"I am a pacifist": Andrei Zhilikhovsky sings at the Bavarian State Opera in "War and Peace"

It's the trickiest premiere in a long time.

On March 5, the Bavarian State Opera will be bringing out “War and Peace”.

Sergei Prokofiev set Leo Tolstoy's epic novel about the unhappy love between Andrei and Natasha against the background of Napoleon's attack on Russia to music.

A piece with unmistakable Russian patriotism.

Moldovan baritone Andrei Zhilikhovsky sings the male lead.

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"The concept has been changed": scene from the Munich production (director and stage: Dmitri Tcherniakov).

© Wilfried Hösl

If you think back a year, at the beginning of the war against Ukraine, could you have imagined that this production would ever come out?

That was a really difficult decision.

But there was a collective vote for it.

The concept has been changed.

We're dealing with impressive music and a wonderful libretto - why not perform it?

Of course we live in bad times.

It may well be that it is not the right time for this opera.

Maybe there never is.

We experience almost no time without war.

Exactly.

What makes it so difficult: wars have always been far from our minds, just take the one in Afghanistan.

And now we feel almost directly affected.

The decision for or against the piece is not as simple as some believe.

There are two sides of a coin.

War is raging in Europe, everyone knows that.

But this piece is also about peace.

And in order to understand what peace means, it is necessary to show war in all its brutality and horror.

Given the current background, are normal rehearsals even possible?

Can you free yourself from the news situation?

Yes, we have a wonderful rehearsal time.

People from many cultures and nations have come together here.

I am from Moldova, the Natascha singer Olga Kulchynska comes from Ukraine, our Pierre singer Arsen Soghomonyan from Armenia, Marja singer Violeta Urmana from Lithuania, Sergei Leiferkus as Prince Bolkonski from Russia and so on.

Look: I lived in Russia for 14 years.

It's my second home country.

The political pressure is focused on Russia, not on Moldova.

And yet sometimes I feel like it hits me too.

I sang at Moscow's Bolshoi Theater and before that I studied in St. Petersburg.

War is always a disaster, now suddenly you are part of a terrible story.

Are you afraid for your home country of Moldova?

Yes.

Because there is a great deal of uncertainty as to what will happen next after the war against Ukraine.

It is the fate of small countries that they are threatened almost automatically.

I've been living there again for four years.

My family is also still in Moldova.

You first studied violin there, then choir direction, conducting, and also singing – was the latter more of a coincidence?

I'm from a small village.

There was no music school there.

So I went to another small place where I could study violin.

I like this instrument, but it wasn't exactly my dream.

You could study conducting with us without any major entrance qualifications or exams, so I tried that too.

I had a great time and now understand a lot more about musical backgrounds when I'm on stage.

I ended up becoming a singer because I find it mystical.

It was kind of in my heart, I felt it.

You once said that your childhood was not a real life.

Sounds very negative.

It wasn't an easy life.

The school was far from our home.

There was no electricity and no running water.

That was not unusual in Moldova.

Nevertheless, I think back to a wonderful childhood.

Also, what choices do you have as a kid?

So you come to terms with the situation naturally.

And now, as an opera singer, it's not bad at all if you know that there are situations in life like back then.

You can take some of that with you on stage because it makes the role design more interesting and authentic.

Do you easily identify with Andrei?

The original Andrei from the Tolstoy novel is a little different from the one in Prokofiev's opera.

In our production it is a completely different one.

It's about the same music and the same feelings, but the starting point will be very different.

In this respect, I don't know exactly which of these three Andrejs I should identify with or not.

What I can say: It suits my voice wonderfully, in exactly the right place.

Is it a historical figure or a timeless one?

In our production it is one from the present.

Everything we show is happening right now.

Andrej is a normal man like me, not a historical figure.

It's about life and hate, about war and peace, these aren't things that just happened 200 years ago.

At some point Andrej is ready to die because he has lost everything, not just Natasha.

He's totally empty.

And as a soldier, he can no longer even fight for his own life.

Andrei and Natasha die like Romeo and Juliet.

Did you actually have to be a soldier in Moldova?

We have a voluntary service.

I wasn't a soldier.

i am a pacifist

At the moment, people take offense at professing pacifism.

I know.

Everyone has to decide for themselves which life they want to live.

I hope this war will end soon.

Perhaps the bigger problem is: What will be after that?

More just hate?

I'm christ.

My God is not one of hate, but of forgiveness.

For example, it is normal to forgive a child.

How much more wonderful it is to forgive your enemy too.

I'm trying to live this.

You can only start with yourself anyway and consult your own heart.

So it is not necessary to constantly talk and judge about personal attitudes?

When you're in a company like the Bolshoi, it's dangerous to talk about the war.

As in Russia at all.

This can affect you and your family.

And in Europe or the USA, being a Russian is quickly considered politically questionable.

My position is very clear: God says you mustn't kill.

And he rules Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and Germany.

The interview was conducted by Markus Thiel.

Premiere

on March 5, 5 p.m., also broadcast on staatsoper.tv.