«The Imaginary Invalid» may be considered as one of Moliere's great character plays. It is the last and probably the most mysterious of them - mythology says that the playwright fell ill in the middle of a performance of The Imaginary Invalid and died soon after.. Throughout this comedy of manners, the author brilliantly blends satire and farce in a fast-moving plot that pokes fun both at the medical profession and at its simple-hearted clientele. One cannot but sympathize with the eccentric hypochondriac, Argan, who is trying to hide from the indifference of the world behind imaginary ailments…
In 2007 the performance received the Golden Mask Award for the Best Large Scale production.
Director – Sergei Zhenovach
Scenography – Alexander Borovskiy
Costume Designer – Oksana Yarmolnik
Lighting Designer – Damir Ismagilov
Composer – Grigoriy Gobernik
Assistant Director – Tatiana Egorova
Premiere – October 8th, 2005
100th performance – March 22nd , 2014
Running Time: 2h40 min
Suitable for 12+yrs
A comedy in 2 acts
The performance runs with one intermission
Roles and actors:
Argan, the imaginary invalid Laureate of the State prizes of the Russian Federation, People's Artist of Russia Vasiliy Bochkaryov
Béline, second wife of Argan Recipient of the State Prize of the Russian Federation, People's Artist of Russia Evgeniya Glushenko
Angélique, daughter of Argan, in love with Cléante Olga Molochnaya Olga Abramova
Béralde, brother of Argan Recipient of the Prize of the Russian Federation Government, People's Artist of Russia Alexander Klukvin Honored Artist of Russia Vasiliy Dakhnenko
Cléante, lover of Angélique State Prize of the Russian Federation laureate, Honored Artist of Russia Gleb Podgorodinskiy Mikhail Martyanov
Mr. Diafoirus, a physician People's Artist of Russia Vladimir NosikRecipient of the Prize of the Russian Federation Government, People's Artist of Russia Alexander Ermakov Honored Artist of Russia Sergey Tezov
Thomas Diafoirus, his son Honored Artist of Russia Viktor Nizovoy Alexander Naumov
Mr. Purgon, physician of Argan Honored Artist of Russia Sergey Veshchev Honored Artist of Russia Vasiliy Dakhnenko
Mr. de Bonnefoi, a notary Igor Grigoriev
Toinette, maid-servant of Argan People's Artist of Russia Lyudmila Titova
Servants of Argan Mikhail Martyanov Konstantin Yudaev Pyotr Zhikharev Maksim Khrustalyov Grigoriy Skryapkin Alexander Driven Stanislav Soshnikov Andrey Sergeev Alexander Naumov Evgeniy Sorokin Maksim Filatov Vladimir Tyaptushkin
Deputy concertmaster of the cello group, Vera AgamalyanLeader of an orchestra, Sergey TkachenkoLaureate of the All-Union competition, Gulfira SaitovaConcertmaster of the violas, Dmitry Bocharov Oleg Sidorskiy Zhanna Polyakova Anastasiya MakushkinaConcertmaster of the cello group, Olga Mokhnacheva