Nikita Grigorev

Antonina Milyukova is a beautiful and bright young woman, born in the aristocracy of 19th century Russia. She could have anything she'd want, and yet her only obsession is to marry Pyotr Tchaikovsky, with whom she falls in love from the very moment she hears his music. The composer finally accepts this union, but after blaming her for his misfortunes and breakdowns, his attempts to get rid of his wife are brutal. Consumed by her feelings for him, Antonina decides to endure and do whatever it takes to stay with him. Humiliated, disgraced and discarded, she is slowly driven to madness.

Yury Butusov’s final Moscow production is this multi-award-winning work based on Nikolai Gogol’s “Government Inspector.” The play deftly delves into the dual impossibilities of both accepting reality and escaping from it. As with many of Butusov’s stagings, chaos and pathos are seamlessly interwoven, with art presented as both freeing and healing.