The play "Richter's Fairytale" in Berlin from 7 to 8 June 2024

"Richter's Fairytale" recounts the life of Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997), one of the greatest Soviet pianists in the history of music. The life of this German-Russian piano virtuoso was marked by an escape from the reality of the Stalinist regime into the boundless world of music. "Politics never interested me," Richter often said. Yet his fate was permeated by it: Richter's father was executed on false charges, his mother fled with retreating German troops to Germany, and Richter himself, who narrowly escaped arrest, played at Stalin's funeral. This is a fantasy about the relationship between the artist and the authorities. It is based on documents from Richter's archive, as well as interviews with the artist, his colleagues and close friends. The play tells the story of a musical genius forced to invent his own "free world" to stay away from dictatorial rule, totalitarianism and stagnation. Using live music, elements of dramatic and documentary theatre, puppet theatre and clowning on stage, an extraordinary and fantastic story is created... the fairy tale of this unique personality.

Acting team: Ilya Khodyrev, Mihail Rjabov 

Stage director: Kostya Novitsky

Animation director: Valeria Nikolicheva

Puppet director: Roman Boklanov