IOC opens its 2024-2025 season with Stone Guest by A. Dargomyzhsky

(Don Juan and Donna Anna the picture of I. Repin)

Independent Opera Company kicks off its 2024-2025 season with The Stone Guest by A. Dargomyzhsky. This 19th century Russian opera is based on a short play by the famous Russian poet A. Pushkin. The story is very similar to Don Giovanni by W. A. Mozart and is based on the legends of Don Juan, a fictional libertine and seducer created by the Spanish writer Tirso de Molina in the 17th century.

The characters include Don Juan and his servant Leporello; Donna Laura, one of Don Juan’s love interests, and her guests: a Monk; Donna Anna, who in this story is the widow rather than the daughter of Commendatore, who was killed by Don Juan in a duel; and of course, a statue of Commendatore, who comes to this intimate meeting between his widow and Don Juan to drag the unfortunate libertine to hell.

The music and the work itself are truly remarkable and innovative. It follows Pushkin's play almost word for word, and takes inspiration from the spoken word, almost totally abandoning traditional operatic forms such as arias and ensembles. This approach became an inspiration for future generations of Russian composers such as Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, who were seeking to create authentic Russian art.

This remarkable opera is well known in Russian speaking parts of the world, yet to the best of our knowledge, has never been performed in the Los Angeles music scene!

Independent Opera Company will present this opera in concert, with minimum movement, so that the audience can focus on the music and the story.

Supertitles will be provided, and the opera will be performed with some of the best Los Angeles singers. IOC’s Artistic Director will accompany on piano.