Time to break records: shooting stars in autumn
This fall promises to set a new record in terms of the number of big international stars coming to Moscow for concerts. It’s an especially pleasant surprise for their fans in the city.
Several international stars will be performing at Crocus City Hall this October. The marathon will kick off on October 9, with the band Smokie. The band’s membership has changed a bit – it’s not the same as it was in the 70s. The legendary Chris Norman and Alan Silson no longer perform with Smokie. Still, fans are eager to hear all of their favorite hits from that era: “What Can I Do,” “Oh, Carol,” “I’ll Meet You at Midnight,” and the band’s most famous single – “Living Next Door to Alice.” On October 11, the same venue will host a performance by the Italian musician Eros Ramazzotti. The singer and composer has sold over 100 million records throughout his 25-year-long career. He’s sang a lot of duets with artists like Adriano Celentano, Cher, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, and many others. Eros is one of the more popular Italian singers. He is famous all over the world, because he released most of his albums in both Italian and Spanish.
On October 12, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory is hosting a holiday for opera lovers: Hibla Gerzmava, one of today’s most prominent opera stars, will be performing at the venue. The program includes romances and arias from operas by Russian and foreign composers. As one of the most popular and outstanding opera singers, Hibla Gerzmava doesn’t perform in Moscow often, which is why her shows always sell out.
Famous British singer Sarah Brightman will be performing in Moscow on October 29. The singer is known for her unique soprano. In the beginning of her career, Sarah sang in the most famous musicals. In 1981, she took part in the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Cats.” Three years later, Sarah and Andrew got married. The date – March 22, 1984 – was the composer’s birthday. He created the role of Christine in the musical “Phantom of the Opera.” Sarah is also famous for singing in duets often. In 1996, she recorded the single “Time to Say Goodbye” with the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. They performed it together at Henry Maske’s boxing match, who was wrapping up his career in sports. The single was recognized as “the best of all time” in terms of sales volumes, and became Brightman’s biggest hit.
On October 31, Thomas Anders – former singer of the band “Modern Talking,” which was incredibly popular in the USSR back in the 80s – will be coming to Moscow for yet another concert. His band with Dieter Bohlen broke up many years ago, but this doesn’t prevent them from performing their former band’s hits solo. The fans, in turn, get a rush of adrenaline and a ton of enjoyment as they remember their disco-era youth.
On November 5, the VTB Arena will host another famous band from the 80s and 90s – Scorpions. Their famous song “Wind of Change” was a kind of anthem of the perestroika era. The most important thing is that the lead singer Klaus Meine has been with the band from 1969 all the way to the present day. But not many people remember that, back in 1981, when Scorpions were at the peak of their popularity, Klaus has some issues with his voice. He developed nodes and a polyp on his vocal cords. The singer wanted to leave the band so they could have their moment in the spotlight, but the other band members convinced Meine to come back after his recovery. After two operations and almost a year of rehabilitation, his voice came back. Klaus is the author of the song “Wind of Change,” which he wrote in 1990, dedicating to perestroika and the end of the Cold War.
And another completely nostalgic performance on November 22 – Moscow is expecting the Norwegian band A-ha, which sprang up in Oslo in 1982. The electro-pop and new wave legend has a lot of fans in Russia. One of the band’s most popular hits, “Take on Me,” will definitely get the whole crowd singing along during the concert. Of course, female fans are dreaming of seeing the band’s handsome vocalist Morten Harket, who has a unique voice and a range of five octaves. Harket turned 60 on September 14, but it’s hard to believe!
In mid-October, the State Tretyakov Gallery is hosting a big event – the opening of the Vasily Polenov exhibition, which will run through mid-February. One of the most prominent Russian artists of the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, Vasily Polenov was born into a noble family in Saint Petersburg. His grandfather was a professor of Russian literature, his father was a diplomat and bibliographer, and his mom wrote children’s books and painted. Given his upbringing, it’s no wonder that Vasily became an artist as well. Polenov is considered to be an innovator of landscape painting. His most famous painting, “Moscow Courtyard,” depicts one of the side-streets on Arbat. However, not many people know what Polenov was also an architect, theatre artist, and a prominent teacher – both Isaac Levitan and Konstantin Korovin were his students. The exhibition will focus on all aspects of Polenov’s art. There are over 150 works from 16 Russian museums and private collections: landscapes and portraits, religious paintings, sketches of theatre decorations, and architectural projects.
Theatre goers are in for a series of events this fall as well with the opening of a new theatre season. In October, Moscow’s Maly Theatre is hosting the premiere of “The Players,” based on a play by Nikolai Gogol. The popular actor Igor Petrenko will play the main character – the card cheat.
Another premiere at Theater of Nations is “Uncle Vanya” – the first Russian production from the Parisian Odéon Theatre’s art director Stefan Braunschweig. As the director himself says, it took him 30 years to get ready to work on this Chekhov play. The main roles in the play will be played by well-known Russian theatre stars: Evgeny Mironov, Yulia Peresild, Anatoly Bely, and Elizaveta Boyarskaya. According to Braunschweig, the key to his production of Uncle Vanya is the subject of the environment, which is something the whole world is concerned with today. Chekhov’s character Astrov was a visionary. More than a hundred years ago, the young doctor was worried about the problem of deforestation. He called to protect nature for future generations.
The Moscow Drama Theatre on Malaya Bronnaya is also a subject of interest, as it recently acquired a new theatre director – Konstantin Bogomolov, who is considered to be the most shocking theatre director in Russia. He has been the subject of conversation for some time now. And when a romance blossomed between Konstantin Bogomolov and Ksenia Sobchak, the director couldn’t catch a break away from the spotlight. During his first press conference, Bogomolov promised that other directors will also work on plays in the theatre. As for Bogomolov himself, his first priority was the production of the play “Pokrovsky Gates,” which years ago was turned into a very popular film. He also promised a production of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” The premiere is expected to take place around September-October of 2020. In the meantime, Bogomolov’s fans can check out the musical solo performance “Thus Spoke Bogomolov” at Crocus City Hall on October 11. Bogomolov’s favorite actor Igor Mirkurbanov (he has had roles in seven of Bogomolov’s plays) will introduce the public to the director’s original texts. In this production, Bogomolov is both the author and the director of the play. A book with the same title has already been published. It contains texts about death, “existential insolence,” “shamelessness,” and the “exposure of one’s self.”
For fans of ballet, the State Kremlin Palace will be hosting another gala concert of international ballet stars from the “Autographs and Images” project by the People’s Artist Andris Liepa – “Maris Liepa. With Love.” Maris Liepa’s name will forever be part of the history of dance and the Bolshoi Theatre. Maris was married to Maya Plisetskaya, though the marriage lasted less than three months, and also the lover of Secretary General Brezhnev’s daughter Galina. His female fans adored him. The evening will be a real holiday for those who appreciated Maris, complete with fragments of the best classical ballets the dancer starred in and recent productions performed by international ballet stars. The lead and director of the evening is Maris’ son Andris Liepa.
