Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre have successfully concluded another European concert tour. From 19 March to 25 March, the musicians gave performances in Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic and France.
The tour opened with a concert at the Musical Theatre Basel (Switzerland) on 19 March. “The Mariinsky Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev opened the concert with a performance of Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. The musicians have shown an impressive and yet subtly differentiated sound. The wonderful solo flute has added to the charm of the highly aspired performance of Debussy’s petit masterpiece.” – Online Merker. As for Abisal Gergiev’s version of Alexander Scriabin’s Piano Concerto, the website critic wrote: “Gergiev Jr. is likely to become a great pianist very soon. The young performer’s technique, virtuoso style and subtlety is more than impressive even now.”
The Mariinsky Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev performed at the philharmonies in Munich and Berlin (Germany) on 20 March and 22 March. Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper observer noted the unique musicality of the Mariinsky Orchestra during its performance at the Gasteig: “Valery Gergiev is not one of those conductors who like to draw clear lines. Under his guidance, the music flows and if this river takes you in, it will be impossible to escape. The Mariinsky Orchestra is swimming in the pool of sound ranging from the mysterious piano to powerful fortissimo. The long applause followed the orchestra and the conductor’s performance, who acted as one and engaged the audience with their entertaining tonal diversity.”
“Confident and brilliant performance of Beethoven’s Concerto No. 5 is dynamic yet smooth. The Mariinsky Orchestra gives dense, dark sound, switching to romantic intimacy once the pianist starts playing” – Berliner morgenpost critic wrote about the Mariinsky Orchestra and Nelson Freire’s performance at the Berlin Philharmonie.
The musicians gave a concert at the Smetana Hall of Prague’s Municipal House (the Czech Republic) on 23 March. Their performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique) was acclaimed by the critics: “The Russians’ performance was authentic to the core. They prioritized emotions and intuition over precision. It is the perfection of form where art is a manifestation of life” – Opera Plus.
The concert tour concluded with two performances at the Philharmonie de Paris. On March 24 and March 25, the soloists of the Mariinsky Opera, the Mariinsky Chorus and the Mariinsky Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev presented the prologue and the first day of Richard Wagner’s tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen (concert performance)
“If concert performances do work, it is first and foremost because the Mariinsky Orchestra shows its deep commitment to the piece under their conductor’s valuable guidance. Valery Gergiev, Wagnerian to the bone, knows all the nuances of conducting an orchestra: he keeps the dynamics in balance, softening the secondary elements and prioritizing the performance and fine detailing. However, the end result would be unconvincing but for the truly unique vocal technique royally presented that evening. Freia (Oxana Shilova, what a force!) and Mime (the dazzling Andrei Popov) in supporting roles did not look like secondary characters. As for the main performers, they leave you wanting to return for more the next day. Mikhail Vekua took on the smart and insolent Loge with his fine timbre voice and clear speech. Yuri Vorobiev gave his Wotan grandeur and depth worthy of his divine role. Roman Burdenko reflects the essence of Alberich’s image with an intimidating intensity, combining the warmth of timble with powerful voice (his O Schmerz! in the first scene makes your skin crawl).” – Bachtrack.
“Mikhail Vekua, who performed the part of Loge the day before, makes a great Siegmund today. Elena Stikhina is an unrivalled Sieglinde, who has not allowed sentimentality to take over despite the naïveté of her role. Tatiana Pavlovskaya’s Brünnhilde is pure force and it is a shame that we will not see her again in September in two other parts of Der Ring des Nibelungen as she was very convincing in this one.” – Bertrand Ferrier.
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