Juno and maybe why the name. The true story of the prototypes of the rock opera “Juno and Avos”: last love or sacrifice to the Fatherland? Performance in numismatics

Based on poems by the poet Andrei Voznesensky. The premiere took place on July 9 on the stage of the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater (director Mark Zakharov, dance choreography by Vladimir Vasiliev, artist Oleg Sheintsis), whose repertoire the performance is still included in.

The title of the play uses the names of two sailing ships, “Juno” and “Avos”, on which Nikolai Rezanov’s expedition sailed.

History of creation

However, after some time, thanks to Pierre Cardin, the theater toured in Paris and on Broadway in New York, then in Germany, the Netherlands and other countries. Subsequently, the opera was staged in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, and South Korea.

Original story source

According to the memoirs of Andrei Voznesensky, he began writing the poem “Maybe” in Vancouver, when he was “swallowing... flattering pages about Rezanov from J. Lensen’s thick volume, following the fate of our brave compatriot.” In addition, Rezanov’s travel diary, which was also used by Voznesensky, has been preserved and partially published.

And after another two centuries, a symbolic act of reunion of lovers took place. In the fall of 2000, the sheriff of the Californian city of Benisha, where Conchita Arguello is buried, brought a handful of earth from her grave and a rose to Krasnoyarsk to lay at the white cross, on one side of which the words are engraved I will never forget you, and on the other - I'll never see you again.

Naturally, both the poem and the opera are not documentary chronicles. As Voznesensky himself puts it:

The author is not so consumed by conceit and frivolity as to portray real persons based on scanty information about them and insult them with approximateness. Their images, like their names, are only a capricious echo of known destinies. And the tragedy of the evangelical woman, trampled by the highest dogma, is unprovable, although undoubted. Because the idea that has been corrected is wrong living life and feeling.

Plot

Anniversary performances

Performance in numismatics

Notes

see also

Links

• "Rezanov and Conchita - a love story in the memory of generations" by O. Nikolaev

This was the first Soviet rock opera, which, however, due to the peculiarities of the regime, the creators - the author of the libretto Andrei Voznesensky and the author of the music Alexey Rybnikov - classified it as a different genre, calling it the modern opera “Juno and Avos”. Its content is based on real events. The plot is based on - tragic story the love of the Russian count and navigator Nikolai Rezanov and the daughter of the Spanish governor of San Francisco, Conchita Arguello.

The story of the meeting - true and fictional

Main story line true in all versions, it dates back to the moment when in 1806 the coast of California under the flag Russian fleet and under the leadership of the Russian count and chamberlain of His Imperial Majesty, two brigs landed - “Juno” and “Avos”. The content of the rest of the action allows for different, sometimes contradictory interpretations, simply because the story has become the reason for the creation of numerous poems, operas, ballets and simply art historical studies. A artistic creativity presupposes varying degrees of error before the truth, as the author of the poem “Maybe” Andrei Voznesensky admitted. And in the production of the Lenkom Theater, in the creative collaboration of the music author Alexei Rybnikov and director Mark Zakharov, the work acquired its permanent name - “Juno and Avos”.

Summary of the rock opera

Forty-two year old statesman and naval commander, widower and father of two children Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov, dreaming of sailing to the shores of North America, but receiving refusal after refusal, seeks intercession from the icon of the Mother of God and confesses to her his unrighteous passion for her as a woman. Our Lady forgives him and promises her protection. Soon he indeed receives from the imperial court the highest order to go to the shores of California to deliver food to the Russian colonies in Alaska. And now the Russian ships “Juno” and “Avos” drop anchor in San Francisco Bay. The content of the action now develops rapidly. At Don Arguello's ball in honor of the arriving Russian expedition, the count meets the owner's daughter, 16-year-old Conchita. Here he learns that the Arguello house is preparing for the wedding of young Conchita and the young hidalgo Fernando. Fascinated by the beauty of the girl, Rezanov secretly enters her bedroom, begs her for love and takes possession of her. The voice of the Virgin Mary descends to them again, and reciprocal love awakens in Conchita’s soul.

But the count must pay a high price for his offense: the offended Fernando challenges him and dies by his hand. The Russian expedition hastily leaves California. Rezanov secretly gets engaged to his beloved, but for the wedding he needs to obtain permission from the Pope in St. Petersburg to marry a Catholic. However, they are not destined to see each other again. Along the way, Rezanov becomes seriously ill and dies near Krasnoyarsk. Conchita refuses to believe the terrible news and waits for her lover for more than thirty years, after which she becomes a nun and ends her days as a recluse. This is the schematic content of the opera “Juno and Avos”.

Incarnation on stage

At Lenkom the production had a surprisingly happy fate. They missed it right away, unlike other, less edgy performances. The play “Juno and Avos” was shown on stages in many countries; the content of each tour was invariably triumphant. Not the last, if not the first, role was played by the immense talent, energy and charisma of the leading actors. IN different time the role of Count Rezanov was played by Dmitry Pevtsov, you can see others in this role famous actors. In the role of Conchita - Elena Shanina, Alla Yuganova. Other roles were played by Alexander Abdulov, Larisa Porgina and others. With all the merits of subsequent compositions, the duet of Nikolai Karachentsov with actress Elena Shanina, according to the reviews of the majority of viewers, remained unsurpassed in its frantic energy. No wonder the hit of the musical genre “I will never forget you” in this performance still does not lose popularity.

Memory

Conchita Argüello (monstrance Maria Domingo) died in 1857 and was buried in the monastery cemetery, from where her ashes were transferred to the cemetery of St. Dominic.

Count Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov was buried in the cemetery of the city cathedral of Krasnoyarsk in 1807. Almost two centuries later, in 2000, a white marble cross was installed on his grave, on which on one side it reads: “I will never forget you,” and on the other it is written: “I will never see you.”

“Juno and Avos” is the most famous and still popular Russian rock opera. The play premiered in 1981 at the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater, on whose stage it continues to this day.

Composer

The author of the music for the play is A. L. Rybnikov. He was born in Moscow on July 17, 1945. His parents were people creative professions: mother is an artist-designer, and father is a violinist. Alexey Lvovich began writing music at the age of 8. His first compositions were pieces for piano, and at the age of 11 he wrote the ballet “Puss in Boots.” A. L. Rybnikov graduated from the conservatory in composition class, his teacher was Aram Khachaturian.

In addition to the work “Juno and Avos,” Alexey Lvovich wrote another legendary rock opera, “The Star and Death of Joaquin Murrieta.” He is the author of music for the mystery "Liturgy of the Catechumens", to musical drama“Maestro Massimo”, to the modern opera “War and Peace”, to such films as: “Treasure Island”, “That Same Munchausen”, “The Tale of the Star Boy”, “Andersen - Life Without Love”, “The Adventures of Pinocchio” , “Little Red Riding Hood”, “The Brothers Karamazov”, etc., as well as cartoons: “The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats on new way", "Black chicken", the "Moomin Troll" series, etc. In addition, A.L. Rybnikov writes symphonic, chamber and choral music. And there is no doubt that his awarding the title of People's Artist in 1999 is quite fair.

Plot

The most famous work composer A.L. Rybnikov was and remains the rock opera “Juno and Avos”. A brief summary of the performance will be presented in this article. Based on the plot poem of the same name, written by Andrei Voznesensky. She introduces us to the true story that happened at the beginning of the 19th century. Russian statesman Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov took a trip to California in 1806, where he met Conchita, the daughter of the commandant of San Francisco.

So, “Juno and Avos” ( summary The opera will be described further in detail) - this is a story about how Nikolai Rezanov, as part of the expedition he led, stopped in California on the way to Alaska. At the ball, he meets sixteen-year-old Conchita, who falls in love with him. After getting engaged to her, Nikolai Rezanov is forced to continue the expedition and leave his bride in California. On the way to St. Petersburg, where he was going to apply for permission to marry Conchita, since she is a Catholic, Nikolai Petrovich falls ill and dies. Conchita waited for him for many years and did not believe that he was dead, and having received confirmation of his death, she took monastic vows and took a vow of silence.

Prologue

The rock opera “Juno and Avos” (the summary goes hand in hand with the work itself) begins with a prologue. Nikolai Petrovich prays, calling on the Lord and the Motherland. After which a prophet appears on stage and predicts to Russia that the difficult year 1812 is coming soon.

The first act of the rock opera "Juno and Avos"

The summary of the first part is as follows: after the funeral service for his wife in the church, Rezanov submits a petition to Count Rumyantsev to support his project - the first in the history of Russia trip around the world, which he intends to lead in order to establish friendly relations with America, which promises great benefits for Russia. Having received the go-ahead from Rumyantsev, N.P. Rezanov sets sail.

Second act

Rock opera “Juno and Avos” summary (second part) tells about what is happening to the heroes already in America. The scene begins with Nikolai Petrovich writing a letter to A.N. Rumyantsev about the state in which his expedition arrived on the shores of California, and how they were met local residents. Next, the action moves to ballroom. This is where N.P. Rezanov met Conchita, in honor of whose 16th birthday a ball was given. Nikolai Petrovich presents the commandant's daughter with a gift - a golden diadem from the collection of Empress Catherine. After the ball, Rezanov enters Conchita's bedroom and seduces her. The girl falls in love with him, and he only feels remorse. During confession, the girl tells everything to her confessor, which he reports to her father, who insists on an engagement in order to hide his daughter’s dishonor. Rezanov and Conchita get engaged, after which he sails away, but he is never destined to return to her. For thirty years Conchita waited for the return of N.P. Rezanov, not believing the rumors about his death.

“Juno and Avos” is one of the most famous modern operas by composer Alexei Rybnikov based on poems by poet Andrei Voznesensky. Its first show on the stage of the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater (Lenkom) took place on July 9, 1981.

Late 1970s famous composer Alexey Rybnikov became interested in creating musical improvisations based on Orthodox chants. One day he demonstrated his work artistic director"Lenkom" to Mark Zakharov, after which he got the idea to create an opera based on them based on "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". It was decided to turn to Andrei Voznesensky to write the libretto for the opera. Voznesensky did not support this idea, but instead suggested using his poem “Maybe,” created in 1970. He managed to convince Rybnikov and Zakharov, after which work began on adapting the poem to the stage. I had to work on many scenes and arias.

Since the word "rock opera" was prohibited at that time (as was rock music in general), the authors called the work "modern opera".

Staging dance numbers was performed by choreographer Vladimir Vasiliev.

The plot of the poem and rock opera is based on romantic story the love of the Russian traveler Nikolai Rezanov and the daughter of the governor of San Francisco, Maria Conchita Arguello de la Concepcion.

Chamberlain Rezanov, having buried his wife, decided to devote all his strength to serving Russia. His proposals on the need to try to establish trade relations with North America For a long time they did not receive a response from the authorities, but finally he was ordered to carry out the desired journey. Before leaving, Rezanov says that with youth he is tormented by one circumstance, the impression that the Kazan icon made on him Mother of God- since then he has treated the Virgin Mary more as a beloved woman than as the Mother of God. Appearing to him in a vision, the Mother of God tells him not to be horrified by his feelings and promises to pray for him.

Two ships, Juno and Avos, sail under the St. Andrew's flag to the shores of California. In Spanish California at that time, the wedding of Conchita, the daughter of the governor, and Senor Federico is approaching. Rezanov, on behalf of Russia, greets California, and the governor invites him, as the ambassador of Emperor Alexander, to a ball in honor of his daughter’s sixteenth birthday. At the ball, Rezanov invites Conchita to dance - and this event becomes fatal in their lives and in the life of Federico. The groom is openly jealous, Rezanov’s companions make a cynical bet whether he can “pick a California flower.” The men understand that none of them will step aside without a fight.

At night, Conchita prays to the Virgin Mary in her bedroom. Rezanov comes to her with words of love.

At this moment, a reciprocal feeling arises in Conchita’s soul, and she reciprocates Rezanov’s feelings. But from that moment on, good fortune turns away from Rezanov. Conchita's fiance challenges him to a duel, during which Federico dies. The Russians are forced to urgently leave San Francisco.

Having made a secret engagement with Conchita, Rezanov embarks on a Return trip. In Siberia, he falls ill with a fever and dies near Krasnoyarsk. And Conchita remains faithful to her love for the rest of her life. After waiting for Rezanov for thirty-five years - from sixteen to fifty-two - she tonsured herself a nun and ended her days in the cell of the Dominican monastery in San Francisco.

The first cast of the play included Nikolai Karachentsov (Count Rezanov), Elena Shanina (Conchitta), Alexander Abdulov (Federico). Immediately after its release, the opera became the most discussed event in cultural life capital Cities.

The rock opera "Juno" and "Avos" has successfully passed the test of time - the performance is on still with constant sell-outs. Over the 30-year history, there have been six performers of the role of Conchita and three chamberlains Rezanov.

Currently, on the stage of the Lenkom Theater, the role of the chamberlain, Count Nikolai Rezanov is performed by folk artists Russia and Viktor Rakov; Conchitas - Alla Yuganova and Alexandra Volkova.

There are two television versions of the play - 1983 and 2002. The first version depicts classic look performance with Nikolai Karachentsov, Elena Shanina and Alexander Abdulov. The second version, filmed for the 20th anniversary of the play, stars Nikolai Karachentsov, Anna Bolshova and Viktor Rakov.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

For more than 30 years, the rock opera “Juno and Avos” continues to excite hearts, immersing viewers in romantic world two lovers: Count Rezanov and young Conchita. However, not everyone knows that this story is based on real events that occurred in early XIX century.

One of the main characters of the opera, Nikolai Rezanov, was born in an impoverished noble family. He got good home education and showed brilliant abilities for learning languages. In a fairly short period of time, Rezanov rose to the rank of manager of the office under the secretary of Catherine II, Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin.

Rezanov and Conchita on a fresco in Post Interfaith Chapel (San Francisco)

However, the appearance of a new young, tall, handsome man at court aroused fears among the Empress's favorite, Count Zubov, and Rezanov was sent to Irkutsk. He inspected the activities of the traveler Grigory Shelikhov, who founded the first Russian settlements in America, and after some time married his daughter.

To stimulate the development of Alaska, by order of Paul I, the private-state Russian-American Company (RAC) was created in 1899, and Rezanov became its authorized representative. He sought to establish sea communications with Russian settlers in America, since due to the irregular and long delivery of food from Russia, they often received it expired and no longer fit for consumption. A plan was developed to inspect settlements in Alaska and establish ties with Japan.

However, at this time the count's wife dies. Rezanov wanted to resign and start raising children, but was stopped by the order of the emperor. In 1803, the expedition he led set off on the ships Nadezhda and Neva. Negotiations with the Japanese were unsuccessful; Nadezhda and Neva continued on their way to Alaska. Arriving at the place, Rezanov was amazed by the living conditions of the settlers: they lived on the verge of starvation, in devastation, and suffered from scurvy.

Rezanov on own funds acquires the frigate "Juno" with a cargo of food. But this was only a partial solution to the problem. Winter was approaching, and the settlers would not have enough food from the Juno until spring. Then the count orders the construction of another ship - the tender "Avos". He goes to San Francisco for supplies, hoping to establish trade relations with the Spaniards.

In 6 weeks, Rezanov managed to impress the Californians. He completely conquered the governor of Upper California, José Arillaga, and the commandant of the fortress, José Dario Arguello. The latter’s daughter was 15-year-old Donna Maria de la Concepcion Marcella Arguello, simply called Conchita.

One of the participants in Rezanov’s expedition, the ship’s doctor Georg Langsdorff, wrote in his diary: “She stands out with her majestic posture, her facial features are beautiful and expressive, her eyes are captivating. Add here a graceful figure, wonderful natural curls, wonderful teeth and thousands of other charms. Such beautiful women can only be found in Italy, Portugal or Spain, but even then very rarely.” And one more thing: “One would think that Rezanov immediately fell in love with this young Spanish beauty. However, in view of the prudence inherent in this cold man, I would rather admit that he simply had some kind of diplomatic designs on her.”

Maybe the doctor was just wrong? But Rezanov himself, in his reports to Russia, does not look like a man lost in love. Despite the fact that Rezanov was already 42 years old, he had not lost any of his attractiveness; in addition, he was famous, rich and moved in the highest circles of society. Conchita's contemporaries claimed that Conchita's desire to marry a Russian count contained as much love as calculation; she supposedly dreamed of a luxurious life at court in St. Petersburg, but subsequent events proved the sincerity of her feelings for Rezanov.

The relationship between Rezanov and Conchita developed quickly, and soon the engagement ceremony took place. Then, the groom left the bride to return to St. Petersburg and ask the emperor to petition the Pope for consent to the marriage. Nikolai Petrovich calculated that two years would be enough for this. Conchita assured him that she would be waiting...

Having set off, Rezanov was in a terrible hurry. The autumn thaw was approaching, but the count still stubbornly continued his movement through Siberia. As a result, Nikolai Petrovich caught a terrible cold and lay in a fever and unconsciousness for 12 days. And as soon as he woke up, he moved forward again, not sparing himself at all. One frosty day, Rezanov lost consciousness, fell from his horse and hit his head hard on the ground. He was taken to Krasnoyarsk, where Nikolai Petrovich died on March 1, 1807. He was 42 years old.

After 60 years, Russia sold Alaska to America for next to nothing, along with all the possessions of the Russian-American Company. Rezanov's plans were not allowed to come true. But he still gained fame throughout the centuries - thanks to Conchita. True, she did not wait for him for 35 years, as stated in the famous rock opera. No. Just a little more than a year Every morning I went out to the cape, sat on the rocks and looked at the ocean. And then, in 1808, Conchita learned about the death of her groom: a relative of Nikolai Petrovich wrote to her brother. Adding that Signorita de Arguello is free and can marry whomever she wishes. But she rejected this unnecessary freedom. Who should she marry, what dreams should she cherish? Twenty years after this, Conchita lived with her parents. She was involved in charity work and taught literacy to Indians. Then she went to the monastery of St. Dominic under the name Maria Dominga. Together with the monastery she moved to the city of Monterrey, where she died on December 23, 1857. Having thus survived Rezanov for half a century...

Not so long ago, in 2000, in Krasnoyarsk, a monument was erected on Rezanov’s grave - a white cross, on one side of which it was written: “Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov. 1764-1807. I will never forget you,” and on the other - “Maria Concepcion de Arguello. 1791-1857. I'll never see you again." The sheriff of Monterrey came to the opening - specifically to scatter a handful of earth from Conchita's grave there. He took back a handful of Krasnoyarsk soil - Conchite.