Bolshoi Theatre Presents New Version of Glinka's Opera Ruslan and Lyudmila

Mikhail Glinka's opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila" will be the last opera premiere of the 227th season of the Bolshoi Theatre. The premiere will take place on April 23rd.

This will be a new version of the masterpiece of Russian classics, musical director and chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre Alexander Vedernikov told a press conference.

"The main idea is the wish to reveal the spirit, style and modern sounding of Glinka's music," Vedernikov said. The latest discovery of Russian music critics, altering the common notion of an opera, will be used in the new performance. According to Vedernikov, the exquisite score, kept in the Bolshoi Theatre, will be performed with supplements from scores, kept in St. Petersburg and Berlin.

The Bolshoi Theatre bought original historic musical instruments, piano, harp, kettle-drums and glass accordion, to make the score sound more authentic. Today journalists had a chance to listen to the glass accordion.

An international scientific symposium on April 23rd-24th in the Bolshoi Theatre and an exhibition, dedicated to the opera's history, are timed to coincide with the premiere of "Ruslan and Lyudmila".