WITH Valery Gergiev just back from conducting Shostakovich's seventh symphony (the Leningrad) in the ruins of South Ossetia, the Mariinsky Opera and Orchestra's concert performance of Act III from Prokofiev's opera Semyon Kotko could not have been m
ore apt. Although set in 1918 in a Ukrainian village under German occupation, this tale of invasion, executions and the burning of houses has alarming contemporary resonances.
In just 14 short action-packed scenes, Prokofiev – abandoning conventional operatic conventions such as arias – creates an electrifying, fast-paced piece of music that was played and sung brilliantly.
None of the soloists used music, which added a dynamic physicality and intensity to their performance. Most haunting was the repetitive passage sung by Irina Loskutova as Lybuka, who is mad with grief and unable to believe the puppet-like body hanging from a pear tree is her fiancé.
Rachmaninov's one-act opera Aleko – written when he was just 19 to a libretto based on a Pushkin poem, The Gypsies – was also a triumph. The composer's ability to make a small amount of thematic material go a long way is impressive.
This doomed love story might be simply structured, but it includes many ravishing moments such as Aleko's Cavatina, tenderly sung by Yevgeny Nikitin, recalling happier times with his wife Zemfira, beautifully performed by Irina Mataeva, and a gorgeous duet for harp and tenor – Sergey Semishkur as the young gypsy.
Both these spellbinding short operas deserve full-scale productions and a wider audience.
The full article contains 259 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
