Continuing its 2023 Season, San Francisco Ballet stages Christopher Wheeldon’s magical interpretation of the story of Cinderella, set to Sergei Prokofiev‘s glorious score.
This co-production with Dutch National Ballet, created and choreographed by Wheeldon, takes its inspiration from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and the version by Charles Perrault, and differs from the well-known story of Cinderella in that it has no fairy godmother or pumpkin coach. What it does have, though, is a magic ‘living’ tree which serves as a focus for Cinderella after the death of her mother, and four ‘Fates’ to guide and protect her. Wheeldon has, however, retained the comedy which characterizes Cinderella’s stepmother and step-sisters – a lovely touch of humor.
The whole production is lavish, colourful and hugely entertaining – from the larger than life creatures who inhabit the woodland, to the magnificent ball scene, and the creation of Cinderella’s coach – which is sheer genius. Following the world premiere in Amsterdam on December 13, 2012, it was described by The Washington Post as “an utterly exquisite production”. The Times (London) described it as .”.. a vibrant piece of theatre and an enchanting love story rolled into a hugely entertaining whole”, and de Volkskrant wrote: “Wheeldon turns ballet into cinematic spectacle”.
Cinderella is the result of a collaboration between some wonderfully creative artists, which Wheeldon has used to spectacular effect. The stunning sets and exquisite costumes are by Julian Crouch (the Metropolitan Opera and Broadway) special effects by Obie Award winner and MacArthur Foundation Fellow Basil Twist (the tree and that coach!), with lighting by Natasha Katz, and projection design by Daniel Brodie.
Wheeldon has also retained Prokofiev’s gorgeous score which, although not as well known as that for his Romeo and Juliet, is every bit as lovely, and filled with sumptuous melodies and the full range of variations in the tradition of classical ballet. Prokofiev started writing the score for Cinderella in 1940. It was initially intended for the then Kirov Ballet (now the Mariinsky), but due to the intervention of World War II, he moved it aside and didn’t return to it for two years. When it was finally completed, it was performed by the Bolshoi Ballet, in November 1945.
This San Francisco Ballet presentation of Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella is enchanting, touching, romantic and humorous, brilliantly conceived and a true spectacle. The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra is conducted by Music Director Martin West, and the production opens at the War Memorial Opera House on March 31st, running for 10 performances until April 8th.
A scene from Act I of Wagner’s ‘Lohengrin’ with Piotr Beczała in the title role Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera
Viewers around the world have an opportunity to watch Wagner’s Lohengrin this weekend, either in the cinema or at home, as the Metropolitan Opera presents the latest in its award-winning Live in HD series.
This new production by internationally renowned French director François Girard is led by Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin who, according to the Montreal Gazette, has “The world at his fingertips”. This production stars Polish tenor Piotr Beczala in “a shining musical performance” of the title role, which he performs with “uncanny serenity” and “total security and elegance” according to the New York Times. The virtuous duchess Elsa is portrayed by American soprano Tamara Wilson, alternating between “innocent spaciness, steely resolve, and moments of radiance …” (The Wall Street Journal).
Tamara Wilson as Elsa and Piotr Beczała in the title role of Wagner’s ‘Lohengrin’ Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera
The cunning sorceress Obtrude is American soprano Christine Goerke of whom the Houston Examiner writes: “A voice like hers comes once in a generation…” and whom music writer Robert Levine describes as “now arguably the finest Wagnerian soprano in the world”. Ortrud’s power-hungry husband Telramund is Russian bass-baritone Evgeny Nikitin. Celebrated Austrian bass Günther Groissböck is King Heinrich, and American baritone Brian Mulligan is Heinrich, the king’s messenger. Baritone Christopher Maltman hosts the broadcast.
A scene from Wagner’s ‘Lohengrin’ with Tamara Wilson as Elsa, Christine Goerke as Ortrud, Günther Groissböck as King Heinrich, and Brian Mulligan as the King’s Herald Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera
The original opera Lohengrin was set in Antwerp around the year 930. Wagner wrote his own libretto, as he did for all his operas, and based it on a medieval legend which has been recounted in several places, including in the poem Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach (c 1160–1220). In this production, director François Girard has placed the action in an abstract setting which is both contemporary and fantastical, based on the legend about a mystical knight who helps an oppressed maiden. He marries her, but forbids her to ask his origin or his name. When she later forgets this promise, he leaves her, never to return.
A scene from Act I of Wagner’s ‘Lohengrin’ with Günther Groissböck (center) as King Heinrich Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera
Lohengrin, which remained Wagner’s most performed opera for decades, was premiered at the Deutsches Nationaltheater in Weimar on August 28, 1850, with Wagner’s friend Franz Liszt leading the Staatskapelle Weimar. Several parts of the score have become well known away from the opera house, and have been used in film scores and orchestral pieces – the Wedding Chorus being one popular example.
A scene from Wagner’s ‘Lohengrin’ with Piotr Beczala in the title role Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera
This is Girard’s third Wagner production for the Met, and follows his productions of Parsifal in 2013 and Der Fliegende Holländer in 2020. He collaborates on Lohengrin with Academy Award-winning artist and designer Tim Yip. The Live in HD presentation is directed by Gary Halvorson.
A scene from Act I of Wagner’s ‘Lohengrin’ with Tamara Wilson as Elsa, Christine Goerke (background, in red) as Ortrud, Günther Groissböck as King Heinrich, and Brian Mulligan as the King’s Herald Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera
This transmission of Wagner’s Lohengrin can be seen in cinemas on Saturday, March 18, at 12.00 pm ET. More information, and details on how to find your local screening, can be found on the Metropolitan Opera website.
For audiences who do not live near a participating cinema, Lohengrin will also be available on the The Met: Live at Home platform, which offers a livestream or on-demand viewing for seven days following the performance.
Information sourced from: Metropolitan Opera program notes
This year’s celebration of the performing arts in Monte-Carlo – Printemps des Arts – is taking place from 8th March to 2nd April. This festival, under the patronage of HRH the Princess of Hanover, has supported creativity and contemporary composers for many years, and regularly commissions works to be introduced to the public – 71 pieces from 47 composers since 2004.
The opening concert was presented by the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Artistic and Music Director Kazuki Yamada, and featured percussionists Julien Bourgeois and Bruno Mantovani in Steve Reich’s Clapping Music (one of the many American works in this festival), and pianist Michel Dalberto. Also on the programme were César Franck’s Symphonic Variations and Bruckner’s Symphony No 2 in C minor which was created in Vienna for the closing ceremony of the 1873 World Expo.
Subsequent concerts promise a wide range of musical delights. The Insula Orchestra, the Accentus Choir and a quartet of vocal soloists perform excerpts from Mendelssohn’s unfinished oratorio Christus and his First Walpurgis Night under the direction of Laurence Equilbey and Frank Markowitsch.
There is a special concert devoted to young musicians from the Rainier III Academy of Monaco and the region’s music schools, who present a programme of music which ranges from the Baroque to the contemporary.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra, led by Eva Ollikainen, presents Samuel Barber’s First Symphony, a piece by contemporary composer Betsy Jonas with pianist Nicolas Hodges, and Sibelius’ En Saga.
In Tribute to Chet Baker, the Riccardo Del Fra Quintet and the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie led by Léo Margue, celebrate the legendary American trumpeter in an original tribute programme, and also perform music from a star-studded range of composers – George and Ira Gershwin, Victor Schertzinger and Johnny Mercer, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and Cole Porter.
The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic makes another appearance, this time with conductor Case Scaglione, in a programme which features the music of American composers Charles Ives – The Unanswered Question – and Aaron Copland’s Symphony No 3. Between these two works is the first performance of a work for reciter and orchestra by François Meïmoun, with Laurent Stocker narrating the myth of Antigone.
The final symphonic work of the festival features chamber orchestra Ensemble TM+, led by Laurent Cuniot, with an all-American programme – Steve Reich’s City Life and Elliott Carter’s Capitol of A Mirror on Which to Dwell – providing a panoramic soundscape of the United States of the 20th century.
Interspersed between these orchestra concerts is a wide selection of recitals. These include pianist Michel Dalberto with a programme of music by Franz Schubert, and in his second appearance, he performs with baritone Edwin Crossley-Mercer in a selection of works by César Franck, Henri Duparc, Gabriel Fauré and Schubert.
The Bernard Trio performs a series of musical miniatures in Debussy’s Children’s Corner, György Kurtág’s Játékok (Hungarian for games) and pieces by Bach and Debussy. Father and son duo Aurélien Pascal on cello and pianist Denis Pascal play some of Gabriel Fauré’s works for cello and piano, three of his Nocturnes and a selection of his sonatas. American harpsichordist Jory Vinikour pays tribute to German Baroque composer and virtuoso keyboardist Johann Jakob Froberger, and also to one of his followers, contemporary composer Christophe Maudot in a premiere presentation of his Désordres passagers pour clavecin.
The Diotima Quartet rounds off the festival with two concerts, the first featuring György Ligeti’s String Quartet No 1 Métamorphoses nocturnes, Philippe Schoeller’s Extasis for string quartet (a work commissioned by the festival) and Béla Bartók’s String Quartet No 6. In the second concert, the Diotima Quartet plays Ligeti’s String Quartet No 2, Bartók’s String Quartet No 1 and Steve Reich’s Different Trains.
Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo takes place from 8th March to 2nd April, and further information, as well as details for ticket reservations, can be found on the festival website.
Poster courtesy Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo
A version of this article first appeared in Riviera Buzz
April 1st this year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest of Russian composers – Serge Rachmaninoff. Conductor emeritus Riccardo Chailly leads the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in a commemorative concert of two of Rachmaninoff’s major works – his Piano Concerto No 2 featuring the young Japanese guest soloist, Mao Fujita, and his Symphony No 1.
Serge Rachmaninoff – United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Probably one of the last great figures of the tradition of Russian Romanticism and certainly one of the great piano virtuosos of the 20th century, Serge Rachmaninoff composed some of the most beautiful and memorable music in the classical repertoire. Although plagued by self-doubt and uncertainty, he was lauded as a concert pianist and a prolific composer – among his most important works are three symphonies, four piano concertos, his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, his choral symphony The Bells, the Vocalise, Symphonic Dances and a number of preludes and romances. He has strong links with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, having appeared in fifteen concerts with the Orchestra between 1908 and 1938, and – because he was so impressed by the Orchestra’s performance of his Symphony No 2 – he dedicated The Bells, to the ensemble.
Japanese pianist Mao Fujita makes his debut this week with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in his first appearance at The Concertgebouw. Regarded as one of the world’s most promising talents, Fujita’s wide-ranging repertoire ranges from the music of Mozart to the Romantic era. He has been invited to appear at some of the most prestigious festivals, including the Verbier Festival, and in January debuted at Carnegie Hall, following which the New York Times wrote: “When his fingers touched the keys, … waves of airy filigree, beautifully formed and finished, emerged in almost uninterrupted streams for his two-hour solo recital”. The Times has said: “Fujita is a musician of tremendous versatility and taste, with a poetic sense of pulse and eloquent, insightful, fearless articulation”. Recent and future career highlights include performances with the Munich Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonique de Radio France, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Deutsche Symphonie-Orkester and Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI. He will also be undertaking a tour with the Filarmonica della Scala this year.
The concert opens with Mao Fujita’s performance of Rachmaninoff’sPiano Concerto No 2, one of his best-loved works. Composed in 1901, it was the first success which Rachmaninoff had achieved since the failure of his First Symphony, and was dedicated to the psychiatrist Nikolai Dahl whom Rachmaninoff had consulted as a result of the deep depression he had fallen into after the premiere of the First Symphony, and who helped the composer regain his self-confidence. Restoring Rachmaninoff’s position as one of the world’s greatest composers, the Piano Concerto is regarded by many as one of the most romantic concertos ever written, and was used to great effect in David Lean’s 1945 film Brief Encounter.
The Rachmaninoff Symphony No 1, which comprises the second half of this concert, was composed between January and October 1895 at his Ivanovka estate in Russia. The symphony had a disastrous premiere in 1897, though. The orchestra was said to have been under-rehearsed and the conductor somewhat inebriated, and the subsequent reviews were scathing. Rachmaninoff was devastated, and the Symphony was sidelined. When Rachmaninoff departed Russia in 1917, he left the manuscript there, and instrumental parts were subsequently found in the Belyayev Archive of the Leningrad Conservatory Library. The Symphony was reconstructed, and performed once more in Moscow in 1945 – two years after the composer’s death – and on March 19, 1948, the work was given its American premiere by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Although rarely performed, the Rachmaninoff Symphony No 1 has proved to be a masterpiece.
Italian conductor Riccardo Chailly, former chief conductor of the Concertgebouw, leads the Orchestra and guest artist Mao Fujita, in a celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Serge Rachmaninoff at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The performances run from 8th to 12th March. Further information, and details of reservations, are available from the Concertgebouw Orchestra website.
Yuja Wang is the dazzling guest artist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 at Davies Symphony Hall this week, with the San Francisco Symphony led by Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. Also on the program are the San Francisco premiere of Gabriella Smith’s Tumblebird Contrails, and Salonen’s tone poem Nyx.
The sheer genius of her performances and captivating personality of pianist Yuja Wang have granted her star status wherever she appears. Since her international breakthrough with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2007, she has attracted critical superlatives and audience ovations, whether appearing in concerts, recitals, residencies and tours, with some of the world’s finest orchestras and conductors. Musical America’s 2017 Artist of the Year, Ms Wang has appeared across North America, Europe and in her home country, China, as well as in prestigious concert halls such as Het Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall and The Barbican.
Yuja Wang (c) Norbert Kniat
The Financial Times writes: “Her combination of technical ease, colouristic range and sheer power has always been remarkable … but these days there is an ever-greater depth to her musicianship, drawing you into the world of each composer with compelling immediacy”. New York Classical Review says: “To perform one Rachmaninoff concerto requires the stamina of a linebacker, the dexterity of a surgeon, and the soul of an artist. To play all four—plus that brilliant joyride, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini—would seem beyond human capacity. But if anybody could pull it off, Yuja Wang, with her impressively efficient technique and unwavering focus, could”.
In October 1909, following the successful premiere of his Piano Concerto No 2 a few years earlier, Sergei Rachmaninov undertook his first concert tour of the United States, with a newly completed piano concerto to present to his American audiences. The premiere of the Piano Concerto No 3 took place on November 28, 1909. The New York Symphony Orchestra was led by Walter Damrosch and the soloist was Rachmaninov himself. The concerto was performed a few weeks later by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Gustav Mahler.
Sergei Rachmaninov – United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Known to be one of the most technically challenging piano concertos in the classical repertoire, Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto received mainly positive reviews at its premiere. The New York Herald wrote that it was one of “the most interesting piano concertos of recent years”, and it was praised for its “essential dignity and beauty” by the New York Tribune. The critics from both these newspapers did, however, criticize the length of the work, but despite undertaking some revisions, Rachmaninov left it much as it was, and its popularity is undimmed to this day.
Gabriella Smith – courtesy San Francisco Symphony
Bay Area native Gabriella Smith wrote Tumblebird Contrails as an ode to the rocky beauty of the Point Reyes area in Marin County, Northern California. Having grown up with a tremendous love for the California coast, she features the natural world in many of her works, hence titles such as Breathing Forests – her Organ Concerto – and Tidalwave Kitchen which she describes as having been inspired by “…. memories of hikes shrouded in fog, tidepooling on the rocky beaches, and sitting by the Pacific listening to the hallucinatory sounds of the ocean, the keening gulls, pounding surf, sizzling of sand and sea foam …”. Lost Coast, her Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, was named one of NPR Music’s26 Favorite Albums of 2021. The Philadelphia Enquirer describes her music as “high-voltage and wildly imaginative”, Musical America refers to her as “the coolest, most exciting, most inventive new voice I’ve heard in ages” and the LA Times calls her an “outright sensation”.
Esa-Pekka Salonen (c) Andrew Eccles
Esa-Pekka Salonen’s tone poem Nyx, named after the Greek Goddess of the Night, was, by Salonen’s own admission, influenced by the music of Jean Sibelius. Composed in 2010 on a joint commission from Radio France, the Barbican Centre, the Atlanta Symphony, Carnegie Hall and the Finnish Broadcasting Company, the piece depicts Nyx – a figure of power and beauty – as trailing stars, and painting the night sky. “She is an extremely nebulous figure altogether”, said Salonen at the time, “we have no sense of her character or personality. It is this very quality that has long fascinated me and made me decide to name my new orchestral piece after her.”
Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the San Francisco Symphony in performances of music by Sergei Rachmaninov – guest artist Yuja Wang – Gabriella Smith and one of his own compositions at Davies Symphony Hall on March 1 and 2.
Other concerts taking place in March feature:
Soundbox: Codes – curated by Nico Muhly with Yuja Wang on March 4
The SF Symphony Youth Orchestra on March 5
A Violin Recital by Hilary Hahn on March 12
Music for Families:Discovering Beethoven’s Fifth on March 18
Shenson Spotlight Series:Alexander Malofeev Piano Recital on March 22
Black Panther – film with live orchestra on March 24 and 25
Akram Khan’s Creature is set for release in UK cinemas this weekend. Choreographed by Khan, and based on the English National Ballet production of 2021, the film is directed by Academy Award-winning director Asif Kapadia, and set to the score composed for the ballet Creature by Vincenzo Lamagna.
The original ballet Creature was inspired by a stage play, Woyzeck, written by 19th century German dramatist Georg Büchner, which was also the basis for Alban Berg’s 1925 opera, Wozzeck. Set in a dilapidated former Arctic research station, the film tells of Creature – danced by ENB guest artist Jeffrey Cirio – who is enlisted into an experimental programme by a military brigade without his knowledge. He falls in love with a cleaner, Marie – danced by Erina Takahashi – who is kind and compassionate towards him, and they dream of an escape together. English National Ballet describes this work as “a beautiful, tragic tale of an outsider’s search for belonging, the insatiable desires of the powerful, and the enduring hope found in human connection and compassion”.
Creature – referred to by Empire magazine as “A propulsive drama” and the Independent as “Superb… A tight-wound drama that never lets up” – is Akram Khan’s third collaboration with English National Ballet, and follows the success of Dust (performed as part of Lest We Forget in 2014), and his first ever full-length ballet, Giselle. Kahn is regarded as one of the most respected dance artists of today, his works having been performed both in the UK and abroad. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including an MBE for services to dance in 2005, a Laurence Olivier Award, a Bessie Award (New York Dance and Performance Award) and an award from ISPA (International Society for the Performing Arts). Among his recent dance creations is Jungle Book reimagined, based on the original by Rudyard Kipling, in which he looks at the story from the perspective of children of today. The work was premiered at Curve in Leicester on 7th April 2022.
Asif Kapadia is an Academy Award, Grammy and four time BAFTA winning producer, director and writer. Working in both film and television, he is best known for his trilogy of documentaries exploring the price of fame – Amy, Senna, and Diego Maradona, as well as his debut feature The Warrior. Included in his other successes are two episodes of the Netflix series Mindhunter – which he directed – and the critically acclaimed music series 1971: The Year Music Changed Everything.
Responsible for the score of Creature – which blends electronic sounds, speech and a live orchestra – is London-based Italian composer and sound designer Vincenzo Lamagna, who collaborated with Khan on Giselle for English National Ballet. Orchestration is by James Kean and Costume Design by Tim Yip.
The film Creature – a co-production between English National Ballet and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (OBV), with co-producers Sadlers Wells, London – will be screened in cinemas across the UK from 24th February to 31st March, 2023. Further information and booking details can be found on the English National Ballet website.
The original production of Creature the ballet returns to the stage this spring. It can be seen at Sadler’s Wells in London from Thursday 23rd March to Saturday 1st April, 2023.
As part of San Francisco Ballet’s 2023 Repertory Season, the Company presents Giselle – one of the oldest classical ballets still being performed today and the most famous of the Romantic era ballets. This production, by Helgi Tomasson, features choreography by Tomasson after Jules Perrot, Jean Coralli and Marius Petipa, and is set to Adolphe Adam’s sumptuous score, with with additional music, orchestrations and arrangements by Friedrich Burgmüller, Ludwig Minkus, and Emil de Cou.
Giselle was the result of the collaboration of the three French artists – ballet masters Perrot and Coralli, and composer Adolphe Adam, who in 1841 were commissioned by the Ballet du Théâtre de l’Academie Royale de Musique to create a new ballet for Italian dancer Carlotta Grisi. Adam had previously composed for this company, and he co-opted librettists Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier to assist with the storyline.
It was Gautier who initially started working on the story, drawing inspiration from two sources – the poem Fantômes from Victor Hugo’s Les Orientales, which told of a Spanish girl who died after a night of frenzied dancing, and a passage in prose entitled L’Allemagne by German poet, writer and literary critic Heinrich Heine, about a Slavic tale of supernatural maidens called Wilis, young brides-to-be who die before their wedding day. Adam then brought in Perrot and Coralli to choreograph the work, and Giselle premiered at the Théâtre de l’Academie Royale de Musique in Paris on 28th June, 1841.
In 1842, this version of Giselle was staged in St Petersburg, and this is where Marius Petipa became involved in the choreography. As Premier Maître de Ballet of the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg from 1871, he staged four revivals of Giselle between 1884 and 1903, and it’s this final version on which most interpretations have since been based.
The ballet tells of a frail young peasant girl who is betrayed by her beloved, the aristocratic Count Albrecht, as a result of which she dies of a broken heart. Giselle finds herself in a moonlit glade surrounded by the supernatural Wilis and their queen, Myrtha. Albrecht enters the glade to lay flowers on Giselle’s grave, and is summoned by Myrtha and her Wilis to dance to his death. The spirit of Giselle – ever forgiving, and touched by his exhaustion – pleads for mercy on his behalf, and Myrtha ultimately frees him from the vengeance of the Wilis.
Giselle is a ballet of grace, beauty and passion. The first act features the young and innocent peasant girl, at first bewildered, a bit nervous and delighted at finding love, with colourful scenes of her friends celebrating with her – until Giselle discovers the truth about the man she loves, experiencing utter devastation at his betrayal. The second act is ethereal and mystical, with shadows of the Wilis flitting across the stage, the icy figure of Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, determined to see Albrecht humiliated, but countered by the gentleness and compassion of Giselle.
San Francisco Ballet stages Giselle in 10 performances at the War Memorial Opera House, between February 24 to March 5. The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra is led by Music Director & Principal Conductor Martin West. More detail and information on ticketing can be found on the San Francisco Ballet website. [www.sfballet.org]
Against a backdrop of vocal brilliance, powerful emotions and internecine battles, Donizetti’sLucia di Lammermoor has all the makings of a highly dramatic opera. Nice Opera brings to the stage this co-production with Teatro Verdi de Pise.
Starring Kathryn Lewek in the title role, with Oreste Cosimo as her secret lover Edgardo, Mario Cassi as her overbearing brother Enrico and Philippe Kahn as the priest Raimondo, Lucia di Lammermoor is considered by many to be Gaetano Donizetti’s finest work.
Although no longer an unknown composer in 1835, Donizetti really established his reputation with Lucia di Lammermoor. The story is loosely based on Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 novel, The Bride of Lammermuir, set in the Lammermuir Hills in south-east Scotland. The novel – which in turn is roughly based on a real-life murder that scandalized 17th-century Scotland – tells of the tragic and doomed love affair between Lucy Ashton and Edgar Ravenswood. Their feuding families were sworn enemies, as the Ashtons had ousted the Ravenswoods from their ancient estate which ultimately became Enrico’s possession.
In Donizetti’s opera, with a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, the Ashton family’s fortunes are in a perilous state. Enrico decides that in order to salvage the situation, his sister Lucia must marry well. Lucia has been having secret trysts with Edgardo Ravenswood to whom she has sworn loyalty, and on learning this, Enrico vows to end the affair and destroy his enemy. He forces Lucia to marry Lord Arturo, but on her wedding night Lucia suffers a complete breakdown, totally losing her mind, and leading to what’s regarded as one of the most unforgettable ‘mad scenes’ ever created. The opera premiered at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on September 26th, 1835.
American soprano Kathryn Lewek – who reprises her 2020 role as Lucia for Nice Opera – has made her name as Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). According to New York Classical Review, “Lewek has to be the finest contemporary Queen of the Night, bar none”. This season she will mark her 50th performance of the role at The Met. Other engagements during the 2022-23 season include role débuts as Countess Adèle in Rossini’s Le comte Ory with Lyric Opera of Chicago and one of the Heroines in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Deutsche Oper Berlin, house débuts with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Semperoper Dresden as Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, and she will also sing the role in a return to the Vienna Staatsoper. Future seasons include reprisals of the roles of Konstanze in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata, as well as long awaited role débuts of Juliette in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette and Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto.
The role of Lucia’s brother, Enrico, is taken by Italian baritone Mario Cassi. Winner of several important international competitions, Mr Cassi’s operatic repertoire ranges from the music of Handel, Porpora, Cavalli and Mozart to contemporary music, with special attention to the Italian bel canto works, such as those by Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. Roles in which he has appeared include Figaro in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Marcello in Pucccini’s La bohème, the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Conte d’Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Conte di Luna in Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. He has most recently appeared as Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata and Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro for Opera Australia.
Italian tenor Oreste Cosimo takes the role of Lucia’s secret lover, Edgardo, a role he has previously sung for Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Duesseldorf, Aalto Theater Essen and Opera Craiova in Romania. He has recently appeared in the title role in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann and as Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata for the Israeli Opera, and other major roles in which Mr Cosimo has appeared include Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème, the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
The role of Raimondo the priest is taken by French bass Philippe Kahn who has performed in some of the major opera houses in France, across Europe and in the United States. Mr Kahn’s repertoire includes roles such as Sarastro in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, the Commander in his Don Juan, Father Laurence in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Nilakantha in Delibes’ Lakmé, Colline in Puccini’s La bohème, Zaccaria in Verdi’s Nabucco, Il Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Basilio in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.
Also in the cast are Maurizio Pace as Lord Arturo the ill-fated bridegroom, Karine Ohanyan as Lucia’s handmaid Alisa and Gregoire Mour as the huntsman Normanno.
Stage Director Stefano Vizioli has guested in some of the most important theatres in Italy and worldwide, working with eminent international conductors. Included in his greatest triumphs are Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at La Scala in Milan, Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées and Bellini’s Norma at Ravenna Festival.
The conductor of Lucia di Lammermoor is Andriy Yurkevitch, Music Director at the Polish National Opera. He has also worked with Monte Carlo Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Bayerische Staatsoper, Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Greek National Opera and San Francisco Opera.
Maestro Yurkevitch leads the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus in four performances of Lucia di Lammermoor between 17th and 23rd February. Further information is available on the Nice Opera website.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of composer Sergei Rachmaninov, and piano virtuoso Kirill Gerstein marks this celebration at the Royal Festival Hall, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra led by conductor and violinist Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider. The main work of the concert is Rachmaninov’s much-loved Piano Concerto No 2 in C Minor and also on the programme are Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila and the first four movements of Smetana’s Má vlast (My Homeland).
Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Music Director of Orchestre national de Lyon and Principal Guest Conductor of the Mariinsky Orchestra, makes his debut with the LPO in this performance. A regular guest conductor of some of the world’s leading orchestras, Maestro Szeps-Znaider this season makes return visits to the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. He has been acclaimed for his debut appearances leading the Dresden Semperoper and the Royal Danish Opera in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and will shortly be conducting performances of this work at the Zurich Opera House.
The career of multi-award-winning pianist Kirill Gerstein includes appearances in solo and concert engagements across Europe and the United States, in China and in Australia. He has a wide-ranging repertoire which features compositions from Bach through to the contemporary composer Thomas Adès, who wrote his 2018 Concerto for Piano and Orchestra for him. Gerstein recently played Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Alan Gilbert and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks where he is Artist-in-Residence 2022-23, and in July this year, he will perform Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 with the London Symphony Orchestra and Susanna Mälkki, as part of his Festival d’Aix-en-Provence Artist-in-Focus.
Sergei Rachmaninov, born on 1st April, 1873, was one of the great piano virtuosos of the 20th century, and is regarded as the last great figure of traditional Russian Romanticism. His Second Piano Concerto which premiered in Moscow on 27th October, 1901, was the first success he had achieved since the failure of his First Symphony in March 1897. Having spent some time following that disaster in the care of psychiatrist Nikolay Dahl, the composer regained his self-confidence and produced what has become one of his most popular works, his Second Piano Concerto, which he dedicated to Dahl. It is regarded by some as one of the most romantic works ever written, and was used to great effect in David Lean’s 1945 film Brief Encounter.
Sergei Rachmaninov – United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division courtesy Wikimedia Commons
In 1909 Rachmaninov made his highly acclaimed debut as a soloist in his Piano Concerto No 3 when it was premiered by Walter Damrosch and the New York Symphony on 28th November 1909, during Rachmaninov’s concert tour of the United States. He returned to Russia the following year, but after the Revolution of 1917, he once again went into exile of his own volition, dividing his time between Switzerland and the United States. He missed his homeland and the Russian people, but ultimately settled in California where, in 1940, he composed his last major work – the Symphonic Dances for Orchestra. He died in Beverley Hills on 28th March, 1943 – at the age of 69.
The concert opens with Glinka’s rousing Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila – a story dating back to pagan Russia, based on the 1820 poem by Alexander Pushkin, which told of the beautiful Ludmila who was wooed by three admirers and ultimately abducted by the knight Ruslan. Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) was the first Russian composer to gain international recognition and is the accepted founder of the Russian nationalist school – his composition The Patriotic Song having been the Russian national anthem from the time of the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 until 2000.
Ludmila in the Chernomors Garden by Konstantin Somov via Wikimedia Commons
The final work on the programme consists of the first four movements of Má vlast by Bohemian composer Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884). Composer of operas and symphonic poems, Smetana was the first important Bohemian nationalist composer. The six-movement symphonic suite, Má vlast, was inspired by the mythology and pastoral beauty of Smetana’s Czech homeland, and it is undoubtedly his most popular work. Sadly, Smetana went deaf in 1874 and never heard Má vlast performed.
Nikolay Szeps-Znaider leads Kirill Gerstein and the London Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of works by Glinka, Rachmaninov and Smetana. The concert takes place on Friday evening, 10th February at the Royal Festival Hall at 7.30 pm. For further information please visit the London Philharmonic Orchestra website where booking details for the concert can also be found.
English National Opera brings back Calixto Bieito’s bold and gritty production of Bizet’s hugely popular opera Carmen – last staged by ENO in 2020. Directed by Jamie Manton, the opera stars mezzo-soprano Ginger Costa-Jackson as the fiery, passionate and seductive Carmen, and tenor Sean Panikkar as Don José, the army corporal who falls for her attractions.
Baritone Nmon Ford takes the role of Escamillo – the handsome toreador who is well aware of his appeal to women – and soprano Gemma Summerfield is Micaëla, the sweet peasant girl who is betrothed to Don José. The conductor of this co-production with Den Norske Opera and Ballet is Kerem Hasan.
In 1872, Georges Bizet was commissioned to write a new work by the Paris Opéra-Comique – an institution known historically for its light, moralistic, safe and predictable pieces – and although the aim of this commission was to try and raise the theatre from its somewhat dull reputation, the co-directors had no idea just how revolutionary Bizet’s opera would be.
Based on an 1845 novella by Prosper Mérimée, with a libretto in French by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, Bizet’s Carmen broke new ground, focussing on the underclass – the so-called ‘common folk’, which included gypsies, smugglers and factory workers, women who smoked in public, who were involved in physical fights and who were sexually free. Consequently, when the opera premiered at the Opéra-Comique on 3rd March 1875, it was condemned by the critics as immoral and vulgar.
Bizet, who had taken a lot of care to familiarise himself with the music of Andalusia – the region in which the original story of Carmen was set – was devastated by this reception, and at the time of his death, three months after the premiere, he was certain that he’d written the greatest failure in the history of opera. He didn’t live to see how successful his Carmen would become – nor did he know of the prediction of Tchaikovsky no less, that within 10 years, it would become “the most popular opera in the world”.
Carmen usually calls to mind a vision of 19th century Seville, with Spanish señoritas, their flicking fans and swirling skirts. Catalan director Calixto Bieito, Artistic Director of Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao, has however set his opera in Ceuta, the autonomous Spanish city situated at the tip of North Africa, and has brought the setting forward to the post-Franco Spain of the 1970s. His Carmen, he says, is a survivor of a difficult life – earthy, melancholy and sensitive, living in a dangerous and violent society.
Ginger Costa-Jackson is regarded as one of the most exciting and versatile artists of her generation, regularly preforming on the stages of the world’s leading opera houses, including those of the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris, La Monnaie/De Munt, and the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Ms Costa-Jackson has most recently been seen as Carmen at Lyric Opera of Kansas City and as Preziosilla in Verdi’s La forza del destino at Amigos de la Ópera A Coruña. Broadway World writes of her portrayal of Carmen: “Her voice, sultry looks, and sensuous flamenco dancing are perfect for the role.” Following this run of Carmen, Ginger will appear as Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther at Grange Park Opera and as Bradamante in Händel’s Alcina at Seattle Opera.
Sean Panikkar’s voice, says Opera News, is “… unassailable – firm, sturdy and clear, and he employs it with maximum dramatic versatility”. He followed his success as Dionysus in Henze’s The Bassarids at the 2018 Salzburg Festival with a critically acclaimed performance as Gandhi in Philip Glass’s Satyagraha for Los Angeles Opera. He was most recently seen as Leonard in Kevin Puts’ The Hours for both Metropolitan Opera and Müpa Budapest, and will be appearing later this season as Tambourmajor in Berg’s Wozzeck at Wiener Staatsoper, and as Laertes in Dean’s Hamlet for Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.
Following a performance of Strauss’ Salome at Pittsburgh Opera, concerto.net wrote: “Nmon Ford …. is a Jochanaan of imposing stature with a superb stage presence, and furthermore he has a powerful and magnificent voice”. Grammy-winning Nmon Ford has performed the role of Crown in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess for ENO, and most recently appeared as Escamillo for Opera Colorado and Calgary Opera. In another appearance this season he takes the role of Sharpless in Cincinnati Opera’s production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. In 2024, he will be performing the title role in his own composition, House of Orfeus – of which he is also the librettist – as a co-production with Lincoln Center and Opera Carolina.
Making her debut for ENO, Gemma Summerfield has been described by The Telegraph as “… a show-stopper – pure vocal champagne …”. Highlights of her career include the roles of Mimì in Puccini’s La bohème for Northern Ireland Opera, Nanetta in Verdi’s Falstaff for Scottish Opera, and Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute at Glyndebourne and Scottish Opera. Recent appearances include the roles of Erste Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte for Staatsoper Hamburg, and Ms Summerfield is currently appearing as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan Tutte for Opéra Saint-Etienne and Opéra de Toulon. She is also scheduled to sing the role of Ulana in Paderewski’s Manru at Opéra National de Lorraine.
Also in the cast are Matthew Durkan ad Dancairo, Keel Watson as Zuniga and ENO Harewood Artists Benson Wilson, Alexandra Oomens and Innocent Masuku.
Jamie Manton makes a welcome return to ENO as stage director for this production, having directed the 2020 staging of Bieito’s Carmen for the Company. Last year he directed the production of Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen for ENO, which was nominated for an Olivier Award.
Kerem Hasan – chief conductor of the Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck since September 2019 – returns to ENO, having led the 2022 ENO production of Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte. In this production of Bizet’s Carmen, he leads the English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus at the London Coliseum from 1st to 24th February. Further information is available on the English National Opera website, where details of booking can also be found.
