Helikon Opera is a Russian opera company based in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, specializing in unconventional productions. Their main performing base is the 250 seat

Mayakovsky Theater Mayakovsky Theater (russian: Театр Маяковского; Московский академический театр имени Вл. Маяковского) is a theater in Moscow, Russian Federation, Russia, founded in 1920, first as ''Tere ...

, the former ballroom in the palace of the Shakhovskoi-Glebov-Streshneva family who were patrons of the arts in 19th century Moscow. The company was founded by

Dmitry Bertman Dmitry Alexandrovitch Bertman (Russian: Дмитрий Александрович Бертман; born 31 October 1967) is a Russian theatre and opera director and the founder and artistic director of Helikon Opera in Moscow.Sleeman, Elizabeth (ed ...

and gave its first performance,

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

's ''

Mavra ''Mavra'' is a one-act comic opera composed by Igor Stravinsky, and one of the earliest works of Stravinsky's neo-classical period. The libretto, by Boris Kochno, is based on Alexander Pushkin's ''The Little House in Kolomna''. Mavra is about ...

'', on April 10, 1990.

History

Helikon Opera gives 200 performances a year, primarily in Moscow but also abroad, performing in the UK for the first time in 1997. The company's repertoire includes both mainstream works and rarely performed operas and

chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergoles ...

s. In the past they have staged Fleishman's '' Rothschild's Violin'',

Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

's ''

Hin und zurück ' (Back and forth) is an operatic 'sketch' (Op. 45a) in one scene by Paul Hindemith, with a German libretto by Marcellus Schiffer. It acts as a parody of conventional opera tropes featuring a coloratura ariette, a jealousy duet, and a terzet for ...

'' and

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer ...

's '' Maddalena'' and were the first company to revive

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's ''

Undine Undines (; also ondines) are a category of elemental beings associated with water, stemming from the alchemical writings of Paracelsus. Later writers developed the undine into a water nymph in its own right, and it continues to live in modern ...

'' (1994) and to stage Prokofiev's ''

The Ugly Duckling "The Ugly Duckling" ( da, Den grimme ælling) is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in ''New Fairy Tales. First Volume#New Fairy Tales. Fir ...

'' (1992). In October 2010, Helikon gave the first performance of Tchaikovsky's '' Mazeppa'' to be seen in Moscow in six years.Hodouchi, Ayano
"Bad romance, Tchaikovsky style"
. ''The Moscow News'' October 14, 2010.

References

External links

Helikon Opera official website
(English version) {{Authority control Russian opera companies Musical groups established in 1990 Opera houses in Russia 1990 establishments in Russia