In the elite education cluster of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication of the SUSU Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, not only mandatory intensive linguistic training has been organized and the number of master classes by media specialists has been increased for 1st-year students specialized in Journalism, as well as Advertising and Public Relations, but also a programme of special elite cultural events has been developed. Freshmen, the future media specialists went to Chelyabinsk Opera and Ballet Theatre to watch Joan of Arc (The Maid of Orleans) opera by P.I. Tchaikovsky.
"If we are training the future elite of society, great attention has to be paid to cultural education," says the Head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Doctor of Sciences (Philology) Liudmila Shesterkina. "And we are trying to create a full-fledged cultural environment aimed at developing a sustainable process of communication and culture of communication, and forming student motivation for knowledge and creativity. We know that culture is not an innate instinct, but rather acquired knowledge and skills, moral and aesthetic education, compliance with the common precepts of decency, and much more that makes an educated person truly a person of culture."
There is no scenery in the performance but only the voluminous props with the help of which the actors create either a royal castle or a battlefield. The pictures in the play are changed with the curtain open in front of the audience and for almost the entire duration of the action, most of the actors and the choir are on stage.
"The performance amazed me by its technical resources and, of course, by the energy that the actors give to the public," said student of СГ-111 group Elena Shcherbakova. "I liked that the important moments affecting the plot of the opera were duplicated on screen. This allowed to be fully immersed in the atmosphere and give better consideration to the details. And in general, a joint visit of teachers and students to the theatre left a positive impression on me. I hope we will have as many such joint events as possible."
The dynamic space in the production is created using multimedia technologies: animation projection, abstract video pictures, and online broadcasts of solo performers are constantly changing each other on the backdrop of the stage. The spirit of the Middle Ages is emphasized with an almost monochrome space: black and white with rare splashes of red.
"The performance made a very strong impression on me," said Valeriia Smirnova, a student of СГ-104 group. "Our teachers gave us this opportunity to go to the theatre together. This helped us get to know the teachers better, switch off from our everyday problems and recharge for the coming week. And the most important thing is that it helped us fully realize the astonishing power of art, and that everyone should be enriched culturally."