In October Muscovites and guests of Russia’s capital will have a unique chance to see Valentin Rasputin's legendary elegiac novel «Farewell to Matyora» onstage. During the celebration of the days of Irkutsk Region, on 16 October, the actors of Irkutsk Academic Drama Theater of N. Okhlopkov will be playing in this grandiose and beloved by Irkutsk audience production on the stage of the Maly Theatre.
In October Muscovites and guests of Russia’s capital will have a unique chance to see Valentin Rasputin's legendary elegiac novel «Farewell to Matyora» onstage. During the celebration of the days of Irkutsk Region, on 16 October, the actors of Irkutsk Academic Drama Theater of N. Okhlopkov will be playing in this grandiose and beloved by Irkutsk audience production on the stage of the Maly Theatre.
«Farewell to Matyora» is not just a story about a deliberate flooding of a fictional Siberian village which is to be evacuated and cleared so that a hydroelectric power station could be constructed on the Angara River. It is not even a narrative about the loss of the nature to technological progress. And this is not even an epic about the downfall of indigenous Russian people and Russian peasant culture. This is a story about us drowning our past, breaking the bonds with our origins, with our home ground and forgetting about what is truly dear to our heart and our memory.
It is no surprise that the theatre from Irkutsk Oblast, the area where Valentin Rasputin was born and lived much of his life, produced the best staging of this piercing and truthful tale. Rasputin loved Okhlopkov Drama Theatre, highly appreciated the skills of the actors and directors of the theatre. Rasputin trusted the staging of his works to his fellow countrymen. And the theatre in turn took great care of ideas and messages that the author wanted to convey to the readers.
«Farewell to Matyora» was staged in Irkutsk by the famous Moscow director Gennadiy Shaposhnikov. Like all the works of the master, this production immediately enriched the theatre’s repertoire. Most performances are sold out months in advance, and some devoted admirers have seen «Matyora» several times.
The production will be playing on Maly Theatre’s Main stage on October 16, 2017.Tickets are already on sale!
