Balakirev The Buffoon

Balakirev The Buffoon is a 2002 Russian televised version of 1999 Lenkom theatrical presentation, written by Grigori Gorin.

Genre - Tragic comedy. Produced by KinoMost and Winburgh Holdings Ltd. Runtime - 162 min. Language - Russian.

Theatrical version directed by Mark Zakharov, televised version by Nikolay Skuyibin.

Cinematography by Evgeniy Guslinski, Vladimir Fostenko, Alexey Naidenov, Yuli Olshvang. Stage director - Oleg Sheintsis. Composer - Sergey Rudnitskiy. Executive producer - Felix Kleiman, producer - Vladimir Dostal.

Plot summary

Buffoon of the court circle, Ivan Balakirev, is a constant participant of the Tzar's festivities and buffoonery. Under the will of the circumstances he was drawn into the intricate relations inside the court and inside the royal family...

Cast

* Oleg Yankovsky as "Peter The Great"
* Sergey Frolov
* Aleksandra Zakharova as "Catherine the Great" [http://pinchukfund.org/en/media/publications/2007/162.html Aleksandra Zakharova: ‘You Can Never Lie in Theatre’] ]
* Aleksander Lazarev
* Aleksander Zbruev as "Alexander Menshikov"
* Nikolay Karachentsev
* Olesya Zheleznyak
* Yuri Kolychev
* Tatyana Kravchenko
* Ludmila Artemyeva
* Ludmila Porgyna
* Igor Fokin

Balakirev in reality

Based on a real story set time in a Peter The Great era.

Ivan Alexandrovich Balakirev was a trusted servant of Peter I and Catherine I since 1699. In the time of the empress Anne he became an official court buffoon.

One of the version around the Balakirev surname etymology is that it formed from "Bala kire", a tatar for "stubborn kid".

Xenofont Polevoy published a book entitled "Collection of anecdotes by Balakirev", using the real name of Ivan Balakirev as his pseudonim. It's in fact a collection from various people and sources.

References