Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 20. Jul 2012
Anna Netrebko, Soprano
Vladimir Samsonow, Baritone
Chorus and Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater
Mikhail Agrest, Conductor
VIDEOCLIPS
Le Nozze di Figaro, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 5. Apr 1994 – NN (Figaro), Anna Netrebko*º (Susanna), Vladimir Samsonov (Il Conte di Almaviva), Tatiana Pavlovskaya (La Contessa), NN (Cherubino), NN (Marcellina), NN (Doctor Bartolo), NN (Don Basilio), NN (Antonio), Olga Trifonova (Barbarina), NN (Don Curzio), NN (First Bridesmaid), NN (Second Bridesmaid); Tim Coleman (Stage Director), Chorus and Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater, Justus FrantzToday we have an extraordinary video document of this historical performance. It includes the duet between Susanna (Anna Netrebko) and the Count Almaviva (Vladimir Samsonov) and the aria of the Count Almaviva (Vladimir Samsonov):
Anna Netrebko | 2009-2010 SeasonCarmen, Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg 23. May 2010 – Natalia Evstafieva (Carmen), Maxim Aksenov (Don José), Anna Netrebko (Micaela), Edward Tsanga (Escamillo), NN (Frasquita), NN (Mercedes), NN (Zúñiga), NN (Morales), NN (Remendado), NN (Dancaire); Alexei Stepanyuk (Stage Director), Chorus and Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater, Tugan Sokhiev
What can I tell you but: Another triumph for Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala!
The third performance of Iolanta at the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden was sold out again, and it was cheered by an enthusiastic audience.
Anna sang and played the story of the princess who is unaware of her blindness and then is cured and she did it so convincingly that she must have moved everybody in the audience. It was simply overwhelming when Iolanta began to see the colours and forms created by nature for the first time in her life.
Polish tenor Piotr Beczala (Count Vaudemont) and Russian baritone Alexey Markov (Robert) also received applause during the performance for their arias. But the undisputed highlight was the duet of Iolanta and Vaudemont, Tvoyo molèan ye neponyatno (I do not understand your silence), which I have never heard any better before. It makes a big difference whether you listen to it in a concert or on CD, or if you see and hear it as an acted scene in a complete opera. The audience began to cheer and applaud even before the final tones of the music had finished (the orchestra of the Marinsky Theatre under Valery Gergiev was excellent and so was the acoustics of the Festpielhaus).
After the finale there was a rising storm of applause for the chorus, the principal singers and for Gergiev, but the house almost exploded when Anna came out for her last curtain call. Everybody rose and gave her standing ovations.
As always, she thanked not only those in the orchestra stalls near the stage but also the people in the galleries high under the roof, in the heavens , to whom she waved with her both arms.
There was a moment of scare and also of laughter when the curtain moved down in the same second when the singers wanted to step forward to the orchestra pit one more time, but nobody was hurt and the curtain went up again.
After the show a large crowd gathered at the stage door. When Anna came down the steps an official led her across the red carpet to the restaurant opposite where she was greeted with applause when entering. Piotr Beczala followed her and said that they would come back immediately. And so it was! Only a few minutes later Anna returned, wearing a red dress and holding a large bouquet of flowers in her arms. She signed many programmes and pictures, smiled when photos were taken, and then she waved good-bye and moved towards a car waiting for her leaving a happy crowd behind who had had a memorable summer night in Baden-Baden.
This morning, while I was waiting at the train station, I saw Ukrainian bass Mikhail Kit together with his wife (?) and some colleagues. I asked him if he was King René, and he smiled and answered in his deep voice: Yes, that s me. And then he signed my programme.