After the premiere that took place in Kyiv’s Municipal Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet for Children and Youth we can assert that the capital has got another talented experimenting director. More gratifying a fact is that Vitalii Palchykov has recently graduated from the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy (Kurbakov’s course). As a NMAU student, Vitalii staged Puccini’s opera Gianni Schicchi at the Opera Studio, and the production was included in the active repertoire of the opera studio of the conservatoire. The young director’s diploma work was the opera The Wise Girl by Orff. In 2009 he staged at the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine the premiere of the choir opera by Lesia Dychko Zolotoslov (performed by the Khreshchatyk Choir and the Chamber Choir of the Military Music Center of the Ukraine’s Land Armed Forces with the participation of soloists, drama actors, and students of the National University of Theater, Cinema, and Television). Currently he is a director at the Kyiv Municipal Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet for Children and Youth. In February 2011 he staged Verdi’s opera La traviata for the theater’s Swiss tour. Palchykov is not even 30, so his main achievements await him in the future.
The director brought the plot of Verdi’s La traviata to the Parisian world of fashion of the late 20th century. The Kyiv director managed to interpret the score, which thousands of music-lovers over the world know by heart, and which is decked with garlands of cliches, in a new, provocative, but well-thought, way. Palchykov perceived the order to stage La traviata like a challenge to his professional mastery, and the opera – like a rebus text, which should be unraveled. And he did so together with conductor Mykhailo Moroz, set designer Liudmyla Nahorna, costume designer Anzhela Lysytsia, choirmaster Anzhela Maslennikova, and choreographer Kristina Shyshkariova. The premiere featured Olha Fomichova (Violetta), Oleksii Palchykov (Alfredo), and Andrii Maslakov (Giorgio Germont). Incidentally, Oleksii Palchykov, whose singing mastery has been praised in many international competitions, is Vitalii’s native brother, four years younger (the tenor and director have the same date of birth, March 9), and baritone Andrii Maslakov has lived and worked in Germany for a long time.
The action is focused on the podium, always present on stage during the four acts. It shows designer Violetta Valery’s fashion shows. It is also the place where the opera’s characters fall in love, quarrel, suffer, and die. Palchykov’s La traviata has many bright findings: a chess game, a 1950s disco, Violetta’s feverish visions and even Alfredo’s transfer to the future in the finale of the opera (he reads the story of his beloved one’s death in a book, without taking part in the action). However, the most precious in the production is not the “exterior” innovations, but a detailed and psychologically precise interpretation of the dialog scenes. The director found humoristic grounding for Violetta’s vocal grace notes: Alfredo is tickling her feet while she’s singing. Giorgio Germont’s arioso is so weak and full of frequent pauses because during the conversation with Violetta he suffers a heart attack. The skill of listening attentively to the music and stage mise-en-scenes, which do not contradict the score, is by far the main advantage of an opera director, and Palchykov is really masterful in this.
“Last season I staged La traviata together with conductor Mykhailo Moroz and artist Liudmyla Nahorna for the tour in Geneva and Basel. A total of eight performances took place in the period between February 19 and March 2, 2011. The production was created by the Municipal Opera House, including the orchestra, choir, and soloists,” Vitalii Palchykov explained. “Foreign producers ordered a classical production of La traviata, and the Swiss audience admired it. Then we thought: why not make a version of the play for Kyiv, if the soloists, the choir, and the orchestra have learned it. But the capital already has two traditional productions of La traviata – in the National Opera House and the NMAU Opera Studio, therefore we decided to bring elements of our own in the play. Our first innovation was to bring the action for 100 years ahead. The opera was written in 1853, and we have the late 20th century. The place of action is France. Another innovation is a fashion place. For the aim the theater involved in the production the famous Ukrainian designer Anzhela Lysytsia, who sewed two collections of costumes. The female part of the choir wears the outfits from the first collection in the first act, and from the second one – in the third act.”
“AN ARGUMENT MAY GIVE WAY TO AN INTERESTING DECISION”
You have brought the plot of La traviata to the world of fashion, does not this contradict the author’s dramaturgy of the opera?
“Why not? Whereas in the original the opera’s action takes place in the public house, in our version it is the world of fashion. Violetta used to be a top model and later became a designer. The podium (as the core decision of set design) pierces all four acts. It features the shows, scenes from life (fashion behind-the-scenes), and Violetta’s death. Alfredo is a person from different world, he is an ordinary provincial man who dreams of striking root in the fashion milieu. Besides the plot, we show the history of female costume. In the 1950s-1960s a real revolution took place in the world of fashion, and the change took place in 1956. In the 1950 women wore dresses with puffed sleeves, lining, and underskirts, whereas in the 1960s silhouette costume came into fashion.”
Vitalii, have you ever crossed with the world of fashion?
“I am not a fashion buff. But I admit that this is a separate and extremely interesting world. Nearly eight years ago, when I was a conservatory student, I taught actor’s mastery to future models (the agency belonged to my friends). On the one hand, it was very simple to talk to the models, because they agree with everything you say, on the other hand, it was really hard to meet my demands. People from the sphere of art are quite a different thing. You can discuss with singers dramaturgy and conflicts on the base of the opera productions they know, but they like to argue. However, my opinion is that an argument may give way to an interesting decision.
“Designer Anzhela Lysytsia has never worked in theater before. For the most part she sews costumes for variety stars and TV shows participants. She lives in Switzerland and her fashion house is in Kyiv. The head of the Municipal Opera House Volodymyr Melenchukov met her and asked to sew costumes for the choir. She did a brilliant work, after which we agreed upon the cooperation on La traviata. At first it was hard for Anzhela, because theater costumes should be convenient for singing, whether one sits or lies: they have their own specifics.”
Verdi’s Violetta is a demimondaine, in terms of her social status she is below Alfredo. You somewhat change the configuration of the conflict.
“I did not want to make the accent on the social conflict, say that she is from one world, and he is from another world. Because by and large it is Alfredo who is below Violetta in Verdi’s play. He is poor. Having come from Provence, he light-heartedly wastes his father’s money in Paris, and finally destroys his father with the statement that he wants to marry a prostitute. Formally Alfredo does belong to the higher society, but even in this he cannot reach the possibilities and style of Violetta’s life. In our production we simply ‘move’ the story into a modern milieu.”
“WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN IT”
Tell about the principle music innovation of your production.
“In Kyiv we for the first time ‘open’ two traditional notes: stretas of Germont and Alfredo. In the past ten years I have never heard that they were performed. However, namely they show the versatility of Alfredo’s image, his masculine beginning reveals itself, as well as the ability to make decisions. This makes two characters closer, Alfredo Germont and his father Giorgio Germont.”
La traviata is one of the most famous operas of the world repertoire. Is it simpler for you to work with a popular text or a scarcely known one?
“It is very hard to stage a popular opera. You can invent what somebody has invented 100 times before you, because a lot of director’s decisions have appeared in the 150 years. You wake up in the night because something dawns upon you, next morning you share the idea with your friends and hear in reply: ‘We have already seen it.’
“I usually invent the play when I stroll with my child in the street. She is sleeping in the carriage and I have time to think. Sometimes it is hard to fall asleep, because the opera sounds in your head and you cannot ‘knock it out.’ Then I listen to some nonsense to switch off.”
You have been officially working in Municipal Opera House since this season. Do you have any plans connected with the Opera Studio of the Music Academy?
“I developed as a director namely at the NMAU Opera Studio. There I staged two plays: Gianni Schicchi by Puccini and The Wise Girl by Carl Orff. One more work I did in cooperation with the choir ‘Khreshchatyk’ for the National Philharmonic Society, the choir opera Zolotoslov by Lesia Dychko.
“The new chief conductor of the Opera Studio Serhii Holubnychy, having obtained consent of the Academy’s rector Volodymyr Rozhko, started to reform the studio: he has recently held an auditioning to the orchestra, took several new concertmasters. His aim is to turn the Opera Studio into a classical regular opera theater.”
“IS THERE A NEED FOR DIRECTOR IN AN OPERA?”
Are you happy with the overall situation in the operatic art in Kyiv?
“It seems to me our capital should have a theater like the National Opera of Ukraine, which would stage large-scale productions. Lately there have been many debates, whether there is a need for a director in opera? But namely director should create the image of the time of action and certain surrounding. My pedagogue liked to repeat: ‘Theater is not a museum. It should keep up with the times.’ I am interested in all sides of an opera theater. I like to recreate the spirit of the time, the manner of the past, and at the same time see more productions close to nowadays.
“La traviata is a genius opera. Verdi gives numerous opportunities to realize the ideas, allowing the director to express his attitude to what is going on in the opera. The composer does not take a neutral position: sometimes Verdi even contradicts himself. This is interesting: to choose one of his versions, the one that is closer to you. For example, in the second part of La traviata there is a scene, when Alfredo comes back from a trip to Paris, and Violetta is sitting and crying. We can only guess whether Alfredo settled his problems in Paris, with what mood he came back, and whether he found money to arrange his personal happiness with Violetta. Verdi does not give answer to any of these questions. Besides, Alfredo does not even notice that something is going on with his beloved woman; that is why his cues seem nonsensical.
“There is one more interesting moment: Violetta’s communication with Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father. If you judge only from libretto, it would seem that Giorgio Germont comes and immediately feels that he is the master of the situation: and for the further 40 minutes we watch the defeated Violetta. But the music of this scene is full of marching. Verdi tries to say that Violetta is fighting to the end. Being an intelligent and versatile woman, she uses her charm and tears, she falls to her knees, and argues. Why does she write a letter to Alfredo? Was she ready for Alfredo’s attempt to win her back? Of course, not. If my girl left me without any explanation I would go and try to find out what’s happened. On the other hand, what can you expect from Alfredo who is something over 20? I wondered what really outraged the audience at the opera’s premiere in 1853. That Alfredo threw money in Violetta’s face or Violetta’s public declaration of love? All these are open questions, and many generations of opera directors will try to think them over.”
