News

07.07.2021

An exceptionally strong Marcello

Our star baritone Boris Pinkhasovich is on top form as Marcello at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. His final performance in La Bohème, the last of six appearances in total, will be on 6 July. The British press have strongly recommended the production, showering Pinkhasovich with praise.

The Evening Standard described Boris as “an exceptionally strong Marcello”, the “bohemian performer” from Russia impressed the Guardian’s columnist as a “fiery, macho” Marcello, and the Daily Express review noted that “the young cast were sensationally good”.

“This was my third visit to Covent Garden,” says Boris Pinkhasovich. “My first performance at the Royal Opera House was in 2018, when casting director Peter Katona invited me to be part of a concert in memory of Dmitri Hvorostovsky. This debut really made an impression on me. I was a boy from Russia coming to sing Yeletsky’s aria from The Queen of Spades, and immediately found myself on the same stage as Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko, and other stars. That evening Antonio Pappano drew attention to me, and a year later I was invited to sing the part of Shchelkalov in Boris Godunov. At the dress rehearsal for the performance, a funny thing happened which I think has already become something of a legend. The Royal Opera Chorus gave me a thunderous ovation, stamping their feet — and were then officially forbidden to ever do that again. That moment has stayed with me. I was delighted.”

“The restrictions at the Royal Opera House are very strict, so the rehearsals weren’t easy. Even the soloists have to wear masks. We rehearsed for a month, and all that month, we sang wearing protective equipment. We were only allowed to take the masks off a few days before the premiere, and then we could rehearse without holding back. Also due to the restrictions, there were far fewer people performing. In the famous choir scene in Café Momus, the audience see no more than 10–20 people, and the rest are hidden behind the stage. This doesn’t stop the choir from being heard at full volume, though.”

“It is difficult to perform when there’s no audience in the hall at all,” Boris continues. "I had that experience recently in Munich when I sang Ford in Falstaff. The performance was broadcast online and could be watched all over the world, but the emptiness in the hall was very uncomfortable. It was psychologically unpleasant. After that experience, a fifty percent seating arrangement in London seems a real boon. Even though the auditorium is only half full, there’s a genuine sense of euphoria when you take your curtain calls. Every audience member claps for two people!

“At the end of August, I am returning to the Vienna Opera, with which I have a contract for another three years, to start rehearsing for Falstaff. After that, I’ll be off to take part in a production of The Nose at the Bavarian State Opera. Vladimir Jurowski and Kirill Serebrennikov are working on this production, and it has already attracted a lot of attention. Then I have three more productions to look forward to in Vienna, including Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades with Valery Gergiev, and The Queen of Spades again with Kirill Petrenko in Baden-Baden. I will be returning to Covent Garden in 2023, which makes me very happy. But, of course, I will fit all these plans for the future around singing at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, my musical home which I know and love, and which I look forward to returning to.”