Driven by a startling mix of traditional and contemporary musical styles, Evolution, Revolution and The Mail Order Bride tells the intertwining stories of three woman and their struggle with the economic, political, environmental, social and moral crises brought about by imbalance.
In this musical tragicomedy, a revolutionary Inessa Armand wants to introduce the concept of “free love” to the new proletarian ideology of Bolshevik Russia, but her famous lover Vladimir Lenin dismisses it as a bourgeois concept.
Inessa’s alter egos, the modern and feminine Eva and the ancient shaman Maya are constantly present while she attempts to establish what is more important – personal happiness or the great cause. While Eva is confronted by a moral choice of biblical proportions Maya offers everyone potions for husband-keeping.
“Like these women, I discover that I cannot always get what I want, that there are powers at play I may never understand – I always hope to break out of these limitations and with any luck it will all end in wisdom and peace,” says Zulya.
Zulya’s voice is an astonishing instrument says Director Maude Davey “She growls and rasps and trills and soars, creating powerful images in the mind of the listener – her presence when she sings is electric, shamanic.”
“Each song tells a story, communicated in such a direct emotional way that the audience arrive at the end of the song in an unexpected place. Evolution, Revolution and The Mail Order Bride highlights that it is clear the world is out of balance, however it is unclear what can be done about it.”
Evolution, Revolution and The Mail Order Bride is an unusual new direction for Zulya Kamalova, a versatile multi-award winning artist whose music has been praised for its cinematic and dramatic qualities. Zulya is known to audiences in Australia and throughout for her original music inspired by her Tatar and Russian roots.
Zulya performs and tours with her ARIA-award-winning band The Children of the Underground and in 2012 was officially recognised by the Tatar President as an Honoured Artist of Tatarstan.
Director: Maude Davey Writer and performer: Zulya Kamalova Musical Director: Erkki Veltheim Musicians: Charlotte Jacke, Justin Marshall, Donald Stewart.
Evolution, Revolution and The Mail Order Bride
fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Season: 5 – 16 February 2014
Bookings: (03) 9660 9966 or online at: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com
For more information, visit: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com for details.
Image: Zulya Kamalova by Sarah Walker