The Russian film and theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov, an outspoken campaigner of liberal causes, is not yet widely known here. He draws headlines in Europe. His work demands attention. Provocation may get the better of sense, but his seriousness acts as a fixing agent. At this year’s Edinburgh international festival, where opera is high on the agenda, Serebrennikov will make his UK directorial debut with his Komische Oper Berlin production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by James Gaffigan. It is sure to be a noisy talking point (16-18 August).
Some context: Serebrennikov, 54, ran Moscow’s Gogol Centre, an interdisciplinary arts forum founded by him, until he was charged with embezzlement in 2017. While tagged and under house arrest, he directed Così fan tutte (for the Zurich Opera, later seen at the Komische) via video calls. He has said Mozart, at that difficult time, saved his sanity. Finally released and cleared after much international condemnation of his case, Serebrennikov left Russia in 2022 and now lives in Germany.
