The Cat's House. Premiere on 14 March

Right before the spring school holidays, the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus will present the premiere of the new opera for children. It will be Pavel Valdgardt's The Cat's House based on the fairy tale by Samuil Marshak.

The composer Pavel Valdgardt is the author of music for thirty dramatic performances, several hundred songs, art songs and symphonic works. We can hardly call Valdgardt the founder of the musical-dramatic genre for children. After all, this information can be found in some references about the composer. Nevertheless, the sources say that he wrote three children's operas, one of which is widely known and has a long stage history.

In recent years the bright, life-affirming, clear and memorable music of this opera has increasingly attracted the attention of theatre companies of various levels: from amateur productions of children's art schools to serious professional works of large musical theatres (one of the most famous interpretations is the production is production by The Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow). The musical score of this opera, written in the best traditions of Soviet classical music for children (we think that today children and their parents can easily recognize the song that has become international "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" or the timeless "Once there lived a grey goatie at granny's"), colorfully embodies the cautionary tale told by Samuil Marshak.

A young production team is working on the new production at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus. Taking as a basis material from the Soviet classics (musical director is Aleh Lessoun), director Daria Potaturko and designer Ekaterina Shimanovich offer modern version of The Cat's House.

Premiere: 14 and 15 March 2020