Toward the close of the previous season at the Mariinsky Concert Hall, we presented a premiere of Benjamin Britten’s opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Claudia Solti. To her, this work marked a debut in the opera genre — prior to that she was working only on movies. The premiere has caused a real furore of emotions. The whole performance is staged in a fantasy style. The production features acrobats. The designer directed the stage space with the usage of mirrors. The lighting provides a rich palette of colours that reflect the overall mood of each scene. Costumes are versatile, presenting each character in their unique appearance. All in all, the performance is filled with humor and tells all the details of Shakespeare’s comedy in an accessible, bright and colourful language of music and theatrical performance.

Photo: costume sketches and scenery layout for A Midsummer Night’s Dream production;
Photo: rehearsing A Midsummer Night’s Dream production;
Photo: first-night performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in July 2011;
Text: William Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream original text (annotated HTML-version).