Moscow all set for Count of Monte Cristo
Published 19 August, 2008, 07:45
A company of up-and-coming Russian actors and crew have gathered in Moscow to work on a new musical. The boys and girls are practising their twists and turns for the first-ever musical version of “The Count of Monte Cristo”. The musical with a budget of about $US 5 million will show at The Moscow Operetta Theatre in October.
The cast of 50 promising young Russian actors and singers have two months before the show opens in Moscow. Valeria Lanskaya, a young actress who has been given the role of Mercedes in the show, is glad to work in such company.
“I've got the chance to meet friends and colleagues who I've worked with before in other musicals, and it feels good to get together,” she explained. She is looking forward to paling the role of Natasha and said she “is very excited to explore her because of the diversity of her nature.”
Lines for the musical have been written by Yuliy Kim, a well-known poet and singer. The lyrics he wrote for the Russian version of “Notre Dame de Paris” made it one of the most successful musicals ever put on the Moscow stage.
Another strong point of the upcoming event is its visual part. Almost half of the musical’s total budget was spent fitting out the stage with suitable projecting equipment and to provide actors with clothes. It took the wardrobe department three months to create dozens of specially-designed dresses.
“Of course the hardest task was to create costumes for the leading actors. They are in the limelight most of the time, and thus have to attract more attention than the others,” says Vyacheslav Okunev, costume and set designer. He adds that the most impressive ones are for the women.
There have been several film adaptations starring Gerard Depardieu, Jean Mare and Richard Chamberlain as the adventurous Edmond Dantes. This autumn Alexandre Dumas’ masterpiece will have a new impressive incarnation.
Opening night is set for October 1 at the Moscow Operetta Theatre.
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