The old Tzar Dodon, tired of ruling his country, manipulated by his political advisors - among which the obscure Astrologer - and showing little interest in protecting his kingdom against foreign agression, relies on a magic Golden Cockerel to warn him in case of an attack. But when the Cockerel tells him of his own defeat, the Tzar quickly falls in love with his enemy, the beautiful Tzaritza of Shemakha, who easily convinces him to surrender his empire by making him propose to her...

A cruel and sardonic fairytale, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Golden Cockerel draws from a poem by Alexander Pushkin, and undoubtedly counts among the most subversive works in the history of music. One has to admit that the opera, composed less than ten years before the revolution that was to change Russia forever, doesn’t paint a very favorable picture of the Tzar’s regime! A very direct attack against autocracy, stupidity and political inertia, it was censored and premiered only in 1909, one year after Rimsky-Korsakov’s death.

This new production from the Théâtre de la Monnaie was imagined by Laurent Pelly. Drawing from the modernity of Rimsky-Korsakov’s musical and dramatic imagination, the ambiguities of its specular structure, and its underlying reflection on language, manipulation and absurdity, the French stage director underlies the heavily symbolical aspects of this fierce and pitiless tale, all the while remembering both its historical context and its universal philosophical depth... French conductor Alain Altinoglu works wonders with the Théâtre de la Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, and reaffirms his strong affinities with Russian music, which were already made clear in the Tchaikovsky dyptich Iolanta / The Nutcracker at the Paris Opera in 2015.

This production was also given at the Teatro Real - Madrid in June 2017.

"Pelly is masterly at characterising the comedy, through costumes as much as marshalling of his singers, with the chorus used especially effectively as soldiers and populace. The marital bed trundling forwards on tank tracks is a pertinent symbol of the tsar’s militaristic follies that have won him a bride – he then proceeds to sleep through the wedding celebrations. [...] the comedy is all surprisingly subtle, and the underlying seriousness is never forgotten, especially with the Act III tableaux of Red Square and massed peoples." - Bachtrack.com

Cast:
- Tzar Dodon: Pavlo Hunka
- Tzarevich Guidon: Alexey Dolgov
- Tzarevich Afron: Konstantin Shushakov
- General Polkan: Alexander Vassiliev
- Amelfa: Agnes Zwierko
- Astrologer: Alexander Kravets
- Tzaritza of Shemakha: Venera Gimadieva
- Golden Cockerel: Sheva Tehoval (singer), Sarah Demarthe (dancer)
- Boyars: John Manning, Marcel Schmitz

Stage direction & Costumes: Laurent Pelly
Sets: Barbara De Limburg
Lighting design: Joël Adam
Choreography: Lionel Hoche
Costume design collaborator: Jean-Jacques Delmotte

Recorded in HD at the Théâtre royal de la Monnaie in 12/2016
Directed for TV by: Myriam Hoyer

Running time: 118 min.
Booklet: FR / ENG / NL
Original language: RUSSIAN
Subtitles: FR / ENG / GER / NL / SPA / ITA / KOR / JAP
Video: Colour, 16/9, NTSC
Audio: PCM 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1