Composed by the Russian musician Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) in 1918, the “L’Histoire du soldat” was created during his exile in Switzerland, in the midst of the desolation caused by the First World War. It is a chamber work written for three actors and seven instrumentalists based on a popular Russian tale. It tells of the misfortune of a young soldier who sells his violin to the devil in exchange for a book with the power to predict the future. It was a small project, designed for a traveling theater, with which Stravinsky sought to point out new sound paths after the successes achieved with his compositions premiered by his compatriot Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. And boy did he make it. This piece ended up becoming an accurate plea against greed and war.
By his decision, the author of the libretto, Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (1878-1947), a French-language Swiss writer, traced a moralizing story in a work to be “read, played and danced”, in the words of the composer. The writer achieved a text at the height of the brilliance of the score. He took up the legend of Faust and synthesized a plot that reflects on the bitterness of some personal decisions and the importance of maintaining integrity despite the circumstances.
Within the splendid Argerich Festival, our Colón theater offered a semi-assembled version with musical direction by Charles Dutoit, stage by Rubén Szuchmacher, narration by Annie Dutoit Argerich and performances by Joaquín Furriel (devil), Peter Lanzani (soldier) and Cumelén Sanz (princess) . The result was brilliant, although, in a perhaps debatable decision, the presenter made the small orchestral group coexist in parallel with the altarpiece where the dramatic action took place and the voices were amplified.
In the first place, due to the luxury of having Dutoit at the baton, followed by the excellent performances: Furriel, in a chameleonic performance that reminded Willem Dafoe of Robert Wilson’s performances seen in Buenos Aires; Lanzani with the exact tone for the troubled combatant, the distinguished presence and intonation of Dutoit-Argerich, and the ethereal appearance of Sanz. To which are added the imaginative choreographies of Marina Svartzman. I hope they repeat it.
