Mazeppa: Tchaikovsky gets a torture-porn makeover
Surrey's finest fizz – courtesy of nearby vineyard Greyfriars – is the usual tipple of choice at Grange Park Opera, but on a thrilling Saturday night it was vodka, poured neat. The drink is a chaser for Mazeppa, who has already imbibed white powder from a plastic bag hidden in an oversized plush teddy bear.
The eponymous anti-hero of Tchaikovsky's lesser-known opera (1884) is a motorbike-riding man-child who is obsessed with power, violence and women. He's also fanatical about freeing Ukraine, of which he is hetman – a form of governor – from 'the protection of Warsaw' and 'the repression of Moscow'. Based on Pushkin's narrative poem Poltava, Tchaikovsky's interpretation is more Netflix biopic than rigorous historical source. For Ukrainians, Ivan Mazeppa (1687-1708) is a national treasure – he featured on a hryvnia banknote – and the retrieval of this work from the vaults marks solidarity.
Director David Pountney's production eschews hagiography for graphic realism – and this Mazeppa is stronger for it. Act I opens quietly, with a progressive, 1812-like build. There's talk of garlands, some unreciprocated love. So far, so Romantic. Mazeppa (the brilliantly bewigged baritone David Stout) visits his friend, Cossack judge Vasily Kochubey (bass Luciano Batinić) and his daughter Mariya (soprano Rachel Nicholls) to whom he is godfather. He's the type of godparent Hugh Grant describes in the film About A Boy: 'I'll forget her birthdays until her 18th, when I'll take her out and get her drunk and possibly, let's face it, try and shag her'. Mazeppa does that and more, and while Mariya is portrayed as a willing participant (both consent and pleasure in a glorious motorbike scene), her departure from Russia to Ukraine is the catalyst for political crisis.
'The battle lost by Mazeppa is the battle fought today by Zelensky,' writes Philip Bullock, professor of Russian literature and music at the University of Oxford. Battles are bloody, and so is this production. In Act II, we're transported to Mazeppa's dungeon, where Kochubey and his friend Iskra are beaten and waterboarded. Henchmen appear with pliers, a hand-saw, rubber gloves. Fear is in the implication; the detail is in our imagination. A scalpel descends in time for the supper interval. Our return is greeted with a double execution.
Amid this bleak torture porn is some blissful singing. Nicholls, now nursing a large pregnancy bolster, is as dazzling as Mazeppa's gold lamé bedding. In Act III, gas-masked cossacks rise from elevated coffins as zombies, contorted like a Francis Bacon painting. They die again to Tchaikovsky's percussive shots, administered with precision by the English National Opera conducted by Mark Shanahan. The subsequent heartfelt duets are a misnomer; Mazeppa ends in Mariya's madness.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the country's then minister of culture Oleksandr Tkachenko called on the UK to boycott Russian composers until the war was over, writing in a British newspaper that 'We're not talking about cancelling Tchaikovsky, but rather about pausing performances of his works'. Grange Park Opera shows that intelligent engagement has a far greater impact.
In rep until July 6; grangeparkopera.co.uk
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Ukrainians celebrate midsummer traditions with song, dance and fire
Hundreds of Ukrainians observed the longest day of the year on Saturday with a midsummer celebration of some of their oldest traditions, a display of cultural perseverance in a nation threatened by war. Rooted in Ukraine's ancient past of Slavic paganism the event, Ivana Kupala, features rituals and symbolism to honor the summer solstice, related to fertility, nature, purity and renewal — values that predate the region's Christianization at the end of the first millennium. At the open-air National Museum of Folk Architecture and Ukrainian Life on the outskirts of Kyiv, participants in embroidered shirts and blouses strolled among thatched-roof cottages, wooden churches and windmills dating to the 18th and 19th centuries. Women and girls wore vinoks — wreaths made from wildflowers — as they took part in folk dances, games and craft workshops. Viktoria Phi, a master of folk art at the museum, taught visitors to weave the colorful flowered headdresses. She said that Ivana Kupala, which also has variations in other Slavic countries from the Czech Republic to Bulgaria to Russia, was a 'small oasis' in the war in Ukraine, where people can 'walk and enjoy nature, architecture, songs and dances.' "It's most popular among young people, and I am very happy when a family comes with young children," she said. As the sun began to set over the wheat fields and wildflower meadows, hundreds formed a circle around a pyramid of logs. When the bonfire was lit, flames climbed into the twilight sky as music swelled and people spun around the pyre hand in hand. In a purification rite, some leapt over the burning embers. With Russia's war in Ukraine now in its fourth year and aerial attacks on cities intensifying, for some the observance of old folk customs holds deeper meaning. Saba Alekseev, 25, said the event gave her a chance to 'breathe some fresh air without thinking about (the war), for some time at least, because it's impossible to put it out of your mind under shelling.' For 18-year-old Sofia Orel, it was a reminder that "it is crucial to support Ukrainian culture and traditions, especially since the war started, because this way we preserve what is ours.' 'As I am weaving a wreath, I'm thinking that I will teach my daughter how to do it," she said. "These are our traditions and they have to be passed on and honored.'
The Sun
13 hours ago
- The Sun
Made in Chelsea's Nicola Hughes gives birth to baby boy and announces very unusual name
baby job MADE In Chelsea star Nicola Hughes has revealed she's given birth to a baby boy and shared his very unusual name. The 35-year-old took to Instagram to announce her happy news - sharing a snap of her newest addition wearing cute knitted booties. 2 2 Nicola said: "Welcome to the world Seve." Friends and fans rushed to comment on the news, with Tiffany Watson saying: "Yay he's here!" Someone else said: "So special. Enjoy the bubble and sending so much love to you all." And a third added: "Two beautiful babies. Life's picture perfect." She and husband Charlie Tupper are already parents to daughter Penelope, who was born in October 2022. Nicola and Charlie tied the knot in 2021 after getting engaged in Ibiza the year before. They said "I do" at Botleys Mansion in Surrey in front of guests including her Made In Chelsea co-stars and Lottie Moss.
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Nicola Hughes gives birth! Made In Chelsea star welcomes her second child with husband Charlie Tupper and reveals the tot's adorable name
Nicola Hughes has given birth to her second child. The former Made In Chelsea star, 35, has welcomed a baby named Seve with her husband Charlie Tupper. The influencer took to Instagram on Saturday and shared a heartwarming photo of the tot's feet. Alongside the post, she wrote: 'Welcome to the world Seve'. Nicola and Charlie are already parents to two-year-old daughter Penelope. The couple confirmed they were expecting their second child in February after sharing a sweet video on social media. In the footage, Nicola debuted her blossoming baby bump as she cradled her stomach while lying on her bed in a yellow underwear set and a white shirt. She appeared overjoyed as she held her ultrasound scans in her hand before Charlie sweetly planted a kiss on her lips. The couple's daughter Penelope then climbed up on to the bed with them and they cuddled her close to end the adorable footage. 'Growing our little family,' she sweetly captioned the video. The couple got married in an idyllic Surrey ceremony at Botleys Mansion in August 2021 after five years together, with Nicola's former co-stars Lucy and Tiffany Watson in attendance. Nicola admitted the wedding plans had to be rejigged due to Covid-19 restrictions at the time, with the ceremony being planned in just six weeks.
