Drillalians
Episode I. Dmitri Kourliandski

Drillalians. Episode II
Drillalians. Episode III
Drillalians. Episode IV
Drillalians. Episode V

The opera tells about the brith, initiation and adventures of a Drillalian Prince. According to the laws of Drillalia, this all occurs simultaneously in the future, the present and the past – time frames and events intertwine whimsically in the young man’s maturing consciousness. 

We find ourselves on the top deck of a gondola barge, a structure that transports Drillalian gondolas in space and time. Before us opens up a panorama of the magical civilization of Drillalia. We encounter Drillalians who, at this very moment, are engaged in a sacred ritual, and we hear their mournful songs dedicated to Drillalia, which is in the process of perishing, but is incapable of perishing entirely.

The performance is accompanied by English-language supertitles.

Drillalians in cinemas

The Stanislavsky Electrotheatre's production of Drillalians begins showing in cinemas worldwide in high-quality video in April 2018. The screenings are the work of the Stage Russia HD project. Stage Russia will show the first two parts of the six-part opera series (music by Dmitri Kourliandski and Boris Filanovsky) as a single film in various cities throughout the United States, Britain and Ireland. The list of cinemas where Drillalians I and II will be shown is constantly updated on the project website. For more information, visit here

This, the first of two evenings of overtures, tells the epic tale of the phantasmagorical civilization of Drillalia, which exists parallel to earth. The work's chief protagonist, a prince, must save his magical land from destruction. In this first episode, Drillalians occupy the deck of the transportational device that transfers their gondolas through space and time during a ritual dedicated to the perishing of the world.

The fragile, crystal-clear music of Dmitri Kourliandski "heats the street," making the air of the stage space visible. Gondolas carrying singers or readers sail back and forth in front of a spectacular multi-screen backdrop on which colorful, luminescent clouds constantly float high above a stylized, heavenly Venice. Boris Yukhananov uses Venice as one of the portals leading to the mythical civilization of the Drillalians.

Soloists: Vocal ensemble N’Caged of Arina Zvereva