Tchaikovsky’s “Iolanta” and Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” will return to the Metropolitan Opera as a double after a successful run a few seasons ago. On first look, it seems like a strange combination with the composers’ styles rather different overall. It takes a truly strong maestro to move from Tchaikovsky’s lush lyrical qualities to Bartók’s challenging harmonic structures. Hungarian maestro Henrik {…}
Tchaikovsky’s final opera, “Iolanta,” sung in Russian with English supertitles, received a heartfelt and naturalistic production by the Chicago Opera Theater on November 11, 2018, at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building, Chicago. With a libretto by the composer’s brother, Modest, “Iolanta” is a 85-minute opera with four scenes presented seamlessly in one act. It explores themes of {…}
Since Andris Nelsons became the 21st Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in February 2018, he has started to plan a European tour to represent this great collaboration with the orchestra. This tour features appearances in London, in Frankfurt, Mannheim, and Dortmund in Germany, in Malmo and Stockholm in Sweden, as well as in Nelsons’ homeland, Latvia — in Riga and in {…}
Vladimir Chernov was born on Sept. 22, 1954, in a small town near Krasnodar. He kicked off his training with Mikhail Chugenov and then went to the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. In 1982, he was sent to the Accademia della Scala where he studied with Giulietta Simionato. He won a plethora of special awards in competitions throughout the 1980s, but his career {…}
It is hard to imagine Russian music without Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Russian literature without poet Alexander Pushkin. Tchaikovsky’s opera “The Queen of Spades,” based on the eponymous novella by Pushkin, is one of the most important of the existing operas. Its beautiful and dark music leaves hardly any hope at the end, revealing a very fatalistic, and very Slavic, way {…}
While there have been a plethora of renowned Russian singers to dominate the opera world, a surprising few have been tenors. Among the tenors who have managed to establish an international career is Vladimir Galouzine, born on June 11, 1956. The dramatic tenor studied at the Novosibirsk Conservatory and started off his career with the corresponding opera company. As is {…}
The Komische Oper in Berlin has soared in reputation under the leadership of Barrie Kosky for its innovative programming. It is regarded as the destination in town for rarely-performed opera works. Scheduling an opera trip in Berlin is full of challenges and my maiden journey to the Komische was for the altogether familiar “Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky on Saturday night {…}
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, born on May 7, 1840, is one of the most famous composers of all time. He’s best known for his symphonic work to be sure, but he was also a noted opera composer. He often adapted libretti himself and in all, composed 11 operas. His first opera, “The Voyevoda” was composed between 1867 and 1868. His final {…}
On May 1, audiences gathered at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall for the 57th Young Concert Artists Concert. The evening was in celebration not only of the tireless practice and work put in by the performers, but for Metropolitan Opera’s General Manager, Peter Gelb. After the opening remarks, Gelb was presented with his award before delivering his acceptance speech, which {…}
“The Queen of Spades” premiered on the same exact day as Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” though admittedly a few years later. The composer was already 11 years older between operas and the second work is far more nuanced in its orchestral colors and how the composer weaves together a far more complex plot. It remains the famed Russian composer’s second-most popular {…}
Tchaikovsky wrote several operas throughout his career, but none have stood the test of time quite like “Eugene Onegin.” The opera, which opened on March 29, 1879, is renowned for its sweeping melodic pulse and the tremendous emotional punch that Tchaikovsky punches throughout. The work is based on Pushkin’s famed novel and verse. Short Plot Summary Onegin and his friend {…}