RCM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: STRAVINSKY'S JOURNEY Tuesday 27 February 2018 7.30pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall Martyn Brabbins conductor Dominic Doutney piano Singers from Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory RCM Symphony Orchestra
RCM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: STRAVINSKY'S JOURNEY Tuesday 27 February 2018, 7.30pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall Martyn Brabbins conductor Dominic Doutney piano Singers from Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory Bogdan Galyapa tenor Alexander Borodeiko tenor Timophey Pavlenko bass Kirill Kapachinskikh bass Alena Rozkopa Parasha (soprano) Veronika Ershova Neighbour (mezzo soprano) Anna Viktorova Mother (mezzo soprano) Alexander Chernov Hussar (tenor) RCM Symphony Orchestra Throughout 2018, the London Philharmonic Orchestra will be chronologically charting the life and works of Igor Stravinsky in this year-long festival, highlighting the fascinating and changing styles of his music as different cultural and geographical events influenced him. This concert is part of the LPO’s Changing Faces: Stravinsky's Journey series (lpo.org.uk/Stravinsky).
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Stravinsky (1882–1971)
Symphonies of wind Instruments
(12’)
Renard i Marche ii Allegro iii Meno mosso iv (Salto mortale) v Con brio vi Meno mosso vii (Salto mortale) viii Moderato ix Scherzando x Poco meno mosso xii Vivo xii Marche
(17’)
INTERVAL Concerto for piano and wind instruments (19’) i Largo - Allegro - Più mosso - Maestoso (Largo del principio) ii Largo - Più mosso - Doppio valore - Tempo primo iii Allegro - Agitato - Lento - Strigendo Mavra i Overture ii Parasha's song iii Hussar's gypsy song iv Dialogue v The mother's song vi Dialogue vii Duet viii Dialogue ix Quartet x Dialogue xi Duet xii Dialogue xiii Mavra's song xiv Coda
(25’)
Igor Stravinsky Born in 1882, Igor Stravinsky spent his formative years living in his family home on the Kryukov Canal in St Petersburg, a stone’s throw from the Mariinsky Theatre, where his baritone father regularly performed principal roles in the operas of Wagner, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and Glinka. Igor’s parents initially discouraged him from following a musical career, but after attracting the attention of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the young composer eventually enrolled at the St Petersburg Conservatoire. In 1909 Stravinsky received his first commission from impresario Sergei Diaghilev, the mastermind behind the Ballets Russes (The Russian Ballet), whose spectacular productions exported the image of an exoticised Russia to foreign audiences. Throughout his career, Stravinsky turned to Slavic folk culture for inspiration, perhaps most infamously in his ballet The Rite of Spring (1913). As political instability grew in Russia, Stravinsky left St Petersburg in 1914 and did not return for another 50 years. All of the music in tonight’s concert was composed and premiered within the first ten years of Stravinsky’s exile. Symphonies for wind Instruments ‘The audience did not hiss enough. They should have been much angrier.’ So declared Stravinsky in a newspaper interview following the disastrous world premiere of the Symphonies d’instruments à vent at the Queen’s Hall, London, in 1921. Perhaps it is not surprising that the composer of The Rite of Spring appears to have developed a taste for public outrage. Yet Stravinsky’s apparent frustration with the audience, who laughed at his music, developed into an ugly public spat with the work’s conductor, fellow émigré Serge Koussevitzky, whom Stravinsky blamed for the poor reception. ‘The title should not have been “Symphony” but “Symphonies”,’ he continued; ‘The point of the music lies in the juxtaposition of three different symphonies.’ This clarification hints at Stravinsky’s musical vision for the piece. Rather than emulating the classical form of the symphony – typically a multi-movement work, deploying a full orchestra – Stravinsky goes back to the root of the term, symphony, which literally means ‘sounding together’, and strips back the musical forces to a wind orchestra of 24 players who intone a series of contrasting musical motifs with striking rhythmic complexity. From the first ringing cry of the clarinet to its winding melodies and austere, dark harmonies, there is a sense of ritual about this work. The musicologist Richard Taruskin suggests that the block-like musical structure of the Symphonies are a stylised impression of the Orthodox Russian Panikhida, or funeral service, with its litany of call-and-response – which perhaps fits with the dedication of the work, to
the memory of Claude Debussy, who died in 1918. Whatever Stravinsky’s inspiration, the legacy of the Symphonies was crucial: it ushered in a new era of ‘neo-classical’ works for the composer. Renard The ethnographer Alexander Afanasyev (1826–1871) was a contemporary of the Brothers Grimm, and he documented and published over 600 Russian folk tales during his lifetime. Stravinsky’s Fable of the Vixen, the Cock, the Cat and the Ram, or Renard, as it is better known, is a conglomeration of some dozen tales by Afanasyev, woven by the composer himself into an original tale. Billed as a ‘merry performance with singing and music’, this colourful work written in 1915–16, draws on the irreverent Skoromokh tradition, a genre of popular Russian entertainment similar to cabaret or Punch and Judy, characterised by buffoonery, slapstick and satire. It was originally written for off-stage singers and an on-stage pantomime performed by four dancers, and tells the story of a cockerel who is repeatedly lured into danger by a hungry vixen, disguised in a nun’s habit. However, the vixen’s dominance is short-lived, and she receives her grisly comeuppance from the cat and the ram. ‘The music of Renard begins in the verse,’ stated the composer, and there the nonsensical noises and animal outbursts of the singers are echoed in the orchestra. Similarly, both music and narrative are disjointed, with Stravinsky’s use of instrumentation evoking the raw dissonances of a travelling circus band. This rustic effect is aided by the jangling tones of a cimbalom – an instrument which captivated Stravinsky’s attention from the moment he first heard it in a restaurant in Geneva in 1915. Although the story appears to lampoon religious hypocrisy, Stravinsky was keen to downplay any serious implications, remarking: ‘It is not so much satire as gentle mockery and “good fun.”’ Concerto for piano and wind instruments Stravinsky’s biographer Robert Craft wrote, ‘That Stravinsky ever forgave Koussevitzky [for the Symphonies of Wind Instruments premiere] is a wonder.’ It was fortunate for Stravinsky that he did, because not only did Koussevitzky commission the Concerto for piano and wind instruments, he also conducted the work’s Paris premiere in 1924. In a dazzling stroke of entrepreneurship, Stravinsky also placed an embargo on any other pianist playing the work for the next five years, ensuring that he not only controlled its interpretation from the outset, but that he also received royalties and a performance fee whenever the work was programmed, which it was, on at least 25 occasions in its first year alone.
The Concerto itself takes inspiration from Johann Sebastian Bach, and its three movements exhibit many of the German composer’s hallmark features, including complex counterpoint and fugal passages. However, Stravinsky’s style is unmistakeable, from the bittersweet harmonies to the lively and irregular rhythmic exchanges between ensemble and soloist. Mavra ‘My dearest love, sunshine of my life, It’s been a week since I last saw you.’ So sings Parasha, the young 18th-century heroine of Mavra, in the opening bars of Stravinsky’s comic opera, which he composed in Biarritz in 1921–22. This opening number – perhaps the most famous part of the opera – is an imitation folk ballad with words written by Diaghilev’s secretary-turned-librettist, Boris Kochno. Just as Russian folk songs frequently ignore the accents of spoken Russian verse, so Stravinsky’s ‘oompah’ brass accompaniment flits in and out of sync with the pulse of Kochno’s text; a feature which surfaces throughout. Mavra, much like Renard, its double-bill companion piece from the 1922 premiere, deals in yet another tale of deception. This time, instead of a vixen dressed as a nun, we have a young soldier who is disguised as a maid, in a plot to smuggle him into the home of his lover, Parasha. The story is taken from a short, ironical poem, The Little House at Kolmna, written by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. In a nod to Glinka and Tchaikovsky, the work’s illustrious musical dedicatees, the opera unfolds through a series of old-fashioned operatic set numbers, ranging from waltzes, lovers’ duets and grand arias. Kochno and Stravinsky turn musical convention on its head, satirising the bourgeois concerns of the mother in an elaborate lament, and undermining the soldier’s passionate declaration of love by giving him a huge aria to sing while wearing drag and shaving. Taking nothing seriously, Mavra is a thoroughly Russian work of mischief from start to finish, summed up by its chaotic dénouement, and the comic anticlimax of its final notes. © Sophie Rashbrook
Renard March (to which the players enter) The Cock is strutting on his perch. The Cock Kuda, kuda, kuda, kuda, kuda? Podayte mne yevo syuda! Ya nogami stopchu, Toporom srublyu, Ya nogami stopchu, I toporom srublyu. Kuda, kuda, kuda, kuda, kuda? Podayte mne yevo syuda! Podayte mne yevo skorei syuda! Kuda, kuda, kuda, kuda, kuda? Kuda? I nozhisho zdesya, I nozhishko zdesya, I guzhishko zdesya, I zarezhem zdesya, I povesim zdesya. Kuda, kuda, kuda, kuda, kuda? I no… i nozhishko zdesya, I gu… i guzhishko zdesya, I za… i zarezhem zdesya, I po… i povesim zdesya.
Where, oh where, oh where, oh where Bring him here to me! I’ll trample him underfoot, I’ll chop him up with an axe. I’ll trample him underfoot, I’ll chop him up with an axe. Where, oh where, oh where, oh where Bring him here to me! Bring him along quicker than that! Where, oh where, oh where, oh where Where is he? We’ve got a knife here, a little knife, and we’ve got a noose here, and we’ll chop him up, and we’ll string him up. Where, oh where, oh where, oh where And the … knife is ready, and the … noose is ready, and we’ll … chop him up, and we’ll … string him up.
Sizhu na dubu, Sizhu, dom steregu, Pesnyu poyu.
I’m on my perch, I’m guarding the house, I’m singing my song.
is he?
is he?
is he?
is he?
The Fox enters, dressed as a monk. The Fox Zdravstvuy, krasnoye chado, petel! Snidi, krasnoye chado, na zemlyu, Da pokaysya! Ya shla iz dalnikh pustïn, Ne pila, ne yela …
Good-day, my crimson-crested son! Come down, dear son, from your perch, and make your confession! I’ve travelled from far-off deserts, I haven’t drunk or eaten …
The Cock (impatiently) Podi von lisa!
Oh, go away, Renard!
The Fox Mnogo nuzhdï preterpela; Tebya, miloye chado, Spovedat khotela.
I have suffered greatly; I’ve come, dearest son, to hear your confession.
The Cock (haughtily) O mati moya, lisitsa! Ya ne postilsya, ne molilsya; Pridivinnoye vremya.
Oh, my dear Brother Renard, I don’t go in for fasting and praying. Come back some other time.
The Fox O moye chado, petel! Sidish tï na visotsem dreve, Da mïslish mïsli nedobrïya, Proklatïya. Vi derzhite zhyon po mnogu; Kto derzhit desyat zhyon, Innïy derzhit tselïkh dvatsat zhyon, Pribïvayet sovremenem do soroka! Gde soydyotes, tut i deryotes O svoikh zhyonakh, Kak o nalozhnitsakh. Snidi, miloye chado, na zemlyu i pokaisya, Da ne vogrekhakh umreshi.
Oh, my dearest son! You are perched up very high, but your mind is full of low, wicked thoughts. You lot all have too many wives; some of you have ten, and some have as many as twenty, or even forty at a time! Whenever you get together you fight over your wives as though they were your mistresses. Come down, my son, and confess so that you don’t die in a state of sin.
A drumroll … the Cock prepares to jump a ‘salto mortale’. He jumps. The Fox seizes him and parades round the stage holding him under his arm. The Cock struggles desperately. The Cock Ponesla menya lisa! Ponesla petukha, Po krutïm berezhkam, Po vïsokim goram, V chuzhiya zemli, V dalekiya stranï, Za tri devyat zemel, V tridtsyatoye tsarstvo, V tridesyatoye gosudarstvo; Kot da baran, Khochet sest menya lisa! Kot da baran, Khochet sest petukha! Kot da baran, Otïmite menya!
The Fox has grabbed me! He’s dragging the poor Cock! Over the high hills, over the steepest mountains, into unknown parts, into distant lands, into far countries, into farther kingdoms, into the farthest empires Dear Cat, dear Goat, the Fox wants to eat me! Dear Cat, dear Goat, he wants to eat the poor old Cock! Dear Cat, dear Goat, get me out of here!
The Cat and the Goat appear. The Cat, The Goat Ekh tï, kumushka-golobushka! Ne kuplennoye u tebya, Deshevoye; Uzh ne podelish-li myastsa? Al ne vedayesh Yermak Zatreshchal natoshchak. I tebe tovo ne minovat!
Hey, you greedy old thing! What you’ve got in your mouth can’t have cost a lot! Wouldn’t you like to share it with us? It wouldn’t do you any good, if you gobble it up all at once, So cough up, or you’ll be sorry!
The Fox lets the Cock go and runs away. The Cock, the Cat and the Goat dance. Kak lisa ozornichala, Krasnaya ozornichala I sebya velichala. U ney bïla da, u ney bïla da,
So the Fox started making trouble, Renard started making trouble and boasting about it. And he had, and he had,
U ney bïla da zubki lovki da, Usyo skhvatïvala golovki. Skhodil kïchetok so dvora, So dvora … Svodil kïchetok za sobo, Za soboy … Kurochek ryabushechek. Otkul vzyalasya lisitsa, Otkul vzyalasya krasnaya Khvost podzhala, Kïchetku chelom otdala: ‘Chavo shlyayeshsya, Shatayeshsya? Zdes lisa podzhidayet myastsa.’ ‘Ne yesh menya, lisïnka, Ne yesh menya, krasnaya! Ne budet li s tebya Kurochek ryabushechek?’ ‘Ne khochu myastsa innavo, Khochu pyetushinavo!’ O, o, o, o, o … Vzyala lisa kïcheta za boki, Ponesla yevo dalyoko Za pen, za kolodu, Za beluyu berezu … Kïchet klichet da kïchet klichet … Kurï kïcheta ne slïshut.
a wicked set of teeth, sharp and ready for use. There’s the Cock coming out, coming out … And with him he’s got, he’s got … His darling speckled hens. Suddenly the Fox pops up, up pops Renard, waves his tail around and bows to the Cock: ‘Why are you running around, running about like that? It’s time for the Fox’s dinner!’ ‘Don’t eat me, Fox, don’t eat me, Renard! Wouldn’t you rather eat my darling speckled hens?’ ‘I don’t want anything else, it’s you I want to eat, Cock!’ O, o, o, o, o … The Fox has has got his claws into the Cock, He’s dragging him far away over the log-pile, beyond the trough, right behind the birch trees … Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo … And even his hens can’t hear him.
The Cat and the Goat leave. The Cock resumes his perch and settles down comfortably. The Cock Sizhu na dubu, Sizhu, dom steregu, Pesnyu poyu.
I’m on my perch, I’m guarding the house, I’m singing my song.
The Fox appears, this time without his monk’s costume. The Fox Kukuareku petushok, Zolotoy grebeshok, Chyosanna golovushka, Shyolkova borodushka, Vïglyani v okoshko.
Master Cock, golden-crested, proudly-combed, silken-bearded, just poke your head out of the window.
The Cock Ne glyazhu v okoshko.
No, I won’t look out of the window.
The Fox Dam tebe goroshku.
I’ll give you some peas.
The Cock Ne nado mne goroshku. Petukh kashku kushayet, Lisu ne slushayet.
I don’t want any peas. Cocks only like grain, and they don’t listen to foxes.
The Fox Petushok, petushok! U menya to khoromï bolshiye, V kazhdom uglu pshenichki Po merochke: yesh, yesh!
Little Cock, little Cock! I’ve got a great big house with piles of grain in every corner – you can eat your fill!
The Cock Sit, nekhochu!
I’m not hungry!
The Fox Kukuareku, petushok, Zolotoy grebeshok, Shyolkova borodushka! Vïglyani v okoshko, Dam tebe lepyoshku.
Cock-a-doodle-doo, Master Cock, golden-crested, silken-bearded! Look out of the window! I’ve got some cake for you.
The Cock Ne nado mne lepyoshki! Petukh ne tak to glup, Ne glodat tebe moy khlup.
I don’t want your cake! Cocks aren’t that stupid – You won’t catch me that way.
The Fox Okh, tï petya, petushok, Spushchaysya ka tï na nizyashche, S nizyashchavo na zemlyashcheye, Ya tvoyu dushu na nebesa vznesu!
Oh, little Cock, little Cock, just come down a tiny bit more, just a tiny little bit nearer the ground, and I’ll take your soul up to heaven!
A drumroll … the Cock prepares to jump … Tenor 1 (shouted) Ne oskoromsya Lisïnka!
Don’t break your fast, Renard!
The Cock jumps. Tenor 2 (shouted) Komu skoromno, a nam zdorovye!
We love it when it’s forbidden!
The Fox seizes the Cock and parades round the stage holding him under his arm. The Cock struggles desperately. The Cock Ponesla menya lisa, Ponesla petukha. Po krutïm berezhkam, Po vïsokim goram, V chuzhiya zemli, V dalekiya stranï, Za tridevyat zemel, V tridlatoye tsarstvo, V tridesyatoye gosudarstvo. Kot da baran, Khochet syest menya lisa! Kot da baran, Khochet syest petukha!
The Fox has grabbed me! He’s dragging the poor Cock away! Over the high hills, over the steepest mountains, into unknown parts, into distant lands, into far-off countries, into farther-off kingdoms, into the farthest-off empires! Dear Cat, dear Goat, the Fox wants to eat me! Dear Cat, dear Goat, he wants to eat the poor old Cock!
Kot da baran, Otïmite menya!
Dear Cat, dear Goat, get me out of here!
The Fox carries the Cock to the side of the stage and begins to pluck him. The Cock wails. The Cock Okh, tï lisïnka, lisitsa, Neporochnaya sestritsa! Kak u nashevo u batyushki, Maslitsem blinki polivayut tebya V gosti podzhidayut. Tam to ne po nashemu, Pirogi s kasheyu. Pomyani, Gospodi, Sidora, Makara, Tretyavo Zakhara, Tryokh Matryon, Da Luku s Petrom, Dyeda Miroyeda, Babku Belmatku, Tyushu da Katyushu, Babushku Matryushu …
Oh, Brother Renard, you’re so kind and sweet! Come home to daddy’s, you’ll have a wonderful welcome, you’ll be an honoured guest. It’s not like here, there are good things to eat. Remember, O Lord, your pious servants, the holy saints, and all my brothers and sisters, and uncles and aunties, and nephews and nieces, and mummy and daddy, and of course grandad, and dear old granny …
The Cock faints. The Cat and the Goat appear. They sing a pleasant song to the Fox, accompanying themselves on the gusli. The Cat, the Goat Tyuk, tyuk, guseltsï, Baranovï strunochki … Tyuk, tyuk … Kak struna to zagula, Tyuk, tyuk … Da zagula, a drugaya prigovarivala. Tyuk, tyuk, guseltsï, Baranovï strunochki … Tyuk, tyuk … Uzh kak doma li lisa, Uzh kak doma li lisa, Uzh kak doma li lisa, Uzh kak doma li lisa Ivanovna. Tyuk, tyuk, Vo svoyom zolotom gnezde, Da so svoimi malïmi detushkami? Tyuk, tyuk, guseltsï, Baranovï strunochki … Tyuk, tyuk … Pervaya to doch Chuchelka, A vtoraya to Podchuchelka, Tretya to Podaypirozhok, A chetvyortaya Zazhmikulachek. Tyuk, tyuk, guseltsï, Baranovï strunochki … Tyuk, tyuk … Kak struna to zagula,
Plink, plonk, little gusli, little sheep-gut strings … Plink, plonk … strumming a cheerful song, plink, plonk … a cheerful song to keep you company: Plink, plonk, little gusli, little sheep-gut strings … Plink, plonk … Is the Fox at home, is the Fox at home, is the Fox at home, is Renard the Fox at home? Plink, plonk, in his golden den, with his pretty little cubs? Plink, plonk, little gusli, little sheep-gut strings … Plink, plonk … And the first daughter looks a real fright, and the second looks a worse fright, and the third’s called Give-us-a-pie, and the fourth one’s Stick-out-a-paw. Plink, plonk, little gusli, little sheep-gut strings … Plink, plonk … strumming a cheerful song,
Tyuk, tyuk … Da zagula a drugaya prigovarivala. Uzh, kak doma li, Da uzh, kak doma li, Da uzh, kak doma li lisa, Uzh kak doma li lisa Ivanovna.
plink, plonk … a cheerful song to keep you company: Is the Fox at home, is the Fox at home, is the Fox at home, is Renard the Fox at home?
The Fox shows the tip of his nose. The Fox Kto tam pesni poyot? Da uzh kto tam lisku zovyot?
Who’s that singing out there? What do they want of me?
The Cat, The Goat Idut zveri na pyatakh, Nesut kosu na plechakh, Khochut lisïnku posechi Po samïya plechi.
We’ve caught up with you now we’ve brought along this big scythe and we’re going to slice you up into little pieces.
They produce a large scythe. The Fox (terrified) Akh! Vï moi glazyonki, glazyonki, I chto vï moi milïye, delali? – Mï smotreli, smotreli, , Chtob zveri lisku ne syeli. Akh! Vï moi nozhunki, nozhunki, I, chto vï, moi milïya, delali? – Mï bezhali, bezhali, Chtob zveri lisku ne porvali. A tï, moy khvost glyacha ros? – Ya po pnyam, po kustam, Po kolodam zatseplyal Chtob lisu zveri khvatili, Da zakamshili.
Oh, my eyes, my precious eyes, what have you been doing for me? – We’ve been watching, watching, to see the animals don’t get you. Oh, my legs, my precious legs, what have you been doing for me? – We’ve been running, running, to make sure the animals don’t catch you. And you, my tail, my lovely brush? – In the brambles, in the bushes, the branches I got stuck, so the animals could catch you, and finish you off.
Enraged, the Fox lashes his tail, crying out: Akh, tï kanalya, pust zhe tebya zveri yedyat!
Ah, you wretch! You deserve to be eaten!
The animals catch the Fox by his tail, drag him out of his house, and strangle him. A! A! A! A! A! A! A!
A! A! A! A! A! A! A!
The Fox dies. The Cock, the Cat and the Goat dance. The Cock, the Cat, the Goat Lisïnka, lisitsa! Glyacha dolgo ne zhila? Ya boyalas tipuna, A tipun to ne sudya, A sudya to ladïga, Ladïginï deti Khotyat uleteti,
Renard the Fox, Renard the Fox, couldn’t you live any longer? I came out in spots, I went to the judge, but he’s a blockhead. Blockhead’s children want to fly away,
Khotyat uleteti Za Ivanov gorod. Oni po gramotke pishut, Da na lisitsu pïshut Lisïnka, lisitsa, Podi po voditsu. Ne doroge volki. Gorokh molotili. Liskinï rebyata Liske to skazali, Lisïnka to s pechi Oblomala plechi. Syom, syom, syom, Peresyom, peresyom, Na lopatke ispechyon.. Muzhik pesnyu spel, Syom, syom, syom, peresyom, Na kapustnik sel. … Syom, syom, syom, peresyom, Peresyom, peresyom, peresyom. Sel tri koroba blinov, Tri kostra pirogov, Zaulok rogulek Zakhod kalachey, Makinnitsu s suloyu, Ovin kiselya, Po varenku shchey. Gospodi pomiluy, Na konike Danilo Na lavke Flor Na pechi prigovor. V pechi kalachi, Kak ogon goryachi Pro boyar pechenï. Nayekhali boyare Da sobak na vezli, Sobaki to vzdurili Da lisku ukusili …
want to fly away, away beyond the town. They can read and write and they can smell the fox. Renard the Fox, Renard the Fox, go and fetch the water. There are wolves on the road, they’re shelling peas. Renard’s cubs come along to tell him their mother’s fallen off the stove and broken her neck. Boom, boom, boom, taraboom, taraboom, it’s cooked on a griddle. The peasant sings his song … Boom, boom, boom, taraboom, and sits down to eat his fill. Boom, boom, boom, taraboom, taraboom, taraboom, taraboom. He ate three basketfuls of pancakes, three cartloads of pies, a streetful of fritters a barnful of pastries a barrelful of vodka, a pondful of jam, a lakeful of soup. Lord save us all, Danilo’s lying on the bed. Flor’s at the workbench, the answer’s in the oven, There’s fresh bread in the oven, it’s piping hot, we’ve baked it for our gentlemen. The gentlemen have come to us and brought dogs with them, and the dogs went wild and savaged the fox …
spoken Vot, vam skazka! A mne krinka masla.
So there’s your story, now give us our reward!
MARCH (to which the players leave)
Words & Music by Igor Stravinsky © Copyright 1916 Chester Music Limited worldwide rights except for the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Canada, South Africa and all so-called reversionary rights territories where the copyright © 1996 is held jointly by Chester Music Ltd and Schott Music GmbH & Co. KG, Mainz, Germany. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Reproduced by permission of Chester Music Limited
Mavra Overture Parasha (sits singing and working by the window) Drug moy mifiy, krasno solnIshko moyo, Sokol yasn'iy, sizokriTiy moy oryol. Uzh nedelyu ne vidalas ya s toboy, Rovno sem dney, kak spoznalas s gorem ya Tak skitalas ya po tyomniim lesam. V tyomnom lese kinareyechki poyut, Mne devchonke, grust razluku pridayut. Ti ne poy, kinareyechka v sadu, Ne poy, moya rodimaya v sadu, Ne davay toski serdechku moyemu. Drug moy mifiy, krasno solnishko moyo, Sokol yes*, sizokriTiy moy oryol. Uzh nedelyu ne vidalas ya s toboy.
My dearest love, sunshine of my life, bright falcon, my grey-winged eagle. It's been a week now since last I saw you, seven whole days since I have known sorrow, wandering alone in a dark forest. Canaries sing in the dark forest; poor maiden, they make my separation more painful. Do not sing, little canary in the garden, do not sing, my beloved, in the garden, do not make my heart even heavier. My dearest love, sunshine of my life, bright falcon, my grey-winged eagle. It's been a week now since last I saw you.
The Hussar appears at the window. Hussar Kolokolchiki zvenyat, Barabanchiki gremyat.
Bells are ringing, Drums are beating ...
Parasha Oy! opyat opasniy golos Doletayet storonoy. Razve skritsya v prokhodnoy?
Ah! Again that perilous voice comes to me ... Shouldn't I withdraw from the window?
Hussar A lyudi to lyudi, Ay lyushenki lyudi! A lyudi to lyudi, Na tsiganochku glyadyat, A tsiganochka to plyashet, V barabanchiki to byot I shirinochkoy to mashet, Zalivayetsya poyot, I shirinochkoy to mashet, Zalivayetsya poyot.
Hey, people, Come on, all you people! Hey, people, come and watch the gipsy, watch the gipsy dancing, as she beats the drums and flutters her scarf, she pours out her song, fluttering her scarf, she pours out her song!
Parasha U pesen vsekh slova odni, Skazhite mne zamesto penya, Kak proveli vi eti dni Ot serecii do voskresenya?
Oh, your songs are always the same! ... Instead of singing, just tell me what you were doing all the time between Wednesday and Sunday?
Hussar Zachem sledit dozor pustoy Moi kazhcify shag i vzor? Ya tvoy! Akh, Parasha, priznayusya, Ya toboyu polonyon. V pervIy raz yeshcho styzhusya
Why should you want to know about my every movement, my every glance? I am yours! Ah, Parasha, I confess that I am your captive! For the first time, I have to admit,
V zhensky prelesti vlyublyon, V zhenskii prelesti vlyublyon!
I am the helpless victim of a woman's charms, the victim of a woman's charms!
Parasha Perestante predo mnoyu Pet neverniya priznanya!
Stop trying to deceive me with these false declarations!
Hussar Belay grudi korkhane, Sneg zatmivshey beliznoy.
Your white, trembling breast would eclipse the whiteness of snow!
Parasha Kak poverit vashey rechi?
Why should I believe a word of this?
Hussar Skol schastliveye chem ya...
Far happier than me ...
Parasha Kak poverit vashi rechi? Ti zastavil vnyat!
Why should I believe a word of this? You have convinced me!
Hussar Skol schastliveye. Plat ukrivshly eti plechi.
Far happier than me, is the dress that embraces your shoulders!
Parasha, Hussar Moya strast silneye stanovitsya, Vsyo k chemu-to um stremitsya, V milikh dumakh utomyas
My passion grows ever stronger, It floods all my senses In an ecstasy of sweet thoughts.
Hussar Obeshchay svidanya chas.
Promise we’ll meet again.
Parasha V vosem, zavtra, na Liteynoy Za uglom gde dom piteyniy
Eight o’clock tomorrow, on the Liteinei boulevard, On the corner by the tavern.
The Hussar leaves. Parasha resumes her work and continues singing. Parasha Ti ne poy, kinareyechka v sadu, Ne davay toski serdechku moyemu.
Do not sing, little bird in the garden, do not make my heart even heavier.
Parasha's mother enters. Mother Izbavi Bog prislugu, doch moya teryat: Ne zarriikayutsya vorota, Myauchit Vaska, Chyornaya rabota ne spravlena... Ty slushayesh menya?
God save you, my daughter, from losing a servant: the gate is never shut, the cat's howling, the housework never gets done ... Are you paying attention?
Parasha Gde vzyat kukharku?
Where can we get a cook?
Mother Gde vzyat kukharku? Sveday u sosedki, Ne znayet li? Deshyoviya tak redki.
Where can we get a cook? Ask the neighbour, perhaps she'll know something. It's so rare to find one who's cheap.
Parasha Uznayu, Mamenka!
I'll find out, Mama!
Mother Nakin kosInku tyopluyu.
Put on your warm cloak.
Parasha Uzheli nosit salop. Boyas myateli, Kogda na ulitse tyoplin?
Surely I don't need a coat, why should I worry about the cold when it’s so warm outside?
Parasha leaves. Mother Net, ne zabIt vo veki mne pokoinitsu. Stryapukha Fyokla Chinila pie pri ogne, U pechki porikhayshey mokla, Bela pokupki i byla Privetliva i vesela. Bivalo prezhdye: v svetloy zale Veselem kruglfy stol nakrit: Khleb sol na chistom pokrivale, Dirnyatsya shchi, vino v bokale I shchuka v skaterti lezhit. Ne znayu kak sluchitsya dalshe Boyus v prisluge novoy falshi, Sonlivoy brani pa utram I ne ispravnosti v obede, Kotoroy ne prostyat sosedi, Pridya pod prazdnik v gosti k nam.
No, I shall never forget the dear departed, our cook Fyokla. Mending clothes at the fireside, doing the washing by the stove, getting all the shopping, and always so friendly and cheerful. That's how it always was: in the parlour the table would be laid beautifully: bread and salt in gleaming napkins, steaming soup, wine in the glasses, the fish laid nicely on the tablecloth. Oh, what will become of us now? I fear a new servant will be deceitful, sleepy and rude in the morning, unreliable at mealtimes. What will the neighbours say when they're invited on feast days?
The Neighbour enters. Neighbour Zhelayu zdraystvovat!
Greetings to you, my dear!
Mother Petrovna! Davno pora provedat nas!
Petrovna! How long it is since you came to see us!
Mother, Neighbour Takaya, v koyi veki raz. Pogoda nam dayotsya.
It's been ages since we had such lovely weather.
Slovno luga i vod ozyornikh glad. Odela Bozhya blagodat. Kakiye dni!
Everything so still and calm! We are blessed with God's favour. What lovely weather!
Neighbour Zimoy, zimoy ugryumoy izmayut serdtse ikh sledil
But winter will soon come to sadden our hearts!
Mother, Neighbour Zimoy, zimoy ugryumoy izmayut serdtse ikh sled!
But winter will soon come to sadden our hearts!
Mother I ne odin iz nikh, podumay, Ne o bosholsya bez bedil
And not one day, I fear, that will not bring us misfortune!
Neighbour 0 tom, o torn slova pustoy molvf, Shto khoronili Fyoklu
And that reminds me. I've heard the dreadful news that you've buried your Fyokla.
Mother ne zabili, mi ne zabili‌
We must never, never forget ...
Neighbour Ne zabyvayte
You must never forget ...
Mother, Neighbour ‌ chto vo vlasti Gospodney radost i nedug, V Gospodney vlasti radost i nedug.
... that good or ill are in the hands of God, in God's hands are good or ill.
Mother No kak, skazhi, v takoy napasti Ne vozroptat, kogda prislug Ne znayu ya v okruge?
But of course I'm quite distraught at this disaster - and I don't know where to find a maid in the neighbourhood.
Neighbour A vi ne oboydyotes bez prislugi. Na dnyakh tolknulas Tut odna k popu devitsa: Govor nezhniy, Skazalas tikhoy i prilezhnoy, No ne po nas bila tsena.
But you can't manage without a maid. The other day I happened to see that girl the priest's got: they say she's pretty, she's said to be quiet and hard-working but she'd be rather expensive for the likes of us.
Mother A im v tsene ne prekoslov.
You can't bargain with these girls.
Neighbour Da, skromnoy mozhno li prelstitsya, Kogda otrez khudovo sittsa Dorozhe s kazhdim chasom vnov.
Yes, how can one expect anything cheaply when some length of poor-quality cotton gets more expensive every day?
Mother Pustoye!
How silly of you!
Vam dana svoboda boltat! Nakidku etu ya, Tomu nazad nebole goda Kupila chut nedarom. Zrya nye verish Uznay sama. Vokrug vitaya bakhroma Uzlami, podle seredinI, Shelkami vishiti ryabinI, Golubok tesnaya semya I berfm biserom kraya.
Say what you like But just have a look at this mantle which I bought for next to nothing a couple of years ago. Believe it or not it's quite true! A fringe twisted around it, and look, around the middle, silk embroidered cherries, and a little dove's nest bordered with white beads ...
Parasha appears at the door. Parasha, gde tak dolgo ti bila?
Parasha, where have you been all this time?
Neighbour Kto tam?
Who's that?
Parasha Vot ya kukharku privela!
Look, I've brought a new cook!
The Hussar enters disguised as a cook. Mother Podi ka devushka, otkuda ti vzyalas?
Come here. my dear girl. Where have you come from?
Parasha Ya vstretila yeyo u khvoroy Ana
I found her at the house of Anna, the invalid.
Mother Nu chto zhe, milaya, sluzhi.
Well, my dear, we'll take you.
Mother, Neighbour, Parasha Da pomni, pomni, pomni: Glaz i dnyom i nochyu nuzhen neustanniy.
But remember, remember, remember: you must work tirelessly both day and night!
Neighbour (aside, to the Mother) A tsenu vi uznayte naperyod!
Find out in advance how much she wants!
Parasha Ya govorila, mnogo ne vozmyot.
I've already spoken to her, she won't be expensive.
Mother (to the Cook) No skolko zhe?
So how much do you want, then?
Cook Chto budet yam ugodno, Sudarinya.
Whatever you please, my lady.
Mother A kak tebya zovut?
And what's your name?
Cook A Mavroy.
It's Mavra.
Neighbour Razgovor vedyot svobodno.
She's rather free in her speech.
Parasha Ya dumayu polezen bil moy trud.
I think I've done a good job.
Cook Sfikhala, sfikhala ya, sfikhala ya’... Pokoynitsa Fyoklusha sluzhila im userdno desyat let.
I’ve heard, I’ve heard, I’ve heard That the late Fyokla served you diligently for ten years.
Parasha, Neighbour, Mother Pokoynitsa Fyoklusha sluzhila Nam im userdno desyat let. Ni razu dolga chesti ne narusha, Pokoinitsa Fyoklusha sluzhila Nam userdno desyat let. _Ni razu dolga chesti ne narusha.
The late Fyokla served us diligently for ten years and never once failed in duty or respect. The late Fyokla served diligently for ten years and never failed in duty or respect.
Cook … ni razu, ni razu, dolga chesti ne narusha.
... and never once failed in duty or respect.
Mother Vozmi vo vsyom, vo vsyom s neyo primer …
In all matters take her as an example ...
Neighbour Ti moloda, moy svet ...
You are young, my dear ...
Mother, Neighbour, Parasha vozmi vo vsyom, vo vsyom s neyo primer. Pochtitelna, bogomolna!
... in all things take her as your example. Like her, be respectful and devout!
Cook Nadeyus, vsye Nadeyus, vsye ostanutsya dovolnI!
I hope ... I hope that I shall satisfy you in everything!
Parasha, Mother Nadeyus, mi ostanemsya dovolni
We hope you will satisfy us in everything.
Neighbour, Parasha, Mother Nu kak, zabiv raschyotI i dela, Ne skazhesh pryamo, chto ona mila!
And now that's all settled, let's frankly admit it: she's a nice-looking girl!
Neighbour Proshchaite! Vam teper pora fdti s Parashey so dvora.
Goodbye! It's time for you to go out with Parasha.
Mother Nam teper pora
It's time for me
Idti s Parashey so dvora.
to go out with Parasha.
The Neighbour leaves. Parasha, ya poydu sobratsya, A t i kukharku. provedi V lyudskuyu gorenku; staratsya Vali da malost posledi.
Parasha, while I'm getting ready, show the cook to the servant's room: watch her and see what she gets up to!
The Mother leaves. Cook Parasha!
Parasha!
Parasha Ya, Vasil1y kakaya radost!
Oh, Vasiliy my darling, what rapture!
Cook Da, moy svet, odna iz boyevikh pobed Udacha nIneshnyaya.
Yes, my love, we have carried off a real military victory!
Parasha, Cook Ya pamatyu ne izmenyu Vo vek sevodnyashnemu dnyu, Schastlivomu, item poslednim chasam.
This day will never fade from my memory, nor our bliss in these last hours.
Parasha Kogda pered kanvoy sadilas ya V okne sosednem sledit zapretray obraz tvoy.
As I sat behind the curtain it was your forbidden image that I saw in the window.
Parasha, Cook Ya pamyatyu ne izmenyu Vo vek sevodnyashnemu dnyu, Schastlivomu, schastlivomu
This day will never fade from my memory, nor our bliss ...
Parasha I tem poslednim chasam ...
... in these last hours ...
Cook I tern poslednim chasam, Kogda staralsya ya v okne sosednem Uvidet mifiy obraz tvoy.
These last hours, when I sought you by the window and gazed upon your sweet features.
Parasha, Cook A kak ne pomnit tekh nochey Kogda yavlyalsya v lyogkom dime Mechtaniy blesk tvoyikh ochey.
And how could I ever forget those nights when there appeared, in a gentle haze, in a vision, the lustre of your eyes.
Parasha I povtoryalos dolgo, dolgo imya tvoyo. Cook V trevozhnom polusne.
... I have whispered your name over and over again ... Dreaming restlessly ...
Parasha No ti ne otklikalsya mne.
... but you could not respond to me.
Cook I povtoryalos dolgo imya tvoyo, V trevozhnom polusne.
I have whispered your name over and over again, dreaming restlessly
Pa rasha No ti ne otklikalsya mne.
... but you could not respond to me.
Cook No ti ne otklilalas mne.
... but you could not respond to me
Parasha, Cook Teper tomitelnfy zapret narushen. I net kontsa blazhenstvam etim. Pokhodit vsyo na novi'y son. Kogda v dvoynom soyuze Tretim bi'vayet nezhrify Kupidon.
But now the hateful obstacles are overcome, and our rapture is without end! All our dreams have now come true. When two hearts are joined together, tender Cupid appears as a third.
Mother (off-stage) Parasha!
Parasha!
Parasha Srishish? Klichet mat.
Do you hear? My mother's calling.
Her mother enters. Aside, to the Cook: Idi posudu pribrat!
Go and clear up the dishes!
Mother Potoropis! A ti posudu pribrav, Ne kinsya so dvora. Ne skoro ya obratno budu.
Hurry up! And you - clear up the dishes, and don't go running out of doors. I won't be back for some time.
Parasha Poydyomte, mamenka, pora!
It's time to go out, dear Mama.
Cook (bowing to the Mother) Nadeyus krepko na sebya.
I hope I shall do my duty.
aside, to Parasha Parasha, dolgo bez tebya Shagami dom pridyotsa merit? Mother Da ya vernus yeyo proverit. Parasha and her mother leave.
Parasha, while you are away, how shall I be able to pass the time?
Yes, I'll certainly come back and check up on her!
Cook Ya zhdu, ya zhdu pokomo, Ya zhdu pokomo drug. Moi nezhn\y, Parasha, Vremeni, kogda vozniknet Pervaya zvezda vo mgle; Dremotoi bezmyatezhnoy Zabudetsya pust”fnnTy dom. I mT ostanemsya vdvoyom, I mT ostanemsya vdvoyom. Togda potuplennie vzglyadi Zazhgutsya plamenem lyubvi, I t’i, do utreney prokhlaa’, Vnimaya zamfsfi moyi, Moyi lyubovniya priznanya Uznayesh vsyo, uznayesh vsyo, Skbnyas ko nine v blagoslovennoy tishine. Do sveta budet mezhdu nami Rasti besedi’ tomnoy zvuk, I potseluyev sladkTy krug, Cheredovalsya so slovami. I potseluyev sladkiy krug. Cheredovatsya so slovami.
I shall wait, wait humbly, wait humbly for my beloved, my darling Parasha; for the moment when there arises the first star in the darkness; when the empty house fades away into peaceful sleep. And the two of us will be alone together, the two of us alone together. Our lowered glances will kindle the flames of love, then, fragrant as the dawn, you will hear my avowals, my declarations of love, and how up to now I have suffered; you will know everything, everything, and sink with me into blissful silence, and as the light fades away, so will the sound of our tender talk, and then the sweetest kisses will take the place of words, the sweetest kisses will take the place of words,
Pozhaluy vremya nastupilo pobritsya. Nekomu v okno vzglyanut? A britvu ya davno pripas. Voda ... kholstina ... milo.
I think it's time I had a shave. There's no-one looking in through the window? I’ve needed a shave for some time. Water ... razor ... soap ...
He starts shaving. Krivitsya stol, Tomit povoynik.
This table's wobbling ... Off with this headscarf ...
The Mother returns Mother (astonished) Otkma nastezh dver?
Why is the door wide open?
seeing the ‘Cook’ Razboynik
A Thief! Villian!
Cook Pomiluy, Gospodi!
God help us!
Mother Akh, durno!
Ah, I’m fainting!
Parasha (running in, and catching her mother as she falls) Mamenka! Skorey void!
Mama! Water, quickly!
Cook Parasha!
Parasha!
Parasha Gde voda! Day soli!
Water! Smelling salts!
Cook Kuda ukritsya mne?
Where can I hide?
Parasha Mamenka!
Dear Mama!
Cook Starukha skoro pridyot v soznane. Vot beda!
The old woman will soon come round again. What a disaster!
Parasha Vot beda!
What a disaster!
Neighbour (entering) Svyatitel Prov! Skorbey opera!
Saints above! What a calamity is this?
Mother (recovering) Derzhhi!
Stop him!
Cook (jumping out of the window) Proshchay!
Farewell!
Neighbour Derzhite vora!
Stop thief!
Parasha (running to the window) Vasiliy!
Vasiliy!
Neighbour Derzhite, derzhite vora!
Stop, stop, thief!
She runs to the Mother. Batyushki, nikak ona konchayetsya?
Holy saints, will she ever recover?
Parasha (leaning out of the window) Vasiliy! Vasiliy!
Vasiliy, Vasiliy!
Transliteration and translation © Andrew Huth Libretto after Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799–1837) by Boris Yevgenyevich Kochno (1904–1990) © Copyright 1925 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.
Martyn Brabbins Martyn Brabbins is Music Director of the English National Opera. An inspirational force in British music, Martyn has had a busy opera career since his early days at the Kirov and more recently at La Scala, the Bayerische Staatsoper, and regularly in Lyon, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Antwerp. He is a popular figure at the BBC Proms and with many of the UK’s top orchestras, and regularly conducts top international orchestras, returning to the Royal Concertgebouw, Tokyo Metropolitan and Deutsche Sinfonieorchester Berlin this season. Known for his advocacy of British composers, he has conducted hundreds of world premieres across the globe. He has recorded over 120 CDs to date, including prize-winning discs of operas by Korngold, Birtwistle and Harvey. He was Associate Principal Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra 1994–2005, Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic 2009 –2015, Chief Conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic 2012–2016 and Artistic Director of the Cheltenham International Festival of Music 2005–2007. In 2016 he took up the position of Visiting Professor of Conducting at the Royal College of Music. Dominic Doutney Dominic Doutney is a Foundation Scholar supported by a Soirée d'Or Award studying piano with Ian Jones at the Royal College of Music. This year he was awarded a full scholarship to return to the RCM for Postgraduate. In 2017 Dominic was awarded third place in the Joan Chissell Schumann Prize at the Royal College of Music. He is the 2016 winner of the Woking Young Musician of the Year award. In June 2015, Dominic appeared on the BBC Radio 3 programme 'Fast and Furioso', performing Chopin's Minute Waltz and discussing the art of virtuosity. In 2017 he performed at the Beaujolais Music Festival in France. He has performed in the Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall, Wigmore Hall and St Martin-in-the-Fields. In October 2013 he played Balakirev’s Islamey for Lang Lang at a masterclass hosted by RCM, and was interviewed by CNBC about the experience. Concerto performances have included Brahms piano concerto no 2 with the Woking Symphony Orchestra. In June he will perform Rachmaninov’s piano concerto no 3 with Woking Symphony.
Bogdan Galyapa In 2009 Bogdan Galyapa entered the College of Music in Moscow and during his studies there he took part in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. In 2013 Bogdan continued his studies at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Currently Bogdan is a fifth year undergraduate student and has already performed significant roles such as Rinuccio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Lensky in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Don Basilio in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. He was also involved in Rachmaninov’s The Bells performance, both in the choir and as a soloist, and he also performed in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. Bogdan has worked with conductors such as Vladimir Jurowski and Vyacheslav Valeev. Alexander Borodeiko Alexander Borodeiko entered the Tobolsk Theological Seminary following his schooling and continued his studies at the Moscow Theological Seminary. His church singing developed, and in 2009 he entered the Music College of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he studied with Pyotr Skusnichenko and Makvala Kasrashvili. During this time Alexander actively participated in number of festivals and performances in Japan, Germany, North Korea and Russia. He worked with Gennady Rozhdestvensky and took part in the Russian premiere of Britten's Death in Venice with Iestyn Davies, Ian Bostridge and Peter ColemanWright. During his final year at the Conservatory, Alexander was invited to join the Moscow Chamber Boris Pokrovsky Theatre as a soloist. His repertoire includes the roles of Rudolf in Puccini’s La Boheme, The Young Gypsy in Rachmaninov’s Aleko and Fox in Janacek’s Fox Cheat. Currently, Alexander is preparing the role of the Herzog (The Duke) in Verdi's Rigoletto. Timophey Pavlenko In 2012 Timophey entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory studying with Anatoly Alexandrovich Loshak. In the same year he sang the role of Petronio in the Paiziello’s Gli astrologi immaginari under the guidance of the Director of the Bolshoi theatre. While studying at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Timophey performed the roles of Benoit and Colline in Puccini's La Boheme, Bertrand in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta and Gremin and Zaretsky in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. He sang the bass part in Bach’s Mass in C major in the Kazan and Moscow conservatories under the direction of Leo Kremer. In 2016, he was selected to participate in an internship for the Academy for Opera Singers in Montecatini Terme, Italy. He has participated in masterclasses with Maria Gulegina, Fabio Mastrangelo and Vito Maria Brunetti amongst others.
Kirill Kapachinskikh Kirill graduated from St Sergius of Radonezh Orthodox High School in 2006 and continued his studies at the St Sergius of Radonezh Theological Academy in Moscow. In 2008 he entered the Academic Music College of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he studied in the vocal department in the class of Pyotr Skusnichenko. In 2009 he continued his studies in the opera department at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Kirill has participated in numerous concerts, studio recordings and productions at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory Opera Theatre such as Gremin in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, King Rene in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Old Man in Rachmaninov’s Aleko. Currently Kirill is a postgraduate student at the Conservatory under the supervision of Pyotr Skusnichenko. Since 2017 he has been a member of Ensemble of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre. Alena Rozkopa Alena began her music education as choral and solo singer. She was also a member of vocal ensemble Inspiration. In 2011 Alena became a vocal student at the Academic Music College of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. During her studies there, Alena was chosen to perform in many prestigious concert halls in Moscow, such as the Small Hall, the Rachmaninov Concert Hall and the Great Hall of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. In 2013 she was a winner of the Night in Madrid International Competition and in 2014 won a diploma at the Vissi D'arte International Competition in the Czech Republic. In 2015 Alena entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and joined the class of Ekaterina Vasilenko. Currently Alena is a third year undergraduate student and performs in many concerts around Russia and in other countries. Veronika Ershova Veronika started her music studies in her early childhood when she attended singing and guitar lessons. In 2008, she became a student at the Gnessin Musical College in Moscow and during her studies there she performed roles in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tale of Tsar Saltan and Donizetti’s Il Campanello . In 2010 she took the third prize at the international Musical Performance and Pedagoogics Competition in Italy. In 2012 Veronika entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and joined the class of Zurab Sotkilava. As a student there, she performed roles such as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Lubasha in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride. In 2015 Veronika was invited to perform the role of Polina in Stravinsky’s La Dame de Pique in a special Opera Promenade Project.
Anna Viktorova Anna Viktorova is a soloist of The Kolobov Novaya Ppera Theatre of Moscow and the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory opera theatre. She studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and Accademia Teatro alla Scala, Milan. Anna is a prize winner of many international competitions including Maria Callas Gran Prix (Athens), Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow) and the China Singing Contest (Ningbo). Opera and concert roles include Amneris in Verdi’s Aida, Marina Mnishek in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov and Lyubasha in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar's bride, as well as alto solo in Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven's ninth symphony and Rossini’s Stabat mater. She has appeared on stages of Moscow's Bolshoi and Stanislavsky theatres, Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Nazionale di Roma, Latvian National opera, Israeli Opera house, Zuerich Tonhalle, Amsterdam Concertgebow and many others. Alexander Chernov Alexander is alumni of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and graduated with an honours degree. Currently Alexander is a soloist at the Pokrovsky Opera Theatre and the guest soloist at the Helikon Opera Theatre in Moscow. His repertoire includes Russian classics as well as European operas. Roles include Prince in Prokofiev’s Love for three Oranges, Lensky in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Rodolfo in La Boheme, Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata and Prince Vladimir in Borodin’s Prince Igor. In September 2017 Alexander worked with Monte-Carlo Opera in Monaco. In spring 2016 he was granted an internship at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, Italy. During his professional career Alexander has worked with Jose van Dam, Neil Shicoff, Paul Curran, Jacques Lacombe and Vladimir Fedoseyev.
RCM Symphony Orchestra The Royal College of Music Symphony Orchestra plays with conductors and musicians of the highest international stature, and is frequently invited to perform in prestigious venues across London and beyond. The orchestra also performs regularly at its home in South Kensington, and its concerts are broadcast live to an international audience via the RCM website. Equally at home in classical, romantic and contemporary repertoire, the RCM Symphony Orchestra enjoys close relationships with some of the world’s most celebrated conductors, including Bernard Haitink, Vladimir Jurowski, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jac van Steen and Nicholas Collon. Their willingness to return is evidence of the consistently high standards of playing that the RCM orchestral musicians achieve. The members of the RCM Symphony Orchestra are some of the world’s very best young instrumentalists. They have chosen to study at the RCM because of its unrivalled blend of superlative teaching, extensive performance opportunities, and close connections with the orchestral profession. In addition to the many professors who are active professional instrumentalists, the RCM participates in side-by-side and other experience schemes with, amongst others, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of English National Opera, the Philharmonia and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This enables students to experience professional conditions and achieve professional standards before they graduate. The RCM’s long tradition of high-quality orchestral training has launched the careers of many distinguished orchestral players over several decades. Founded in 1882, the RCM moved to its present site on Prince Consort Road in 1894. Illustrious alumni include Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Dame Joan Sutherland, Sir Thomas Allen, Sir Colin Davis, John Wilson, Alina Ibragimova, Gerald Finley and Dame Sarah Connolly. In addition to its 800 full time students, the College engages dynamically with a wider and more diverse community of children and adults through a dedicated range of creative activities delivered by RCM Sparks’ education and participation projects, RCM Junior Department programme and the Creative Careers Centre. A further development is the growing schedule of live-streamed concerts and masterclasses which can be viewed on www.rcm.ac.uk. The RCM would like to thank the following orchestral coaches: Timothy Lines (preparation conductor) Julian Warburton (percussion)
Violin I Haim Choi Violin II Asier Merino Blanco Viola Morven Graham
Clarinet Tim Ieraci (E flat) Anna Webster Melissa Youngs (E flat) Bassoon Petr Sedlak Matt Lewis Mollie Bristow (contra)
Cello Deni Teo Shizuku Tatsuno Kieran Carter Yun Bae Amanda Zhu Tim Burton
Horn Remi Faggiani Alex Oon Flora Bain Jacob Bagby Diego Incertis Sanchez
Bass Owen Nicolaou Sam Beck-Johnson Evangeline Tang Peter Farthing
Trumpet Will Morley Natalie Mellers Paul Mitchell Antoine Sarkar Elliot Phelps
Flute Grace Walker Alenka Bogataj Anna Steirud (pic) Oboe Madison Hallworth (cor) Izy Cheesman Polly Bartlett (cor)
Trombone Ross Johnson Robert Moseley James Maund (bass) Tuba Alexander Miller
Timpani Alex Temple-Heald Percussion Alex Taylor Heledd Gwynant Joe Parks Cimbalom Elsa Bradley Personnel correct at the time of going to print. Italics denote section principals.
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS Music has the power to transform lives. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, generations of gifted students from around the world have been nurtured and trained at the RCM. We would like to thank in particular our More Music Founding Patrons and Leadership Supporters, as well as those who have made donations of £5,000 or more between February 2017 and February 2018 who are acknowledged below. Gifts are listed alphabetically in order of surname. MORE MUSIC FOUNDING PATRONS ABRSM The Estate of George Frederick Burgan The Estate of Basil Coleman Heritage Lottery Fund The Estate of Christopher Hogwood CBE HonDMus Kingdom Music Education Group Rena & Sandro Lavery The Estate of Neville Wathen Garfield Weston Foundation LEADERSHIP SUPPORTERS The Derek Butler Trust Philip Carne MBE HonRCM & Christine Carne The Estate of John & Marjorie Coultate The Estate of Jocelyn Cruft The Estate of Margaret Dewey The Foyle Foundation The Future of Russia Foundation The Harry and Gylla Godwin Charitable Trust HEFCE Linda Hill HonRCM & Dr Tony Hill Sara Nelson Horner The Leverhulme Trust The Linbury Trust The Estate of William Mealings The Mirfield Trust The Polonsky Foundation Geoffrey Richards HonRCM & Valerie Richards The Estate of Michael Rimmer Victoria, Lady Robey OBE The Estate of Emma Rose Soirée d’Or Scholarships Ruth West HonRCM & Dr Michael West MAJOR SUPPORTERS Jane Barker CBE Laurie Barry The Estate of Heather Curry The John Curwen Society Peter & Annette Dart Fishmongers’ Company Hamish & Sophie Forsyth The Harbour Foundation The Hargreaves and Ball Charitable Trust The Headley Trust
Help Musicians UK Kirby Laing Foundation John Lewis Partnership Professor Christopher & Vivienne Liu Philip Loubser Foundation The Estate of Billy Newman John Nickson & Simon Rew P F Charitable Trust The Pure Land Foundation The Julia & Hans Rausing Trust The Reed Foundation & The Big Give Christmas Challenge The Estate of Olive Gwendoline Rees Dasha Shenkman OBE HonRCM Peter & Dimity Spiller H R Taylor Trust Bob & Sarah Wigley The Wolfson Foundation The Henry Wood Accommodation Trust SUPPORTERS The Estate of Gillian Ashby Ashley Family Foundation BAE The Biddy Baxter & John Hosier Trust Dr Linda Beeley Lord Black & Mark Bolland Bowerman Charitable Trust The Boltini Trust Anne Bradley Cambridge in America Sir Roger & Lady Carr HonRCM The Thomas Sivewright Catto Charitable Settlement The Cayzer Trust Company Ltd The Estate of Roselyn Ann Clifton Parker Lord Davies of Abersoch CBE The Drapers' Company The Gilbert & Eileen Edgar Foundation Lesley Ferguson The Freakley Family The Hon. Mrs Gilmour In memory of Alvin Gold Elaine Greenberg & Linda Perez Andrew Haigh Helen Hamlyn Trust The Estate of Barbara Margaret Holt
The Houston Family Independent Opera at Sadler's Wells JMC Ruth Keattch Professor Colin Lawson CBE FRCM Lee Abbey London Carol & Geoff Lindey Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust The Hon Richard Lyttelton & Romilly Lyttelton The Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation UK The Honourable Society of the Knights of the Round Table The Dolly Knowles Charitable Trust The Estate of Anthony Mason The Mercers' Company Jamie Milford Rosemary Millar HonRCM & Richard Millar The Countess of Munster Musical Trust Pro Musica Ltd Midori Nishiura HonRCM Humphrey Norrington OBE FRCM & Frances Norrington The Charles Peel Charitable Trust The Stanley Picker Charitable Trust The Estate of Charles Stewart Richardson Sir Simon & Lady Robertson Hilda Scarth Kathleen Beryl Sleigh Charitable Trust South Square Trust Steinway & Sons Ian Stouzker CBE FRCM Robert & Betty Sutherland Tait Memorial Trust Ian & Meriel Tegner Lynette Tiong Universal Music Group Rev Lyndon van de Pump FRCM & Edward Brooks FRCM The Wall Trust Sir Peter & Lady Walters Bob & Sarah Wigley The Mills Williams Foundation Jane Wilson Professor Lord Winston & Lady Winston The Worshipful Company of Musicians The Wyseliot Charitable Trust And those who wish to remain anonymous CIRCLES FOR EXCELLENCE MEMBERS Chairman’s Circle Brian & Janice Capstick Philip Carne MBE HonRCM & Christine Carne Guy Dawson & Samantha Horscroft Gisela Gledhill
Linda Hill HonRCM & Dr Tony Hill Terry Hitchcock TSH Prince Donatus and Princess Heidi Von Hohenzollern David James Clare & James Kirkman James & Margaret Lancaster Lark Insurance Dr Mark Levesley & Christina Hoseason Victoria, Lady Robey OBE Roland Saam Dasha Shenkman OBE HonRCM Alethea Siow & Jeremy Furniss Ruth West HonRCM & Dr Michael West Director’s Circle Sir Peter & Lady Middleton FRCM John Nickson & Simon Rew Richard Price FRCM & Sue Price Russell Race Peter & Dimity Spiller Robert & Betty Sutherland Brian & Anne Wadsworth OBE Patrons’ Circle Isla Baring OAM Jane Barker CBE John & Halina Bennett Lady Bergman Lorraine Buckland Sir Anthony Cleaver FRCM & Lady Cleaver Elisabeth de Kergorlay Dr Ian & Janet Edmondson Professor Alice Gast Lily & Julian Harriss Greta Hemus John & Susan Heywood David & Sue Lewis Charles & Dominique Lubar David Mildon Ellen Moloney Jennifer Neelands Kara Radcliffe Kerry & Dimity Rubie Sir Richard & Lady Sykes Anthony Thornton Rhoddy Voremberg John Ward Jane Wilson Sir Robert & Lady Wilson For more information about supporting the RCM, visit www.rcm.ac.uk/supportus
MORE MUSIC INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF MUSIC Our More Music development is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform our campus. New state-of-the-art facilities at the heart of our building will complement our existing spaces and heritage. Our plans include:
two new performance spaces additional practice rooms for students a new Royal College of Music Museum a new café/ restaurant and courtyard area with improved access a new organ
Over the next few months, some instruments and equipment may be visible on the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall stage while we undertake these works. Access routes around the College may vary throughout the project and wayfaring signage will be regularly updated to reflect changes. We ask for your patience and understanding as we transform our campus. The video playing in the Inner Hall and BaRCM visualises the ways in which the development will enhance our campus facilities and you can find more information on the More Music Campaign at www.rcm.ac.uk/moremusic If you have any questions please contact moremusic@rcm.ac.uk
ORCHESTRAL MASTERWORKS: RAVEL'S MOTHER GOOSE SUITE Thursday 8 March 2018, 7pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall Holly Mathieson conductor | RCM Philharmonic Kodály Háry János Suite Ravel Mother Goose Suite One of Ravel's most exquisite works, the whimsical suite of fairy-tales inspired by the Mother Goose stories is led by Assistant Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Holly Mathieson. The RCM Philharmonic also presents Kodaly’s suite of movements from his opera Háry János, bursting with tales of adventure and heroism. Tickets: £5, £8 RCM Box Office 020 7591 4314 | www.rcm.ac.uk/events