Gergiev’s Passions

Jim Pritchard recalled the Parsifal Gergiev presented in 1999 at the Royal Albert Hall, though in his opinion this production at the Barbican Hall was “masterful.” On 3 April, the “orchestra itself was surprisingly small (...) but totally in keeping with the acoustics of the Barbican Hall that Gergiev knows so well from his work with the London Symphony Orchestra. Gergiev (...) brought us a well-prepared, fluent reading of the score that never lingered and had a glowing mystical ambiance from first to last note. Overall this was the best performance I have been to where he has been the conductor.”

Peter Reed heard “that the orchestral playing was free of the traditional Russian style of emphasis.” Parsifal, with “the high drama of the singing, penetrating refinement and directness,” well deserved the title of a “Sacred Festival Play.”

Author of the review for the newspaper The Independent Michael Church heard “a paean to peace and reconciliation,” and he recalled Yuri Vorobiev’s “warm and vibrant Gurnemanz” as well as Nikolai Putilin’s “burnished” Klingsor. Church gave the production four stars and summed up by stating that “the intricately-layered score became the occasion for a richly theatrical event.”

Geoff Brown found no trace of tiredness in either the Mariinsky Theatre performers or maestro Gergiev himself, who conducts only musical “blockbusters.” Verdi’s Requiem, performed on 4 April, was a series of “brisk rhythms melted into a flow of milk and honey,” the musicians were able to “get to the heart of Verdi’s choral masterpiece” while “armed with his fluttering fingers, Gergiev took charge at the Barbican of a zinging Verdi performance, fierily dramatic, achingly lyrical.” The critic focussed on Olga Borodina’s “expressive, multicoloured mezzo” and Viktoria Yastrebova’s “pearly” timbre and “wan and plaintive” demeanour.

Gavin Dixon wrote that “the choral singers were the real stars of this performance,” demonstrating an “excellent ensemble and internal balance.” “Like Verdi’s opera orchestras, the Mariinsky’s brass sound is slightly husky and sometimes nasal, but always focussed and with an appealing vocal quality.” The strongest impressions were made by Olga Borodina, “the biggest name among these soloists,” and “rising star of the Mariinsky company” Viktoria Yastrebova alongside Ildar Abdrazakov and Sergei Semishkur.

At the same time, a further two reviews of Parsifal on 31 March at the Millennium Centre in Wales were published. Nigel Jarrett commented on the “outstanding” performances by Larisa Gogolevskaya, Yevgeny Nikitin and Yuri Vorobiev. “The pages and knights were courtly, the flower maidens ravishing and the orchestra and chorus fit for the marathon. Gergiev was in complete control.”

The Guardian newspaper awarded the concert at the Millennium Centre four stars. Rian Evans stated that Gergiev’s “commanding control made something irresistible of the massive musical flow – the admirable Mariinsky chorus joined by the BBC National Chorus of Wales and the joyous brightness of the specially formed Only Kids Aloud – as well as the spatial effects of voice and brass from up on high in the galleries.” As a result, the “gargantuan sound was almost overwhelming.”

The British tour came to a close on 6 April in Birmingham with a performance of the opera Parsifal.