Moscow Musical Theater Helikon-Opera
Helikon-Opera is a musical theater popular with Muscovites and guests of the capital. Every season its artists perform about 200 productions for the public, and the hall is invariably full house.
Nowadays, the troupe of the musical theater tours a lot. Artists perform the best operas and musical performances on the stages of Russian and foreign cities and invariably have success with the audience. The Helikon-Opera theater group has repeatedly won the prestigious Golden Mask award. It has been awarded as a participant of the Moscow Opera Festival, as well as many times awarded the prize of the Union of Theater Workers “Nail of the Season.”
History of Helikon Opera
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Theater building
Helikon-Opera puts on performances in an old manor house that used to belong to the Shakhovski-Glebov-Streshnevs. Curiously, theater companies have occupied this mansion since the XIX century, and not only domestic actors performed here. On the stage of the estate played artists of the famous Viennese operetta, as well as theater groups from France and Italy. At the beginning of the last century, a chamber stage was opened in the mansion.
Since the mid-2000s, the Moscow government began to reconstruct the old mansion for the Helikon-Opera Theater. In the course of the work, some of the historic buildings were destroyed, and the unauthorized actions of contractors were harshly criticized in the press. During the period of large-scale reconstruction, the theater gave temporary performances in a small hall in house No. 11 on Novy Arbat. Since 2015, Helikon-Opera got a new stage, which was built in the former courtyard of the old manor.
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Features of the repertoire
Today the Helikon-Opera Chorus has 60 professional performers, and almost all of them hold diplomas of chorus master or conductor. The choral program includes Russian and foreign works. The theater’s orchestra consists of 100 musicians of the highest level.
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In the modern repertoire of Helikon-Opera there are about 75 original productions. The musical theater performs operas by Wagner, Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, Bach, Bizet, Strauss, Offenbach, Stravinsky, Poulenc, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Mussorsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Tukhmanov, Manotskov, and other internationally renowned composers..Audiences come here for one and a half hour concert-performances of popular Soviet and Russian songs, jazz evenings, opera and jazz shows, children’s musical performances and recitals by famous singers. Those who wish can take a sightseeing tour of the theater and get acquainted with the history of the old manor house and modern theatrical interiors.
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How to get there
The Helikon-Opera Theater is located in the center of Moscow – in the house 19/16 on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street. It can be reached on foot from the metro station “Arbatskaya” (exit to Novy Arbat Street). This way takes 7-10 minutes.
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