THE LADY IN RED
Russian opera troupe to bring 'Carmen' to Bangkok next month
The musical tale of a hot-blooded Gypsy woman caught in the middle of a love triangle, “Carmen” is the stuff of operatic legends.
It has garnered plaudits from the greatest musicians of all time, like Peter Tchaikovsky who famously said, “Carmen is a masterpiece in every sense of the word ... one of those rare creations which expresses the efforts of a whole musical epoch.”
Richard Strauss, whose famous operas and symphonies put him on the cover of Time magazine, noted, “If you want to learn how to orchestrate, don’t study Wagner’s scores, study the score of Carmen. Every note and every rest is in its proper place.’”
That vast legacy will be on display at the Thailand Cultural Centre on September 27 when the four-act opera is brought to vibrant life by the Chelyabinsk State Opera Theatre of Russia as part of Bangkok’s 14th International Festival of Dance and Music.
Voicing the title role is Anastasiya Lepeshinskaya. The soprano is a supernova in the opera world with many prizes to her name. Her performances of Carmen have brought the house down wherever she has performed.
Playing opposite her as Don Jose is Dimitry Polkopin. The tenor has also picked up a number of awards for his powerful and passionate performances.
Together, Anastasiya and Dimitry will make this rendition of Carmene especially memorable.
Composed by George Bizet and conducted by Anton Grishanin, this romantic tragedy caused a stir in Paris when it was first performed in 1875; its themes of love, betrayal, and passion that can kill have been proven universal by various movie versions, most notably “The Loves of Carmen”, starring Rita Hayworth as the gypsy temptress and Glenn Ford as Don Jose.
The acclaimed Russian company will bring out all the drama and musical subtleties of this opera. Sung in French, sur-titles in both Thai and English will be projected on a screen.
The company is no stranger to international stages. In total, they have performed in more than 60 cities around the globe.
The Chelyabinsk State Opera Theatre by Mikhail Glinka was opened in 1956. The opera troupe consisted of young singers from the country’s theatres and graduates of conservatories from Moscow, Leningrad and Sverdlovsk.
From these humble origins, the company’s reputation began to spread across the former Soviet Union. Since its inception, it has been dedicated to performing the greatest local and global works. Forever searching out new horizons and collaborating with different Soviet composers has helped the company to enrich their repertoire and enliven their performances.
Renowned for its mastery of Western operas, and ballets such as “Cinderella”, “Peer Gynt” and “Romeo and Juliet”, Chelyabinsk State Opera Theatre has enjoyed fruitful collaborations with a variety of personages who have made their indelible mark on it, from conductor IA Zak to stage directors like DN Smolich and the singer VA Dikopol’skaia.
In 2007 and in 2011, the theatre was nominated for the country’s most prestigious theatre awards, the Golden Mask, for such works as “Queen of Spades” by Tchaikovsky and “Lohengrin" by Wagner. “Queen of Spades” also took the Grand Prix at the “The Stage – 2006” festival and won a special jury prize at the “Golden Mask” awards in 2007.
In its ranks, the troupe boasts many distinguished performers who have been named Honoured Artists and People’s Artists of Russia, both past and present, including the chief conductor, Antonin Grishanin.
Bangkok’s 14th International Festival of Dance and Music is sponsored by Bangkok Bank, B. Grimm, Dusit Thani Bangkok, The Nation Multimedia Group, Nivea, SCG, Singha, Thai Airways International, Tourism Authority of Thailand, and Toyota Motor Thailand.
GET TICKETS
- The Chelyabinsk State Opera Theatre of Russia will present “Carmen” at 7.30pm on September 27 at the Thailand Cultural Centre.
- Tickets are available at ThaiTicketMajor.
- Call (02) 262 3191 or visit www.BangkokFestivals.com.
