Kirov Opera stages classic

Kirov Opera baritone Viktor Chernomortsev stumbled upon his opera career while walking with friends in Krasnodar, Russia, when he was a young man.

A Moscow Conservatory vocal coach approached the Russian baritone, who was casually singing with his friends, telling him he needed to learn how to use his voice. Then she asked him to study under her at the conservatory.

He took her up on it and an opera star was born.

This weekend, Chernomortsev will sing in “Boris Godunov,” a classic Russian opera based on the Russian czar by the same name who ruled in the 16th and 17th centuries. It’s just one of the 19 performances in the 17-day Mariinsky Festival at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, which is bringing more than 500 Russian performers from the three companies of the Mariinsky Theatre of St. Petersburg to Costa Mesa.

“It’s a Russian spectacle,” Chernomortsev said through translator Armen Danilian. “But it’s known to everyone who is not Russian as well.”

The seven-act opera tells the story of Godunov’s life when he was threatened by an impostor attempting to usurp his throne.

Producer Sergei Danilian — Armen Danilian’s father — has been working with the Orange County Performing Arts Center over the last three years to choose which performances would be appropriate to kick off the opening season of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Center officials also took time to iron out all the logistics, including obtaining visas for more than 500 Russians.

“It took time to think of something big, and what can be bigger than the Mariinsky Theatre,” said Sergei Danilian.

He said he wanted to have something uniquely Russian, and each of the pieces was carefully chosen to reflect that.

This week, the North American premiere of Richard Wagner’s “The Ring Cycle,” closed. The Kirov Ballet is set to perform “Romeo and Juliet” and “Swan Lake” in the coming week, and the Kirov Orchestra has performed throughout the festival. Young talent also made the trek from Russia and the Young Artists of the Kirov Opera will perform next week.

On Thursday, while talking about his role in “Boris Godunov,” Chernomortsev put another talent to work and busily cooked up his mother’s recipe of borscht, a bright red Russian specialty, for 300 of his fellow Kirov Opera and Symphony members.

This weekend he’ll don the costume of Shelkalov, who is one of the first to tell the Russian people that Godunov has refused the throne. He said the production is powerful, with amazing set and costume designs.

“This is a unique production and the audience will take away much from it…. Everyone should leave thinking hard about it,” he said through the translator.

The role, he said, was not a hard one to prepare for, but every one presents the challenge of fully expressing the written words with great enthusiasm each time.

As cooks chopped countless heads of cabbage under his direction, he fawned over the creative direction of the Kirov Opera.

He’ll perform as long as he can contribute something interesting to each performance, something that the theater company fosters.

So far, audiences have been gracious, something Chernomortsev said he’s also experienced while walking around town.

“They’re so amazing,” Gaiane Danilian translated Chernomortsev as saying. “They stood up, and the greeting has been wonderful. Even on the street, people are so open-hearted.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: A production of “Boris Godunov,” a classic Russian story based on that country’s history

WHERE: Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Drive

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

COST: $50 to $220

INFO: (714) 556-2787, www.ocpac.org or www.mariinsky.ru/en