Sergei Radlov started as one of the left-wing directors among the disciples and companions-in-arms of Vsevolod Meyerhold in post-revolutionary years. With Radlov, both the Academic Drama Theatre and the Opera and Ballet House were reinvigorated. In the former he directed Jack London, Ernst Toller, Evgeni Zamyatin, and updated Aristophanes. In the latter he did "modern" operas, such as "The Love for Three Oranges" by Sergei Prokofiev, "Der ferne Klang" by Franz Schrecker, "Woyzeck" by Alban Berg, "Der Rosenkavalier" by Richard Strauss, and Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" in its authorized version.
Most of all, Radlov cherished the studio theatre he had created himself which he considered his life's work and was madly protective of it. To save it, he refused to leave Piatigorsk with his first group of actors and found himself a German prisoner with the rest of the company. This event cast a shadow over the last years of his life.
In this meticulously researched book, David