Predators

On April 4, 5 and 6, the Musical Comedy Theatre presents the premiere of the musical and dramatic performance “Predators” based on the story “Drama on the Hunt” by A.P. Chekhov.

In the year of the 165th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Russian writer, St. Petersburg will see an updated version of the production, created several years ago by a group of creative associates headed by director Valery Vladimirov. The main role is played by the winner of the Golden Mask award Ivan Ozhogin.

… Russia, the end of the 19th century. Count Karneyev returns to his estate after two years of absence. Boredom overcomes him literally from the first days. And he asks his old friend Sergei Zinoviev to come visit him. Knowing Sergei’s weakness for beautiful women, the Count tries to involve him in a new love affair. For this, a victim is needed. The forester’s daughter Olenka becomes her. But the bored count's plan is cruel and destructive...

The story "Drama on the Hunt", written in 1884, was published in the Moscow newspaper "Novosti Dnya" under the pseudonym "A. Chekhonte". The fame of the main Russian playwright of the turn of the century, the author of "The Seagull", "Uncle Vanya", "Three Sisters" and "The Cherry Orchard", had not yet come to Chekhov - all his main works for the stage were far ahead. But already in this short melodramatic story with a detective intrigue, the young author vividly outlined both the conflict of characters and the hopelessness of the tragic denouement. Chekhov masterfully showed the world of a man who puts himself, his ambitions and desires, aspirations and interests above society - a man who is not only capable of walking "over heads", but also demands a special attitude towards himself. Greed and hypocrisy reign in this world. But boredom rules the roost, capable of making a person do strange and even terrible things.

"Drama on the Hunt" has been filmed many times. When creating their version for the stage, the team of the "Predators" project relied on romance - one of the most theatrical and figurative genres, in which the most varied feelings are most heightened: excitement and passion, suffering and pain... The performance includes works to music by A. Dargomyzhsky and P. Bulakhov, M. Glinka and B. Prozorovsky, E. Zhurakovsky and A. Guerchia, as well as other composers.

The aesthetics of the late 19th century are supported by the artistic solution of the production, created by Alexey Ulanov. The author of the musical concept, who made a huge contribution to the formation of the musical form of the performance in its first incarnation, is Tatyana Solnyshkina, known for her work as the musical director of the first domestic performances of the musical genre ("Nord-Ost", "12 Chairs", "Chicago", etc.). The musical director is Elena Bulanova, whose cooperation with the Musical Comedy Theater began in the 2000s ("Beautiful Elena", "Baroness Lili", "Ball of the Vampires", etc.).

The following actors take part in the performance: Ivan Ozhogin / Vladimir Yarosh, Igor Balalaev / Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Vladimir Samsonov, Anastasia Loshakova / Maria Yakimenko / Daria Yanvarina, Alena Bulygina / Rumiya Niyazova, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Alexander Bayron / Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Sergey Zamorev / Acting Artist of the Russian Federation Vladimir Yakovlev.

Libretto by Valery Vladimirov, music from works by various composers

Stage director – Valery Vladimirov
Musical director – Elena Bulanova
Production designer – Alexey Ulanov
Conductors – Alexey Nefedov, Allayar Latypov
Choreographer – Irina Lyakhovskaya
Lighting designer – Anastasia Yakubovich
Animators – Anastasia Andreeva, Ksenia Kalinina
Assistant director – Vera Dombrovskaya