BELARUSIANS OF THE WORLD AT THE BOLSHOI

On 29 December, a concert of soloists, who – it’s not exaggeration to say – belong to the musical elite of the world, will take place at the Bolshoi. They are stars who appear and get enthusiastic reception at leading opera venues in many countries. Oksana Volkova, Nadine Koutcher and Pavel Petrov, together with maestro Dmitriy Matvienko, have prepared a programme that will surprise even opera lovers.

We have not heard his voice for almost a year; he last appeared on the Belarusian stage in February in the role of the Duke in Verdi’s Rigoletto and received a thundering ovation. On 29 December, Belarusian tenor Pavel Petrov, the laureate of the Operalia-2018, a competition headed by maestro Placido Domingo, will for sure perform Rodolfo’s aria from Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème, which made him a triumphant winner of this prestigious international competition. “If the audience likes beautiful music which is not often performed at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus, then come!” Petrov invites. The soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus now also works at the Graz Opera, Austria. But he is also known well at leading theatres in Russia and the UK, Australia and Hong Kong, Switzerland and Italy. “I will definitely perform arias from Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod, Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti, Halka by Stanisław Moniushko, and also the song of Andreika from The Wedding in Malinovka by Boris Alexandrov. There is an opinion that operetta is an easy genre, but I would argue with that.” The audience will be able to appreciate the beauty and complexity of this aria on 29 December in Minsk.

Nadine Koutcher will sing the aria of Salammbô (composer Bernard Herrman) from the movie Citizen Kane exclusively for this concert. The winner of significant international competitions (including the 2015 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World), a laureate of two Golden Mask awards, a soprano who has long conquered the theatres in Santiago, Geneva, Berlin, Madrid, Paris and other world-known venues, in early April joined the Belarusian opera company. Nadine will perform Amina's aria from Vincenzo Bellini’s La sonnambula, the duet of Norma and Adalgisa from his Norma and amazingly beautiful Recordare from Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem with Oksana Volkova.

The concert is directed by Oksana Volkova. The Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus has performed at the best opera venues, including the Latvia National Opera and Chinese National Opera, Royal Opera House, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Opéra Bastille, Salzburg Festival, Hamburg State Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala. “On 29 December, the audience will enjoy an interesting rich programme, which will be different from those projects that the theatre has offered for the New Year celebrations. I think we have managed to prepare a non-trivial, unique concert. Minsk has not heard this music for a long time,” Volkova says. The artist will perform the song of Marguerite from La Damnation de Faust by Hector Berlioz, the prayer of Santuzza with the chorus from Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, the aria of Marina Mniszech from Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky, and Leonid Gurvich’s “Ave Maria”, written by the talented Belarusian composer, who now lives in Germany, especially for Oksana Volkova.

For such a large programme, a much larger orchestra than for any performance is needed. And of course, the concert will be accompanied by the chorus (directed by principal chorus master, People's Artist of Belarus Nina Lomanovich), which will add solemnity and power to the evening. The audience will hear the famous “Va, pensiero” from Nabucco by Verdi, as well as the incredibly beautiful “Evening Music” from Gavrilin’s symphony Chimes.

“Although the concert is scheduled for the New Year’s Eve, I must say that it can hardly be called entertaining. The programme promises to be very serious,” conductor Dmitriy Matvienko says. “We’ll start with Beethoven's Coriolanus Overture, and the second part will feature two movements from Prokofiev's cantata Alexander Nevsky. I am glad that the programme was composed in this way: it turned out to be holistic and interesting. We did our best to make the context of the entire concert a reflection of what we are currently experiencing around the world. I will not reveal all the secrets, but there are real artifacts in the programme, which are extraordinarily beautiful. I am sure that this music will not leave anyone indifferent.”