Description
“Juno and Avos” is one of the better known Russian rock operas, co-authored by the composer Alexey Rybnikov and the poet Andrey Woznesenskiy. The first performance was shown on 9 July 1981 at the Lenin Komsomol Moscow Theater (directed by Mark Zacharov, choreographed by Vladimir Vasiliev). The plot of the narrative poem “Avos” (1970) and the rock opera is based on a true story and tells of the journey of a Russian state activist, Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov, to California in 1806 and his meeting with young Conchita Arguello, daughter of the Governor of San Francisco. The name of the opera refers to the two sails on which the voyage took place, „Juno” and „Avos”.
However, there is no happy ending to the love story. The lovers were promptly parted, and Nikolai had to return to Russia - along the way he fell seriously ill and died. Conchita never accepted her lover’s death.
Over 25 years the play was shown at the “Lenkom” Theater hundreds of times and is still played to full house (although the actors playing the leading roles changed frequently, the role of Nikolai Rezanov was played, until the fatal accident, by Nikolai Karachentsov). The theater gave guest performances in Paris and on Broadway in New York, and then in Germany, Holland and other countries. Later the opera was shown in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany and South Korea.
Obverse
At the top - a semicircular inscription in the English language: NIUE ISLAND and the year of issue: 2011. In the central part - a fragment of the cover of the first analog record with the soundtrack of “Juno and Avos” from 1980 and the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Underneath the icon to the right and left - a symmetrical ornament copied from the record cover. Under the Queen’s portrait the inscription ELIZABETH II, and the mint mark (MW). At the bottom, the face value: 1 DOLLAR .
Reverse
In the central part of the coin the images of the two Russian actors playing the main parts during the first performance of “Juno and Avos”: Elena Shanina - playing the part of the daughter of the Governor of San Francisco, Conchita, and Nikolai Karachentsov - playing the part of the Russian Count, Rezanov. The figures are presented against the sea symbolizing the inevitability of parting. In the background: sunset in the sky. At the bottom, centrally, an inscription in the Russian language: ЮНОНА И АВОСЬ (the opera’s title), next to it, to the right - a ship moored along a shore.
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