The fact that the people’s epic possesses the minds and souls of the creative workers of the Buryat Republic is evidenced by the address to this theme of the Buryat composers. Let us recollect “The epical poem” suite for the orchestra of the Buryat people’s instruments by Bau Yampilov. Zhigzhit Batuyev gave musical accompaniment to the ballets “The son of the Earth”, “Geser”. Anatolyi Andreyev worked at the opera “Geser”. L.Sanjiyeva worked at the symphony pieces on the basis of the epic of Geser. Having the plans or designs on composing the operas on “Geser” were B. Yampilov, G. Dashipylov. Timed to the jubilee were also the songs devoted to Geser. Working at this theme together with the experienced composers Bazyr Thyrendashiyev, Yuri Irdyneeyev were the composers like Purbo Damiranov, Gennadi Gorshkov, Bair Dondokov.
The transfer of any epical piece onto the theatre stage is connected with the necessity of solving a number of most complicated problems of the creative background.
The ballet “The son of the Earth”
The ballet “The son of the Earth” by Zh. Batuyev (N. Baldano’s libretto), the year of 1973. The part of Geser was performed by the people’s artist of the RF Pytr Abasheev.
Alma Mergen - Larisa Sahyanova
Geser - Petr Abasheev
B. Mayzel', Zh. Batuev, M. Zaslavskiy
Zh. Batuev
Zh. Batuev and B. Yampilov
Zh. Batuev, 1984
The “Geser” epic opera
The prologue. The Upper world. The Celestial kingdom. The sky-dwellers or the celestials-tengris, the celestials virgins and the celestial warriors celebrate the victory of Khan Khormusta over the celestial Atai-Ulan. He cut into pieces the body of Atai-Ulan that turned into the various monsters and devils, the three Ynkhoboi sisters, The supreme demon Gal-Nurman took an oath or swore:
“We’ll toment and exasperate
Those who are born as boys, - he said.
We’ll do away with
Those who are born as girls, - he said.
We’ll cause diseases and wholesale deaths
On all the earthly people.
On all the earthly places
We’ll send the misery and mess.
We’ll send the cold and darkness,
We’ll send the ulcer and plague
We’ll send the feuding, tears and blood,
The people will forget the pity and love,
The darknesss will wrap up the earth…”
Khan-Khormusta is to get the earth froo of all the evil demons. Khan Khormusta’s middle son Bukhe-Beligto (his earthly name being Geser) volunteers to go down and he is offered to go for it is just he who can bring back the former happy life of the people.
Act 1. The khan of the country of the larks died. The inconsolable widow Urmai-Gookhon is in sorrow. Khara-Zutan dreams of getting the khanate into his possession and taking Urmai-Gookhon as wife. She offers to organize a contest “Eryn gurban naadan (The three games of the men)”. The winner is to become the sovereign of the land of the larks as well as her heart. In the three contests Geser wins the victory. A herald informs of Gal-Nurman’s attack.
“Enveloping all with mist and darkness was
What Gal-Nurman did on the earth…”
Geser rallies the troops. Alma-mergen, a woman-warrior also sets out for the battle.
Act 2. A golden palace of the three sharaigol khans. With the purpose of getting the brothers quarrelling Khara-Zutan brings them the beauty Urmai-Gookhon (having deceived her promising the meeting with her husband Geser). Geser’s arrow warns that Khara Zutan is a traior. Geser together with his warriors gets victory over the sharaigol brothers and Khara Zutan. In the struggle one of the best Geser’s warriors dies. The second act finishes with the farewell scene with Buidan-Ulan.
Act 3. Geser finds himself in the lower world, in the hell where he comes across the souls of the dead. He passes all the torments and having purified himself returns to the earth where his people and his wife meet him.
“Coming to the water is the man,
The water that he drank when a child,
Coming to the place is the man,
The place that he lived in when a child”.
Geser himself goes back to the sky but his soul and spirit is still on the Earth.
Among the acting persons and performers are the fpllowing: Abai Geser Bogdo Khan – B. Budaev (People’s artist of the RB), D. Zandanov (Merited artist of the RB): Bukhe-Beligte – R. Balzhurov, D. Zandanov; Urmai-Gookhon khatan – V. Bazarova (People’s artist of the RB), Ye. Sharaeva (Merited artist of the RB), G. Shoidagbaeva (People’s artist of the RB) and others.
The performance “Aradai Geser”
(“Peoples’ bogatyr Geser-khan”)
The Buryat State Academic Drama Theatre named after Kh. Namsarayev to the jubilee of the epic staged a performance on the basis of the play by Nikolai Damdinov “Aradai baatar Geser-khan ” (“People’s bogatyr Geser-khan”). As it was noted in a number of the reviews the performance was a great achievement of the collective of the theatre and his stage director Vladimir Kondratiyev.
The play, the drama poem, to be more exact, and the performance itself do not copy the epic, but are consonant with it and reconstruct fully enough the aspect and the appearance, the spirit and the mode of life of the ancient nomads carefully carried through the darkness of the centuries by the many generations of the story-tellers and owing to the peoples’ memory.
N. Damdinov introduced quite convincingly his own author’s epic and drama version of the great story having laid in its basis the seventh branch of the epic dedicated to the victory of Geser over the Abarga-sesen devil. This event became the center of the second picture of the conflict that started in the 2nd picture of the conflict and culminated in the 4th act where the hero struggles with the great demonic forces and wins the victory. This was Geser the acting and we were as if the witnesses and the accomplices of the events. The epical information of Geser’s preceeding and succeeding victories is given by either Geser himself or by the other personages.
Performing Geser’s part in the performance was the people’s artist of Russia M. Yelbonov. The image created by him wins the audience with not his physical might but the strength of mind and force of soul. The true khan or the people’s khan are the words that characterize Geser in the performance and these definitions help extress the main idea of the theatrical actions , convince of the noble and pure aspirations, unselfishness and fearlessness with which the hero struggles with all that is not the kindness.
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| M. Elbonov in the role of Geser |
Appearing as Geser’s close fellow-fighters in the premire presentations were the merited artist of Buryatia S. Khajitov and a gifted young actor E. Zhaltsanov in the part of Erzhen Shuumar close in his individuality to Geser. Making the performance brighter are the three Geser’s wives who were performed by the three talented actresses: merited artist of Russia L. Yegorova as Tumen-Jargalan, S. Sharapova as Urmai-Gookhon, B. Zhaltsanova as Alma-Mergen.
In the performance quite daringly given are the images of the celestials, the highest hierarchies of the pagan pantheon: Khan-Khurmas tengeri, Gere-Sesen qatan, Manzan-Gurme toodei, Jasa-Mergen toodei, Zasa-Mergen Baatar, Naran-Gookhon. We do not have any traditions in re-creating so far-off and so ancient worlds, but what is offered by the talented artist B.-N. Dorjiyev is esthetically quite reasonable, all those freely-flowing light clothes, the golden halos around the heads.
