Dmitry Bertman, theater director: biography, personal life, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Theatre director Dmitry Alexandrovich Bertman, the creator of the unique Helikon-Opera Theatre, is known all over the world for his productions. His performances are distinguished by lightness, grace, originality, improvisation and great respect for musical material.

Opera prodigy

Dmitry Bertman was born on October 31, 1967 in Moscow. Already from childhood, his mother enrolled him in a music school in the piano class and took him to theaters several times a week. Dmitry Bertman, whose family had a lot of acquaintances in the theatrical environment, remembered his first performance "The Bunny-Knower" in the Youth Theater, which he watched with great spiritual empathy. And during the intermission, his mother took him backstage and the boy was surprised to see that Baba Yaga was Uncle Volodya, who often visited their house. Dmitry says that since then he has ceased to be an ordinary spectator, and now he understood that the theater is a convention, a game, and watched with pleasure how the actors do it.

Little Dmitry had a toy - a model of a theater on a rotating circle, and on it already in childhoodthe future director acted out his first productions. Already in the fifth grade, he knew that he only wanted to be an opera director. The best pastime for a teenager was a secret visit to Pokrovsky's rehearsals at the Bolshoi Theater. He went to the theater every day. Stanislavsky, knew all the productions by heart, remembered all the artists. So since childhood, Dmitry's fate was sealed.

Study

At the age of 16, Dmitry Bertman, whose biography, it would seem, is predetermined, makes a fateful decision - he submits an application to GITIS. Although before that he was going to enter Moscow State University, he went there for preparatory lectures, and only after that he intended to go to directing courses. Everyone around insisted that it was unrealistic to act as a director at the age of 16, and the selection committee was very skeptical. But the explication exam was able to convince professionals of the unconditional talent of the applicant. Throughout the years of study, special attention was riveted to Bertman, and he had to prove his right to exist in the profession every day.

Already in the years of study, Dmitry is looking for every opportunity to stage performances. He works in the provincial theaters of Syktyvkar, Odessa, Tver. He leads an amateur circle in the House of the Physician, teaching doctors and nurses to sing in the choir, and for this he receives a rehearsal room in which the first performances of the future famous troupe are born.

Theater of Life: Helikon Opera

Already in the last years of the institute around Dmitrya small team of like-minded people has formed, they stage an opera for four people - I. Stravinsky's Mavra. And after graduating from high school, the idea of his own theater arose by itself. And the unprecedented happened - a young 23-year-old man creates his own opera house! Gradually, the troupe develops an interesting repertoire of works by composers of the 20th century. These were extremely difficult times for the country in general and for theaters in particular. But Bertman did not want to back down, he urged sponsors with great energy to invest in recordings and productions. They are joined by a 12-piece choir, allowing the production of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci to attract a wider audience.

In 1993 "Helikon-Opera" receives the status of a state theater and begins to develop actively. Initially, the troupe consisted of 30 full-time units, today more than 300 people work in the theater. The audience appreciated Bertman's directorial search and fell in love with the new unusual theater. The director was called a revolutionary and a hooligan, he puts on the classics, but always finds a new reading, and this is very attractive to viewers and critics.

The theater is based on Bertman's charisma, he is an extremely sociable person and the theater has become more like a club of fans of his work, outstanding artists, celebrities, politicians come here. So, for example, Valentina Matvienko watched some performances seven times, brought many friends and official delegations.

Today the repertoire of "Helikon-Opera" consists of the classics: "Aida", "Boris Godunov", "Carmen", "The Queen of Spades", "Sadko" and modern works: "Gershwin-Gala","Doctor Haaz", "Cartoon Opera". It is impossible to buy tickets on the premiere of the theater at the New York Metropolitan Opera, the theater is actively touring the world with constant sold out.

For a long time the theater huddled in other people's premises, but thanks to the incredible and heroic efforts of Dmitry Bertman in November 2015, Helikon-Opera moved into its own building on Bolshaya Nikitskaya. Now the theater has a modern stage and a lot of opportunities for further creative searches.

Director's work

Bertman Dmitry Alexandrovich, in addition to Helikon-Opera, is actively working in many theaters around the world. For over 20 years of creative activity, he staged about 90 performances in the best theaters. Among his finds are "The Naked King" in Rome, "Faust" in Tallinn, "Nabucco" in Dijon, "Mermaid" in Toronto, "Othello" in Sweden. Bertman's creative method arouses tremendous interest in the world, he is invited to festivals, to the jury of competitions.

Since 1994, Bertman has been teaching abroad, and since 1996, RATI has been running his own workshop, head of the directing department.

Creative achievements and awards

Dmitry Bertman's main achievement is the incredibly successful modern and innovative opera house all over the world. In "Helikon-Opera" there is always a full house, the audience is happy to look at the creative finds of the director. Theater tours in London, Paris, Stockholm, New York attract a huge number of spectators, critics talk about the formation of a new Russian opera created by Bertman.

Bertman's talentrepeatedly received well-deserved awards. He has several "Golden Masks" as the best director of musical theater, has twice been awarded the "Highlight of the Season" - the award of theatrical figures, has been presented to several foreign awards and prizes, and is also the owner of the Order of Friendship. In 1998, Dmitry Bertman became an Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation, in 2005 he became a People's Artist of the Russian Federation.

Private life

Dmitry Bertman, whose personal life is of keen interest to journalists, is so busy with work that he apparently has no time to think about his family. He is very sociable, and there are always many guests in his house, which reflects the ebullient and inquisitive nature of the owner.

If there are people obsessed with work, then this is Dmitry Bertman, his personal life is a theater, he reads a lot, travels, attends performances of colleagues and works - this is his life.