Sunday, February 16, 2025 | Sha'ban 16, 1446 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Opera Masterpieces leave ROHMA audience spellbound

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The splendid orchestra and soloists from the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg made a very special date with the Royal Opera, House of Musical Arts last Friday evening. Between their outstanding performances of, “Simon Boccanegra” in the ROHM auditorium,


audiences received a bonus concert, “Opera Masterpieces”, under the outstanding musical directorship of their MD since 1988, Valery Gergiev.


The programme was split into appropriately Russian compositions in the first half, and mostly Italian arias to follow. The packed hall was spellbound throughout the perfectly planned 90-minute recital by the extraordinary calibre of musicianship.


The performance opened with Mariinsky Orchestra, led by their animated and flamboyant Concert Master, Lorenz Nasturica - Herschcowiski, playing Glinka’s well known Overture, ‘Ruslan and Ludmila’. Gergiev took it at quite a pace, achieving a crisp accuracy from the ensemble and an especially warm cello quality.


The first mellow, lyrical aria from Tchaikovsky’s, ‘Queen of Spades’, “Ya vas lyublyu” was performed in Vladislav Kuprijanov’s gorgeous, rich baritone timbre. His stage presence was palpable, delivering with motionless, minimalist gesture. It was a proud, serious interpretation without being dark, and demonstrated great control in his upper register.


“Tomsky’s Ballade” was a welcome contrast in Belarussian baritone, Vladislav Sulimsky’s comic, expressive gesture and big, sweeping voice, amusingly joined by a small chorus of his colleagues appearing behind.


Borodin’s, famous, “Ni sna ne otdykha” from ‘Prince Igor’ was performed by the only Bass singer tonight, Gleb Perjazev. His rich, velvet timbre was reflected in the lush, warm colour of the orchestra, with harp and horns. Perjazev’s dramatic delivery in his breathtaking performance was compelling to the end.


Tchaikovsky’s dark, “Kuda vi udalilis” (Lensky’s Aria, “What does the coming day hold for me”) from Eugene Onegin was sung beautifully by tenor, Sergei Skorokhodov in this heartfelt, convincing tragedy. The light orchestration included some lovely woodwind moments and warm cello accompaniment. “Si, ritrovarla io giuro” (Yes, I swear I will find her. Love, move me), from Rossini’s, “Cinderella” was performed with upright military splendour by tenor, Alexander Mikhailov. The Italianate ‘bel


canto’ passages were agile and ornamented, featuring some tricky semiquaver runs in his sustained high register.


Tatyana Serjan, Amelia from “Boccanegra”, appeared on stage in delightful black and pink. She performed the slow, serious, “Io son l’umile ancella” from Cilea’s, ‘Adrian Lecouvreur’ in French with rich, warm colours from her deep mezzo-soprano register. There was a


delicate duet with the first violin, then a gradual swell in the whole orchestral palette, ending at the top of her range.


The colourful, exciting Overture to ‘La Forza del Destino’ was perfectly chosen from the Verdi repertoire. The mournful oboe theme (Pavel Kundyanok) was haunting above atmospheric string and woodwind passages. The music became darker with the addition of timpani and


brass, foretelling the Destiny which awaits. Gradually, the power of the orchestral crescendo, tutti from tubas to piccolos, concluded in full force.


Sulimsky returned for a passionate performance of Verdi’s sinister ‘Rigoletto’, singing, “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata” (Accursed race if courtiers) maintaining a poignant sense of foreboding, including a duet with 1 st cellist, Oleg Sendetsky.


A highlight came in the figure of Anzhelika Minasova looking out to sea awaiting the return of her lover from Puccini’s famous, “Un bel Di Vedremo” (One fine day we’ll see) from ‘Madama Butterfly’. The large, broad quality of her sustained high register, swelling with the orchestral colour contrasted completely with her clear, tender, tone of youthful innocence.


From bitter-sweet to sadness, it demonstrated the breadth and versatility of Ms Minasova as singer and actress.


Anzhelika Minasova remained on stage for Gleb Perjazev’s wickedly flirtatious, “La ci darem la mano” (There, let us give each other our hands) as Mozart’s Don Giovanni. In this well-known yet understated aria the two voices complemented each other deliciously, concluding with some coy bass and soprano duet passages.


Roman Burdenko’s large and powerful portrayal of Verdi’s Macbeth in, “Perfidi! All’Anglo contro me v’unite!... Pieta, rispetto, onore”, was convincing and strong. His declaratory baritone style contrasted dramatically with the lyrical melody following. Burdenko’s stage presence, delivered with still, minimal gesture supported his lovely rich vocal timbre. The aria concluded in a perfectly placed, a capella cadenza, rewarded by resounding applause.


The final highlight was Sergei Skorokhodov’s splendid rendition of Puccini’s ever popular, “Nessun Dorma” from ‘Turandot’. It is very difficult to surpass the iconic performance of Luciano Pavarotti for the 1990 world cup theme, but Skorokhodov did so with aplomb. He concluded the evening on a high note - literally – sustaining the final note with incredible poise and focus as an off-stage ladies chorus sung the audience into the night with angelic, celestial music.


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