The Bolshoi Theater presented Prokofiev's Fiery Angel in Francesca Zambello and Georgy Tsypin's 2004 production and Musorgsky's Boris Gudinov in the legendary 1948 production by Leonid Baratov and Fyodor Fyodorovsky on the stage of Britain's famous Covent Garden theater. Tickets for six operatic programs were completely sold out long before the performances began.
All the operatic performances were directed by State Academic Bolshoi Theater director Alexander Vedernikov. In Fiery Angel the part of Renata was performed by Tatiana Smirnova, and that of Ruprecht by Boris Statsenko. For the English a real discovery was young Russian base Mikhail Kazakov as Boris Gudinov. Many critics noted not only his unique voice, but his heartfelt acting, which enabled the artist, despite such a young age for the part (29 years), to create the dramatic figure of Boris without the clichés common to many performers. The next evening Boris Gudinov was sung by Russian people's artist Vladimir Matorni. Likewise participating in the theater productions were Roman Muravitsky, Vitaly Tarashcenko, Maxim Paster, Vadim Lynkovsky, Elena Manistina, Tatiana Erastova, Evgenia Segenyuk, and other Bolshoi Theater soloists.
Among the audience were ex-Premier of Great Britain Baroness Margaret Thatcher, Prince Michael Kentsky and his wife, Duke Nikita Dmitrievich Lobanov-Rostovsky, Duchess Spencer (mother-in-law to Lady Diana), and Yury Fyodotov, RF ambassador to Great Britain. The Bolshoi Theater troupe received a letter of greeting from Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mikhail Shvydkoi came from Moscow especially for the opening of the tour.
Despite the English critics' mixed response to Prokofiev's mystic-modern opera, read by Francesca Zambello, as well as to Baratov's historical production of Musorgsky's Boris Gudinov, in their evaluation of the musical aspect of the productions they were unanimous. The Bolshoi Theater orchestra, the choir, the magnificent Russian bases, and the performers of all the central parts earned the highest appraisal. Alexander Vedernikov directed the performance knowing precisely the result he wished to achieve. Overall, a very worthy bid was achieved for the entire forthcoming season in London, notes The Financial Times.
The Sunday Times writes: «[The opera's] orchestral and vocal demands are as terrifying as its subject, but the Bolshoi fields a fearless Renata, one of opera's most notorious killer roles, in the soprano Tatiana Smirnova, as energetic an actress as she is a tireless singer; and a fine Ruprecht in Boris Statsenko, with excellent support from Evgenia Segenyuk (Fortune Teller), Maxim Paster (Mephistopheles), and Elena Novak (Mother Superior), and virtuoso playing from the Bolshoi orchestra under its music director, Alexander Vedernikov.»
The influential Guardian had the following to say about the Bolshoi opera troupe: «Director Alexander Vedernikov expressed all the tragety of Prokofiev's music. Boris Statsenko is superb as Renata’s ineffectual would-be saviour Ruprecht, while Roman Muravitsky is wonderfully malign as Agrippa. We have been pampered with the wondrous singing and singers alike. Russia appears to be inexhaustible in voices strong and precise… Such a great number of magnificent performers is simply unbelievable. The extraordinary young bass Mikhail Kazakov is quite a discovery. The amazing experience, enhanced by the spectacular staging and the unforgettable impressions from the performances serve as a timely reminder of the opera traditions of Prokofiev. The Bolshoi Theater's Boris Gudinov opera is an exclusive delight for the eyes and the ears.»
«In this showy version the 1948 production still looks impressive. A real find was Mikhail Kazakov, who, sonorously portraying the guilt-ridden Tsar, sings the title-role with unwavering power and focus — the voice is a quintessential Slavonic bass with an attractive steely edge, and he never resorts to the eye-rolling histrionics traditionally associated with this part,» we read in the pages of the London journal The Observer.