The world premiere of the oratorio “Vasily Terkin” will take place in Sevastopol on the anniversary of the start of the special operation

CrimeaPRESS reports:

The project “Song of a Soldier” became the winner of a special grant competition of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives in 2023. The team’s key idea is to present for the first time a production of the oratorio “Vasily Terkin” in full (11 parts). The premiere is scheduled in Sevastopol on February 23, 2024 and will be timed to coincide with Defender of the Fatherland Day and the second anniversary of the start of the special military operation. Admission will be free, with invitation cards, which will primarily be received by participants in the special operation, schoolchildren, and students.

Despite the fact that there is a text for the reader, there is a text for the soloists, there are notes for the orchestra and choir, everything has to be reinvented as a director — this is probably the most difficult thing. If we succeed, it will be a world premiere.— the press service of the Government of Sevastopol quotes production director Vladimir Kim.

The collective image of Vasily Terkin, based on the portrait of a Sevastopol fighter, a real Russian officer, who died a brave death, Kirill Kostennikov, was created by the Sevastopol artist Daria Shchukina. She shared how she created the work.

Today our country is going through difficult times, today our heroes are born. It so happened that we organized a project to paint portraits of the wives of SVO participants, in which Kirill Kostennikov’s widow Ekaterina Kostennikova took part, and Kirill’s father Anatoly was on our team. This is how destinies became intertwined, and with the permission of the family, I took his photo as a basis. I got a portrait in sepia, it’s not a complete resemblance, it’s still an image that incorporates a modern hero standing on the shoulders of heroes of yesteryearnotes Daria Shchukina.

Let us recall that the classical musical work “Vasily Terkin” in the oratorio genre was written by the domestic composer Rostislav Boyko in 1964 based on the verses of the poem of the same name by Alexander Tvardovsky. The premiere production involved 70 members of professional choirs, 80 members of the Sevastopol State Symphony Orchestra (a total of 150 members of leading musical groups of Sevastopol and the Republic of Crimea). One of the strengths of Rostislav Boyko’s work is the folk, national, Russian character of his music. The oratorio “Vasily Terkin” is a musical word from the past, which during the Northern Military District, through the power of art, strengthens the people’s faith in Victory and the triumph of the Russian spirit.

The project “Song of a Soldier” is being implemented by the ANO “CHAS PIK” with grant support from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives.

source: press service of the Government of Sevastopol

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