Cinderella gets a makeover | Russia Beyond The Headlines

Cinderella gets a makeover | Russia Beyond The Headlines


Gorokhova

Georgy Isaakyan is considered a young gun in Russia. He brought Alexander Solzhenitsyn to the stage and orchestrated “Fidelio” in a Gulag museum. But now he is tackling a new challenge: children’s operas.

Director of the Moscow Children's Musical Theatre Georgy Isaakyan, 43. Source: ITAR-TASS

The conductor taps his baton as a pianist in the orchestra pit follows his movements intently. Up on the stage, a tenor raises up into an exuberant aria. As the choir joins in, the tenor falls to the ground, tossing about wildly. “Cut!“, booms a deep voice from the auditorium. Everything stops immediately. Then a dark-haired, well-built man in jeans, tennis shoes and a loose-fitting shirt leaps up onto the stage. He runs about, gesturing wildly, drops his large notepad and then throws himself to the ground. “Like this!”, he says emphatically, demonstrating the move he wants to see.

Director Georgy Isaakyan, 43, is conducting a rehearsal for a children’s opera about princes and oranges, evil sorceresses and heroes. He declines to divulge anything further, but, he promises, “It will be twisted;” his eyes light up impishly as he speaks.

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