Once bitten, twice intrigued: Levsha

By Charlotte Valori, 06 November 2014

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Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 4 November 2014

Shchedrin, Levsha "The Left-Hander"

Mariinsky Opera

Valery Gergiev, Conductor

Andrei Popov, The Left-Hander

Kristina Alieva, The Flea

Maria Maksakova, Princess Charlotte

Andrei Spekhov, English Under-Skipper

Vladimir Moroz, Tsar Alexander I / Tsar Nikolai I

Eduard Tsanga, Ataman Platov

The epitome of Russianness: Boris Godunov at the Mariinsky

David Karlin, 20th June

In Tarkovsky's venerable production, the Mariinsky orchestra and chorus are brilliant – but too brilliant for their soloists, including two replacement Borises for an indisposed Mikhail Petrenko.

***11

Intoxicating, mystic, sacred, profane

David Karlin, 19th June

Rodion Shchedrin's opera mixes singing, choreography and storytelling to lend a potent sacred and mystic overlay to Nikolai Leskov's folk tale.

*****

Netrebko takes on Adriana Lecouvreur at the Mariinsky

David Karlin, 18th June

Isabelle Patriot-Pieri's new production is a quirky mix of traditional and the opposite; Netrebko shows her star quality; Eyvasov impresses.

****1

Mariinsky Rheingold a promising start to EIF Ring

David Smythe, 15th August

Valery Gergiev conducts the Mariinsky Opera in a vocally strong Das Rheingold, a promising beginning to Edinburgh International Festival’s Ring in concert over the coming years.

****1

Conflict Unresolved: The Enchanted Wanderer

Jacob Slattery, 14th January

Shchedrin’s opera The Enchanted Wanderer is the complete opposite of shocking and director Alexei Stepanyuk’s staging alongside Valery Gergiev’s command over the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra revealed something of a translucid daydream.

***11

The Mariinsky Ring concludes in Birmingham

Rohan Shotton, 9th November

Valery Gergiev brings George Tsypin's Ring staging to a spectacular close with Götterdämmerung in Birmingham.

****1

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Charlotte Valori

Charlotte Valori read Classics at Christ Church, Oxford. As a classicist, her main interest is Greek tragedy and its reception by later cultures, which has led to a continuing passion for theatre and opera. Charlotte reviews for several online magazines, and won the Bachtrack Opera Award 2015 for Best Written English Review. Follow her on Twitter @operissima.

Once bitten, twice intrigued: Shchedrin's The Left-Hander (Levsha)