Perfumer is a rock opera written by Igor Demarin on the plot of the book by Patrick Suskind of the same name. The performance tells the story of the life of a great creator of aromas. Igor Demarin is the author of rock opera music and the lead actor.
Rock opera creator
“Saved by Love”, “America the Separator”, “Afghan Waltz” - these are the songs that the singer and composer Igor Demarin became famous for. The rock opera Perfumer is not his only work in this genre. Prior to that, he had written the Saga of the Soldier and 12 monologues overheard in a crowd of passers-by. But the rock opera Perfumer, the idea of writing which Igor Demarin nurtured for 10 years, nevertheless became the most ambitious.
The history of the creation of the rock opera "Perfumer"
Ever since I read the novel, I had the idea of creating a play based on the book by Patrick Suskind Igor Demarin. The rock opera Perfumer is a story about a killer who possessed an incredible sense of smell. It was not easy for the composer to find a librettist for his project - the playwrights refused to work on the script of the play for such an eerie novel. Only Yuri Rybchinsky agreed. The composer and playwright made some changes to the image of the hero, thanks to which he turned from a monster into a romantic character, and his murder from cold-blooded atrocities became a kind of cost of creativity. The composer believes that art, in particular music, is designed to create romance even where the greatest evil reigns. Moreover, in any work there is a flip side to the coin, which is not visible to viewers and fans, but it exists. And she is far from as pleasant as it may seem. The main character of the rock opera is a genius. The murders that he committed - this is the flip side of his art, because he used the victims to create his masterpieces. The music of I. Demarin does not represent the Perfumer as cruel as it is described in the book. Here another side of his soul is shown, inner torment.
I. Demarin is the only composer to whom the author of the novel, Patrick Suskind, gave the right to stage the play in his book. Even the famous Broadway masters could not get such permission from him.
The music for the production is written in different genres. The composer managed to combine the incongruous. Here harpsichord music, and blues, and rock ballads, and opera arias. Each character sings in his own genre.
Characters
So who is the story about?
- Jean-Baptiste Grenouil is the main character who has the most musical parts.
- Giuseppe Baldini is his teacher who lost inspiration and stopped creating new flavors.
- Charlotte is the first victim of the Perfumer. She has only two arias, but they contain the pain and feelings experienced by all 25 girls killed by Jean-Baptiste.
- Laura Rishi is the last victim of Grenouin.
- Antoine Rishi - Second Consul, her father.
Plot
Rock opera I. Demarin “Perfumer” begins with the fact that the actor enters the stage in the image of the main character of the play - Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. He is a storyteller who devotes viewers to his story. Then a court unfolds on the scene, and Grenouil tells what led him to commit so many crimes. Next, the audience appears in Paris, where in the fish market, under a smelly counter, the main character is born. At first, the actors are dressed in black suits, and the actresses are dressed in the same color evening dresses. Historical robes appear on the scene only when Giuseppe Baldini, the famous perfumer in Paris, takes orders for perfumes from Casanova and the Pope. Grenuy becomes his student. Then he creates his own special perfume of love, which consists of the smells of the bodies of virgins killed by the hero. But for him, the slain girls did not mean anything in comparison with his great goal - to create the best and only flavor in the world that would allow the whole world to be conquered. The viewer is presented with all the stages of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille's life - humiliation and hard work, an attempt to survive, the desire to comprehend the mystery of creating fragrances, a creative breakthrough and, finally, the desire to own the whole world. In his final aria, the protagonist sings: "I am a perfumer, I myself am both God and Lucifer." After that, a crowd pounced on him to tear to pieces the killer.
Role performers
The rock opera Perfumer, reviews of which can be easily found, is a multi-genre work. Artists sing in different manners. Here is an opera tenor, and a rock singer with growling vocals, and a pop singer, and an academic choral chapel, and a symphonic jazz orchestra, as well as ballet dancers and circus performers. Who plays the main roles?
- The role of Jean-Baptiste is performed by the composer himself - Igor Demarin.
- Antoine Rishi - Vladislav Piavko (soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, tenor, People's Artist of the USSR).
- Giuseppe Baldini - Valery Yaremenko (Honored Artist of Russia, performer of the role of Quasimodo in the Russian version of the musical “Notre Dame de Paris”.
- Charlotte - Inga Ilyushina.
- Laura Rishi - Natalya Fateeva (laureate of competitions, master of classical vocals).
And also in the production take part:
- virtuoso guitarist Dmitry Chetverogov;
- vocal group A'cappelleExpreSSS.
Performance reviews
Rock opera "Perfumer" reviews receive mostly positive. Viewers note that the transformation of such a sensational book into a musical production was very curious to see and hear. The rock opera is causing a great stir, and the audience is always packed to the limit. The fact that the choir and orchestra are located right on the stage is somewhat surprising to the public. This raised the question, how will artists show their show if there is not much free space? Everything turned out to be simple. The show (such as it usually happens in musicals) does not promise fans of the rock opera Perfumer. However, the audience’s feedback allows us to conclude that the entertainment was to some extent present in the production, although the main emphasis was placed on musical material.
Impressions from the play of artists
Rock opera "Perfumer" collects enthusiastic reviews about the artists. Viewers note that:
- cast involved real professionals;
- all actors are great vocalists;
- artists easily get used to their images.
Wonderful actors, according to the audience, gathered for their embodiment on stage the rock opera "Perfumer" (Moscow). Reviews say so, and we have no reason to disagree with them.
Music Reviews
The ability to hear the music of aromas is what Igor Demarin’s rock opera Perfumer is. Reviews about the composer can be found only very good. Viewers write that at the beginning of the play, the arias are commonplace, but as events unfold, the music becomes more and more complicated. If you don’t chase a Broadway-style show, then you will certainly enjoy Demarin’s rock opera Perfumer. The reviews left by those who have already visited the stage show that lovers of noise, an abundance of vibrant scenery, fiery mass dances and all that is called a spectacle may be a little boring. For those for whom the main thing is music and good acting, the production will be interesting.