Debuts in Parsifal

Avgust Amonov’s roles include characters in operas by Verdi and Puccini as well as classical Russian operas. Richard Wagner’s legacy is represented in the singer’s repertoire by the role of Siegmund in Die Walküre, which he first performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, demonstrating his “vivid and powerful voice, ‘aptness’ for the role, sincerity, fervour and a fearless performance.” Critics have praised the “noble and even timbre of his voice across the range” as well as his “supreme vocal culture”; one of Amonov’s most recent significant works was the role of Radamès in a production of Aida by stage director Daniele Finzi Pasca at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre.

Yuri Vorobiev is famed for his “masculine bass voice” with hints of a lyric baritone. Despite the tremendous variety of the singer’s repertoire, his favourite characters are ones in operas by Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini. Recently Vorobiev has made several memorable debuts, among them the philosopher Colline in La Bohème, Ramfis the High Priest of Egypt in Aida and the Tatar King Timur in Turandot.

Parsifal, written in the genre of a triumphant stage mystery, is a very special work in the Mariinsky Theatre’s history and a “calling card” of the Wagnerian maestro Gergiev, one of the most original contemporary interpreters of this music. A recording of this opera released in 2010 was the Mariinsky label’s first recording of a work by Wagner. Together with Mariinsky Theatre soloists, the recording features world opera stars who were invited by Valery Gergiev, among them Gary Lehman (Parsifal), Violeta Urmana (Kundry) and René Pape (Gurnemanz). The release was included in the top ten discs of the year by leading American publications including the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The Boston Globe; as for British publications, BBC Music Magazine named it “Disc of the Month” and Gramophone selected it as “Editor’s Choice.”

Please note that this will be a concert performance of the opera at the Concert Hall.