Ivan the Terrible Comes to Surrey

Published on: 19 Jan, 2021
Updated on: 19 Jan, 2021

The Theatre in the Woods © Grange Park Opera

Grange Park Opera, which has responded to the challenges of Covid-19 by making its productions accessible online, has announced a new collaboration with the Romanoff Foundation. 

The Foundation, a UK-based charity that supports Russian émigré institutions and culture, is making an initial grant to support the live filming/streaming of Ivan the Terrible in Grange Park’s 2021 season (19 June – 14 July 2021). This will bring the production to supporters of the opera who are unable to attend in person, as well as to the wider public.

Ivan the Terrible Showing His Treasures to Jerome Horsey by Alexander Litovchenko (1875) © Igor Saltykov : Alamy Stock Photo

The opera was composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s first and is described as one of his hidden gems.

In the lead-up to the performances, the Foundation will organise and host a series of live and recorded events to increase awareness of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, and of Russia’s early interaction with the Tsar’s English contemporaries, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. 

Romanoff Foundation Trustee Andrei Rodzianko commented: “The Romanoff Foundation is thrilled to work to support Grange Park Opera in its upcoming opera season. We hope to bring some exciting events to help the production of ‘Ivan the Terrible’ come to life for the viewing public.” 

Wasfi Kani

Wasfi Kani, Founder and CEO of Grange Park Opera, said: “We are honoured to have been chosen by the prestigious Romanoff Foundation whose thoughtful talks will certainly enlighten the Grange Park Opera family. There cannot be too much culture in the world; these initiatives embrace a larger family.” 

Ivan the Terrible tells how the tyrannical Tsar, Ivan IV, sweeps through the city of Novgorod, pillaging as he goes. In the picturesque town of Pskov, Ivan billets himself at a house where he sees a beautiful young woman. Something stays his hand and the city is spared. Could it be because he has discovered his long-lost love child, Olga?

With its expansive music, dramatic plot and vivid crowd scenes, Ivan the Terrible is a spectacle. The cast includes Evelina Dobracheva as Princess Olga, Liubov Sokolova as Vlasyevna, Carl Tanner as Tucha, and Clive Bayley as Ivan the Terrible. 

See: www.grangeparkopera.co.uk 

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