The Rostov Mystery by Rostovskiy, lör 05 jan 2019, Från (2019/2019), Dirigent Vladimir Agronsky, Boris Pokrovsky Chamber Stage of the Bolshoi Theater, Moskva, Ryssland

"Rostov action" is a theatrical mystery "Rostov Action" is a unique example of Russian theatrical art, which in terms of significance and originality can be compared with the frescoes of Andrei Rublev, the architectural ensemble of the Rostov Kremlin or the spiritual concerts of Dmitry Bortnyansky. This is not an opera in the traditional sense, but a theatrical mystery, which is partly even of a sacred nature. It was created by Metropolitan Dimitry of Rostov (in the world Daniil Tuptalo, 1651-1709) - the rector of the monastery in Rostov the Great, an outstanding figure in the Russian Orthodox Church, an educator, philosopher and playwright. The most famous was his play "Comedy for the Nativity of Christ", first staged in December 1702 by students of the Latin-Greek school of Rostov the Great. It tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ as a parable of virtue and sin, life and death. In search of an answer to the question of whether the human soul is worthy of eternal life, the protagonist of the play (Human Nature) goes on a long journey and becomes a witness to Christmas events. Boris Pokrovsky turned to the work of Dimitry Rostovsky in the early 1980s, when the very idea of ​​staging a work of this kind on the theater stage seemed incredible. But Pokrovsky took a chance and was not mistaken: an unusual, unlike anything performance immediately won a huge success and still amazes audiences all over the world. The uniqueness of the production lay in the fact that the text and music of the work were not accurately recorded: part was written by Dimitri Rostovsky, part was selected from the songs and church tunes that existed then. Pokrovsky attracted the well-known Russian music historian Yevgeny Levashov, who recreated the musical score of this work. Today, Znamenny and Greek chants, cants, Belarusian, Polish and Ukrainian psalms, fragments of spiritual choral concerts, folk songs are heard in it. It is also unusual that the orchestra does not participate in the performance. Everything is performed by soloists and a'cappella choir without a conductor. “Faith in peace, goodness and justice has always been the main content of Russian art. This is what Rostov Action is about," said Boris Alexandrovich Pokrovsky.