The production "Mr. Georg Ots" at the “Helikon-Opera”
Moscow Musical Theater "Helikon-Opera" under the direction of Dmitry Bertman created a production "Mr. Georg Ots" to commemorate 100th anniversary of Georg Ots, the most beloved singer in the Soviet Union, and dedicated to his memory. Georg Ots, an Estonian who was born in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) and lived in Estonia for most of his life.
It is surprising, therefore, that the idea to dedicate an entire production to the memory of an outstanding artist, a true favorite of millions, came to the mind of a Moscovite Dmitry Bertman, and not to a resident of St. Petersburg or Estonia.
On the second thought, it is not surprising at all. This is because Mr. Bertman constantly dwells in the abode of the muses – Helikon – which was created by him in Moscow.
According to legend, the winged horse Pegasus knocked out with his hoof the spring of Hippocrene on the slope of the Greek mountain Helikon, the water of which brought inspiration to the poets.
The performance is formally called "Mr. Georg Ots" and both Russian and Estonian singers participate in it. It is a joint production with the leading Estonian concert organization Eesti Kontsert.
But at the time, when Georg lived and created his vocal miracles, the word "Mister" in Soviet reality was used with irony, like the one that shows through in a line of Samuel Marshak’s poem: "Mr. Twister, former minister, Mister Twister, a banker and a rich man...". Therefore, the production about such a beloved artist, who at the top of his fame was known and revered in almost every Soviet family, I will call without a title "Mister". “Georg Ots” is sufficient.
The Director of “Georg Ots” is Dmitry Bertman, the libretto is written by Marina Skalkina, and the conductor is Valery Kiryanov. There is no artist in the play who would perform Georg Ots, because, according to Bertman, this would be false – it is impossible to copy such an outstanding personality.
But Ots is present there, although the main "characters" are the time and circumstances in which the singer lived and worked. The effect of Ots' presence is created by many projected photos, the flickering footage from the films with his participation, the sound of his extremely soulful recordings of opera arias and operetta, as well as songs that he loved and which also brought him fame. The play is narrated on behalf of the biographer (Rene Soom, Estonia).
- The huge country – the Soviet Union – fell in love with Georg Ots, a singer whose voice was heard in every home, even where people did not go to the opera and did not love it. Georg Ots was a man of magical charm, and his role in the film "Mr. X" became a legend, it was one of the most popular films of all times, - Dmitry Bertman says.
The performance begins with a tragic scene when at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 the steamboat "Siberia" with the wounded combatants on board goes from Tallinn to which the German army is approaching to Leningrad, but it hit by a mine laid by the Germans in the Baltic sea.
While “Siberia” was taking on water in high seas, young conscript, Georg Ots, helps to unload the wounded soldiers to the boats. But there is not enough space for everyone, so Georg, the best swimmer of Estonia, gives up his place in a boat to one of the wounded soldiers. He spends several hours in the cold sea until a Soviet motorboat picks him up. Fortunately, the time spent in the unfriendly waters of the Baltic did not tragically affect the singer's health at that time.
Next, the performance shows the moments of Georg' life not so much as a famous singer, but as a person. The emotional trauma of Georg’s first wife running away with a German officer is painful to him. So was the episode when his second wife, the dancer Asta (Ksenia Lisanskaya) left him, because she was jealous for his success and fame.
Finally, the performance focuses on Georg’s life with his third wife – Ilona (Maya Barkovskaya), who completely devoted herself to her husband and remained with him till his last hour. That "hour” occurred after a short life of only 55 years, when a brain tumor took Georg Ots to another world.
It's amazing how the roles which the artists play are sometimes projected onto them! Mr. X in the operetta and in the film of the same name sings, "It is my destiny to always be in a mask". Georg Ots, like all artists, in performances "wore masks" of his characters, but at the end of his life he had to wear a mask, literally. His actual mask was a pair of dark glasses.
Because of the progressive illness he began to lose his sight. Nevertheless, he continued to sing in performances. This dramatic period of Georg Ots's life is also shown in the play.
The piercing line of the production is passionate love of the famous opera singer Teresa Stratas (Natalia Zagorinskaya) for Georg. According to Bertman, this story is not fiction. It is based on the memories of people who knew Stratas and Ots closely.
No one can say now whether it was it a mutual or unrequited love, but the fact that meetings of Georg and Teresa and possible important foreign tours of Ots were actively hindered by Goskontsert (an organization which was organizing tours of Soviet artists abroad) and the Ministry of Culture is reflected in the performance.
Certainly, the KGB’s interference played its negative role as well (KGB Agent in the production –singer Alexey Isaev, however, a police cap on his head looked ridiculous).
An interesting idea is to show one of the fans of Ots (Heli Veskus, Estonia), who refused her wedding because of love for Georg and dedicated her life to him. Nevertheless, she did not claim him as her life partner.
Every outstanding opera singer has one or two or even more dedicated fans who live for their beloved artist and devote their lives to him or her. This is a kind of sacrificial feat, but they are never talked about and, moreover, never shown in plays or movies. So Bertman is probably the first one who displayed that kind of relations on stage.
Dmitry Bertman has made a surprisingly precise assignment of soloists to the roles. The singers literally reincarnated in their characters, an accomplishment that added authenticity to the production and enhanced its emotional effect on the audience.
Conductor Valery Kiryanov skillfully managed the Helikon Orchestra, emphasizing romantic and dramatic scenes with the appropriate sound and favorably "presenting" the singers.
The set design of the play is very conditional (symbolic), certain sets only imply the place of events (the production designer is Rostislav Protasov), but how can it be otherwise? The choir performs great and important mission– it not only sings, but also dances beautifully (thanks to chief choirmaster, Eugeny Ilyin, and choreographer, Edvald Smirnov).
There is lots of dancing in the production and it somehow soothes the tragic plot and also adds to the symbolism of the performance. Requiring the choir to dance so much is certainly the Director's invention. Fortunately, the versatile artists of "Helikon" were able to do singing and dancing superbly.
In the famous romance about an aged actress it is sung, "She had no rivals." Nor had Georg Ots during his lifetime. Dmitry Bertman’s production of “Georg Ots” makes a strong case that he still has no rivals today. It is so sad that out of 100 years Georg Ots turned he lived a little more than half.