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The Enchanted Wanderer
About the Performance
Shchedrin's opera is a vision of the Russian soul, steeped in the music of the Russian Orthodox Church and based on a novella by Nikolai Leskov. This epic tale of seduction, murder, obsession, prophesy and destiny is brought to life in an expressive score with influences of both traditional folk tunes and oratorio, and imbued with the energy and passion of gypsy romance. The orchestra is supplemented with exotic instruments from Russian musical traditions including the balalaika and the gusli, a Russian zither.
Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and premiered in 2002, The Enchanted Wanderer received its Russian premiere in 2007 under the baton of Valery Gergiev and this Festival performance marks its UK premiere.
Reviews
‘If the ‘Russian soul' indeed exists, then Leskov answers the question better than anyone else.'
Modern master Rodion Shchedrin summons the full dramatic force of the Russian language, and that of his chorus and orchestra, to deliver an operatic triumph in two parts with The Enchanted Wanderer. Under the batonage of virtuoso conductor Valery Gergiev, Shchedrin's brilliantly experimental arrangements enjoy a dazzling, fiery treatment by the Mariinsky Opera Company, this year marking their 225th anniversary season. Yevgeny Akimov's agile tenor and adventurous range play off of Sergey Alexashkin's commanding bass, and all three soloists' solid performances are underscored by bursts of tribal drum trances by the orchestra's unusually large percussion section.
Based on a novella by Nikolay Leskov, whom Lenin himself condemned as a "thoroughly religious and reactionary writer," The Enchanted Wanderer indeed plays like a compilation of religious trepidation and simple human truth and humor. Leskov's writing is salaciously funny as always, and his folklorist themes drive forward a multi-layered plot which offers as many twists and turns as those of Shchedrin's earlier operas set to novels by Antonov, Gogol and Nabokov.
Performance Details
UK Premiere
Mariinsky Opera and Orchestra
Valery Gergiev Conductor
Written by Rodion Shchedrin
Concert performance sung in Russian
Ivan Severyanovich Flyagin, Storyteller Sergei Alexashkin
Grusha the Gypsy, Storyteller Kristina Kapustinskaya
Flogged Monk, Prince, Magnetiser, Old Man in the Woods, Storyteller Yevgeny Akimov
Booking Information
Performance Dates:
- Tue 26 Aug - 7:15 pm
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- From £10Tickets:
- Approx 1 hour 50 minutesDuration:
- Edinburgh Festival TheatreVenue:
