The creative flights of Ilya Glazunov
are determined in great part by the extraordinary
breadth of his creative life and the multi-faceted
expressions of his artistic strivings. In
his youth Glazunov dreamt of being a stage
designer. Together with his cousins he used
a cardboard box to create a makeshift folk
theater booth. The “performers” were either
painted on the box or cut from cardboard.
The artist’s love for the theater developed
after seeing the opera “Ivan Susanin,” formerly
known as “A Life for the Tsar” with his
mother at the Lenin Komsomol Theater. The
theater was housed in a former “People’s
House” where the famous singer Shalyapin
once performed. The future artist was awestruck
by the performance, which brought to life
the famous exploits of Field Marshal Suvorov
and the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812.
During the difficult post-war years the
young student would often end his day by
attending a performance in a conservatory
or philharmonic hall, or by getting together
with friends to listen to recordings of
great Italian vocalists. Ever since that
time music has become an inseparable part
of the artist’s life. Classical music can
always be heard in his studio. All his life
Glazunov has been fond of the recordings
of the brilliant Shalyapin, and the works
of the great composers Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky,
Rimsky-Korsakov, and Borodin. The images
of the great old masters that “inhabited”
the halls of the State Hermitage Museum
were associated in his mind with the Italian
“Bel Canto” style, and especially with the
great tenor Beniamino Gigli, who the student
artists enjoyed listening to and in whom
they saw the bright spirit of the masters
of the Italian Renaissance.
Needless to say, considering the artist’s
early dreams of becoming a stage designer,
he was overjoyed to receive an offer by
the Berlin State Opera to become the set
designer of the beloved operas “Prince Igor”
and “Queen of Spades.” His wife, Nina Aleksandrovna
Vinogradova-Benois, collaborated on the
scenery sketches with him, and the costumes
to these operas are entirely her creations.
The Berlin Opera premieres of “Prince
Igor” and “Queen of Spades” were a resounding
success. Director-producer B. A. Pokrovsky
gave the highest marks to the decor and
costumes by the Russian artists. They succeeded
in bringing to life on the Berlin stage
the epos of ancient Rus’ and images of what
the artist considers Tchaikovsky’s finest,
most St. Peterburgian of operas, “Queen
of Spades.”
“It was our work in the Bolshoi Theater,
the supreme symbol of Russian culture that
we considered our most important, and to
which we felt the greatest responsibility.
I am referring to our work on the production
of the magnificent Russian opera ‘Tale of
the Invisible Town of Kitezh and the Maiden
Fevroniya,’” states Ilya Sergeyevich. Glazunov’s
designs received the highest praise from
director-producer B.A. Pokrovsky and the
great conductor Evgeny Svetlanov, who were
especially impressed with the significance
and diversity of the color schemes of the
Russian costume from the time of Batu Khan’s
invasion. “What a thrill it was for us to
work on this great opera. How much effort
and energy was invested, including sometimes
resisting the routine and the cliche-ridden,
and other times, fighting those who tried
to give a ‘new interpretation’ to classic
operas and ballets. After all, what artist,
walking into the Tretyakov Gallery, would
decide to redo the famous masterpieces of
Russian and world art? Who, if they didn’t
like, for example, Surikov’s ‘Boyarina Morozova’
or Leonardo’s ‘Madonna’ would decide to
simply paint their own? The same thing could
be said of the Russian ballet, which has
won worldwide fame,” states Ilya Sergeyevich.
The premier of “The Town of Kitezh” with
stage designs by Ilya Glazunov and costumes
by Nina Vinogradova-Benois was an event
that those who attended would remember for
a lifetime. Adhering to classical traditions,
director-producer Tikhomirov realized the
artistic vision of Rimsky Korsakov with
great tact and creative mastery. The inspired
prowess of conductor Evgeny Svetlanov elicited
tears from the audience. The premier was
attended by his holiness Patriarch Pimen
of Moscow and all Rus’, who conferred his
blessings upon the artists and congratulated
them on their grand success.
It is unfortunate that this opera has been
removed from the repertoire, despite the
fact that music critics and even the USSR
Ministry of Culture named it the best show
of the 1983-1984 season.
Sketches of decorations for Rimsky-Korsakov’s
“Tale of the Invisible Town of Kitezh and
the Maiden Fevroniya.” 1983
On the heels of this success came an invitation
from Odessa, with an opera theater that
stunned Nina Vinogradova and Ilya Glazunov
with its magnificence. images of the artist’s
beloved St. Petersburg came to life once
again on the stage of the Odessa Theater,
this time for the ballet “Masquerade” with
music by the great contemporary composer
Aram Khachaturyan. Ilya Glazunov continued
the almost forgotten tradition of Russian
stage and costume design which was so brilliantly
developed by many generations of Russian
artists, including Golovine, Aleksandr Benois,
Konstantin Korovin, and many others. “The
task of a stage designer,” asserts Ilya
Glazunov, “is to recreate on stage an image
that properly reflects the music of the
performance. I detest making a mockery of
the classics. I detest avant-garde explorations
and a contrived minimalist approach that
run counter to the creation of artistic
images.”
The artist feels that lighting is the most
important aspect of stage design. “Even
with beautiful stage designs, the inability
to use lighting as a means to create a magic
atmosphere for the viewer will lead to the
failure of the performance. I recall how
one director said to my wife in Odessa:
‘What colors have you chosen for the costumes
of the famous ball – I would advise you
to use the color of an over-ripe cherry.’
My wife and I exchanged a glance: all of
the costumes needed to be different, yet
together they had to express harmony and
the mood of the action. This is no secret.
All our great teachers – the Russian artists
who dazzled Paris during the seasons of
Diaghelev’s famous Ballets Russes – adhered
to this principle. I am especially enchanted
with the creative fantasy of my late wife
– Nina Aleksandrovna Vinogradova-Benois.
The costumes that she designed are so original,
and so beautiful in their historical veracity,
that the stage was transformed into a magical
tale of colors that harmonized with the
music and with the artistic visions of the
composers of the great operas.”
During the difficult period known as the
time of “stagnation,” Glazunov was approached
by the director and founder of the National
Jewish Theater, Yu. B. Sherling, who offered
him the job of stage designer for the theater’s
first performance, “Black Bridle for a White
Mare.” “I was surprised that I, as a Russian,
was asked to do the stage design for a Jewish
opera,” the artist states.
Yuri Sherling, the author of the score and
the director-producer, explained why he
sought Glazunov’s collaboration on this
complex and many-layered play: “You have
a sense of tragedy. Your series of works
about the blockade and your illustrations
of Dostoyevsky’s works impressed me greatly.
My opera speaks of good and evil. The action
takes place in pre-revolutionary Russia,
where images of Sholom Aleichem-style daily
life are juxtaposed with images of ancient
Jerusalem and the Holy Land.”
The musical score appealed to Glazunov and,
believing strongly that each nationality
has a right to its own national culture
and history, he threw his abundant creative
energies into work as the artistic stage
manager of the play “Black Bridle for a
White Mare.” Muscovites enthusiastically
applauded the authors of the play, marveling
at Yuri Sherling’s multi-faceted talent
and at the stage designs created by Ilya
Glazunov. At the night’s end, the stage
was covered with flowers. And when it turned
out that some of the stage scenery had suffered
serious damage while the play was touring
in distant Birobidzhan, Glazunov worked
through the night to restore the damaged
backdrops and side-scenes.
Sketches of stage scenes
for Y. Sherling’s play at the Jewish Chamber
Music Theater, “Black Bridle for a White
Mare.” 1978
