satyricon: pantomime, circus, theater, training, stage. Dynamic action to the magnificent music of Strauss, Shestokovich, Zelver makes the audience laugh and cry, wonder and think.

The pompous finale, in which Mrs. Love triumphs under pyrotechnic effects, turns into a grand celebration that united both participants and spectators.

	Blue Monster Gozzi in the play "Satyricon" became like a man from TV Photo by Elena Kasatkina / Kommersant
	Roman Dolzhansky. . "The Blue Monster" directed by Konstantin Raikin ( Kommersant, 15.9.2008). Marina Davydova. . "Blue monster" in "Satyricon" ( Izvestia, 15.9.2008). Dina Goder. . Konstantin Raikin staged Gozzi's fairy tale "The Blue Monster" ( News time, 16.9.2008). Gleb Sitkovsky. . Theater "Satyricon" released "The Blue Monster" ( Newspaper, 15.9.2008). Alena Karas. . In the "Satyricon" they played a fairy tale by Carlo Gozzi ( RG, 15.9.2008). Olga Egoshina. . Konstantin Raikin arranged a circus on stage ( Novye Izvestiya, 15.9.2008). Olga Galakhova. . In "Satyricon" Konstantin Raikin staged Carlo Gozzi's fiaba "The Blue Monster" ( NG, 15.9.2008). Maria Sedykh. "Satyricon" opened the season with the premiere of "The Blue Monster" by Carlo Gozzi ( Results, 22.9.2008).

Blue monster. Theater Satyricon. Press about the play

Kommersant, September 15, 2008

"Satyricon" entered the arena

"The Blue Monster" directed by Konstantin Raikin

Moscow theater "Satyricon" new season the premiere of the widely publicized blockbuster based on the fairy tale by Carlo Gozzi "The Blue Monster" staged by the artistic director of the theater Konstantin Raikin. ROMAN DOLZHANSKY paid tribute to the enormous work done to turn the theater into a circus.

The great thing is theatrical geometry. One thing is the usual angles - the rectangles of the mirror of the stage, the playground and the backstage. And quite another - a circle. It is not surprising that in search of "new techniques, strange combinations" directors change the geometry. It seems that she alone is already able to change the nature of the audience's emotions. The troupes of the so-called new circus in the last couple of decades have made it a habit to act out their performances in the usual Italian box stages. God himself ordered the theaters to move to the circus or (necessity for inventions is cunning) to arrange an arena on the stage. Goal, however, is not about the "Satyricon" (the amounts spent on the production are already legendary). But the arena is about him. The viewer on the "Blue Monster" is met by a circus circle that has "bitten off" the central places from the first rows of seats and ladders hung above it, hoops, lounges and other attributes of wonderful art.

What made Konstantin Raikin now change the geometry is easy to assume. Firstly, the irreplaceable need to surprise, captivate, seduce the public and lure them to Maryina Roshcha: there are no fewer seats in the Satyricon theater hall, and meanwhile, there are more and more halls in Moscow with each new season. Secondly, the nature of his own acting talent, which implies a love for joyful, democratic, one might even say, areal, hypocrisy methods. Thirdly, and probably most importantly, the chosen dramatic material itself.

The genre of "The Blue Monster" by Carlo Gozzi is scientifically called fiaba, but simply a fairy tale. As expected, there is a hint in this captivating Italian lie, and a lesson for good fellows. But you still can't read a strange fantasy about the unknown Chinese Nanjing and about the Blue Beast, which bewitches two lovers - the son of the local emperor and the Georgian princess. The girl is forced to change into a men's suit, enter the service of the palace, show miracles not only of cunning, but also of physical endurance, defeat the treachery of the emperor's wife, and so on. But the main thing is that she must fall in love with the freak that her fiancé has turned into, guess in the scarecrow kind heart and thereby break the spell. (In short, this is the Italian "Scarlet Flower".) Of course, special packaging is needed for such a plot, and the circus as such is fully justified.

Beautiful and terrible enter into the "Blue Monster" in a mortal battle, however, with a happy ending. The performance itself also contains theatrical symbols of the fundamental categories of aesthetics. Everything beautiful is embodied in the dream of Venice, the hometown of the author of the fiaba. The image of the great city was compiled by the artist Alla Kozhenkova in a bright but simple souvenir set: a view of a large Venetian canal on a picturesque backdrop, gondolas darting back and forth across the stage like water, real water pouring into the arena in the second act, and a schematic model of the Rialto Bridge, into which two stairs descending to the circus arena turn. From time to time, the characters sigh "Oh, Venice!" - and the action seems to stop for a minute, a melancholic melody caressing the ear sounds, and some kind of transformation takes place. In general, this is the Venice of those who have never been there.

As for the terrible, modern television has been chosen for this role. The appearance of the monster itself among the cute and slightly naive characters of the good old circus is accompanied by the sounds of television broadcasts and a poisonous blue glow, as if from a television screen. And the habits of an unkind wizard in a blue rubber mask on his head resemble the exaggerated manner of TV presenters - nothing human, endless melody, false cheerfulness and absolute confidence in his, at least short-term, power. The seven-headed hydra that devours Nanjing virgins is made up of metal tentacle cranes, on which cameras usually "fly" in television studios.

The foregoing does not mean that "The Blue Monster" has been turned into some kind of satirical pamphlet. The simple-minded genre of circus review is stronger than socially critical arrows. Every little thing can become for the characters, including the traditional masks of commedia dell'arte, the reason for a separate game. At any moment, an interstitial number may be appropriate - like a parody of synchronized swimming. There are also purely circus numbers, performed by dramatic artists and therefore forcing you to take off your hat. And in the finale, a real fire breaks out and confetti fly - only a complete misanthrope will not startle and gasp with admiration. Mostly the young actors of "Satyricon" are employed in the play, and after the premiere it is not yet necessary to single out one of them confidently. There is no doubt that everyone is trying very hard. Defeating the blue television monster in the struggle for the attention of the viewer is a responsible and very difficult task.

Izvestia, September 15, 2008

Marina Davydova

The circus that ended with Shostakovich

In the new grandiose premiere of "Satyricon" "The Blue Monster" Konstantin Raikin proved that a modern performance can be an expensive and spectacular spectacle, without ceasing to be a real art.

Once, in the course of an interview, an outstanding artist and successful theater builder began to tell me how he fears failure and how he loves success - immediate and unconditional success, not with a handful of intellectuals on the sidelines, but in front of a thousandth hall at a performance. He talked about it, discarding all hypocrisy, and with such a degree of frankness that the conversation seemed almost confessional. “It is impossible to recoup failure with any theatrical research,” Raikin fumed. “This is a misfortune. Understanding that you are wasting your life senselessly. And success is deep. people without violence. It seems that the artistic director of the "Satyricon" spent his entire professional life on deriving the cherished formula of non-violent and comprehensive power over the viewer. He searched for her as one searches for the philosopher's stone. It seems intuitively - after many trials and inevitable mistakes - he brought it out at last.

In The Blue Monster by Carlo Gozzi you will find everything that can and should be found in a high quality show. An archetypal story about beauty and the beast and a twisted plot. The bright costumes of Alla Kozhenkova and the endless disguises-reincarnations, without which Gozzi, it seems, not one of his fairy-tale plays (fiaba) can do. High-tech special effects, of which the most memorable is the multi-headed hydra, rushing at the fearless hero - or rather, the heroine - countless cameras attached to the neck-pants. Several real circus numbers performed by real dramatic artists (recent graduates of the Moscow Art Theater School show here the highest professionalism). Fantastic interweaving of circus aesthetics and the Venetian carnival: Raikin turned tartaglia and brigella into carpets, and the round arena spread out in the middle of the stage suddenly fills with water, unambiguously referring us to the smooth surface of the Venetian canals - gondolas float in the background, and the Rialto Bridge suddenly appears before the eyes of the astonished public . Here, finally, there is a lot of music, moreover, hit music - both groovy, and taking for the soul. It is precisely distributed in time. Shostakovich's trouble-free waltz is in store for the finale, accompanied by fireworks to complete the impression.

But the main achievement of this stage extravaganza, for the production of which an astronomical sum was spent (they say that the "Blue Monster" is the most expensive dramatic performance in Russia), is precisely found theatrical intonation. No amount of special effects, spectacular sets, stunning costumes, and clown gags, as it turns out, won't work unless she's found. Raikin found her. In the talented, inventive, cheerful and poignant performance of the Satyricon, the actors do not hide for a second their desire to please the public. They shamelessly demand reciprocity. Before the Gozzi plot itself begins, the carpetmen will enter the arena and play an old-fashioned clown reprise. "A-up!" - the circus performer, who is supposedly about to perform somersaults, shouts, barely bouncing on the spot and looking victoriously into the hall. Well, what am I! Hall favorably applauds - good, good. And the more whimsical the plot of the fairy tale itself turns out to be, the more clearly this super-plot announced in the very first minute appears in the performance of "Satyricon". The hidden thoughts of the actor and the internal rivalry of the artists are revealed here in full view. Here Pantalone (Artem Osipov) speaks in the language of facial expressions and gestures (and this is so as not to be overheard) latest gossip about the debauchery of Queen Gulindi (stately and flexible Yulia Melnikova). Tartaglia (Igor Gudev) listens to him, opening his mouth. But as soon as the scene is over, and the elderly courtier bows to the audience with a victorious air, Tartaglia catches herself. Well, this is a mask, there it is in a swing, now it clearly jumped him at the turn. Arranged here, you know, her commedia dell'arte. To besiege her, to counter her, to slay her with a harsh word ...

We are ready to stand on our heads and walk the wheel, the synthetic actors nurtured by Raikin tell the viewer. Look how musical, gutta-percha, rhythmic, witty, resourceful we are. How do we improvise? And how ironic! Love us soon!

The exposure of the reception acts disarmingly. In The Blue Monster, the theater exposes its naive and passionate thirst for recognition in such a way that it would be the height of idiocy to expose it from outside. I don’t know how the director formulated his task, but Gozzi’s wonderful play about all-conquering and sacrificial love he turned into a performance about the artist’s eternal need for reciprocity. About the attachment of the theater to the viewer and the thirst for a reciprocal feeling. In the show sparkling with fireworks and special effects, as in Raikin's long-standing interview, there is something confessional. His strength is that he is not afraid of his weakness. Not afraid to admit it. He is not afraid to ask us for love. And he does it right. After all, he deserves it.

Newstime, September 16, 2008

Dina Goder

In a gas mask against television

Konstantin Raikin staged Gozzi's fairy tale "The Blue Monster"

There was a lot of noise about this performance for a long time, they talked about its gigantic cost for our theater, that Konstantin Raikin arranged a circus on the stage and real circus performers taught the young actors of the Satyricon for nine months, admiring the results. What besides the circus on stage is Venice with bridges, gondolas and even water. And knowledgeable people said that in the new performance under the guise fairy tale Raikin castigates television.

The Satyricon staged Carlo Gozzi's fiaba "The Blue Monster", and from the advertising posters a diabolical blue face smiles toothily. True, in the traditional translation, the monster was called blue, but, apparently, Raikin did not want ambiguous associations, and, despite all the references to the blue screen, the monster was declared blue.

Critics who visited the performance on the first day of the premiere already published their first enthusiastic reviews yesterday, I was at the third performance, and my opinion turned out to be different. We leave out of the brackets that the theater is a living thing, different formulations- a different mood, someone got worried, besides, there is the effect of second performances, which always go worse and all that. But the clearer are the many questions that arise for this production, since it so happened that Raikin came up with not just a show, but a performance “with an idea”.

I will say right away that the money invested in this performance is really visible, that the arena shines with lights, the bridges are reduced and divorced and the Venetian backdrops are spectacular (artist Alla Kozhenkova). That gondolas loaded with everything, including a Georgian in a cap with a mountain of oranges, float back and forth, that the actors learned from circus performers not in vain, and the sexy beauty Yulia Melnikova in the role of the insidious Queen Gulindi, leading all her seductions like an acrobat on belts and at the same time in a lacquer BDSM suit and high heels, beyond praise.

This tale is rarely staged, although it has everything that we love Gozzi for: magic, passionate love, fidelity and deceit, tragic twists and turns and jokes of commedia dell'arte masks (which naturally turned into carpets in Raikin's performance). Here, some terrible Blue Beast named Zelu shifts his curse on the faithful lover - the Chinese prince Taer, who himself turns into a Beast, and the spell will only fall if his wife, the Georgian princess Dardane, loves him in a brutal guise. In addition to this, Dardane herself disguises herself as a man and takes a job as a guard at the Chinese court; concealing his gender, he endures the harassment of a lascivious queen and defeats a fetid snake that devours virgins. Now imagine that all the evil in this fairy tale is the Beast (from whose potion Truffaldino and Smeraldina lose their memory, stunned by visions with some kind of TV show or football), the Serpent (whose noxious breath makes people scoundrels and thieves), the evil queen, etc. d. - comes from television.

No, actually, I am quite in solidarity with Konstantin Raikin in his dislike for television. True, I am not inclined to demonize him, but probably only because I never watch him, so, perhaps, Konstantin Arkadyevich knows better. But what, I mean, is the evil that the director specifically presents to the "blue screen" cannot be understood from this performance.

It all starts with the Blue Beast itself, which here is not a monster at all, but a kind of twisted and mannered creature in a blue mask with a bald skull - either Fantomas, or the hero of the film "The Mask". Raikin came up with the idea that this is a kind of media character - vicious and irresistibly seductive. But Zelu, if he resembles someone, is more of a theater entertainer (like the one shown in the movie "Cabaret") than a television show host. Moreover, the definition of "blue" is the most suitable for this glossy "monster". And that means that it is a hundred times more difficult for an actor portraying the prince in the form of the Blue Beast (in my case, it was Alexei Bardukov) to explain to us why the stately and straightforward beauty Dardane (Maryana Spivak) so quickly fell in love with a cutesy creature with nasal, honeyed intonations and forgot her husband.

The second villain - a snake, with which Dardane fights in a gas mask so as not to be poisoned by its noxious smoke - turns out to be a hydra from numerous tall television cranes with small camera heads, and his frail body, which the princess should hit with a sword, is an unfortunate cameraman with keyboard in hand. How this dragon used girls and why he needed exactly the innocent (which, of course, the carpet ones willingly joked about), and also why the death of this electronic-metal monster entailed the death of the lustful queen - remained unclear.

The concept completely skewed the fairy tale. It's not about modern packaging, not about numerous jokes that claim to be topical, some of which were more successful, while others were less successful. Not because the lop-faced shorty King of Nanjing turned from a clown for some reason in the finale into a tyrant in a Stalinist jacket, not because of the talk of masked clowns that subjects are fleeing abroad, about debauchery, that they “come in large numbers” and that "Nanjing is not made of rubber" or the "Champion Taer" poster shown to the monstrous prince at a tragic moment. This is all just in the order of things for modern productions of commedia dell'arte. The problem is that confusion has arisen where the fairy tale requires clarity, where it is ingenuous and straightforward, requiring a precise distinction between good and evil. And that is why the audience, although they were ready to laugh at the hilarious scenes of “synchronized swimming” of clowns in an ankle-deep pool, and admire the final show with pillars of fire, acrobatics and beautiful music, were not too worried about the fate of the main characters.

As for the clowns, I will not talk about them yet. The actors play good, and let's hope that those "carpet" scenes, which so far look sluggish and drawn out, will then pick up and become funnier. But it would be wrong to pass by one joke that Raikin suffered through, composed especially for me and my colleagues.

Tartaglia (in response to Pantalone's chatter): All this is vanity and a lot of shouting.

Pantalone: ​​Well, you're just like a theater critic. If all the audience were like you, then the theater would die.

I accept this claim, I will only add that if all viewers were like Konstantin Raikin and me, that is, the same way we treated what our TV shows, then television would also have to die. However, this does not happen.

Newspaper, September 15, 2008

Gleb Sitkovsky

Circulated Gozzi

Theater "Satyricon" released "The Blue Monster"

Before releasing a performance based on the fairy tale by Carlo Gozzi "The Blue Monster" in the Satyricon, Konstantin Raikin took a season-long pause. Lately things in the theater were neither shaky nor rolly, and the artistic director of "Satyricon" needed a strong trump card in order to rectify the situation in one fell swoop. As a risk-taker, Raikin staked about $1 million - that's how much the cost of this bright circus spectacle is estimated. It's hard to say if they'll pay off. But, apparently, "The Blue Monster" will be a box office performance.

Modern circus he owes a lot to the Italian comedy dell'arte, whose characters Carlo Gozzi used in his fiabs, so Raikin had enough reason to turn the Satyricon stage into a circus arena. The main attraction, as conceived by the director, was to be the taming of not some wild lions, but - take it higher - a blue monster named Zellu. According to Gozzi, the disgusting beast that settled in the dense thickets near Nanjing, in fact, is not such a monster, but an enchanted prince who can throw off this unattractive appearance only at the cost of someone else's grief. Therefore, the crown prince of Nanking Taer, who was walking in the forest with his girlfriend, will turn blue and frightened before the eyes of the audience, and his beloved, the Georgian princess Dardane, dressed in a man's dress, beside herself with grief, will go to the palace of King Fanfour. Feats are expected from her, as well as love for her now unrecognizable boyfriend. He completely lost his usual face, and for the sake of a happy ending, the princess will need to inflame with passion for the monster.

The most awkward directorial notion is how Raikin treated the blue monster. For some reason, the director wanted to bring to the stage a kind of hero Jim Carrey from the movie "The Mask". Before us is a cartoon character with a blue silicone mask stretched over his head, emphasized by grotesque plasticity and a frantic pace of speech. Nothing but an actor's clamp and verbal incomprehensibility, such a staged move could not turn around. Raikin could achieve the opposite result, perhaps by engaging Kerry himself and investing an additional $2-3 million for this. A cheaper option would be the participation of the actor Raikin in the production directed by Raikin. One way or another, only a virtuoso actor could cope with the task.

Raikin's performance is more pleasing circus miracles and not acting. Konstantin Arkadievich has always regarded himself as an apologist for the flamboyant theatricality, and, we must give him his due, in The Blue Monster he fully achieves his goals. As if entering into a dialogue with reviewers in advance, the director makes Tartaglia utter a skeptical remark "Fuss and a lot of screaming!", And Pantalone retort in response: "You're just like a theater critic! If everyone were like that, the world would have died of boredom a long time ago!" . Meanwhile, it is not at all necessary to reproach the actors for being fussy and noisy after The Blue Monster. Indeed, in addition to this, Raikin's performance has a lot of good things. Buffoonery, tricks, acrobatics, taming wild animals - everything is in the bright circus performance. Add to this the Venetian fog, St. Mark's Cathedral, the Rialto Bridge and the gondoliers, the seven-headed hydra with movie cameras - here's a check for a million dollars.

RG, September 15, 2008

Alena Karas

The Blue Monster is back!

In the "Satyricon" they played a fairy tale by Carlo Gozzi

Instead of the usual scene - a circus arena. Above it are two arches, which, by the end of the first act, come together, turning into the Rialto Bridge. A real acrobat flies over the arena, the treacherous queen Gulindi (Yulia Melnikova), and four carpeted ones walk around the arena - Pantalone (Artem Osipov), Tartaglia (Igor Gudeev), Truffaldiono (George Lezhava) and Brighella (Ivan Ignatenko).

An enchanted Blue monster settled in a certain country. To free himself, he needs a loving couple. It is located when the son of the ruler Taer returns to the capital with his young wife, the Georgian princess Dardane. The monster separates the lovers. Dardane sends to men's suit to the city, and Taer turns into the Blue Monster, who, under pain of death, is forbidden to reveal his name to anyone. He will also die if Dardane does not love him in his new guise. The monster, having regained its former appearance, disappears.

When asked by journalists why it occurred to him to put this complex, confusing old fairy tale for the theater (fiabu) of the Venetian Carlo Gozzi, the director of the performance Konstantin Raikin answers: "If I live in today's time and I am fascinated by Gozzi's dramaturgy, then it is modern."

Sounds presumptuous, but that's just the way it is piece of art- each time being updated in a new context, it opens up towards its own, yet undiscovered meanings.

The Venetian tales of Gozzi, with their paradoxical, explosive mixture of festive theatricality and bitter philosophy, give perhaps the most real cast of Venice of the 18th century - a phantasmagoric city in which all times and spaces converged. Having arisen in the first quarter of the 20th century, interest in this city gave rise in Russia to the famous magazine Love for Three Oranges, created by Vsevolod Meyerhold, and many other phenomena. Silver Age and 20s, and, of course, the famous performance of Vakhtangov "Princess Turandot".

A performance by Konstantin Raikin lends this Venetian obsession to the Russian theater new status. It seems that Gozzi's Venice, like nothing else, once again makes you feel the heady, bitter and reckless atmosphere of standing "the gloomy abyss on the edge", paradoxically combining fun, ominous forebodings and fears.

Like his colleagues at the beginning of the 20th century, Raikin, with light playfulness and unprecedented chic, turns the theater into a circus, makes his young actors (recent graduates of the Moscow Art Theater School-Studio) perform virtuoso tricks, together with Alla Kozhenkova creates on the stage a look of Venice full of poetry and beauty , not for a moment losing the philosophical seriousness of Gozzi and not being afraid of the dangerous allusions of modernity.

To thunderous applause, they dance the Georgian lezginka, talk about modern heroism based on indifference to other people's misfortunes, joke merrily about migration (“Come in large numbers, Nanjing is not rubber - not Venice!”), afraid of wiretapping, they speak gibberish. He has a Blue Monster (Anton Egorov) - a mannered, always smiling TV presenter, stuffed with a cold, meaningless positive, and it is he who, suffering from the missing Taera (Aleksey Bardukov), the strong and fragile princess Dardane (Alena Razzhivina), should fall in love with him.

Raikin fuses all these strange and complex plots with ease (obviously tangible, but not yet fully mastered) into a merry circus farce. When the denouement comes and the princess manages to fall in love with this lonely and terrible media monster, her beautiful beloved Taer reappears in his place, and with him magical Venice, shining with live fire and fireworks. Together with evil spells, the theater again managed to cope with the ominous forebodings and tragic cataclysms of the era. Is it because (as in the fateful 10-20s) Gozzi again turned out to be so handy?

Novye Izvestia, September 15, 2008

Olga Egoshina

Adults Only

Konstantin Raikin staged a circus on stage

Last weekend, the theater "Satyricon" premiered the fairy tale "The Blue Monster" by Carlo Gozzi. With this performance, the theater opened its next season. The premiere at the theater was rehearsed for a long time, during the year. Several rows were filmed in the hall, and a circus arena was installed on the stage. The leading roles are played by young actors of the Satyricon, graduates of the Raikin course, who have tried on the masks of commedia dell'arte.

The fairy tale genre usually delights children and aesthetes. The former sincerely believe in miracles and rejoice when the hero flies on a magic carpet or communicates with a talking whale. The second admires the consciousness that there are souls in the world who believe in talking fish and enchanted princesses. The Venetian Count Carlo Gozzi assured that he not only believed in miracles, but faced them every day (for example, according to him, it started to rain in Venice only on the days when he left the house without an umbrella). However, Gozzi composed his fairy tales, addressing contemporaries skeptical to the point of cynicism, entertaining them with intricate stories full of miracles, humor, adventures, beautiful princesses, tireless servants and lyrical lovers. The plots of his fairy tales are often overloaded and tedious, which allowed researchers to talk about the baroque redundancy of Gozzi's fantasy. But the world he created - where the king turns into a deer; the statue laughs when a woman lies or a woman finds a husband by falling in love with a monster - transparent and clear. A pure soul will certainly lead the hero through any thorns. And the villains will be punished.

Once Gilbert Keith Chesterton wrote: "I left fairy tales on the floor in the nursery and since then I have not seen such a reasonable book." Perhaps that is why the most sophisticated adults rush to fairy tales as an antidote when they feel satiety, fatigue or fear that their world is collapsing and only a miracle can save faith in the universe. Satiated with everything in the world, the Venetians went crazy with a new genre called fiab. Quite quickly - five years later - sobering up came, and even the year of Gozzi's death was forgotten in his homeland.

In Russia, the Italian count was especially loved during the crisis years of the early twentieth century. Meyerhold and Vakhtangov were fond of him.

For a whole year, Konstantin Raikin rehearsed Gozzi, simultaneously teaching his young actors circus skills: juggling, acrobatics, rope climbing. A circus circle was built on the stage, rope ladders, trapezes and circus circles were hung above it. In the background, in nostalgic moments, the painted domes of San Marco appeared, the arches of the Rialto Bridge moved, gondolas floated with charming Venetian women in white masks.

But the most fascinating thing in the performance of "Satyricon" was by no means staged effects and gymnastic exercises. And not even the colorful gliding along the tightrope of the half-naked vicious and beautifully built Queen Gulindi (Yulia Melnikova). Not a fight with a hydra that looks like a mechanical spider (something in the form of television cameras is fixed on the legs of an arthropod) disguised as Princess Dardane (Alena Razzhivina). Not nozzles shooting fire and confetti. And much more traditional tomfoolery of immortal masks: Tartaglia (Igor Gudeev), Pantalone (Artem Osipov), Brighella (Ivan Ignatenko). Actors play recklessly, obviously enjoying the very fact of being on stage. And compensating for the lack of experience and necessary skills with courage and diligence. Spectacular swimming in a pond where water is less than ankle-deep is one of the funniest scenes of this performance rich in tricks. And, really, it is a pity that Konstantin Raikin neglected the centuries-old arsenal of lazzi (with an invisible fly, with stick fights, etc.). It seems that they would be more appropriate here than comic fights parodying oriental martial arts or elements of a variety show. Moreover, the director is by no means afraid of the rudeness inherent in commedia dell'arte.

The "Blue Monster" in the "Satyricon" is a fairy tale for adults only. Salty jokes, frivolous gestures, erotic scenes and numerous gag are not intended for children's eyes and ears. However, Konstantin Raikin himself also cut off another segment of the audience - "theater critics", devoting one of Pantalone's gag to these monsters with a cold nose, whose inability to ingenuous passion destroys the theater. The Blue Monster is not a play for critics in the same way and for the opposite reasons that it is not for children.

The Blue Monster is addressed to those who are complex enough to appreciate the simple pleasures of intricate stories. Smart enough to appreciate the childishly simple and Christian moral of Gozzi's tale: love another before he seems attractive. Or even simpler: love with your soul, not with your eyes. Finally, brave enough to confess his love for fairy tales. Raikin's faith in humanity inspires respect and hope. And indeed, among our fellow citizens these rare souls will be found.

NG, September 15, 2008

Olga Galakhova

monster in the arena

In "Satyricon" Konstantin Raikin staged the fiaba Carlo Gozzi "The Blue Monster"

"The Blue Monster" is the name of the premiere, which was released by "Satyricon" and which is now going to be played almost according to the Broadway principle - in large series. The performance was staged by artistic director Konstantin Raikin, he gave almost all the roles to the young replenishment, his students the day before yesterday.

The insidious Queen Gulindi of Ekaterina Malikova is not an extravagant killer here, like, for example, Princess Turandot, but a vamp circus performer, an acrobat and a trainer who tames her husband-king with a whip, and if necessary, innocent masks. A monologue about the elements that gripped her criminal passion for the young man Akhmet is conducted by a seductress in a gymnastic laced black leotard. The circus ring, suspended in the air, becomes a gymnastic apparatus, on which Gulindi's body wriggles in ecstatic tension, manipulating the feelings of not only the aged king, but also the strong half of humanity in the auditorium.

In the second act, a lake will appear, squeezed into a circus arena. The masks take advantage of the situation and play a hilarious sideshow on the water, transforming themselves into synchronized swimmers. At the peak of the water show, restless carpet people will release fountains of water from themselves and, we note, again synchronously.

Gondolas with gondoliers, Venetians and Venetians will float by on the back of the stage. Not only the Blue Monster will appear before the viewer, but also the Hydra, which Ahmet must defeat.

The searchlights suspended at the very top will be the first to feel the alarm. They, like robots, will scan the approach of an object and turn around in alarm. And now, in all its glory, a monster in the spirit of the 21st century, a sort of terminator, will enter. From the staged reception, the spirit stops, but in the theatrical sense, the battle of Akhmet looks less impressive. Seven steel cranes with a single control panel will create a powerful effect - the cranes look like the muzzle of a seven-headed monster. However, Akhmet will not cut off these muzzles with his sword, will not deal with the steel body, but will simply take out the villainous computer scientist from him and finish him off to the general joy of the people.

New performance"Satyricon" is a spectacle. It is not customary for us to publish financial statistics, but the production costs and scope are impressive, as well as the responsible and serious work on mastering the young part of the troupe of the game theater inspires respect.

In one of the interludes goes to the critics. Tartaglia is offended by such a comparison after he peed in the water and washed himself with the same water, they say, if you answer so sadly, then you look like theater critic, from the reasoning of which the whole world would die of boredom. At the risk of falling into the language of the masks of the Satyricon, it is nevertheless worth saying that the dell'arte characters have not yet become a new word in this type of theater: they still lack the very game, wealth and generosity of acting finds. Prepared improvisation in the first act of the mask with the words "Come in large numbers!" brought in the end the very boredom that the theater incriminates criticism. A game of this kind looked like a rough patch on a luxurious spectacle, when instead of dynamics there was vanity, when the meaning and the most important task of the game were lost, and finally, the poverty of ideas was aggravated by their reproduction. Polina Raikin in the role of Smeraldina caught the Dellartian element most profoundly. She played not only her role - the actress responded to the theater that her father-director built (perhaps also because she already has experience playing in the comedy of masks - for the first time the actress was noticed in The Green Bird, a graduation performance at the Shchukin School) .

At one time, Nikolai Erdman wrote the text for masks at the Vakhtangov Theater. Playing the game, but to modernize the interludes, an appropriate brilliant literary level dialogues, which, alas, are not in the play. Words are not always born from actors' improvisations in rehearsals.

However, there is another, so important for Gozzi - the love story of the Georgian princess Dardane and the Chinese prince Taer. He is turned by an evil sorcerer into the Blue Monster, which the princess must fall in love with, not knowing that her lover lives in this nasty body. Here the play of young actors Maryana Spivak and Yakov Lomkin is almost flawless. The virtuoso plasticity of the actor in the guise of a monster. This is the body of a phantomas who, moreover, has gone through a selection of evil aliens, a subhuman who wriggles in a cage. A beauty must fall in love with a freak and thereby disenchant. And the way Dardane and Taer draw closer in grief, behave chastely and sacrificially, and the way they play their characters with gentle humor, including the transformation into a man Ahmet Dardane, make the performance deep in feeling, which young hearts are capable of. .

Konstantin Raikin combined pedagogical and theatrical tasks in the performance. Not to be found here deep meanings, except for one more thing: to remind everyone that the theater is first of all a game, puppyish, childish joy from sweet hooliganism and naive fiction, cheerful jubilation from foolishness and pranks. The theater is perhaps the only place in the world that makes it possible to live carefree freedom, and this, in fact, is the main content of the fiab of the Venetian Gozzi.

Results, September 22, 2008

Maria Sedykh

Chic, shine, beauty...

"Satyricon" opened the season with the premiere of "The Blue Monster" by Carlo Gozzi

On the occasion of the release of a new performance by Konstantin Raikin, those who can remember something began to vied with each other to talk about the role of the great Italian in the Russian theater and about the traditions of commedia dell'arte on the national stage. The intellectuals did not forget about Vsevolod Meyerhold with his "Love for Three Oranges", the aesthetes remembered the "Green Bird" by Nikolai Sheiko, the rest, of course, - the universal favorite "Princess Turandot". Although, God knows, for the majority of the public it has long been a crystal prize, and not the immortal creation of Vakhtangov. In discussions about the shades of Gozzi's philosophy, the dapper Italian word "fiaba" flashed, which is simply a fairy tale.

I confess that the circle of my associations during and after the performance turned out to be much more ingenuous, if I may say, more popular. As, however, the performance of "Satyricon" is simple-hearted and democratic. I remembered Alexander's "Circus" (and his other comedies like him), invigorating to this day. Let me remind you that the film was released in the 36th year and by the 37th made record fees. What years it was, I hope it is not necessary to remind. It seemed that there was some regularity in the fact that in gloomy times artists hide from reality or overcome it under the same eternal dome. Making a bet on the self-sufficiency of their profession. Mastering the craft. Relying on him as a natural force. And reveling in its power. Well, where else, if not in the arena, is it possible to demonstrate the triumph of skill with convincing clarity?

Most likely, Konstantin Raikin did not think of anything so metaphysical, with the help of the stage designer Alla Kozhenkova, cutting the circus arena into the first rows of the theatrical stalls, lowering the trapeze from the grate and hanging rings for gymnastic exercises. On the contrary, in all the interviews he talked about significant ideological concept, about how fabulous goodness will defeat in the performance a completely earthly evil in the face of pernicious television. According to the story, this many-headed hydra devours virgins, turning the inhabitants of the multinational Nanjing into frightened inhabitants. For my taste, although the hydra looks spectacular on the stage, satirical arrows (in this case, a sword) do not really hurt her. In general, topical jokes, both successful and unsuccessful, do not make the weather here. The viewer is not following the intrigue, not whether the charming Dardane (Maryana Spivak) will save the bewitched beloved Taer (Yakov Lomkin), whether the memory will return to Trufaldino (Alexander Kashcheev) and Smeraldina (Polina Raikina), which will kill the sex bomb Queen Gulindi ( Ekaterina Malikova). The heart stops when Malikova masterfully performs the number on the rope without insurance, and at that moment you empathize with the actress, admire, completely forgetting that her heroine is an insidious villain. All the audience's emotions - both delight, and tenderness, and slight sadness (a brilliant number of "synchronized swimming" in an ankle-deep pool of water) - are given in this performance not to the characters, but to the actors. For how generously they give us not only youth, but also a sense of professional dignity. This is where they win the TV Hydra.

P.S. Probably, even for sure - what I want to add ... is not pedagogical. Reviewers of "The Blue Monster" try not to single out any of the performers, they say, debutants, only from school. However, after the premiere, they already entered into a merciless theater life with all her passions, not like Nanjing. I confess that I was captivated more than others by the actress Polina Raikina, who seems to have inherited the family gene, some kind of elusive "slightly" that turns circus attraction into theatrical art.

Carlo Gozzi

Blue Beast

A tragicomic tale in five acts

Characters

Zelu - Blue Beast

Dardane- Princess of Georgia, Taera's beloved

Taer- Prince of Nanjing

fanfour- King of Nanjing, decrepit father of Taer

Gulindi- slave, second wife of Fanfour

Smeraldina- servant of Dardane

Pantalone, Tartaglia- Ministers of Fanfour

Brighella- captain of the guard

Trufaldino- Thayer's servant

Enchanted Knight in ancient weapons, chained in armor

seven-headed hydra

Executioner

Nobles

soldiers

Slaves without speeches.

The action takes place in Nanjing and its environs.

Act one

Forest. In the depths under the mountain is a cave.

Phenomenon I

Zelu - Blue Beast comes out of the cave.

Zelu

O stars! Stars! Thank you!
The moment has come, happy for me,
When I shed this terrible face
At the cost of someone else's grief. Into this forest
Georgian Princess Dardane
I must with my beloved Taer,
Crown Prince of Nanjing, arrive.
There must have been a couple of lovers
Faithful to each other like these two:
Such a woman, so that about no one
Not for a moment, except for one
Didn't think; and such a man
To only one woman in the world
Experienced the excitement of love;
And so that she gets into this forest:
Then, and only then, will the time come
My torments. And, oh miracle! In the world
Such lovers were found.
And soon they will be here - and I am free.

(Offstage.)

Forward, forward, ill-fated couple!
It's hard for me that I should bring down on you
I have so many disasters to myself
Get free. Yes, but who can
To love suffering for the sake of suffering,
Kohl on the other can charge them?
Many terrifying monsters
He will see this forest, thick and dark.
There will come times - and transformations,
which I accomplish can become
A beautiful allegory; and the people
Like me they will be monsters
In an effort to regain a beautiful appearance
And turn others if they can
In monsters.

(Looks offstage.)

Here are the two royal servants:
They precede the unfortunate couple,
To bring news to the capital
About Taer's imminent return.

(Takes a flask and goblet.)

Drink of oblivion! Make it forget
They are all the past ... their masters ...
And to the yard not to return again.

Phenomenon II

truffaldino, with an umbrella, looking after Smeraldina, Both are dressed in Chinese.

Truffaldino says that we should let the horses graze on the grass, they just fall from fatigue. After all, their masters are still so far away, etc. They can rest in the shade of these pleasant trees, listening to the babbling of the brook and the chirping of birds, etc., and then they will go to Nanjing, which is visible from here. There are only two hundred steps here. He sings a famous folk song:

What could be sweeter
And what is dearer to us
Walk in the green
With his beloved.
Ah, ah, I'm dying
I'm dying of love
my beauty
I'm L and Yu and B and L and Yu.

Smeraldina. He is right, this place is capable of awakening love moods, etc., but he is not constant and will soon forget her for some other girl, etc.

Truffaldino

I'm L and Yu and B and L and Yu,
What does it mean - I love
I will love forever
My beauty.
I'm L and Yu and B and L and Yu.

His vows. He will follow the example of Prince Taer, his master, in whose service he entered, meeting him, fortunately, in Georgia. The prince is in love with Princess Dardane and never looked at any other woman - everyone seems ugly to him, etc. He, Truffaldino, saw beauties who were hopelessly in love with the prince, and he despised them, simply - he wanted to spit on them! Ah, his Dardane! His Dardane! Etc.

Smeraldina says that if before him is the example of Taer, his master, then before her, as in a mirror, stands her mistress Dardane. What loyalty! Smeraldina does not think that even in her dreams she has ever seen another such person as Prince Taer, etc.

truffaldino,- in truth, Taer earned her love by the great feats that he performed to save her from the persecution of the magician Bizegel. Does Smeraldina remember his fight with the fiery monkey, and then the fight with the donkey, which tied with his ears and cut with his tail, and then the fight with the bird, which spewed boiling oil in his face? And he overcame all, and he conquered all thanks to his love! Oh great love! Great constancy! Great love! Etc.

Smeraldina replies that this is all true; but is it not enough that Dardane remained faithful to Thayer even when the wizard Bizegel threw on her shoulders that enchanted veil that instills in women madness and the desire to have all the men they see? What fidelity was needed to overcome the spell of this veil out of love for one Taer, etc.

truffaldino,- of course, it's a lot. Was there ever a veil on Smeraldina's shoulders?

Smeraldina,- never, but even if she had it, she would still remain faithful to him.

Truffaldino jokes about this enchanted veil. It seems to him that now all the bedspreads that are sold to women in fashion stores have the same magical properties as the Biesegel coverlet, etc. He expresses his feelings to Smeraldina, sighs romantically, etc.

Smeraldina Truffaldino answers the same. She says she's hot and thirsty.

Truffaldino worries - ... Ah, my princess, etc. Looking for water, finds a flask and a goblet of Zelu. His considerations: some shepherd left her here; sniffing: smells good; the aroma of Cypriot wine, etc. He is proud that he can treat his princess to such a drink in this deserted place. He gives her a cup.

Smeraldina drinks. Shows with gestures that she has forgotten everything; asks Truffaldino who he is.

Truffaldino- I am L and Yu and B, etc. He is her dear Truffaldino, her passionate lover, equal in his loyalty to Taer, Prince of Nanking, etc.

Smeraldina drives him away; she does not know who Truffaldino is, nor who Taer is, etc.

Truffaldino

Ah, ah, I'm dying

I'm dying of love etc.

Thinks Smeraldina is joking. He says that it is time to go to the city, because their masters are about to arrive and Dardane may be angry with them, etc.

Smeraldina- bold! She knows no gentlemen, no Dardane; let him clean up, etc.

Truffaldino asks if the veil of the wizard Bizegel has been put on her, and if she wants other lovers, etc. He takes her by the hand to lead her to the horses and go to Nanjing.

Smeraldina gives him a slap in the face and runs away towards Nanjing.

Truffaldino. I am L and Y and B and L and Y. His amazement. He feels like he's about to faint. Must be refreshed. Drinking from a flask. He shows with gestures that he has forgotten everything: he does not know where he is, how he got here. Must be riding, because his buttocks hurt. He doesn't remember anything. He sees the city and leaves to look for shelter there, etc.

Phenomenon III

Zelu“The Blue Beast is alone.

Zelu

Unhappy! Go. If only
Your masters will have
Enough strength to defeat fate
You will also meet and love,
But Taer and Dardane are close
Thicken, clouds! Heaven, thunder!
Shoot fire arrows of lightning
So that the horses of the royal couple are frightened
Disconnected! Leave your life to them.
Let each one come here separately;
Everything else I can do.

Darkness, thunder, lightning.

The frightened horses disengaged.
They fly - one to the mountain, the other to the valley.
The horse of the unfortunate Dardane fell
Frightened, she rushes here
Hasty gait. Let's leave.

(Exits.)

The thunder and lightning continues for a while, then everything clears up.

Event IV

Dardane, Then Zelu.

Dardane (in a fright)

My God! Where to run? Who will help me?
How did I not die! Surely a miracle
Saved me. But what am I saying?
I am saved by O re: my favorite
Probably died! Oh Taer, Taer!
Where are you, my friend, the only joy
Unfortunate and persecuted mercilessly
Hostile star?