- SCRUTINY | TSO Lets Berlioz Do The Talking In Season Opener - September 21, 2018
- RECORD KEEPING | Even Yannick Nézet-Séguin Can’t Make Us Love Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito - September 6, 2018
- RECORD KEEPING | Giovanna d’Arco With Anna Netrebko Explains Why The Best Operas Survive - August 30, 2018
Gala Mariinsky, featuring: Anna Netrebko, Olga Borodina, Placido Domingo, René Pape, Mikhail Petrenko, Yevgeny Nikitin, Alexei Markow, Diana Vishneva, Yekaterina Kondaurova, Ballet, Chorus and Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre/Valery Gergiev. Live recording of the Inauguration of Mariinsky II, St. Petersburg, May 2, 2013 Arthaus Musik DVD 102213. (Total Time: 120 minutes)
On the day that I played this new DVD celebrating the opening of the new Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, world news networks were reporting that prominent Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov had been murdered on the street near the Kremlin in Moscow. Yet another example of the ruthlessness of the Putin regime? Perhaps.
It is no wonder that maestro Valery Gergiev, a well-known friend and supporter of Putin and a prominent beneficiary of his largesse, draws protests as he travels around the world. While Gergiev is one of the world’s great conductors, it is difficult to ignore and excuse his support for the almost universally reviled Russian leader, Vladimir Putin.
Almost two years ago, the eagerly awaited Mariinsky II opened its doors in St. Petersburg. The history behind and the Canadian connection to the building of this new opera house have been well documented in these pages by Colin Eatock. The opening itself was an occasion for a gala concert, which was filmed for posterity; Gergiev and his cohorts, including a first-rate ballet, a superlative chorus and orchestra, and many of Russia’s leading soloists, went all out to show off their new venue. Although the Mariinsky is a world-class opera house, major foreign artists rarely perform there, but on this gala evening American superstar Placido Domingo and German bass René Pape joined their Russian counterparts.
Highlights of the evening included a stunningly powerful performance of the Russian classic “Hey, Ukhnen”, known better to most of us as “The Volga Boatman.” This piece was one of Chaliapin’s great show-stoppers and the Red Army Chorus frequently brought down the house with it during their tours. Bass Mikhail Petrenko, accompanied by a male chorus that produced an unbelievable volume of sound, was in top form in this performance at the Mariinsky gala.
An excellent performance was also given by prima ballerina Diana Vishneva as Carmen in an excerpt from the ballet score (arrangement by Rodion Shchdrin), with choreography that combined both classical and contemporary movement.
René Pape as Mephistopheles – one of his signature roles – sang an excerpt from Faust with mesmerizing power. Placido Domingo appeared to be struggling to get through an excerpt from Die Walküre. He has given up the tenor role of Siegmund and why he attempted some of Siegmund’s music on this occasion is puzzling.
Veteran Olga Borodina, singing “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Saint-Saens’ Samson et Delila, showed that she still has plenty of voice and technique left, while Anna Netrebko worked hard to stay in tune in excerpts from Verdi’s Macbeth and Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta.
There were also guest appearances by violinist Leonidas Kavakos playing Tchaikovsky for a ballet sequence, and Yuri Bashmet performing a viola version of Saint-Saens’ “The Dying Swan” to which Ekaterina Kondaurova danced as only a Russian prima ballerina can.
Denis Matsuev all but demolished the Steinway piano in a fantasy on Figaro’s big aria from Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, misidentified in the program booklet that comes with the DVD as a piece by Mozart. Generally speaking, this booklet is a shoddy effort, providing inadequate identification of the music, too much biographical data on the artists, and insufficient information; for example, the concert finale had all the performers on stage singing “Happy Birthday” to Gergiev. It turns out that the opening of Mariinsky II took place on Gergiev’s 60th birthday, but there is no mention of this in the program booklet.
Valery Gergiev conducted the entire gala program, with the exception of a hilarious rendition of the duet “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, conducted by Domingo with five different singers alternately wooing Anna Netrebko as Zerlina.
As usual, Gergiev got terrific results from all his musicians; how he does it remains a mystery. Watching him conduct, I have no idea how the musicians begin and end together. And does he have a sly sense of humour? He nearly always conducts without a baton, and instead of downbeats, he often does little more than wiggle his fingers. But he conducted several pieces in this gala with what appeared to be a toothpick. No kidding! Given that the depth of the stage in Mariinsky II appears to be about 150 metres, and the conductor’s rostrum in the huge pit another 30 metres or so, one can only imagine what it must feel like to be a singer or dancer on stage. From their vantage point, Gergiev must be little more than a tiny dot in the distance. With a toothpick in his hand rather than a real baton, Gergiev is apparently sending them the message that they had better watch him very carefully – or else.
This gala opening of the Mariinsky II was another great triumph for Gergiev, and his star shines brighter every day. He will soon be stepping down as chief conductor of the London Symphony to take a similar post with the Munich Philharmonic. He is a regular guest at the Met and will no doubt continue to run the Mariinsky as long as Putin wants him there. At the age of 61, is he starting to slow down? Not for a moment. His schedule this month is typical for him: 22 performances in 31 days, including a complete Ring cycle and concerts in eight countries.
- SCRUTINY | TSO Lets Berlioz Do The Talking In Season Opener - September 21, 2018
- RECORD KEEPING | Even Yannick Nézet-Séguin Can’t Make Us Love Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito - September 6, 2018
- RECORD KEEPING | Giovanna d’Arco With Anna Netrebko Explains Why The Best Operas Survive - August 30, 2018
