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<< -- 5 -- Roderic Dunnett MAD ABOUT GLINKA
Given its 'royal' subject, the Soviet Union took some time to recognise the value of
Ivan Susanin, which initially (and diplomatically) fell out of the repertoire. Not
too good to hymn Romanovs in the wake of Ekaterinberg.
But finally in 1939, spotting at last its nationalistic value, the Soviets mounted the
opera at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre in grand style, albeit with a newly 'tidied up' (and now
doubtless discredited : the original was restored in the Gorbachev era) libretto by Sergei
Gorodetsky, with 'Mother Russia' patriotic sentiment ousting the original Tsarist emphasis.
Was Glinka a burned out case? 'His last years (Ruslan was first performed at St
Petersburg's Bolshoi in 1842) were comparatively silent,' says McBurney (although several
orchestral pieces date from the 1850s, and he was sketching a new Russian opera,
The Polyandrist, shortly before his death).
'He was obsessed later on (as were others) with trying to find way of uniting the
principles of western counterpoint, the Flemish School and Palestrina, with Orthodox
modality -- of splicing the two together. And he thought he was near achieving it.'
(Others took these researches forward after his death, and to some extent the interest
of Musorgsky and many late nineteenth century and early twentieth century composers
in the church modes achieved just this kind of synthesis).
The arrival of A Life for the Tsar at the South Bank Centre also reflects something of
a musical revolution :
'Gergiev has been especially successful since he took over in 1988',
says McBurney, 'in establishing in the west the idea of the Russian operatic tradition as a
whole, of making us see the repertoire as a whole, and as a complete continuum -- not just
the three or four best known operas.'
Valery Gergiev
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'He's revived almost all of Rimsky Korsakov and Prokofiev, as well as most of Mussorgsky;
and he's contributed a lot to contemporary Russian opera too.
'It will be interesting to see if he
turns his attention in due course to Serov. That could be a revelation.'
Copyright © 11 May 2003
Roderic Dunnett, Coventry, UK
'The Stars of the White Nights' Festival, 5 May - 5 August 2003 in Russia, which celebrates the 300th anniversary of the founding of the city of St Petersburg, features Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra. Highlights include Glinka's A Life for the Tsar conducted by Gergiev on 17 June, Musorgsky's Khovanshchina on 23 May, both at St Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre, Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky and Tchaikovsky's 1812 in Kaliningrad on 26 May and a Festival Gala on 30 May featuring Anna Netrebko and Renée Fleming. Details (and an interview with Valery Gergiev) from Tickets of Russia. In London UK, Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Opera perform A Life For the Tsar (or Ivan Susanin) in concert at the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday 21 May 2003 at 7pm; pianist Boris Berezovsky, violinist Julian Rachlin and cellist Mischa Maisky play Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich Trios at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Saturday 17 May at 7.45pm; and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe plays Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich in the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday 28 May at 7.30pm, all as part of the 'St Petersburg 300' celebrations. (+44 (0)20 7960 4201, www.rfh.org.uk) |
ROBERT ANDERSON ON 'A LIFE FOR THE TSAR'
GERARD McBURNEY
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