From the archive of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
A significant part of Stanislav Monyushko's legacy consists of musical and theatrical genres: comedy operettas and majestic operas that attract the attention of directors and are staged in many countries of the world. Productions of our countryman's works have been repeatedly performed on the Belarusian opera stage.
This section contains images of valuable documents from the archive of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus (Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus). Among the materials are digitized posters of Stanislav Monyushko's operas "Galka" and "The Terrible Courtyard", as well as photo fragments from productions of these outstanding works by the composer, which were once presented to the Belarusian public on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus.
Researchers are given the opportunity to download documents for further use with a mandatory link to the custodians of the funds (archive of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus). Please note that all signatures under copies of photographs and posters have been verified with precision by the theatre staff.
The most famous in Stanislav Monyushko's work is the opera "Galka", written based on the poem by Wlodzimierz Wolski. The opera reveals the tragedy of a peasant girl and is imbued with sympathy for the common man. The production of the famous opera was first organized in 1854 in Vilna, in 1856 it was performed in Minsk, and then in Grodno. There were screenings of "Galka" in the twentieth century: the opera was performed in Minsk in 1975 at the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre staged by the Polish director from Wroclaw Boleslav Yankovsky. Soloists of the Lodz Theatre Halina Romanowska and singer of the opera Shlensk in Katowice Boleslav Pavlus were invited to Minsk to perform the main parts. Conductor Lev Lyakh, a graduate of the Belarusian State Conservatory, achieved high musical accuracy and coherence of performance in this production.
The photographs show scenes from the opera "Galka" staged in 1975 on the stage of the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.
The opera "The Terrible Courtyard" (1861–1864) – the pinnacle of Stanislav Monyushko's operatic skill – has been waiting for its stage incarnation in Belarus for about 90 years. This work is inextricably linked with the homeland of our countryman, the Smilovichi, and embodies the legends of the Smilovichi Castle, which the future composer visited as a child during visits to relatives. Belarusians saw the production of an outstanding work on the national opera stage for the first time only in 1952.
After the premiere, critics wrote: "The opera was performed in the Belarusian language, in a picturesque design that embodied a picture of nature, the modest setting of a simple rural house and the patriarchal family estate of the brothers Stefan and Zbigniew. The viewer easily recognized the motives of his native land". It is noteworthy that the famous Moscow musicologist Igor Belza noted the skill of the author of the scenery – the famous painter Pavel Maslenikov, who worked at that time as an opera house production designer.
The photographs represent fragments of the 1952 production, where you can see unique images of the artists before and after the premiere of the play, as well as the performers of the main roles and the production group led by director Larisa Alexandrovskaya. Thanks to these valuable photos, users are given an interesting opportunity to go all the way through the production of "The Terrible Courtyard": from rehearsals and parting words from the director before going on stage to ovations after a successful premiere and the final memorable photo of inspired and happy artists.
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