Prince Igor

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It turned out to be a rare opportunity to see Borodin’s only opera – Prince Igor in London, performed by Moscow based Novaya Opera. It was their first visit to the UK, and as such a great many of London’s theatregoers were up for the evening.

Tonight’s show at the Coliseum Theatre in St Martins Street, in the West End, proved to be an eye-opener to the uninitiated in opera. A show about Russian history and a set depicting Russian architecture and elaborate costume proved to be a success.

Due to booking late, we sat in the upper part of the dress circle of The Coliseum, which probably in hindsight was a mistake to have booked so late, as these were the only seats available. We didn’t have a view of the surtitles which would have given us a greater understanding of the story-line. I would highly recommend people go to see this show, but definitely, when ordering your tickets, you should book early, and select seats elsewhere in the theatre where the surtitles can be seen. The stalls or balconies would be a good bet, and the lower half of the dress circle would give you the view needed.

All-in-all, certainly well worth seeing. The orchestra and the performers were excellent, and even without a full understanding of the story-line, we found it an amazing experience.

Moscow based Novaya Opera makes its first visit to the UK bringing this spectacular Russian work to the stage of the London Coliseum. It is a wonderful chance to see the famous Polovtsian Dances performed live as part of the complete opera. The production is part of the UK-Russia Year of Culture and Novaya Opera is the only Russian opera company coming to London as part of the celebrations.

Conducted by the eminent Principal Conductor and Head of Artistic Direction of Novaya Opera, Jan Latham-Koenig, the production was widely admired when it was performed in Russia. Directed by the multi-award winning Yuri Alexandrov, the opera is based on 1,000-year-old historical events, portraying the collision of two worlds: Old Russia and the Polovtsians, both masterfully recreated in Borodin’s romantic score.