Introduction
This concert was not chosen by chance because it presents well-known arias by Mozart, Verdi, Rossini, and other prominent composers. The event took place in May 2016 in Bonn, attended by such stars as Roberto de Biasio, Ingeborg Gillebo, Robin Johannes and Simone Kermes. Their voices sang famous arias at the 5th gala concert of the opera. This concert is a delight in the high art of opera singing accompanied by the Bonn Beethoven Orchestra conducted by Stefan Blunier.
Music Description
Overture – Le nozze die Figaro – Mozart
The concert opens with Mozart’s overture Le nozze die Figaro, a rapidly sweeping masterpiece as harmonious as the opera itself. The overture is extremely lively and intense, which cannot but attract the eyes of the audience. Relationships and collisions of sound characters determined many features of the Le nozze die Figaro musical drama, giving flexibility and variety to its operatic forms. Especially significant is the role of ensembles associated with the stage action, which gave the sound of the instrumental intro features (DW Classical Music, 2020). The carelessness of movements and intoxicating fun permeates the opera’s overture, bringing a cheerful atmosphere to the events taking place.
“O wär ich schon mit Dir vereint” – Fidelio – Beethoven
Fidelio is a heroic opera, one of the greatest creations in musical theatre. Her music is distinguished by a loftily pathetic warehouse, intense drama. A significant role is played in it by oratorical scenes alternating with everyday ones, often comically colored (DW Classical Music, 2020). Robin Johansen performs Marceline’s aria; his soprano is refined and reveals the dreams of a girl in love and the sincerity of her simple and naive feelings through melodic sound.
“O don fatale” – Don Carlos – Verdi
In Don Carlos, the composer, with remarkable skill, revealed the complex, contradictory experiences of the actors, their sharp clashes. The mournful melodies of the orchestra are replaced by an expressive recitative, gradually turning into broad melodious phrases. The presented aria of Eboli, O don fatale, characterizes her passionate, indomitable nature and completes act IV of Don Carlos. Eboli sings about the fatal “gift” – her beauty. Eboli’s aria begins with an explosion of despair. It is a beautiful but extremely difficult aria; if performed well, it can bring the singer a huge success (DW Classical Music, 2020). Here comes the ordeal for the mezzo-soprano, but she also receives a great benefit since the finale of this picture belongs entirely to her. Marina Prudenskaya remains one-on-one with the audience and owns the immediate reaction of the audience and their applause.
Writers Opinion
Mozart’s performance was at a high level and received deservedly loud applause. Being a genius, he knew that his operas would be better appreciated if performed in Italian rather than in German. His Marriage of Figaro became an immortal classic due to such a maneuver with execution. Marina Prudenskaya is a bright performer, which is nice to look at; her costume and voice control cause a stir. Her aria is magnificent and penetrates to the depths of the soul; it is noticeable that she worked for a long time before the performance. I liked the smiles of the people in the orchestra who were struggling to keep from laughing – the audience seemed to love the performers and communicated. The concert turned out to be quite spectacular from all points of view; I am glad that I watched it on YouTube and experienced the feelings and emotions that the audience had in 2016.
Reference
DW Classical Music. (2020). Opera gala: the greatest arias from Mozart, Verdi, Rossini and others [Video]. YouTube.