© Christian Zach
"What a wonderful music" was the reaction of most of the audience after this concert performance of Tchaikovsky´s last opera Iolanta. This seldom performed opera returned recently successful to concert halls thanks to Anna Netrebko in the title role of the blind princess. The story is touching, based on a tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky created the libretto and Piotr IllitchTchaikovsky a wonderful sensible and poetic music.
The selection of the singers for a series of performances at the Gärtnerplatztheater in Munich was extremely fortunate. Liana Aleksanyan gave a lyric Iolanta with her fresh and fine soprano. She gained dramatic power in her fight for light and love in her life. Felipe Rojas Velozo mastered his demanding role of Count Vaudemont as the savior. His tenor offers a wide span, clean and precise high notes, but he lacksf warmness in the timbre. Impressive and voluminous the bass of Sergey Kovnir : his voice displayed a lot of emotion, grief and power, and crept into everybodies' heart. Gennadii Vashchenko shined as Count of Burgundy and Boris Grappe composed a mysterious doctor Ibn-Hakia.
Currently the Gärtnerplatztheater itself is under renovation. So the performance took place in the old congress hall with offers very bad acoustics. The conductor Marco Comin failed to take this under consideration : his interpretation missed the lyric romantic sound of the composition, and violins were competing with the brass.The fortissimi have overflooded the audience. In the end, there were lots of applauses and ovations for the singers and a real recognition for this masterpiece of the Russian composer.
Helmut Pitsch
Iolanta at the Gärtnerplatztheater
Photo © Christian Zach
the 21 of February, 2014 | Print
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