Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Many musicians call this opera the most beautiful of all created by the great Giuseppe Verdi. The genius composer himself believed that of all the plots to which he had ever written music, this was the best. Rigoletto will be presented on the Belarusian stage on 2 June. The title role will be performed by the famous Russian baritone Sergei Moskalkov. The soloists of the Belarusian Bolshoi, namely soprano Margarita Levchuk and tenor Aleksei Mikutel, will appear for the first time as Gilda and the Duke respectively.
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On 2 June, tenor Aleksei Mikutel will appear for the first time as the Duke. After graduating from the Belarusian State Academy of Music in 2009, the Belarusian tenor worked the Estonian National Opera, Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz (Poland) and the Musa Jalil Tatar Academic State Opera and Ballet Theatre in Kazan (Russia). The artist joined the Belarusian company in 2010 and has won the hearts of the audience, singing Don José in Carmen by Georges Bizet, Vladimir Lensky in Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, Alfredo in La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, Raman in The Grey Legend by Dmitry Smolsky, Ivan Lykov in The Tsar’s Bride by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, etc. As the laureate of the international competition himself admits, every part is important, as it is the next step in the profession of an opera singer. We have no doubt that the character of dissolute and frivolous Duke of Mantua – but incredibly charming, which is typicaly expected from a scoundrel – will become a landmark role for Aleksei. Not surprisingly, 168 years ago, the audience left the theatre after the premiere of Rigoletto, singing the song of the Duke “La donna è mobile”, which is absolutely world-famous now.
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The soprano of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus Margarita Levchuk has won an audience award a number of times in Minsk, at the Christmas Singing Competition, and in Pärnu, Estonia, at the Klaudia Taev Competition for Young Opera Singers. The expert jury also notes the undoubted talent of the Belarusian artist: she rose to the pedestals of many prestigious international competitions in Italy, USA, Germany. Fans of the TV project of the Russia Culture channel "Big Opera" probably remember charming Margarita to perform Gilda’s aria in one of the editions of the programme. On 2 June the singer will appear in this role again – for the first time in a full performance.
‘I always feel sorry for Gilda,’ says Margarita Levchuk, winner of international competitions. ‘I am overwhelmed with a desire to protect her from a fatal step, to say: wait, don't go, don't open the door, or you will die!.. But – alas! – what is doomed to happen will happen. In the meantime, I continue to sharpen the character of the young girl, who is blindly in love with the Duke. I must say that this part is not the easiest. In Italy, I worked with a coach who said Gilda's voice should be easy, light, beautiful, free and graceful. I’m doing my best…’
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Rigoletto, the court jester of the Duke of Mantua, is one of the brightest heroes ever created by Verdi. A man of remarkable intelligence and great intellect, he is forced to play rather a pathetic and humiliating role. The only person before whom he takes off all the masks is his beloved daughter Gilda. On 2 June, the Russian baritone Sergei Moskalkov will try on the clown's cap on the Belarusian stage.
‘Moskalkov’s beautiful graceful voice mesmerizes. But his acting captivates even more,’ critics write about the artistic director and soloist of the Moscow Theatre "Russian Opera". Sergei Moskalkov has long been known to the Belarusian public: he performed the role of Tonio in the premiere of Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo at our theatre in 2014; in 2016 in the premiere of The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart he tried on the image of Count Almaviva, and in 2017 he starred as a king – albeit captive, but unbroken Amonasro, in Verdi's epochal Aida.
Opera lovers remember well Moskalkov’s roles with Helikon Opera, where he worked until 2001. In 2003 the Russian baritone made his brilliant debut with the Bolshoi Theater of Russia as Nick Shadow in the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. His repertoire includes Tomsky and Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades, the title roles in Eugene Onegin and Mazepa by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Grigory Gryaznoy in The Tsar’s Bride, Tsar Dodon in The Golden Cockerel by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Escamillo in Carmen by Georges Bizet, Amonasro in Aida, Ford in Falstaff, title role in Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini, Lindorf, Coppelius, Dapertutto, Miracle in Les contes d'Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, etc.
The Russian baritone has performed worldwide, including France, Spain, Austria, Lebanon, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, UK, USA, Finland, Israel and other countries. The singer regularly cooperates with the State Academic Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of Russia headed by Valery Polyansky, as well as with the New Russia State Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Yuri Bashmet.
The 2nd June performance of Rigoletto will also feature Honored Artists of the Republic of Belarus Oleg Melnikov as Sparafucile and Oksana Yakushevich as Maddalena, People's Artist of Belarus Vasily Kovalchuk as Monterone, winner of the international competition Alexander Krasnodubsky as Marullo, Yury Bolotko as Borsa, Marina Aksentsova as Giovanna. The performance will be conducted by maestro Aleh Lessoun.
