Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater

Georgy Kovtun about the production «Viy»

 Gogol is a great master of phantasmagoria

The methods of phantasmagoria transmission are complicated as they don't have any real rationales or logical foundation. In my opinion, in «Viy» the author succeeded to create an amasing contrast of gloomy plot and ironic attitude to the characters.

By the way, the legend about the young lady (Pannochka) and Viy is quite widespread, there are many similar stories in the folk traditions of any nation.

Gogol encourages us to pay attention not only to the plot, but also to the peculiarities of the presentation, confirming the relevance of the idea – «how" is more important than «what».

The administration of Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre offered me to set the opera-ballet «Viy» by outstanding Ukrainian composer Vitaly Gubarenko. At first I wanted to refuse, but my inner adventurism made my blood boil up, so I was absolutely interested in this work.

Odessa audience knows perfectly well the first production of «Viy» in 1984, so I decided to have a look at the backhistory of  relationship by Khoma and Young Noble Lady – Pannochka. At the end of his life Gubarenko wrote choreographic scenes on the base of opera-ballet music. It seems to me rather interesting to combine the opera-ballet and the choreographic scenes. The performance is full of mysticism, which is revealed with the help of music, painting, dance and voice.

         Nikolai Gogol is plunged into the play as its protagonist. He created his characters, but after being born, they start to clash with the author. 

Саst

Gogol – Dmitry Bartosh, Denys Vasyl’ev 

Khoma Brut, a philosopher – Yuriy Dudar, Olexandr Stryuk

Khoma Brut’ s soul – Denys Vasil'ev, Bogdan Chabanyuk

Sotnik, a noble man – Mykola Subbota

Sotnik’ s soul – Vadym Krusser,  Bogdan Chabanyuk

Sotnik’s wife – Khrystyna Vetchynkina, Olena Vorontsova, Anastasiya Martynenko, Catheryna Tomashek 

Pannochka, Sotnik’s daughter – Catheryna Burdik, Maria Ryazantseva, Oksana Chepil’

Dorosh, Sotnik’s servant –Dmytro Pavlyuk, Dmytro Sebov

Svirid, Sotnik’s servant – Sergiy Krasnykh, Andriy Perfilov

Nanny – Honored Artist of Ukraine Olena Starodubtseva, Maryna Godulyan, Natalia Kadantseva,

Bublichnitsa, a bagel seller – Honored Artist of Ukraine Tetyana Spas'ka, Zoreslava Dolga, Ilona Skrypnyk

Sweets seller – Honored Artist of Ukraine Vera Revenko, Iryna Repetiy 

Mykyta – Roman Kalin, Victor Tomashek

Cossack Sheptun – Stanislav Varankin, Mykola Vorivodin, Ioann-Marian Nagornyy 

Cossack Sheptun’s wife – Lyudmila Grekova, Maryna Stryzhakova

Cossack Sheptun’s daughter – Catheryna Bartosh, Anna Tyutyunnik

Priest – Vadym Andriyanov

Dishes seller – Andriy Ripack

Voice – Honored Artist of Ukraine Nataliya Shevchenko, Alina Voroh, Anastasia Golub, Nadiya Sychuk 

Solo in the orchestra:
Violin – Honored Artist of Ukraine Oksana Moldavanova, Olexandr Anisismov
Cello – Volodymyr Avryatov, Natalia Marmusevych
Flute – Pavlo Kotovschykov, Olexandr Protas 
Trumpet – Vitaly Buynyts’kyy, Vitaly Paszkowskyy 
Соrno – Vitaly Buynyts’kyy, Vitaly Paszkowskyy 
Corno inglese – Yulia Kuzmina, Yuriy Shpiley 
Timpani – Svyatoslav Janchuk, Volodymyr Turovs’kyy 
Bells – Uliana Ripack

Вallet, сhorus, orchestra, mimans of the theatre, Children’s Choir «Gems of Odessa» (Artistic director – Larisa Harbuz)

Conductors - the chief conductor of the theatre Olexandru Samoile, Honored Artist of Ukraine Igor Shavruk, Vitaliy Kovalchuk

Stage group

General Director of the theatre – Honoured Culture Worker of Ukraine Nadiya Babich

Chief conductor of the theatre – Alexandru Samoile
Chief choirmaster of the theatre – Honoured Art Worker of Ukraine Leonid Butenko
Art head of the ballet – People's Artist of Ukraine Olena Baranovs’ka
Chief artist of the theatre – Igor Anisenko

Head of the opera troupe – Honoured Artist of Ukraine Nataliya Yutesh
Head of the directorial part – Larisa Kalashnik
Head of the ballet troupe – Honoured Artist of Ukraine Harry Sevoyan
Head of the literary and drama part – Liliya Neicheva
Head of the stage part – Viktor Yanchuk
Chief administrator of the theatre – Yulia Kovaleva

Conductors – Honoured Artist of Ukraine Igor Shavruk, Valeriy Regrut
Directors – Honoured Artist of Ukraine Sergiy Zuenko, Pavlo Koshka
Stage managers – Honoured Culture Worker of Ukraine Natalyia Grigor, Sergiy Krasnykh
Crawl line manager – Vira Semenova

Choirmaster – Ivan Gazinskyy        
Assistant choreographer – Maya Mamleeva
Sound engineer – Olexandr Nezvinskiy
Prompters – Eduard Pogosov, Yaroslav Degtyar

Accompanists – Larisa Khorololenko, Veronika Struk, Igor Parada, Galina Sergieva, Natalya Rusnyak, Olga Plekhanova, Lolita Grigoryan, Anastasiya Marushko, Lea Chibalashvili, Inna Shvedenko, Yulian Shumakov

Ballet tutor – People's Artists of Ukraine Nataliya Barysheva, Mikhaylo Petukhov, Honored Artist of Ukraine Nina Stoyan, Yuriy Carlin, Yanina Kiseleva

Make-up artists – Olena Vasilchuk, Evgeniya Galenko
Costumiers – Oksana Chabanenko, Galyna Chebysheva
Head of the lighting department – Vyacheslav Usherenko
Head of the machine-decorative department – Viktor Meleshko