Mariinsky Rheingold a promising start to EIF Ring

By David Smythe, 16 August 2016

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“Ekaterina Semenchuk’s burnished timbred Fricka”

Reviewed at Usher Hall, Edinburgh on 15 August 2016

Wagner, Das Rheingold (Concert performance)

Mariinsky Opera

Valery Gergiev, Conductor

Vitalij Kowaljow, Wotan

Mikhail Vekua, Loge

Ekaterina Semenchuk, Fricka

Vladislav Sulimsky, Alberich

Andrei Popov, Mime

Yuri Vorobiev, Fasolt

Mikhail Petrenko, Fafner

Yulia Matochkina, Wellgunde

Zhanna Dombrovskaya, Woglinde

Anna Kiknadze, Erda

Yekaterina Sergeyeva, Flosshilde

Oxana Shilova, Freia

Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra

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

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

A mesmerising Siegfried from the Mariinsky in Birmingham

Rohan Shotton, 8th November

Valery Gergiev conducts a mesmerising account of Wagner's Siegfried in Birmingham

****1

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David Smythe

David the farmer was drawn into music through choirs, orchestras, taking part in and directing 'serious' opera as a student. Passionate about live classical music, particularly chamber opera, unusual pieces and events and giving the next generation the tools to engage with the classical world.

Mariinsky Rheingold a promising start to Edinburgh Festival’s concert Ring