Tuesday, September 8, 2009

"The Magic Flute" Mikhail Pletnev's Concert Version



Mikhail Pletnev, from the festival program, which quotes the London Telegraph,
"from Pletnev's fingers and brain come ideas that vitalise the music and make it teem with freshness and wit."

Regarding the September 8 RNO Festival concert…here is Paul Richardson’s translation of a story you can find in the original Russian here.  Paul is publisher of Russian Life magazine, an informative, lively English-language bimonthly about Russia.
Today was the second day of the Russian National Orchestra Grand Festival. Alongside the glorious traditions of the RNO, it seems a new one has appeared. They have promised that the festival will be an annual event. The concert version of Mozart's famous opera, The Magic Flute, performed today in the Bolshoi Theatre, was yet another proof of the value of this new festival. Culture News reports.
There is no dialogue, only music. Mikhail Pletnev offered his version of Mozart's The Magic Flute. Yet a concert performance does not mean that the soloists merely lined up and stood at attention for the duration of the concert. Mikhail Pletnev's interpretation is one of beautious, dynamic action.

The mix of soloists was international. There were performers from Great Britain, Latvia and Russia. The opera was performed in the language of the original, the pronunciation and style of the vocalists from Germany adding a special flavor.

"Prior to this, I never sang the opera The Magic Flute and Mikhail Pletnev's version is amazing. Every gesture, every word, is precise and well-regulated. And how well he speaks and feels the German language. I was blown away!" said singer Tilman Lichdi (Germany).

Inga Kalna was among the invited soloists. The singer actually took her first steps on stage as an artist in performances of The Magic Flute. She performed in six different productions of the opera, including all the female parts. But Mikhail Pletnev's concert version was her first performance of this type. "His vision of the opera is fresh and unusual," Inga noted. "The music wins out when we perform without dialogue."

Everything that Mikhail Pletnev says must be executed without question. This was the advice given to the Chamber Choir of the Moscow Conservatory by its leader Boris Tevlin. It was not the choir's first collaboration with the Russian National Orchestra. Under Pletnev's leadership, the Conservatory students performed the works of Rachmaninoff and Rimsky-Korsakov. Now they are singing in Mozart's opera.

"Mozart is more difficult to perform than modern avant garde composers. It requires a subtle insight into the music. Mikhail Vasiliyevich does this with great skill," said Boris Tevlin.

On the Grand Festival's opening day, Mikhail Pletnev acted as conductor of a symphony. On the second day he conducted an opera. And this is far from a complete list of the maestro's musical roles. The rest he will show off at the Russian National Orchestra's festival.
Source: TV Channel "Culture"  September 9, 2009

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