"SINGOR TODERO IS A HOOLIGAN"

It's good to have friends. Many friends. Or too many friends like the People's Artist of Azerbaijan Mabud Maharramov. The audience gathered at the Russian Drama Theater in Baku seemed to be his friends. The premiere was dedicated to the 60^th birthday of the artist. Alexander Sharovski chose the play of Italian playwright, the reformer of the Italian theater, the creator of the national comedy Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793), which he wrote in 1771 in Paris. He wrote it based on his real life experience remembering those whom he knew in Venice. The story of an old man Todero – a greed, squawk, grumbling, boring, and rude man, who poisoned the life of his family and friends. The author knew such a person in Venice and in his memoirs told that the play, which was watched the prototype of Todero, his son and daughter-in-law, made an indelible impression on them. The daughter-in-law did not even hide her joy because many Venetians recognized the real Todero behind his scenic counterpart.

Director’s idea

They say that these artists are provocateurs. Naturally, in a good sense of the word. So, Carlo Goldoni, moving in 1761 from Venice to Paris, wrote a funny story in 1771 about a Venetian old man named Todero. However, from the point of view of a man of the 21^st century, Todero is not an old man at all! Well, who will call a man of 60 years old an old man nowadays? Now they live longer and grow old more slowly. However, in those days the story invented by Carlo Goldoni, caused a wide resonance among the Parisian public. In love with the Moliere Theater, the playwright wrote a play in French called Le Bourru Bienfaisant, which brought the author European fame and glory. The play evoked delight and was very attractive material for the actors-beneficiaries. (The first benefit, as a theatrical phenomenon, took place in France in 1735). Thus, the play about the strange signor Todero "got" and to Russia. As a literary work, it was published in 1772 in St. Petersburg under the title "Beneficent rude, a comedy from the theater of Mr. Goldoni." Of course, from the point of view of modern theater, texts - both in sound, dynamics, and thought - are perceived as archaic. Pondering the production project for the anniversary of Mabud Maharramov, the theater's chief and production director Alexander Sharovski decided that the story about Signor Todero should acquire more modern text rhythms, colors and details. The idea to combine aesthetic techniques of the theater of the Italian writer and playwright, the author of fairy-tale plays using folklore elements and the principles of comedy del arte in the choice of character-masks, Carlo Gozzi and the theater of Carlo Goldoni did not arise out of thin air. Years of searching for his own stylistic handwriting revealed the director's attraction to the stylistic techniques of the theater of the mask (dell'arte). These techniques, like episodic inclusions in the action, are scattered throughout many of his productions, but in this performance the director allows himself to "let go of his own imagination", so that it finally has a complete form. Therefore, in a play based on the plot Goldoni, appear Harlequin and Colombina. They invade the action, directing, encouraging or challenging the opinion and action of Signor Todero, sometimes becoming his alter ego. And Signor Todero has an almost youthful tendency to hooliganism, which led to unpredictable, but pleasantly whirling events...

About the play

The production director Olga Abbasova found in the design and costumes of the characters that convincing expressiveness, which works on the director's staging idea, making the characters' characters more expressive. The costumes of the heroes are stylized. This is also part of the conceptual design, an idea that fits into the aesthetic position of the masque theater – dell’arte. The play style of an area theater of masks has long attracted the director the ability to immerse characters in the element of laughter, balancing at the junction of free interpretation and circus techniques.

The title character, Signor Todero, performed by Mabud Magerramov is not a vicious old man, who wants to harm everyone because of his bad character but an individual, who always wants to have fun. Like a mischievous boy, he invents small and big tricks that lead the household into awe and catch up with fear. But, it seems, trembling and fear - this is also part of the game, because of which no one seriously and not angry at the master. Everyone has become accustomed to such strangeness of the owner of the house. And it is not known how long this strange signor's games would have continued if the friend of his daughter-in-law (the wife of Pellegrin's son) had not appeared in the house - Fortunata. In the performance of Natalia Sharovskaya, this languid lady from beaumonde, for which every minute of existence is nothing but a demonstration of his own grace and refined manners. Manners and graphic poses Fortunate so expressive that the daughter-in-law Marcolina always tries to "match", trying to take similar poses. Alas! Melek Abbaszadeh, who plays Marcoline, creates the character of a woman who is only striving for rebellion, and not rebelling. A real rebel from it will not come out, because too much time and energy is spent on the desire to "match." That's the end of all her life in the house of Todero. Her husband, Pellegrin, is very similar to her. This role is played by Fuad Osmanov. And performed perfectly. His Pellegrin is a man exhausted by his father's quirks and constant discontent of his wife. The actor so accurately embodies the character of the weak-willed and tortured man's desires and whims that the auditorium never remains indifferent to his "sufferings."

A funny and cheerful performance was presented to residents of Baku at the Russian Drama Theater. The play became a milestone in the creative life of Mabud Maharramov and a remarkable event in the theater life of the city. The audience was able to rediscover the talents of young actors Oleg Amirbayov, Maria Dubovitskaya, Olga Arsentieva and Ibrahim Chingiz, who is taking his first steps on the stage of the theater. The premiere was a great success. The performance is waiting for a long and happy life.