War and Peace

The opera War and Peace is a brand-new production of Prokofiev’s epic masterpiece filmed live at the recently opened Mariinsky II and part of the annual Stars of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg. Directed by Graham Vick with stage design by Paul Brown, the opera was conducted by the internationally acclaimed Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev. Sponsored by BP and Rosneft, the production stars the exciting young Ukrainian baritone Andrei Bondarenko (winner of BBC Cardiff Song Prize 2011) as Andrei, and the soprano Aida Garifullina (winner of Operalia 2013) as Natasha.

Based on the 19th century novel by Tolstoy, the opera of War and Peace tells the story of young Natasha who falls for dashing widower Prince Andrei. But his father disapproves of their proposed union causing the match to be postponed. Meanwhile Natasha’s head is turned by the charming Anatole Kuragin who neglects to mention that he is already married. This individual and personal story is overtaken by political events as Napoleon’s army closes in on Russia, making war inevitable.

Recorded live at the Mariinsky Theatre July 2014.