Conductor

“So, you too, the famous Knight of the Rueful Countenance, did not escape the fate of all famous heroes of literature. And you undertook your own travels onto the stage!” wrote one critic who on 19 February 1910 attended the premiere of the opera Don Quichotte in Monte-Carlo. Strictly speaking, the cavalier of La Mancha had already “made it” onto the stage of the opera house, though never before with such triumph. To a great extent, Massenet’s last opera owes this triumph to one legendary performer of the title role – Fyodor Chaliapin. It was specifically for him that the opera was in fact written. And so Don Quichotte is that rare example of an opera for a basso cantante, a “singing bass”. In as much as the role of Sancho Panza is also performed by a low male voice and the role of the fair Dulcinée by a mezzo-soprano, the entire cast of protagonists here forms an ensemble that is unusual in terms of its colours.

Don Quichotte

Mariinsky TheatreMariinsky Theatre

La Bohème, directed by English director Ian Judge, turned out to be one of the most successful Puccini productions at the Mariinsky Theatre. It's pleasingly conservative, and although the setting is shifted from the 1830s to the 1930s, it doesn't harm the spirit of the music in the least. At the beginning and end of the opera, set in the attic rented by the artist Rodolfo, there's a huge window looking out over the Latin Quarter so picturesque that it could be listed as a character in the programme. The interior of the Café Momus, where the characters gather to celebrate Christmas, is meticulously detailed. It creates an almost cinematic atmosphere, tinged with the anxiety of the interwar period, yet not clashing with the music – instead, it adds a sense of the tragedy of the events and amplifies the joys in the lives of the characters. This production is a wonderful example of how to stage in a historical style while maintaining a sense of liveliness and freshness in a work created one hundred and twenty-five years ago. Denis Velikzhanin

Conductor

Christian Knapp

Events

Past events

Jun 17, 2025

Don Quichotte · Mariinsky Theatre

Jun 16, 2025

La Bohème · Mariinsky Theatre

About

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