http://www.nysun.com/article/69566
By GEORGE LOOMIS
January 15, 2008 updated 7:03 pm EST
Back in the 1990s, just about every Russian opera or ballet troupe that could get on an airplane seemed to find its way to America. Cultural ideals had little to do with it: The spur was economic, a chance to acquire hard currency following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Stories surfaced of tours aborted midway and of unscrupulous impresarios. The artistic product was often pretty shabby too.
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Mr. Isaakyan, however, looks well beyond Tchaikovsky to keep the repertory in Perm unusually adventuresome for Russia. Recent productions have included Massenet's "Cléopâtre," and Rodion Shchedrin's "Lolita," based on the Nabokov novel. Mr. Isaakyan marked the 400th anniversary of the first great opera, Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo," with the first Russian staging of that opera.
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"I've talked about the characters of 'Mazeppa,' Mr. Isaakyan said, "but the music is what attracts me the most. It is one of Tchaikovsky's greatest operas — maybe the greatest. There are places that make me cry every time I hear them."