VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
The program of the Dresden-St Petersburg Bridge gala, organized by the Mikhailovsky Theatre and the Dresden Opera Ball, will reflect the musical traditions of Dresden and St Petersburg. Most of the works performed at the gala were written or first performed in St Petersburg or Dresden. These are landmark works that influenced the cultural development of both cities and world music in general.
Singers invited to perform at the gala belong to the international opera elite. For René Pape, the lead soloist of the Berlin State Opera and guest soloist at the Metropolitan Opera, this will be his first performance at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Critics consider him to be one of the best bass singers of the new generation.
The star of the Copenhagen Royal Opera House Irene Theorin will be singing in Russia for the first time, while world-renowned tenor Neil Shicoff collaborates with the Mikhailovsky Theatre on a regular basis. Shicoff, who performs at leading opera houses on both sides of the Atlantic, has won this year's Golden Mask Russian national theatre award.
Prominent Russian baritone Sergei Leyferkus, who has gained world renown performing internationally, began his singing career at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Legendary Russian opera singer Yelena Obraztsova, who will be celebrating her birthday on the day of the concert, also has close ties to the Mikhailovsky.
A unique acoustic box will be constructed to create an ideal acoustic environment at the gala. The orchestra will be situated onstage rather than in the orchestra pit, as during regular performances. The decorations for the transformed stage will be designed by Gleb Filshtinsky.
The concert will include works from Russian and German classical opera repertoire. Artists will perform arias, choral and symphonic excerpts from The Queen of Spades and Eugene Onegin, by Tchaikovsky, Boris Godunov, by Mussorgsky, The Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, Tannhauser, and Tristan and Isolde, by Wagner, Aleko, by Rachmaninoff, War and Peace, by Prokofiev and Der Rosenkavalier ,by Richard Strauss.
Vladimir Yurovsky made his international debut at the Wexford Festival in 1995 (May Night, by Rimsky-Korsakov). The production’s resounding success brought media attention to the conductor. In 2000, he won the prestigious Abbiati Prize for best conductor, and in 2004, BBC Music Magazine named him one of the world’s most talented young conductors.
Vladimir Yurovsky won the British Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award in 2007. He collaborates with the Paris Opera, Milan's La Scala, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, London’s Covent Garden Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as well as with the philharmonic orchestras of Berlin, Los Angeles, London, Rotterdam and Oslo.
René Pape is a native of Dresden and a graduate of the Dresden University of Music. Pape’s brilliant career began in Berlin. His performance as Sarastro in Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Salzburg Festival drew international media attention. Today, the singer performs at all leading opera houses in Europe, the United States and Japan. Critics describe his voice as flexible, precise, incredibly deep and powerful, and at the same time having a subtle nuance of interpretation.
Neil Shicoff made his debut in Cincinnati in 1975 while performing the title role in Verdi's Ernani. His best roles at the Metropolitan Opera include the lead parts in Rigoletto, La Bohème, Der Rosenkavalier, and Werther. His performance in Eugene Onegin at La Scala marked the beginning of his European career. His current repertoire includes the part of Hoffmann in the Tales of Hoffmann, Cavaradossi in Tosca, and Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly. The part of Eleazar in Jacques Halevy’s La Juive is considered Shicoff’s best. He won the Russian Golden Mask award in 2011 for his performance in La Juive at the Mikhailovsky Theatre.
Irene Theorin studied in Göteborg and Copenhagen. She made her debut as Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Copenhagen Opera House. Her best roles are Brünnhilde and Isolde in Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung and Tristan and Isolde, respectively. She participated at the Bayreuth and Salzburg festivals. Irene Theorin performs at the Royal Opera of Stockholm, Tokyo’s New National Theatre, the Metropolitan Opera, London’s Covent Garden Royal Opera House, and other theatres. She is also a popular concert singer.
Sergei Leyferkus is a People's Artist of Russia and a winner of the USSR State Prize. His repertoire includes more 40 opera roles, including Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Ruprecht in Fiery Angel, Prince Andrew in Prokovfiev’s War and Peace, Don Giovanni and Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Don Giovani and the Barber of Seville respectively, Telramund in Wagner’s Lohengrin, as well as Iago, Macbeth, Nabucco and Renato in Verdi’s operas. He performs regularly at opera houses in Europe, America, China, Australia and New Zealand. He also sings with the symphony orchestras of Boston, New York, Montreal, Berlin, and London.
Yelena Obraztsova is a People's Artist of the USSR, a winner of the Lenin Prize, and a Hero of Socialist Labor. Her repertoire includes 85 roles in Russian and foreign classical as well contemporary operas. She has regularly served on the juries of prestigious international competitions. Since 1999, St Petersburg has regularly hosted the Yelena Obraztsova International Competition of Young Opera Singers. From June 2007 to October 2008, Obraztsova served as Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre’s opera company.
