Dmitry Bertman: “I felt that I would become a traitor if I left Russia”. Dmitry Bertman: “Alexander Blok lived in my house Dmitry Bertman biography
The artistic director of "Helikon-Opera" entered the age of strength
At the age of 50, Tchaikovsky wrote The Queen of Spades, Verdi wrote The Force of Destiny, Puccini wrote his Triptych, Mozart ... never lived. And Dmitry Bertman is happy that he leads a kind, albeit sometimes difficult, friendship with all of them. He has the opportunity to come to his theater, which he had to endure and defend, he is proud that "Helikon" is known not only for its integral aesthetic platform, but also for the atmosphere of the theater-family.
With Galina Vishnevskaya. Photo: gorproect.ru
"I constantly have arguments with Rimsky-Korsakov"
- When you enter the theater, what is the first thought that arises? What are you catching yourself on?
Oh, when I enter, I still don’t believe that all this is not a dream, that we have acquired a historical stage, and I enjoy the beauty of our building, the talent of the troupe and - yes, I understand that I am the happiest person in the world.
- Do you have a favorite corner?
Everything you love: wardrobe rooms, classrooms, right down to the ventilation shafts - this is also a fascinating sight. We have two of them. One - on the "minus first" floor, the other - on the fourth. These mines are like scenery for the play "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District". And another favorite place is the exit to the roof, where a stunning view of Moscow opens up - the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Kremlin, the skyscraper on Vosstaniya Square. This is such a cherished place where you can come with close friends, meditate there, because from above all life situations are seen differently. And under the stage there is a unique space, where all the machinery stands - a whole factory ... I go there every day.
- The reader will ask: what do you do there every day?
But what about? To use machinery, you need to know it well, so it is advisable to visit it more often.
- And what is a specially trained person for?
I myself have to understand everything in order to talk with specialists in the same language. This is how the theater was built: at first I did not understand anything about construction, but then I began to live on this construction site, I began to recognize every builder, engineer by sight and name.
- Where are you standing in the hall at the time of the rehearsal?
The auditorium is the very, very final of the work, this is already a moment of control, and before that - I run and run, rehearse in chamber in the classroom, because the built mise-en-scene is already the result ...
- So you do not have the opportunity to communicate with the already deceased composer, but do you have such a need?
Why don't I have the opportunity? First, I must delve into all the nuances of his biography and attitude, know his time, everything that surrounded him, literally hourly.
- By the hour?
Of course. And when I already know all this, then only then do I have the right to ask the composer some questions.
- How?
I go to the cemetery, for example. I love the Alexander Nevsky Lavra very much - there Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov; I come to visit them with flowers. At the Vienna cemetery I go to the greats. In Moscow - on Novodevichye. Necessarily. There you can concentrate, think, even say something. All this is an intimate process.
- And it happens that there is no answer - the contact is not established?
Mmm ... Usually contact is being made, but situations are different. I know that I have good relations with Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Shostakovich, but disputes are going on with Rimsky-Korsakov. But I still try to come to an agreement with him.
- So he is a prickly man?
Well ... he and I think differently. Paradoxically funny situations happen: I come - bang, the monument is repaired, it is packed! And then I put flowers under the boards for Rimsky-Korsakov. He sometimes takes offense at me for the bills.
- For the cut out places in the work?
Yes. Well, you have to! And then I go to him and explain why I do it. And he - sometimes - opens up, you know, the sun comes out ... And sometimes I understand that he hears what I say to him, but still disagrees.
- And a lot of people have to be cut?
It happens. But at the same time, I am doing well with Tchaikovsky, he gives me this opportunity with joy. With Rubinstein, at first I was on "you", then he switched to "you". Now we are friends.
- That is, they began to forgive bills? Like what to do, the digital age ...
They forgive if the bills are made motivated, that is, for the concentration of the drama, in order for the work to become successful - and in their time it could, by the way, not have any success.
- And how to communicate with those with whom you cannot meet in person at the cemetery? Here is Verdi ...
What do you mean! We communicate well with Verdi, it is easy with him - he is very theatrical, he is essentially a director, that is, a colleague. Verdi is a master, a teacher ...
- That is, he will not say that music is primary, and even though you kill yourself.
No, I myself say that music is primary. The question is: what needs to be done for the performance to be successful? And they also need success.
- Well, yes, so that they say: Dima, 50% of your applause is for us.
I think 99% of the applause is for them. No, really. This is not self-criticism or flirtation. After all, even if the play is staged horribly and ugly, the audience will still clap, because when Violetta dies in La Traviata and the violin starts playing, the audience will still cry, regardless of the director. “Music will take everything out,” said Boris Pokrovsky. And many people use it. Even those who do not know the profession of opera directing. This is especially true of other dramatic directors who come to the opera field, who think only about their concept, and let the choir sing for itself, and let the musicians play for themselves somehow, and the music ultimately justifies them.
Luxurious hall "Stravinsky" in "Helikon".
"When I go on stage, they will accuse me of corruption!"
- Did you have a desire to stay on stage as an actor?
I have had several incidents in my life, but I do not want them to happen again. For example, when I was still studying at GITIS, I staged Tchaikovsky's “Iolanta” at the amateur theater of the House of Physicians. Everyone sang there - from folk artists to students and just amateurs. And now one of my classmates did not come to the small role of Bertrand, the gatekeeper of the royal castle. What to do? And I had to put on Bertrand's make-up and sing this role throughout the performance to save the situation. But it’s stress, and I sang, probably, terribly, so ... no, don’t ... Or I’ll go on stage - and they will sew me a “corruption component” that I went out on purpose to earn extra money. In light of all recent events ...
All these corruption scandals at the theater - if from a bird's eye view this is the purgatory that must be passed during the transition of the country from socialism to capitalism?
Oh I do not know. I - if according to Stanislavsky's system - do not know "what to steal" and "where to steal". Here's my goal: I need to steal. Good. But immediately questions: what and where, because opera houses every month barely make ends meet, this money that we receive is very small for our industry. And we, as an institution, earn little money, because tickets are cheap compared to European prices. You cannot increase the price of tickets - this way we immediately cut off the viewer. So I don’t know where to get this extra money, and most importantly, how to do it, when all financial activities go through an electronic system in the “cloud” and every operation of the theater is simultaneously monitored by both the Treasury and the Department, many structures see the passage of documents. Plus, every time we hand over the balance, checks, reports!
- That is, if you want to steal a million or two, nothing will work?
Of course it won't. To write a fee, you must first approve the estimate in the Department of Culture, and then agree on it. And every transaction, every money transfer goes through electronic circulation, it’s not even a piece of paper, you can’t do anything retroactively or write it down.
- It is often said that even in creative people the material factor wins today ...
I don’t feel it at all either in myself or in my artists. Therefore, I am happy: everyone around does not make money, but the theater - the Theater! On the contrary, I have a feeling of pity that the work of the artists is not paid to the extent that it could be appreciated. After all, the work of an opera artist is very difficult, associated with many human factors. First, you need to be born with a voice. And the voice is that divine gift that an artist must work out all his life. Because if this gift is not worked out, then it is taken by God in exactly the same way as it was given. And any flu, poisoning, stress, conflict, a wrong lesson with a teacher, a long flight, a shout from the conductor, an extra performance that the singer sang to help out the theater can take him away.
- Have there been any cases in your memory when singers lost their voice?
Of course there were. When the theater was just beginning, we still had few singers, there were no duplicates, but tickets were sold, we had to sing, and the singer performed the most difficult part for four days in a row. And the apparatus could not stand it. And this is irreversible. Such are the sins on me. And not because I forced, it was a mutual desire, because the artist is greedy for the stage, on the contrary, he has to be saved and protected from such feats.
- How do you see people in general - with faces or voices?
- But there are trompe l'oeil? You speak on the phone - one person, you meet - another completely.
It happened once. From Montserrat Caballe. I listened to her since childhood, knew the recordings, saw her in performances and presented her in a completely different way as a person, until I began to work with her. This was the biggest snag. And the only one.
- And your two other great women-friends - Vishnevskaya and Obraztsova - were there complete correspondence with them?
Absolutely. The most accurate. People with a straightforward character. Galina Vishnevskaya therefore chose Obraztsova and at first took care of her, because they are very similar: both siege women, both from St. Petersburg, very emotional, sensual, erotic. And they both ... sort of find the exact word ... both are "wrong."
- In the right sense, "wrong"?
Yes. They are an exception. This is what great art stands on. Because when everything is right, there is no art. And, of course, I continue to communicate with them. But I am missing feedback. As Mandelstam writes, paraphrasing: I - on my phone - still have addresses where I can find dead voices.
With Elena Obraztsova and Anna Netrebko.
“What should I be offended at? Have you underestimated me? "
Have you ever thought that opera is not an “art form” at all, as the encyclopedia tells us about it, but something completely different - in its essence and significance? Well, in the light of what we talked about earlier ... that is, sort of like entertainment, but on the other hand, a cosmic phenomenon.
Absolutely different. Because music is information, it is a vibration of some divine origin. Anywhere in the world, people who speak different languages, listening to the same music, will cry, freeze, smile in the same places; that is, music is a language that everyone understands, and in the same way. Another thing is that there are people who do not deserve to understand it. Or they have not yet been given it.
- That is, God chooses not only the artists, but also the audience?
Of course. This is the meaning of theater and any art - to make the choice of the audience, to surround yourself with those who are close to you. This is already a relationship - when we, "Helikon", need our viewer, and this viewer needs us.
By the way, in the light of this audience's love: wasn't there a temptation to take and feel great by the age of 50? “I am great,” and that's it.
Well, at the same time it is necessary. I haven't had time to think about it yet. And when you think about it, you take a step back, you move away from what you should be doing. Why should I be bronze? And what should I be offended? Did they underestimate me, or what? On the contrary, I always have a complex: maybe I am not worthy of what I have. Therefore, I always sincerely thank those who helped me, I understand that they made an advance payment to me and that they cannot be let down. This also applies to my teachers and those who have helped and are helping to make the theater. Therefore, when they scold me - Bertman again praised the mayor, they say, he licks, - I have a feeling of resentment and resistance inside me, because I am sincere here: how can you not talk about the person who made you happy? Together with the theater, I went through all the authorities, starting with Gorbachev, and all the people on whom the progress of my life's work depended, they always helped and help, because they saw the result. In my entire life, I have never given a bribe to anyone, never once asked me for it. I have never encountered the concept of corruption. That is why I say that I am happy.
- But it is possible sometimes - as an artistic director - to include a dictator?
I have two roles. As according to Chaliapin: two people must live in an artist - an artist and a controller. As a leader, I take responsibility - for the actors, for their lives. I take on all the problems, I try to solve them, I don't expect a miracle. Therefore, I am the head of the family for my artists. We have a lot of trust. I know many things about them that will stay with me for life. I try to help them - so that they achieve some results with less losses for themselves. I am rarely tough - in moments of disobedience, when there can be no other way. But, I repeat, this very rarely happens, because selection for our family is very important for me. If someone does not do something, I attribute these problems to myself - it means that I brought them up badly.
- Are you staying late at the theater?
Deep into the night. And I am not left alone, because we have a full theater of crazy people like me. Leaving at two in the morning, you can still hear a singing voice outside the classroom door - someone is studying. And the watchman and the security guard, seeing off, tell me how this or that artist sang today, give their critical assessment. They come with us to drink this "elixir of happiness". As well as the cleaning ladies, who have been working for 25 years, with whom I have long been familiar. In the theater, in principle, people do not work for the sake of money, it's like a church - they serve here.
- Have you ever thought to give up everything?
It's impossible. No, it’s unreal. Yes, when there was a struggle for this building, I was scared physically - there were threats, there was an attack - and at the same time I had good proposals from different countries: they say, leave to us. But the family is here, how can you quit? I understood long ago: if any difficulties arise, then the biggest catharsis is from their solution.
- And at what age do you feel?
Maybe I'm falling into insanity, but now I feel younger. Although when I was young, I felt older. Listen, when I graduated from GITIS at the age of 21, I began to come to theaters, went out and said “let's rehearse” - they looked at me with round eyes: “What's this? Is this a director? " Therefore, I had to somehow "age" myself: I had to put on suits, trousers with arrows, ties. But now everything has gone the other way: I am more interested in young people, I want to look at the world through their eyes, and finally I can walk in jeans ... Look at the artists - my peers. They look thirty. Perfectly preserved. And why? Because we have such an atmosphere - there is no anger, people remain young, they all took the Makropulos remedy. That's how we live.
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Was born on October 31, 1967 in Moscow. In 1984 he entered GITIS im. Lunacharsky (now the Russian Academy of Theatrical Art), where he received the specialty of a musical theater director. In 1990, Dmitry Bertman created in Moscow the musical theater "Helikon-Opera", which in 1993 received the status of the state and soon became one of the largest opera houses in Russia. From 1994 to the present, Dmitry Bertman has been teaching at the Bern Opera Studio (Switzerland). Conducts master classes at the Moscow State Conservatory. P. And Tchaikovsky. Since 1996, he has been the artistic director of the course for directing musical theater at RATI (formerly GITIS), and since 1998 - the course for musical theater actors. In 1998 Dmitry Bertman was awarded the title "Honored Artist of the Russian Federation". In 2003, he headed the Department of Musical Theater of the RATI. Since 2000, Dmitry Bertman has been the chief director of the "Stars of the World for Children" campaign, carried out jointly with Montserrat Caballe. In 1997-2000, three times he became a laureate of the National Theater Award "Golden Mask" in the nomination "Best Director of Musical Theater". In 2003 Dmitry Bertman was awarded the National French Order "Academic Palm Branch" for his services in the field of culture and art. By the decree of the President of Russia in 2005, Dmitry Bertman was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia. At the end of 2005 Dmitry Bertman became a laureate of the A. K. Stanislavsky in the "Directing Art" nomination, and in March 2006 Bertman was awarded the Order of Mikhail Lomonosov for his services to the Fatherland in the field of culture and science.
15 years ago, at the most difficult time for Russia, the 23-year-old Muscovite created an opera house out of nothing. He created it in a tiny hall, and this theater was not taken seriously for a long time.
Today his stars sing in Paris, London, Tokyo, Toronto, Berlin, Brussels; the theater has just returned from Holland from the Diaghilev Festival under the direction of Valery Gergiev. The best conductors of Russia work with him, the Western press considers "Helikon" to be the most modern opera troupe in our country - on this stage everyone knows how to sing like opera divas, play like dramatic actors, they are subject to tragic opera, operetta, and baroque , and the avant-garde. "More than Big," wrote the Guardian of London recently. This meeting with Dmitry Bertman is an attempt to understand the secret of international success, which the largest stages of the country cannot yet boast of.
When the doctors sing
Honestly, I didn't think about secrets. But it happened so. I entered GITIS at the age of 16. He was very fond of music, opera, he was a pianist himself. We had a toy "theater" at home, for which I made the scenery, so I played enough of the grand opera as a child. But at the institute he was a typical traditionalist. And when fellow students said: "We must break everything in the opera!" - it scared me. I never wanted to break anything. And the biggest dream was to go somewhere to Siberia and work there with provincial opera divas. I staged in Syktyvkar, Odessa, Tver, in operetta and drama. And once my classmates and I made Stravinsky's "Mavra" in Moscow, for only four artists. And here real fanaticism started: we did something ourselves! And that was a time when no one went to theaters - not a good time. We rehearsed in a grocery store on Herzen Street: there, on the second floor, there was a kids' club where we were given a room.
- For the fact that you and your children were doing a little opera?
For the fact that I was engaged with amateur physicians. In my House of Physicians 9 performances took place, only doctors sang, and a cardiologist-surgeon sang Poulenc's "human voice", by the way. Ilya Glazunov helped to design "Iolanta". And the costumes - Nina Aleksandrovna Vinogradova-Benois. Unlike the opera studio in the Chkalov House of Culture (it was called “La Chkala”), where Carmen sang the head of the Belorusskaya metro station, our doctors had a conservatory education. Anya Stepanenko, for example, was the head of the aorticoscopy department; she was the first in Russia to perform such operations. I came to the performance with bloody hands in an ambulance. And the chief pediatrician of Moscow, Nina Orlova, sang to Martha in "Iolanta". We still have a neuropsychiatrist in the troupe. He receives patients in Zelenograd and sings our leading repertoire, a laureate of three international competitions. Doctors are generally musical people.
- And the orchestra?
And the orchestra always plays only for money. At first there were only 15 people. But an amazing conductor, Kirill Klimentyevich Tikhonov, a student of Khaikin, came to us from the Sverdlovsk Opera. He endured all the attacks of the critics on himself - they constantly scolded the orchestra. And the musicians came 15 minutes before the start of the performance, and they had nothing to pay for rehearsals. The musicians are good - from the Bolshoi Theater! And from sight they played notes that they see for the first time! But there were no other options. It was possible, of course, to do nothing of this, but then there would be no theater.
Best of the day
Forever alive
- Did you come to the art of saving opera? Some believe she is already dead!
Opera is eternally dead and eternally alive. She is unsinkable. If you read the criticism even under Mozart, you will see that the opera has always been in crisis, and there have always been people who do not understand it.
- If the Bolshoi Theater is respected, then they are friends with Helikon. And there is even a club of "Helikon" friends. Tell us about it.
Among its members are outstanding artists and directors, foreign stars, influential politicians. They are regulars in our performances. But I have never asked them. And it suits me that they are just spectators. The main thing is that they come to the theater. Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko watched the performances seven times, brought friends and delegations. Many have become fans of the theater. Someone recently told me absolutely precisely: there will be no sponsorship for the opera in Russia until the fans appear. Like football. Therefore, my task is to create opera fans.
- Many people say that you have a talent for having friends.
I love to communicate. Recently at 3 o'clock in the morning I drove into a store, and there the guys sell mobile phones. They began to sell me some new model, and I talked with them for two hours. We touched on underground culture, slang and ringtones for mobile phones. It was incredibly interesting to me with them. Because this "anti-viewer" is mine. Who was not at the opera. But it is important for me to know him in order to bring him to the theater. To be honest, I stage performances for myself, and the viewer seems to be peeping through the keyhole. Because if the door is wide open, it is not interesting to look there. This is the law of psychology. If it’s boring in theaters, it’s because Sots Art continues to exist. Violent realism - when there are solid answers, but no questions. We even made Stanislavsky a mummy, and he is the most modern person today, it's not for nothing that the whole world learns from him. As soon as we in the theater begin to explain to the viewer how to understand the performance - that's it! The viewer is no longer free. They twisted everything in a meat grinder, chewed it, spat it out and said - this is meat!
Rate to "Rate"
- What is the budget for your average performance?
In rubles - six million. If the costumes and decorations are not made in Moscow. It is difficult (we need fittings, etc.), but there are no other options: we will not be able to handle Moscow workshops. The cost of sewing one theatrical costume in Russia is on average $ 2,000. And in the choir there are 60 people, and there are several disguises and compositions, as well as decorations - a large amount comes out.
- Has the financial condition of the theater changed over the years?
Everything around is becoming more expensive. And we have many friends, but there are no sponsors or trustees. And the main problem is the premises. A hall with 270 seats is a disaster. We have already made four premieres in Europe, which were not played in Moscow - nowhere.
- Is this a co-production?
This is called co-production, but it is pure "Helikon". Although Bellini's Norma in Santander, Spain, we bet on superstars. Sang tenor from the Metropolitan Opera Richard Margison, mezzo Luciana D Intino and bass Giacomo Prestia from La Scala, our soloists, chorus and orchestra. The norm was sung by Maria Guleghina. Powerful composition. But already in Merida, in Spain, in a huge, ten thousand by ten, ancient Roman amphitheater, we played "Mercy of Titus" by Mozart - there is only "Helikon". The whole performance was in the water. They built a Roman pool on the stage. August, the heat, and I was scared how our artists would sing in costumes in such heat. So they figured out how to make them more comfortable. Kidding. But the performance was broadcast throughout Europe.
- Lev Dodin put the artists in the pool so that they suffer, and you, on the contrary, so that it would be easier for them ...
These are singers, not dramatic artists! Then we did "Aida" at the Strasbourg Festival in the European Palace with a hall for 4.5 thousand people. Also a huge production, which we have nowhere to play in Moscow. Your newspaper wrote about Nabucco in Paris and Dijon. The set is now in Moscow and we can't find a place to play it.
- Is it really impossible to find a stage for even a few performances a year with your world fame, with a club of friends?
Of course, they won't be allowed to enter the Bolshoi Theater ...
- But they love your soloists.
How can you not love such!
- Have you been invited to stage at the Bolshoi?
If it weren't for Helikon-Opera, I would be unemployed in Russia.
- Are they jealous?
The Bolshoi Theater is Russia's gold reserve! It is eternal! Thank God that his brand is immortal, like Koschey: no matter what Ivan Tsarevichs entered there, they did not stay in this kingdom for a long time. Though they were sure of their eternity. In the glow of golden lodges, they lost their sense of reality. But real gold is Chaliapin, Fedorovsky, Golovanov, Ulanova, Pokrovsky, Grigorovich ... They are the ones holding Apollo, who, unfortunately, does not have the reins to control the quadriga - take a closer look. So what does jealousy have to do with it?
- What other scenes in Moscow would be suitable for your Nabucco?
Moscow Art Theater on Tverskoy, Theater of the Russian Army, Kremlin Palace. There are no more scenes. But very high rental prices. After all, we need two days to mount. But there is already an agreement that Maria Guleghina and Renato Bruzon come to sing Nabucco. I can say for sure: if a building is built for us, there will be a lot of surprises. Riccardo Muti agreed to conduct the opening of the theater. We were at his festival, in Ravenna we gave 15 performances. Next year, apparently, we will go to another 20 performances. Cecilia Bartoli also promised to come. We dream to continue our cooperation with Rostropovich and Rozhdestvensky, to plan productions with Lazarev and Fedoseev.
Haunted house
- How are you doing with the construction of a new building?
The government decree on construction will soon be two years old. This is a complex object - a cultural monument of the 19th century. The Commission of the Ministry of Culture for the Protection of Monuments agreed - after all, it will be a theater, not a casino. But recently I was introduced to a teledoctor. And he said: "And we are going to take away the building from you! We want to invest money and make a club for rich doctors." I answer: you too? We have a government decree on reconstruction, millions have been spent on design work! "Nothing, he says, we have people, we will sign - that's all." And there are such provocations all the time. For example, at the time of construction, we should be transferred to the Et Cetera theater, which has a new building. And suddenly there was a rumor that they were going to host a variety show. But I don't believe in it at all, because I know that both the Moscow government and Alexander Kalyagin are on our side ..
- When will construction start?
The Moscow government has assured that in the fall the ladle will enter the ground. We try not to repeat the mistakes of other Moscow construction projects. We involve a well-known acoustist. I gave the architects a task so that the main funds were invested in the stage box, and not in the "renovation". So that the stage is equipped with modern technologies - elevators, mobile trucks ...
- Does this count as reconstruction?
Reconstruction-restoration. The interiors of the main building will be preserved, and so will the hall. Only the stage will be on the other side and enlarge slightly. And the courtyard will become a large hall. A roof will be built for it, the stage will be sliding, and all the brickwork will be preserved. After all, the building is historical. It housed Zimin's opera and Chaliapin sang. Tairov's theater was born in it, Meyerhold worked in this hall and Claude Debussy's first concert in Russia took place, Tchaikovsky, Shakhovskaya visited it, Dashkova lived there. True, little has survived from those times: during the war, a bomb hit the house, and the current architecture is already from the time of Stalin. It is also now a historical monument. Although there are drawings of the old building, and I think it would be better to return its previous appearance - it is much more beautiful. But the white-column hall has remained intact, and we still play there. And after the reconstruction we want to give it the name of Zimin. And there is a mystical detail: only the piano remained from the old house. I perceive it as a sending to us from the past.
- Is there a "phantom of the opera"?
There is. We have a portrait of Princess Shakhovskaya, which Anatoly Nezhny made from a photograph. She built a lot in Moscow - the Glebovo-Streshnevo estate, the Paradise Theater, where the Mayakovsky Theater is now, the building where Helikon is now, contained choirs and orchestras. Then she emigrated and died in poverty. How Stanislavsky died in poverty, how our old people live today. This is a separate topic. Officials have a salary of thousands of dollars, but Boris Pokrovsky, who in itself is our national treasure and value of world culture, does not have a car. The presidential pension is less than one hundred euros, and they want to cancel the benefits. He lives with his wife, who is also a national treasure - Irina Maslennikova, the prima donna of the Bolshoi Theater. Despite their age, they both work hard.
- Now many are talking about the degradation of direction. What do you think of it?
Degradation is undeniable. People did not learn anything, but they go on the professional stage - they stage, play. And they even start to set the tone. And their amateurism is immediately visible. You know, the dish has meat and a side dish. Now there are a lot of side dish masters, but there is a problem with meat. As a student, I watched "Duck Hunt" with Myagkov, and Efremov, and Igor Vasiliev; I watched "Amadeus" with Tabakov. By the standards of that time - ordinary performances, but they don't get out of my head, I still remember all the acting works. And I looked in new performances - and forgot. What our theater has always been famous for is leaving.
And I will say one more thing. Now there is a lot of debate about how to find a national idea for Russia. And the whole national idea is in art, there can be no other. Everyone in the world knows that the new Russia is a war in Chechnya, explosions, bribes, murders. And the only thing that commands respect is art. It is for him that we are loved. How did Yuri Luzhkov create fame for himself? By supporting culture, building theaters, helping museums to live. And cultural figures - the army, which is a mountain for him. Even now, on the eve of the theatrical reform, everyone believes in Luzhkov, they say that he will not allow theaters to be ruined, just as he did not allow a catastrophe with monetization ... Culture, unfortunately, depends on politicians, on their priorities. Is it possible to imagine that Jacques Chirac gave a reception in honor of some minor pop singer, and not Pletnev, Bashmet, Spivakov or the same Pokrovsky. Such stars are the glory of Russia.
- And this glory flows to the West!
Naturally. Not only because of the money. People want to feel needed. I know opera artists, now world stars, who are ready to sing for free in theaters from where they left. But they are not invited. Russia is rich in talent. Young artists from the provinces with wonderful voices come to "Helikon" to sing, grow up and leave. I am not angry. Letting go and even promoting: everyone must be realized. If an artist leaves for me, then I can bring up a new one. It's my job to educate artists. But those who left with pleasure come to "Helikon" and perform. And when they sing in the West, they proudly write that they are from "Helikon-Opera". They are our advertising media, ambassadors of Russia. I can give a guarantee: any artist of "Helikon" will say that for him the theater is a religion, a sacred place. And there is not a single person who would come to the theater as to work.
Glow rules
- What laws do theaters lack for a normal life?
About sponsorship, about patronage. This is the first law! Without him, even starting a theatrical reform is useless - it will condemn the theater to death. For theaters to survive on their own, a legal framework is needed, but there is none. I don’t understand how economists can suggest such a thing! Indeed, even the total budget of all Moscow theaters is less than that of one Parisian "Opera Bastiy". There, the minimum fee for an artist who comes out in the "walrus role" (like a walrus, emerges, sings one phrase and drowns) is 3 thousand euros per exit. And for the leading soloists - from 10 thousand per performance. Even some of our artists, who are invited to the Met for a safety net, just waiting behind the scenes, receive so much that it is more profitable for them to be silent there than to sing the full repertoire in Moscow. I'm not saying that labor there costs much more than fabrics and materials. When I staged La Traviata in Toronto, a chorus dress cost 3,000 dollars, of which 500 are fabrics, the rest is work. Because human labor is the most precious thing.
- What is the relationship of theatrical people with the authorities?
Do you know the great line by Akhmadulina: "The candle was taught the rules of glow ..."? So we recently gathered cultural figures and explained to them how to develop contemporary art. But the artist, as he writes, will continue to write, there is no need to touch him. And all these set-up meetings never led to anything good. I recently received an invitation to a session of directors of musical theaters on repertoire policy. But is it really necessary to coordinate the repertoire with someone again? This is the business of artistic leadership. Although in European countries the directors of the theaters of one city are always in contact and coordinate their plans. So that it does not work, as it is now in Moscow, where there are already three "Tsar's Brides" and not a single groom. We also need urgent help with the new customs regulations. I staged Mozart's "This Is Everybody's Do" in Germany, the performance went on for several years, then it was filmed and offered to take, if we want, the scenery and costumes. I thought: super! The opera would be staged in Moscow practically for nothing. But it turned out that in order to take this performance as a gift, we have to pay more at the customs than if everything is made anew in Moscow. Each trip of the theater abroad is a huge cost, because after the customs, the decorations arrive broken. We load them carefully, and at the border the soldiers pull everything out and then throw it into the trailer at random.
- But the reforms seem to have been postponed.
I don’t believe it. I think the officials will pull and slowly implement them. And if they do, then the question is: who will select these privileged theaters, by what criteria to determine who will be financed and who will not. Maybe those successful colleagues who were the ideological inspirers of the officials?
I am psychologically ready for any situation. I am even ready to close "Helikon". But I believe in God! Although he sold his soul to the theater.
Awesome profession
- They say that you will publish "The Story of a Real Man" by Prokofiev?
Yes, by May 9th. I decided: if you do, then you need to make it a hit, so that young people burst on it. This is the last opera of Prokofiev, exhausted by the Soviet regime. Its last production was at the Bolshoi in 1985. It was staged by Georgy Ansimov, my teacher, and Alexander Lazarev. The music was edited by Alfred Schnittke - he wrote several numbers. Ansimov came up with the idea of combining Prokofiev's cantata "Alexander Nevsky" with the music of the opera. And now I want to use this technique, it seems very interesting to me. It will turn out to be such an operatic thriller. We focus on normal people who have a family, their own interests. They came to the opera house and shouldn't think about how to get out of here quickly. Opera is also a theater, and it must be judged according to the laws of the theater ... And I want to make "The Story of a Real Man" about today's old people who have been thrown out of life.
- "Helikon" is a multiple winner of the "Golden Mask" - what is your relationship with this festival?
This year we were again selected as a nominee. And the relationship? We communicate by fax ...
- You are often invited for performances abroad. How did your theater's international career begin?
My first performance in the West was The Queen of Spades at a festival in Ireland. The next was "Eugene Onegin". And when I was staging it, something happened to the director who was working on La Bohème. And I was offered: maybe you will do both performances? And I am a Scorpio, I wonder when the difficulties are. And he took it. La Boheme was a great success. And after that "La Traviata" began - five performances in different countries, all different. My impresario said to me: "While you are staging a Russian opera, you are perceived as an ethnic director, a specialist in Russian manners, style and language. In this capacity they are invited. Therefore, on tour" Helikon ", in addition to the Russian repertoire, the" Carmen " "then" Lulu ", then" Tales of Hoffmann "...
- How will you celebrate the anniversary of the theater?
Our first "Mavra" was released on April 10, 1990. But on this day we will not be in Moscow - we are having a gala concert in London's Albert Hall with Pletnev, Bashmet and Netrebko. Let's come back and celebrate - fun as always!
- The simplest question in the end: what is the essence of opera directing?
The son of our soloist Larisa Kostyuk played the role of a boy in "Titus' s Mercy" in Merida. He really liked it, and he told me: "I probably want to be a singer. And if God doesn't give a voice, then - a dramatic actor. And if nothing happens at all, then a director." And I replied to him: "Exactly! This is an amazing job: you do nothing, the pleasure is great and they still pay money!"
"We dragged the scenery from the garbage cans"
Director Dmitry Bertman created his own opera house when he was only 23 years old. At the beginning of the current theatrical season, his "Helikon-Opera" celebrated its 25th anniversary, which happily coincided with the return of the troupe to the restored and rebuilt building - the estate of the Shakhovsky-Glebov-Streshnevs on Bolshaya Nikitskaya, which Helikon left nine years ago. Author of over 100 opera productions on different stages of the world in an exclusive interview Jewish. ru he told how the new stage of his theater is superior to Covent Garden, why he is staging Eugene Onegin for the eighth time and what performance he conceived based on the libretto of Lyudmila Ulitskaya.
I remember how six years ago you were building the plan for Helikon's work for 2011 in a new building. Why did the repair take so long?- If humanity can skillfully forget the bad, life would be much easier. If you came up with such a pill that you take and forget all the insults, people would not fight, there would be no temptation to respond with something. This is what I mean, I want to forget everything that happened during this repair, like a bad dream. Isabella Gabor, the founder of the famous Wiener kammeroper and director of the world's largest vocal competition Belvedere ... She said that our theater is simply fantastic, there is no theater of such beauty in the world. Not even a five-star, but a five-star plus. And I want to remember only those who helped. People - from foremen to politicians - fell in love with the theater, with artists, with business. A person is always happy to do a job that he perceives as his own. And does not fulfill someone else's will. It's the same in directing: in order for an actor to understand what I want from him, he must appropriate my idea. Fall in love with her. Sometimes I even deceive him, pretending that he himself suggested it - then he does it the way I need it.
A terrible dream - is it the difficulties of restoration?- Long-term construction was not associated with the restoration. The new theater was built in a year and a half. As a result, two new premises appeared: the Great Hall, which emerged from a covered and dug inner courtyard, and a cloakroom in the basement, also dug, since the building used to stand on the ground. And the historical part had to be restored. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Shakhovsky-Glebov-Streshnev mansion had a theatrical fiefdom: the White Column Hall was rented out to the Tairov Theater and the Stanislavsky Theater, Meyerhold played here, and Zimin's opera worked here, and Chaliapin made six of his roles in this hall. Before Shakhovskaya, the estate belonged to Princess Dashkova, and here Catherine the Second drank tea. For many years there was a wild struggle for land. A tasty morsel in the center of Moscow.
In Soviet times, there was the House of the Physician, where the Helikon theater was born 25 years ago - from amateur performances ...- While still a student, I was in charge of the operatic studio of doctors, which still exists at our theater. The doctors sang in my nine performances. Cardiologist Anna Stepanenko, who was one of the first in Russia to perform coronary artery bypass grafting, sang Iolanta, pediatrician Nina Orlova - she still goes to the studio - sang her wet nurse, ophthalmologist Artur Kursakov sang the part of Abn-Khakia - the doctor who cured Iolanta from blindness, and the part of her lover was performed by the responsible Ministry of Health Mikhail Parasenyuk.
Then I brought my fellow students, young vocalists to this studio, rehearsed in the room, dragged the sets from the garbage dumps - I did it myself, asked someone for old costumes or sewed at home. When we started, we had four performers, but there are very few such operas - for four characters. These are, as a rule, operas of the twentieth century, or, conversely, of the eighteenth century - interlude operas for two or three performers, unknown to anyone, and no one went to them. Only moms-dads and colleagues, and behind them an empty hall.
23 years later "Pagliacci" returned to the stage of "Helikon" staged by a guest director. Not a frequent occurrence in your theater.- Now it will be staged by Dmitry Belyanushkin, the winner of our international competition for young opera directors "NANO-OPERA", the Grand Prix for which is a production in our theater. We have invited outside directors before. We played Denis Krief and Dmitry Chernyakov, Dmitry Krymov and Vasily Barkhatov. But we could not invite directors to the premises that we had occupied for nine years on the Arbat, waiting for the renovation, with two dressing rooms for 600 people, two toilets and without a rehearsal room. And this season, when we got a wonderful house, we invited another young director - Denis Azarov, who will stage the opera "Doctor Haas". For the first time in her life, the libretto for her was written by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, our regular audience. She herself found a composer - the most talented guy Alexei Sergunin, very young, came to my theater and showed this work. Of course, I said “Yes!”, Especially since “Dr. Haas” is an amazing documentary story of a unique person, a prison doctor, who rebuilt the entire system of prison medicine, saving lives of people in dungeons. This year the Catholic Church began the process of his canonization. Until now, people come to his grave for healing. The Research Institute of Hygiene and Health Protection of Children and Adolescents even has its museum. Where, then, to put it, if not within the walls of the former House of the Medic?
Your father was in charge of the Medic's House. Did your parents have anything to do with music? Are you a hereditary musician?- Dad was at first an actor, even the young Volodya Ulyanov played in the Ulyanovsk Drama Theater. Then he became a director, according to his education, and later headed the houses of culture. Without a musical education, dad played the piano, violin, cello - he was amazingly talented. He played the guitar and composed songs that he sang only for loved ones during feasts. I know of cases when very famous singers asked him for songs to be performed on the stage, but he refused, because for him it was an intimate affair. At the same time, he wrote reprises for Gennady Khazanov. You can also remember his grandfather: while still very young, he worked as an entrepreneur in an operetta theater in Romania. Can you imagine how genetics worked?
Are your ancestors from Romania?- My grandfather had mixed blood: Jewish, German, Italian, Romanian. Before the war, he and his brother and father fled from a Romanian concentration camp to Russia. They did not speak Russian. Here, too, we got to the camp for a short time. After serving as potential saboteurs, they ended up in Kuibyshev, then they rented the canopy from my future grandmother, Evgenia Abramovna Galperina, who had two sons from her first marriage. Her husband was shot as a Trotskyist. She was a stunning beauty, they had an affair with my future grandfather, and she bore him two children: my uncle Volodya and my future father. Grandfather died in 1942 near Leningrad, was buried in a mass grave. His father never saw him: when he was born, his grandfather and his brother were already at the front. And my grandmother, having buried one son, was left with three children and two old men: my great-grandmother and my paternal great-grandfather. And great-uncle Grisha, who returned from the war without legs. And the whole family was supported by my grandmother, working from home. His father’s half-brother became an architect in Kuibyshev, his middle brother worked all his life as an aircraft designer in the Ilyushin design bureau.
You have once staged an opera about a man who saved a huge number of people - Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. They say you did this show on the internet?- The opera "Wallenberg" was written by the famous Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tuyr, who is now one of the five leading world composers. On the eve of rehearsals in Tallinn, there was an incident with a monument to a Soviet soldier, Russia declared a boycott to Estonia for several weeks, and it was impossible to go there. I had to change my mobile phone number - so journalists and television overpowered me. Someone said that I was a traitor because I was starting to stage an opera in a fascist country, etc. And this anti-fascist performance was an important project of the European Union! I did the first rehearsals, indeed, over the Internet, from Moscow: a webcam was installed in the rehearsal hall at the Estonia Theater in Tallinn, and then a monitor was put on the stage. I flew to technical meetings in Helsinki with the theater's chief director Neeme Kuningas, who became my co-author on the production. And two weeks later I was taken from Helsinki by boat to Estonia (almost like Lenin!), Settled in a theater, and I made an almost biblical performance. The Estonians have given Wallenberg an annual theater award and have awarded me the Order of the Cross of the Land of Mary.
Among the many awards, you also have such exotic ones as the Maltese Cross and the French Order of the Academic Palms. What privileges does it give?- In France, my order could give privileges - a residence permit and citizenship, if I had such a need. In the meantime, the French embassy gives me a visa without a queue as an officer of the order. If I fasten the Order's rosette to my lapel, I am honored by the French border guards when I enter France. Pleasantly. And the Maltese Cross - for the creation of a musical theater in Kaliningrad. First, a mixed team of artists from "Helikon" and Kaliningrad singers sang there, then together with GITIS we took two courses and released artists especially for Kaliningrad. This is how a talented opera troupe was gradually created with a wonderful repertoire and full halls. The Order of Malta has nothing to do with the state of Malta. It is an award from a community of people dedicated to philanthropy and cultural contributions.
Your last production and one of the first on the new stage of "Helikon" is the restored "Eugene Onegin" by Stanislavsky. Is this already your eighth Onegin?- I grew up on this show. I watched it, probably, two hundred times, while he walked on the stage of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater. I have staged seven different Onegins in different countries. Including in two of Sweden's largest theaters: the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm and the city of Norland in northern Sweden. Therefore, when I was offered to do it in Oslo, I said to the theater director: “Let me not stage my Onegin, but resume Stanislavsky's version. Mine is in Sweden, this is nearby, otherwise the whole continent will soon be in my Onegin. " And he signed a contract with me for the renewed production of Stanislavsky for the opening of the new building of the Norwegian Opera. But then the theater director changed, and a new one, director Paul Karen, my friend, called and said: “You know, I don't want this production! Let's put something else on! " But I no longer wanted to continue multiplying the Onegins. The second attempt at restoration is a graduation performance with students at GITIS. And in Stanislavsky's jubilee year, I staged this renewed production in Estonia, at the Vanemuine Theater, at the opening after restoration of the old German theater building. With an international staff. The performance received an Estonian State Prize and an award from the Estonian Theater Union; it is still the highest-grossing in the repertoire there. And so he decided to do the same in Moscow, on Bolshaya Nikitskaya.
Have you already mastered all the features of the new scene or are there any tricks?“We have something that is nowhere to be found, maybe it will be in Covent Garden in a year. We have on stage a new generation of machinery - the German system Serapid : 26 lifting platforms, rolling circle and platforms. Of course, we haven't shown everything yet.
You are the head of the department, you teach, you stage several performances every year in Russia and everywhere, you run the theater. How were you persuaded to take part in the programs “Masterpieces of the World Musical Theater” and “Big Opera” on the TV channel “Russia - Culture”?- The Culture channel is the only one that has a beneficial effect on the human brain. Boris Pokrovsky said: “I would have canceled everything. He made everyone listen to the opera. Then humanity would understand why it was destined to be born and in the name of what it exists. " I agree with him. Shortly before his death, we had a very serious conversation. He gave me commands for what I should do in my life. The Great Opera project is exactly the instrument that Pokrovsky dreamed of. The grandiose project made it clear to a huge number of people that opera is not an elite business. That the opera is sung by living, young, modern wonderful guys. The worst thing that has happened with opera in recent decades is that the creation of opera stars has been overlooked. In the USSR, everyone knew Milashkina, Mazurka, Nesterenko, Obraztsova ... For all their genius, the state worked for them: they were shown on TV, they were known. And then a long period began when operatic voices became a non-format for television.
Interviewed by Svetlana Polyakova
http://www.jewish.ru/culture/cinema/2016/02/news994332818.php
DMITRY BERTMAN
GENERAL DIRECTOR - ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THEATER "HELIKON-OPERA"
stage director
People's Artist of Russia, Professor
Honored Artist of the Russian Federation
awarded the Order of Friendship
officer of the French Order of the Academic Palms,
awarded the Maltese Cross and the title of Count of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the Ecumenical Knights of Rhodes and Malta,
laureate of the K. S. Stanislavsky in the "Directing Art" nomination,
awarded the Moscow City Prize for his significant contribution to musical culture,
Knight of the Estonian Order of the Cross of the Land of Mary
Laureate of the Estonian State Prize
awarded the badge of distinction "For impeccable service to the city of Moscow"
awarded with the Certificate of Honor of the Moscow State Duma "For services to the city community"
awarded the Order of Merit for the Kaliningrad Region
awarded the "Order of Honor" for his great contribution to the development of national culture and art, many years of fruitful activity
in 2018 became a member of the Presidential Council for Culture and Arts
awarded the medal "For Contribution to the Development of Musical Culture" (Russian Performing Arts Foundation)
Graduated from RATI-GITIS them. Lunacharsky (workshop of Professor G.P. Ansimov, People's Artist of the USSR). In 1990 he created the Moscow Musical Theater "Helikon-Opera".
Stage director of about 110 performances both at the Helikon-Opera and in other Russian and foreign theaters, including: in St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Wexford (Ireland), Dusseldorf, Mannheim, Ludwigsburg (Germany ), Vienna (Austria). Paris, Montpellier, Strasbourg, Evian, Dijon (France), Toronto (Canada), Rome, Ravenna (Italy), Stockholm, Umeå, Malmo (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), Santander, Merida, Perelade (Spain), Istanbul ( Turkey), Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia), etc.
Dmitry Bertman was repeatedly awarded the theatrical awards "Golden Mask", "Nail of the Season", international. KS Stanislavsky, the Moscow government. Since 2003 D. Bertman is the head of the department of directing and mastery of the actor of the musical theater of the RATI.
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BIOGRAPHY
Dmitry Alexandrovich Bertman was born in Moscow. In 1984 he entered the Russian University of Theater Arts (GITIS) on the course of the People's Artist of the USSR, Professor G.P. Ansimov, where he received the specialty of a musical theater director. While still a student, he staged a number of musical and dramatic performances in theaters in Russia and Ukraine.
In 1990 Dmitry Bertman created the musical theater "Helikon-Opera" in Moscow, and since then, for over 23 years, has been its Artistic Director. In 1993 the theater received the status of a state theater and soon became one of the most famous opera houses in Russia. With a wide repertoire, including operas of the 18th – 21st centuries, from the most popular to rare ones, as well as operetta and musicals, the theater tours extensively in Russia and abroad. In addition, the theater performs joint performances with major foreign opera houses and festivals.
From 1994 to the present, Dmitry Bertman has been teaching at the Bern Opera Studio (Switzerland). Conducts master classes both in Russia and abroad. In 1996, he became the artistic director of the workshop, and since 2003 - the head of the department of directing and mastery of a musical theater actor at RUTI (GITIS), is a professor of directing and mastery of a musical theater actor. Author of a number of articles and scientific papers.
In 1997 Dmitry Bertman was awarded the title "Honored Artist of the Russian Federation".
In 1997-2001, three times he became a laureate of the National Theater Award "Golden Mask" in the nomination "Best Director of Musical Theater" (for the performances "Carmen", "Hoffmann's Tales", "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District"). In 2001 Dmitry Bertman headed the Golden Mask music jury. In 2005 the play “Dialogues of the Carmelites” in his production was awarded the theater prize “The Nail of the Season” by the STD. In 2006, the same prize was awarded to the play "Fallen from the Sky" based on the opera "The Story of a Real Man" by S. Prokofiev.
In 2003, for his contribution to the development of world culture, Dmitry Bertman was awarded the Maltese Cross and the title of Count of the Sovereign Order of St.John of Jerusalem, the Ecumenical Knights of Rhodes and Malta
In 2003, Dmitry Bertman was awarded the national French order "Academic Palm" (officer's degree) for his services in the field of culture and art, and in 2004, the Maltese Cross.
By the decree of the President of Russia in 2005, Dmitry Bertman was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia.
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin congratulates Dmitry Bertman on being awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia
At the end of 2005 Dmitry Bertman became a laureate of the A. KS Stanislavsky in the "Directing Art" nomination for his contribution to the development of opera direction.
In 2007, the artistic director of "Helikon-Opera" Dmitry Bertman was awarded the Moscow City Prize for staging performances in the 2004-2006 season and a significant contribution to the musical culture of Moscow.
On February 23, 2008, the President of the Republic of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves presented Dmitry Bertman with the Order of the Land of St. Mary (Cross of Maarjamaa) IV degree for the production of the antifascist opera Wallenberg by Erkki-Sven Tuyr at the Estonia Theater in Tallinn.
Dmitry Bertman is also a laureate of the Estonian State Prize and the Estonian Theater Union Prize.
By the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Aleksandrovich Bertman, artistic director of the Helikon-Opera theater, was awarded the Order of Friendship for his merits in the development of national culture and art and long-term fruitful activity.
Dmitry Bertman has been closely cooperating with the Kultura TV channel for many years, being a director and participant in many television programs.
On October 23, 2011, by the decision of the VI (XX) Congress of the Union of Theater Workers of the Russian Federation, the artistic director of the Helikon-Opera theater, People's Artist of Russia Dmitry Bertman, was unanimously elected as the Secretary of the RF STD.
In 2012 Dmitry Bertman became a member of the Council for Culture under the Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. 
In addition to his work at Helikon-Opera, Dmitry Bertman is in demand as an opera director all over the world, in particular, he has repeatedly staged operas at the Canadian Opera (Toronto), at the Royal Swedish Opera (Stockholm). Among his recent productions are The Naked King by L. Lombardi at the Rome Opera (2009), The Mermaid by A. Dvořák at the Canadian Opera in Toronto (2009) and in Frankfurt, The Love for Three Oranges and Faust at the Estonia "(Tallinn). In 2010, at the Palace. Heydar Aliyev held the premiere of the opera "Intizar" by Frangiz Alizadeh in Baku; At the end of 2010, at the Royal Swedish Opera, the resounding premiere of Andre Chenier's opera by W. Giordano; In February 2011, G. Verdi's opera Othello was staged at the Norrland Opera in the Swedish city of Umeå; In September 2012 - the premiere of performances "Iolanta" by P. I. Tchaikovsky at the Moscow Children's Musical Theater named after N. I. Sats and "Faust" by S. Gounod at the theater "Estonia" (Tallinn); December 2012 at the Latvian National Opera (Riga) "Tosca" by G. Puccini. Verdi's production of Nabucco, staged by Dmitry Bertman for the Dijon Opera in France, was acquired by the Mariinsky Theater. On May 4, 2013, he opened a new Mariinsky Theater, with Placido Domingo and Maria Guleghina performing in the title roles. In February 2014 Dmitry Bertman staged the opera Eugene Onegin by P. Tchaikovsky at the Norrlandopera Theater in Umeå (Sweden), which was declared the European Capital of Culture in 2014. And already in April 2014 at the Opera House in the Swedish city of Malmö, the premiere of the play "Rose Kavalier" by R. Strauss staged by Dmitry Bertman took place. On the stage of the Helikon-Opera Theater in Moscow in May 2014, Dmitry Bertman presented the opera The Nightingale by I. Stravinsky. Dmitry Bertman collaborated with outstanding conductors: R. Muti, A. Alemandi, R. Bradshaw, D. Callegari, J. Morandi, K. Badea, T. Severini, M. Rostropovich, V. Gergiev, G. Rozhdestvensky, A. Lazarev, V. Ponkin and with the stars of world opera: Placido Domingo, Jose Cura, Montserrat Caballe, Norma Fantini, Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Maria Guleghina, Katarina Dalayman, Inva Mula. He has repeatedly been a member of the jury of various international competitions of opera art, a permanent member of the jury of the Belvedere vocal competition.
On October 3, 2014, on the stage of the Helikon-Opera Theater, the premiere of J. Offenbach's operetta "Beautiful Elena" staged by Dmitry Bertman took place.
In October 2014, Dmitry Bertman became the director of the historic concert at the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia - the Elena Obraztsova Opera Ball, timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the great singer. The concert was attended by world opera stars Anna Netrebko, Maria Guleghina, Jose Kura, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Yuzif Eyvazov, Olga Peretyatko and others. Together with outstanding artists on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, the choir of the Helikon-Opera Theater performed that evening.
In January 2015, the artists of the Helikon-Opera theater took part in a joint project of the theater and the Moscow State Philharmonic - staging the play The Demon by A. Rubinstein with the participation of Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Hasmik Grigoryan and Alexander Tsymbalyuk, as well as the State Orchestra of Russia named after E. Svetlanov under directed by Mikhail Tatarnikov. The play was directed by Dmitry Bertman.
The first performances staged by Dmitry Bertman after the return of "Helikon-Opera" to Bolshaya Nikitskaya were the operas "Sadko" by N.А. Rimsky-Korsakov and "Eugene Onegin" by P.I. Tchaikovsky (recreation of the legendary performance by K.S. Stanislavsky in 1922),
In March 2016, the long-awaited premiere of the opera The Rake's Progress by Igor Stravinsky staged by Dmitry Bertman took place on the stage of the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki.
In April 2016, the premiere of the opera The Golden Cockerel by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov took place at Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Germany). The performance is a joint production with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Moscow premiere took place on 1 July 2018.
In June 2016, Dmitry Bertman staged D. Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District on the stage of the Brazilian Municipal Theater of São Paulo (joint production of the Theater of São Paulo and Helikon Opera).
On January 28, 2017, the premiere of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot" staged by Dmitry Bertman took place on the stage of the Helikon-Opera Theater. Together with the theater's artistic director, the outstanding contemporary conductor, People's Artist of the USSR Vladimir Fedoseev, Canadian production designer Camelia Kuu and American lighting designer Thomas Haze, worked on the performance.
On June 27, 2017 Dmitry Bertman presented the play "Troubadour" by G. Verdi to the Moscow public. The production was conducted by Oliver Diaz (Spain).
On September 21, 2017, the Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin signed a decree on awarding Dmitry Bertman with the Badge of Honor "For impeccable service to the city of Moscow."
On November 11, 2017 at the Helikon-Opera in honor of the anniversary, Dmitry Bertman was awarded the Order of Merit for the Kaliningrad Region.
On December 9, 2017, the premiere of the play "The Queen of Spades" by PI Tchaikovsky took place on the stage of the Stravinsky Hall, on which Dmitry Bertman worked together with People's Artist of the USSR Vladimir Fedoseev.
On December 13, 2017, Dmitry Bertman was awarded the Certificate of Honor of the Moscow State Duma for services to the city community.
On December 20, 2017, Dmitry Bertman and the theater staff received a Gratitude on behalf of the Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
In 2017, Dmitry Bertman was awarded the honorary title "Academician, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Arts" for his outstanding contribution to the development of Russian culture and art.
In 2018, the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin signed a decree awarding Dmitry Bertman with the Order of Honor for his great contribution to the development of Russian culture and art, many years of fruitful activity.
On April 23, 2018, viewers of Barcelona applauded the premiere of the play "The Demon" by A. Rubinstein at the Bolshoi Theater "Liceo". An international team worked on the production: stage director - Dmitry Bertman, musical director and conductor - Mikhail Tatarnikov, chief conductor of the Mikhailovsky Theater, scenery and costumes for the performance were created by the famous Austrian artist Hartmut Schoghofer, the light score of "The Demon" was embodied by the American Thomas Haze - the famous the master of lighting, the head choreographer of "Helikon" Edvald Smirnov worked on the plasticity and stage movement of the actors. The performance on the stage of Liceo is the start of a grandiose project that will cover four cities: Barcelona (Bolshoi Theater Liceo), Nuremberg (State Theater of Nuremberg), Bordeaux (National Opera Bordeaux) and Moscow (Theater Helikon-Opera. Stravinsky "in Moscow, the opera" Demon "by A. Rubinstein will be presented in 2020.
On May 28, 2018, within the framework of the 15th Anniversary Annual General Meeting of the International Academy of Television and Radio (IATR), an international conference "Eurasian Information Partnership and the solemn presentation of awards for academic recognition to laurets in the field of media, science and culture was held, at which the artistic director of the Helikon theater opera "Dmitry Bertman was awarded the Academic Recognition-2018" award.
In September 2018, it became known that from 2020 Dmitry Bertman will become the artistic director of the Birgitta festival.
On November 20, 2018, Vladimir Putin signed a decree approving the new composition of the Presidential Council for Culture and Arts. Dmitry Bertman, artistic director of the Helikon-Opera theater, has become a new member of the Council.
On May 5, 2019 on Radio Russia Dmitry Bertman presented the cycle of author's programs "Tchaikovsky" dedicated to the 180th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
On July 24, 2019, the world premiere of "Mr. Georg Ots" staged by Dmitry Bertman took place at the "Opera Days in Saaremaa" festival. The performance was presented to the Moscow public on September 25. "Mister Georg Ots" is a co-production with Eesti Kontsert, in which both Russian and Estonian performers take part.
On October 1, 2019, on the International Day of Music at the National Theater of Tokyo, the premiere of the opera "Eugene Onegin" by P.I. Tchaikovsky staged by Dmitry Bertman. Together with him, a friendly team of Helikonians worked on the performance: production designers Igor Nezhny and Tatyana Tulubieva, assistant director Galina Timakova, lighting designer Denis Enyukov, choreographer Edvald Smirnov. The musical direction of the production was taken over by maestro Andriy Yurkevich, the leading roles were performed by Evgenia Muravyova (Tatiana), Vasily Ladyuk (Onegin), Pavel Kolgatin (Lensky), Toriki Yayoi (Olga), Alexei Tikhomirov (Gremin).
On October 22, 2019, G. Verdi's opera La Traviata returned to Helikon! Enchanting production Dmitry Bertman, Alexander Sladkovsky, Igor Nezhny, Tatiana Tulubieva, Damir Ismagilov, Edvald Smirnov delighted the audience and burst into the operatic life of Moscow confidently and triumphantly.
On December 3, 2019, the Ippolitov-Ivanov Music and Pedagogical Institute celebrated its 100th anniversary. In honor of this event, a charity gala concert was held in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, at which the Russian Performing Arts Foundation awarded the General Director and Artistic Director of the Helikon-Opera Theater Dmitry Bertman a medal for his contribution to the development of musical culture.
