Andrey Andreyevich Shelkovnikov, a set designer and Honored Artist of the RSFSR, worked as the chief artist of the Karelian Musical Theater from 1958 to 1981. In 1987, he also joined the Omsk Musical Theater as an artist.
In 1986, Andrey Shelkovnikov was awarded the Glinka State Prize of the RSFSR for his contribution to the new production of the ballet “The Sampo”, staged at the Musical Theater of the Karelian ASSR. The ballet’s main theme is the powerful, life-affirming strength of the people fighting for their happiness and prosperity, as embodied in the character of the magical Sampo Mill. Music for the ballet, symphonic, yet highly suitable for dance, was composed by the Karelian composer Helmer Sinisalo. “The Sampo” was recognized as the first national ballet in the history of professional music in Karelia. Andrey Shelkovnikov designed epic stage sets and bright costumes for the production, imbuing them with a recognizable national character.
In Karelian and Finnish mythology, the Sampo is a magical object with magical powers. It is associated with happiness, well-being and abundance. The Sampo is portrayed in the epic poem “Kalevala” as a mill, but Elias Lönnrot does not describe its exact appearance. The “lid in many colors”, mentioned in the text, symbolizes a heavenly dome dotted with stars that rotates around a central axis, supporting the whole world. The Sampo can be seen as one of the foundations of the universe: in the poem, it is mentioned that at first the Sampo was grown “deep in sand-earth” and then gave rise to “the ocean’s treasures”.
