 Written by Valentina Chusovskaya
The Universe Glorified
by Stepanida Borisova
The new verson of play Kyys Djebeliye, shown in Japan in 2005, signify the birth of the theatre of Olonkho. The presentation of this classical national theatre will take place in the Sakha Theatre on April 22.
Old Japanese legend tells about Amaterasu, the Goddess of Sun. Once somebody offended her, and she went away to hid in a deep cave. The world was plunged in sudden darkness. To make Amaterasu come back, gods gathered at the cave's entrance and began to perform some interesting stories. Curious Amaterasu went out of the cave and illuminated the Earth. The Japanese connect this legend with the birth of theatre. How deep this legend is! Theatre is light, light of the Middle World sent to people by the divine Sun.
Kyys Djebeliye staged in 2000, was reaching the level of the genuine Olonkho theatre five years. The Olonkho theatre has become classical national theatre of the Sakha people and is a unique phenomenon in the international cultural life. Stepanida Borisova, who plays the leading part, the perfomer with original drama and singing talent, is the first actress of the new theatre.
What is pequliar about the actor of the Olonkho theatre? Singing while playing, he is obligatory to perform kylysakh , a traditional singing method. But that in particular is not enough. The main quality of the actor is harmonious, to be exact, harmonizing consciousness. The actor of the Olonhko theatre arouses in his contemporaries' minds life-asserting force and optimism, which was passed on from one generation to another. The actor opens a way to harmony of human consciousness and Nature, connects the today's person with the ideal past of mythological times when indissoluble unity of a human and the world reigned.
Andrey Borisov has steadily led his theatre to the aesthetics of Olonkho epos for almost quarter of a century. Owing to the distinctive way he was following, it became possible that the creation of unique national theatre meant comprehension of national art traditions and assimilating the experience of global theatre traditions. We cannot imagine formation of the theatre without Stepanida Borisova's great talent. Stepanida Borisova has played a big number of different parts in many plays, such as Sheen De and Shoi Da in A Kind Man from Sesuan, World Grief in Kudangs the Great, Daayis in Nikolai Dorogunov – humaniny's child, and Kyys Debilie, a mythical woman-warrior in the play of the same name.
In West-European Kind Man , it was the first time when the actress demonstrated, on a plan of the director, traditional Yakut singing. Stepanida Borisova's target was to make her singing harmonic and natural, so that it wouldn't sound archaical and inapropriate. At the same time, her singing was to reflect a special attitude to the universe. Songs performed pathetically and sensually sounded then a "universal" echo of sobbings and groans of martyrs.
It was the first step - Stepanida Borisova showed colossal expressive opportunities of traditional singing on a drama stage.
While in Kind man traditional singing sounded as the maximum degree of emotional tension, in toyuk-performance of Dorogunov, singing of Stepanida Borisova and Gerasim Vasiliev was not only an expressive means, but became the elements of drama playing. The relationships played in singing turned a sad history about love of Daayis and Nikolay into a mythological tale about destiny of a human in the Middle World.
In Kudangs the Great , Stepanida Borisova plays quite an unusual role – during almost all the performance she sits by the iron barrel with fire, in a men's coat, and smokes. Her singing, with low dark registers, arouse images of “stunned historical memory”. The unity of traditional methods and those of rock music creates the theme of the global grief. This theme has the connection with today's life, and is special for spiritual processes of Mankind in any time.
Finally, olonkho-performance Kyys Debilie glorifies the Universe and a man in it, his flesh and spirit, both dark and light sources, and firmness of life.
Boundless opportunities of the actress embody the images of Olonkho, make them clear, natural, close and essential in a full spiritual life. In her singing, Stepanida “draws” grandiose three-dimensional landscapes where the listener can travell, being amazed with immensity of the world and admiring its smallest details and nuances.
Smart easy gestures, light resolute step, mighty bearing…. Close your eyes, imagine gloomy winter of Yakutia and listen attentively to the voice: tender chime of thawing ice, the tremble of dozing leaves, secret currents of desires, presentiment of light – that is sun rising, and the nature wakes up in bliss, languor and passion, and life begins...
Photo by Petr Okoneshnikov, YSIA
Resource: GazetaYakutia.Ru.
Translated by a student of Foreign Languages Faculty, Yakutsk State University.
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