My Fair Lady Operetta Theatre. Buy tickets for the play "My Fair Lady"

The comedy musical "My Fair Lady" has long entered the treasury of world musical culture. He made his Broadway debut in 1956 and has been fantastically popular ever since. The film version of the play starring Audrey Hepburn won eight Oscars. Thanks to the film, the wonderful melodies of Frederic Low became known and loved all over the world.

About the performance

The action takes place in London at the beginning of the 20th century. The eminent linguist Henry Higgins makes a bet with his colleague - he can turn an uneducated florist into a real lady who will be indistinguishable from a duchess. The choice falls on Eliza Doolittle - a rustic girl with a rough street accent. For several months, he teaches Eliza high society manners and pronunciation, imperceptibly being carried away by her. The plot of Shaw's play echoes the ancient Greek myth of Pygmalion, a sculptor who created a beautiful statue of a girl and fell in love with his own creation.

"My Fair Lady" first appeared on the stage of the Operetta Theater in 1964. Charming Tatyana Shmyga shone in the title role. The contemporary production also boasts a strong cast, laconic stage design, and colorful costumes. Thanks to many comical situations and music permeated with dance motifs, the performance envelops the viewer in a light, joyful mood.

Creators and artists

Music - Frederick Lowe, American composer, Oscar and Golden Globe winner.

Text and poetry - Alan Jay Lerner, an American poet and librettist, together with Frederick Low created the musicals Brigadoon, Camelot, Gizhi.

Stage director - Alexander Gorban, collaborated with many theaters throughout Russia, staged the musical "Violet of Montmartre" by I. Kalman in Mosoperetta.

Choreographer - Sergey Zarubin, actor of the Satyricon Theater, Honored Artist of Russia.

Artists: Anatoly Isaenko and Svetlana Sinitsina

Roles are played by: Olga Belokhvostova, Alexander Markelov, Vasily Remchukov, Dmitry Shumeiko, Ella Merkulova.

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"My Fair Lady" at the Operetta Theater is a sparkling comedy about social prejudice, a miraculous transformation and unexpected love. Forget about everyday life and immerse yourself in the story of the charming and spontaneous Eliza Doolittle.

“For the first time I see an honest producer!” - exclaimed Bernard Shaw, when Gabriel Pascal, in response to the question of how much money he had, took some change from his pockets. Pascal asked the famous playwright for permission to stage a musical based on his play. If Shaw had not been captivated by Pascal's honesty, the world probably would not have seen the magnificent musical "My Fair Lady".

This story perfectly matches the spirit of the play that Pascal drew attention to - "Pygmalion": is it really everyone in the world who decides money, what happens if you support a person who has no money? The playwright puts these eternal questions in the form of a plot that echoes the ancient myth set forth in Ovid Nason's Metamorphoses: the sculptor Pygmalion fell in love with the statue of a beautiful woman he created, and the goddess of love Aphrodite, condescending to his prayer, breathed life into it ... In Shaw's play everything looks far from being so lofty - after all, the action takes place not in time immemorial, but in Victorian England. Poor girl Eliza Doolittle - ugly, dressed in a blackened straw hat and "red coat", with "mouse-colored" hair - sells flowers on the street, but the income brought by this occupation does not allow her to get out of poverty. She could improve her situation by getting a job at a flower shop, but she is not hired there because of the wrong pronunciation. To correct this shortcoming, she turns to Professor Higgins, a famous phonetic specialist. He is not inclined to accept a beggar girl as a student, but colleague Pickering, feeling sympathy for Eliza, offers Higgins a bet: let the professor prove that he is really a highly qualified specialist, and if six months later he can pass the girl off as a duchess at a secular reception, let him consider himself the winner ! The "experiment" turns out to be difficult for both the teacher and the student, who suffers from Higgins' arrogance and despotism, but their efforts are crowned with success: the young aristocrat Freddie Ainsworth Hill falls in love with Eliza, and at the ball where the professor takes her, representatives of high society accept without hesitation her for hers. But the girl not only got prettier in self-care, learned good manners and correct pronunciation - she gained self-esteem, she suffers from the dismissive attitude of Higgins, who cannot understand the tragedy of the situation: she no longer wants to return to her former life and has no money, to start a new one. Offended by the lack of understanding of the professor, she leaves his house. But Eliza's training has transformed not only the girl herself, but also Higgins: the old bachelor discovers that he is "used" to Eliza, that he misses her. Listening to the recording of her voice on the phonograph, he suddenly hears the real voice of the returned Eliza.

This is the story producer Gabriel Pascal decided to embody in the musical. To create music, he turned to two well-known Broadway authors - composer Richard Rogers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein, but both were refused (because, as already mentioned, he had little money), but young authors agreed - composer Frederick Lowe and librettist Alan Jay Lerner. Shaw's play's plot underwent some changes when it was reworked into a libretto. The afterword was not taken into account, which announced the future fate of Eliza (marriage to Freddie, opening his own store) - this was in the spirit of Shaw, who was skeptical about romantic love, but the Broadway audience would not accept such an ending. In addition, the life of the opposite "poles" of society - the inhabitants of the poor quarter and the aristocrats - was shown in more detail than Shaw's. The structure of the work, entitled "My Fair Lady", is close to a musical comedy. Lowe's music is full of dance rhythms - there is a polka, a waltz, a foxtrot, and even a habanera and a jota.

Even before the completion of the work, the well-known actress Mary Martin, who performed on Broadway, became interested in the work of Lowe and Lerner. After listening to the finished material, she exclaimed: “How could it be that these sweet boys lost their talent?” These words plunged Lerner into despair - however, not for long, and they were not going to invite Martin to the role of Eliza anyway.

The premiere of "My Fair Lady", held in March 1956, was a true triumph. The popularity of the musical was fantastic, and Lowe was so shocked by the success that he offered coffee to people who had been queuing for tickets since the night. In 1964, the musical was filmed and won an Oscar in eight categories - including the musical one, but received an award ... the person who arranged the music for the film adaptation, and Frederick Lowe was not even nominated.

In 1965, the musical was staged for the first time in the USSR, at the Moscow Operetta Theatre. The role of Eliza was played by Tatyana Ivanovna Shmyga.

"My Fair Lady" is the story of the flower girl Eliza Doolittle, who led a lonely, inconspicuous life until she met Professor Higgins, who set himself the goal of making her a real lady. The day will come when Eliza will be presented to the Queen of England herself...

Musical "My Fair Lady" at the Operetta Theater

Musical in 2 acts based on the play by B. Shaw "Pygmalion"

For the "Moscow Operetta" this performance was truly epoch-making. It was first staged in 1964, and it was from that moment that the history of the musical began in Russia. The role of Eliza Doolittle, who made Audrey Hepburn famous, was played by the brilliant Tatyana Shmyga.

In the current production, the audience also expects an excellent cast, wonderful music, which has already become a classic of the genre, original choreography, bright lighting effects. The famous professor Henry Higgins makes a bet with his friend that he can teach the illiterate flower girl proper speech and social manners, and then pass her off as a real lady. Sparkling humor, funny situations, a dirty little girl turns into a princess before the eyes of the audience, and a convinced bachelor turns into a lover.

In two acts, eighteen scenes.
Libretto and poetry by A. J. Lerner.

Characters:

Henry Higgins, professor of phonetics (baritone); Colonel Pickering; Eliza Doolittle, street flower girl (soprano) Alfred Doolittle, scavenger, her father; Mrs. Higgins, the professor's mother; Mrs. Einsford-Hill, lady of society; Freddie, her son (tenor); Clara, her daughter; Mrs Pierce, Higgins' housekeeper; George, alehousekeeper; Harry and Jemmy, Dolittle's drinking buddies; Mrs Hopkins; Higgins' butler; Charles, Mrs. Higgins' chauffeur; constable; flower girl; lackey of the embassy; Lord and Lady Boxington; Sir and Lady Tarrington; queen of Transylvania; ambassador; professor Zoltan Karpaty; housemaid; servants in the Higgins house, guests at a ball at the embassy, ​​peddlers, passers-by, flower girls.

The action takes place in London during the reign of Queen Victoria.

The libretto of "My Fair Lady" uses the plot of "Pygmalion" by B. Shaw, one of the most popular comedies of the 20th century. The librettist significantly changed the original source. He turned a three-act comedy into a performance consisting of almost two dozen pictures, which sometimes replace each other, like film frames. The great detail of the action allowed the authors of the musical to expand the panorama of life in London, its various social strata. The musical clearly shows what Shaw’s play only mentions in passing: the everyday life of the poor quarter, the people around whom Eliza grew up, and on the other hand, secular society, aristocrats at the races in Ascot, at a high-society ball. The music of the play, always bright, melodic, sometimes acquires the features of irony. The composer widely uses rhythm intonations of waltz, march, polka, foxtrot; habanera, jota, gavotte are also heard here. According to the structure of "My Fair Lady" - musical comedy. The image of the main character is most fully reflected in the music.

First action

First picture. Covent Garden Square in front of the Royal Opera House. Theatrical tour on a cold, rainy March evening. A crowd crowds under the colonnade of St. Paul's Church. Freddie Eynsford-Hill accidentally touches the basket of a flower girl sitting on the steps and scatters bouquets of violets. Flower girl Eliza Doolittle is outraged. She demands in vain to pay her for the ruined flowers. In the crowd, they notice that some gentleman is writing down her every word. This is Higgins. To those present, who suspect him of being a police agent, he explains that his profession is phonetics. By the peculiarities of pronunciation, he determines where each of those who spoke to him comes from. Of the fit, military-looking gentleman, Higgins says he came from India. Pickering is shocked. After introducing themselves to each other, Higgins and Pickering find out that they have long dreamed of meeting. After all, both are interested in the same science. Higgins wrote down in phonetic signs everything that Eliza said, since the girl interested him with her terrible pronunciation, as well as continuous slang expressions. Her language, says Higgins, forever defined her social position. But he, Higgins, could teach her impeccable English in six months, and then she could climb the social ladder - say, not to trade on the street, but to enter a fashionable store.

The rain stops and Higgins takes Pickering to his house in Wimpole Street. The crowd gradually disperses. Eliza, warming herself by the fire, bred by peddlers, sings the song "I would like a room without cracks" - sadly affectionate, dreamy, with a fervent refrain "That would be great."

Second picture. A pub on a dirty street where tenement houses are located. Doolittle appears at the door. He is waiting for Eliza to swindle her earned money. When the girl shows up, the scavenger coaxes a coin out of her for a drink. Eliza hides in a squalid dwelling, and Doolittle sings cheerful verses "God has endowed us with strong hands", the roaring refrain of which is readily picked up by drinking companions.

Third picture. The next morning in Higgins' office on Wimpole Street. Higgins and Pickering listen to the tapes. Their work is interrupted by the arrival of Eliza. She remembered what Higgins had said about her, as well as his address, which he gave quite loudly to Pickering. She wants to learn to "speak educated". An interested Pickering offers Higgins to pay for all the costs of the experiment, but bets she won't make a Duchess anyway. Higgins agrees. He tells his housekeeper, Mrs. Pierce, to strip Eliza of her old rags of dubious cleanliness, give her a good wash and scrub, and order new clothes for her. Left alone with Pickering, Higgins expounds his views on life—the views of a hardened bachelor—in the verses "I am a normal person, peaceful, quiet and simple".

Fourth picture. The same block of tenement houses on Tottenham Court Road. Neighbors are animatedly sharing the amazing news: Eliza has not been home for four days now, and today she sent a note to send her favorite little things. Doolittle, hearing this, draws his own conclusions.

Fifth picture. Higgins' office the same day, a little later. Mrs. Pierce brings a letter from the American millionaire Ezra Wallingford, who, for the third time, has asked Higgins to read a course of lectures in his League for the Fight for Moral Improvement. The butler announces Dolittle's arrival.

The scavenger, who is determined to profit from his daughter's good fortune, makes such a brilliant speech that Higgins, instead of throwing him out for blackmail, gives money and recommends him to the American as one of the most original moralists in England. After Dolittle leaves, the lesson begins. Higgins brings Eliza to such a state that, left alone, she invents a terrible revenge on him. Her monologue "Wait a minute, Henry Higgins, wait a minute" sounds parodic dark and furious.

Several hours pass (blackout). Eliza continues to teach. Higgins threatened that he would leave her without lunch and dinner if she failed to complete the task. Pickering and Higgins have tea and cake, and the poor hungry girl goes on endless exercises. The servants feel sorry for their master who works so hard.

A few more hours pass. Already evening. Eliza is still studying, "encouraged" by the short-tempered professor's scolding. She doesn't get anything. The small choir of servants sounds again.

In the dead of night, when the girl is already completely exhausted, Higgins suddenly for the first time turns to her softly, with affectionate exhortations, and Eliza immediately grasps what she has been trying in vain for so long. In delight, all three, forgetting their tiredness, jump up and begin to dance and sing the sultry habanera “Wait for this”, which then turns into jota. Higgins decides to give Elise a check tomorrow. He would take her out into the world, to the races at Ascot. And now - sleep! Inspired by her first success, Eliza sings "I could dance" - with a joyful, like a flying melody.

Sixth picture. Entrance to the hippodrome at Ascot. Pickering respectfully introduces an elegant old lady, Mrs. Higgins. He confusedly tries to explain that her son will bring a street flower girl to her box. The shocked Mrs. Higgins catches the meaning of his confused speeches very vaguely.

Seventh picture. Mrs. Higgins' lodge at the hippodrome. It sounds like a graceful gavotte. The choir of aristocrats "High society has gathered here" conveys an ironic description of the so-called "society". The ladies and gentlemen disperse leisurely and decorously, Higgins enters the box with his mother, Mrs. Eynsford-Hill with her daughter and son, and others. Pickering introduces everyone to Miss Doolittle, who makes an irresistible impression of Freddy Eynsford Hill. A general conversation begins, during which Eliza, carried away, allows expressions that are completely unacceptable in a decent society. This causes Freddie to have a lot of fun.

He and Clara, rarely seen in society because of their poverty, mistake Eliza's jargon for the latest society fashion. True, Eliza pronounces all the words impeccably, but the content of her speeches shows Higgins that much more work is still needed.

Eighth picture. In front of Higgins' house. Freddie came here to declare his love to Elise. He is not allowed into the house. Eliza is so upset by her failure that she doesn't want to see anyone. But Freddie is not upset: if necessary, he will wait all his life! Light, lyrical, full of sincere feeling is his song "I have walked this street more than once."

Ninth picture. Higgins' office a month and a half later. All this time, Eliza worked hard, beyond measure, and today is the decisive exam. They are going to a ball at the embassy. Pickering is nervous. Higgins is absolutely calm. Eliza in a ball gown is as beautiful as a vision. The colonel is full of compliments, Higgins mutters through his teeth: "Not bad!"

Tenth picture. The front staircase of the embassy at the entrance to the ballroom. The footmen report on the arriving guests. A magnificent, solemn waltz is heard. Mrs. Higgins, Professor Higgins, and Colonel Pickering discuss Eliza's first success. Higgins' colleague Professor Karpathy enters. He accompanies the Queen of Transylvania. His favorite pastime is to identify impostors by their pronunciation. Pickering pleads with Higgins to leave before Karpathy meets Elisa, but he wants to see the test through to the end.

Eleventh picture. Ballroom. Eliza enthusiastically dances first with one, then with another gentleman, including Karpathy, who is very interested in her. Higgins watches, determined to let events take their natural course.

Second act

Twelfth picture. Higgins' office.

Tired, return after the ball Eliza, Higgins and Pickering. The girl can hardly stand on her feet, but the men do not pay any attention to her. The servants congratulate the master on his success. A large ensemble scene unfolds, starting with the stormy polka "Well, dear friend, victory," and then Higgins's story about Karpaty - brilliantly parodic, with a witty use of hackneyed Hungarian melodic turns.

Finally left alone with Higgins, Eliza furiously lays out to him everything that has accumulated in her soul. After all, her situation is now hopeless - she cannot return to her former life, but what is her future? For Higgins, everything is simple: the experiment is brilliantly completed and you can no longer think about it! The professor leaves, trying to maintain his dignity, and Eliza, choking with rage, repeats: “Wait, Henry Higgins, wait!”

Thirteenth picture. Wimpole Street in front of Higgins' house. Dawn. Freddie sits on the stairs. For many days now he has left this post, only to eat, sleep and change. All the same joyful and gentle sounds of his song. Eliza comes out of the house with a small suitcase. The lyric-comedy duet scene “Your speeches captivated me” unfolds. Freddy, against the will of the girl, who takes out her anger on him, runs to see her off.

Fourteenth picture. Covent Garden flower market, opposite - a familiar pub. Early morning, the market is just starting to wake up. The same peddlers are warming around the fire as on the night of Eliza's meeting with Higgins. They sing her song ("It's great"). Eliza enters, but no one recognizes her. She sees a well-dressed Doolittle emerge from the pub, in a top hat and patent leather shoes, with a flower in his buttonhole. It turns out that Wallingford, to whom Higgins once recommended him, left Dolittle a substantial amount of money in his will. So solid that Doolittle didn't have the heart to refuse it. And now he is a finished man. He got into the number of respected citizens, he has to behave decently. His long-term partner, Eliza's stepmother, also decided to become respected, and today they are getting married. His freedom is gone, his carefree life is over!

Fifteenth picture. The hall of the Higgins house, morning. Both gentlemen are shocked and upset by Eliza's departure. Higgins' couplets "What made her leave, I don't understand" are interspersed with Pickering's reasoning and his phone calls to the police, then to the Home Office, demanding that they find the fugitive.

Sixteenth picture. Mrs. Higgins' house, a little later. Eliza is here. Over a cup of tea, she tells Mrs. Higgins about everything that happened. Higgins bursts in and starts to rage. Mrs. Higgins leaves her son alone with Eliza, and an explanation takes place between them. Turns out he felt like he missed her. But the girl is relentless. Decisively, with enthusiasm, Eliza's speeches sound: "The sun can shine without you, England can live without you." Yes, she will not disappear: she can marry Freddy, she can become Karpathy's assistant... Eliza leaves, leaving Higgins in disarray.

Seventeenth picture. On the same day in front of the house on Wimpole Street. Twilight. Higgins returns. He made an unexpected and terrible discovery: “I don’t understand what’s wrong with me, I’m so used to her eyes ...”

Eighteenth picture. A few minutes later in Higgins' office. He, drooping sadly, listens to old recordings - the arrival of Eliza in his house. The girl imperceptibly, inaudibly enters the room. She listens for a while with Higgins, then turns off the phonograph and continues softly for him... Higgins straightens up and sighs contentedly. Eliza understands him without words.

L. Mikheeva, A. Orelovich