26.01.2018
Opera’s sunny side
Like a light sparkling wine, the music of Rossini can elevate any celebration. It can also take centre stage, as it will at the Mikhailovsky Theatre on 9 February as part of a year of big anniversaries.
A century ago, the Mikhailovsky’s opera company took shape, and it was Gioachino Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia that served as its starting point. Since then, this highlight of the global opera repertoire has hardly left our stage. The theatre symbolically opened its 185th season with a new staging of Rossini’s masterpiece.
This anniversary edition will bring together a whole constellation of outstanding musicians and singers. Dmitry Korchak will be familiar to our audiences as an outstanding vocalist. Recently, he began to combine singing with conducting, and this festive evening will see him taking to the podium in front of the Mikhailovsky Theatre orchestra for the first time. The world-renowned musician Giulio Zappa will be accompanying the performance on the harpsichord. He has previously accompanied numerous performances at the Rossini Opera Festival. These included La gazzetta, Torvaldo e Dorliska, La gazza ladra, Sigismondo, and Matilde di Shabran, which were recorded by Dynamic and Decca.
And of course, a bright and sunny opera such as this demands equally bright and sunny performers. Our stage will be graced by singers from Spain and Italy. The part of Count Almaviva will be played by Xabier Anduaga, who studied under Alberto Zedda at the Rossini Academy in Pesaro and has performed several times at the Rossini Festival. The Spanish tenor will replace the previously advertised Jesús León who is unable to perform in St. Petersburg for reasons beyond his control. Paolo Bordogna will take the role of Bartolo. The singer has worked with such esteemed opera houses as the Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House, Liceu Opera Barcelona, and Bavarian State Opera. Bordogna has also participated in the Rossini Festival on multiple occasions. Rosina will be performed by mezzo-soprano soloist at the Deutsche Oper Berlin Vasilisa Berzhanskaya. She will be recognized by many as a finalist on The Big Opera, broadcast on the TV channel Kultura (Russia-K). Figaro will be performed by the Mikhailovsky’s own Boris Pinkhasovich, whose talent has earned him victory at numerous international competitions. The part of Basilio will be sung by Alexander Bezrukov.
This star-studded performance is sure to light up St. Petersburg’s Arts Square and get another century of opera with the Mikhailovsky Theatre off to a stunning start.
A century ago, the Mikhailovsky’s opera company took shape, and it was Gioachino Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia that served as its starting point. Since then, this highlight of the global opera repertoire has hardly left our stage. The theatre symbolically opened its 185th season with a new staging of Rossini’s masterpiece.
This anniversary edition will bring together a whole constellation of outstanding musicians and singers. Dmitry Korchak will be familiar to our audiences as an outstanding vocalist. Recently, he began to combine singing with conducting, and this festive evening will see him taking to the podium in front of the Mikhailovsky Theatre orchestra for the first time. The world-renowned musician Giulio Zappa will be accompanying the performance on the harpsichord. He has previously accompanied numerous performances at the Rossini Opera Festival. These included La gazzetta, Torvaldo e Dorliska, La gazza ladra, Sigismondo, and Matilde di Shabran, which were recorded by Dynamic and Decca.
And of course, a bright and sunny opera such as this demands equally bright and sunny performers. Our stage will be graced by singers from Spain and Italy. The part of Count Almaviva will be played by Xabier Anduaga, who studied under Alberto Zedda at the Rossini Academy in Pesaro and has performed several times at the Rossini Festival. The Spanish tenor will replace the previously advertised Jesús León who is unable to perform in St. Petersburg for reasons beyond his control. Paolo Bordogna will take the role of Bartolo. The singer has worked with such esteemed opera houses as the Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House, Liceu Opera Barcelona, and Bavarian State Opera. Bordogna has also participated in the Rossini Festival on multiple occasions. Rosina will be performed by mezzo-soprano soloist at the Deutsche Oper Berlin Vasilisa Berzhanskaya. She will be recognized by many as a finalist on The Big Opera, broadcast on the TV channel Kultura (Russia-K). Figaro will be performed by the Mikhailovsky’s own Boris Pinkhasovich, whose talent has earned him victory at numerous international competitions. The part of Basilio will be sung by Alexander Bezrukov.
This star-studded performance is sure to light up St. Petersburg’s Arts Square and get another century of opera with the Mikhailovsky Theatre off to a stunning start.
