Saturday 17.08
OPERA GALA
- Venue Pirita's Convent Ruins
- Date 17.08.2019
- Time 19:00
- Ticket 60 / 50 / 40 EUR / VIP 180 EUR
Soloists: Katarina Dalayman (mezzo-soprano, Royal Swedish Opera) Marion Melnik (soprano, Finland-Estonia) Michael Weinius (tenor, ...
Read moreSoloists:
Katarina Dalayman (mezzo-soprano, Royal Swedish Opera)
Marion Melnik (soprano, Finland-Estonia)
Michael Weinius (tenor, Sweden)
Mikhail Gubsky (tenor, The Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow)
Vladimir Kudachev (bass, The Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow)
Conductors Jan Latham-Koenig (chief conductor of The Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow) and Tobias Ringborg (Sweden)
Choir and orchestra of The Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow
Alyona Movko (videoartist)
Timo Tali (lighting artist)
The programme includes music by Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, Borodin, Sibelius, Piazzolla, Bizet, Massenet, Offenbach, Saint-Saëns, Leoncavallo
The annual main event of Birgitta festival is undoubtedly the opera gala that is a crème de la crème for every serious melomaniac as well as offering the best opportunity to discover the world of opera for audiences who normally feel shy about the demanding masterpieces. The opera gala introduces shiny stars from all over the world while adding enchantment to the white Nordic summer nights.
This year's opera gala focuses on Eri Klas's connection with Sweden. The opera gala pays respect to Royal Swedish Opera where Klas worked as the chief conductor in 1985—1990 and for which he was awarded the Royal Order of Knights of Sweden and the 1st Class Order of the Polar Star by Swedish King Carl Gustaf.
Katarina Dalayman, mezzo-soprano and opera soloist at Royal Swedish Opera, has performed extremely demanding, very different musical pieces by Wagner, Berg and Shostakovich. She started her music studies in Stockholm Royal College of Music and soon she performed the role of Sieglinde in Wagner's The Valkyrie that was followed by roles of Kundry in Parsifal (in the Paris Opera), the role of Brangäne in Tristan and Isolde (New York Metropolitan Opera) and the role of Brünhilde in the full cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen (Royal Swedish Opera). Dalayman has always cherished Wagner as her favourite composer. Her artistic career has brought her to several great opera houses such as Aix-en-Provence, Covent Garden and others. Dalayman has been honoured as the Court Singer by Swedish king which is the greatest acknowledgement for any opera singer in Sweden.
Tenor Michael Weinius studied in Stockholm and soon became known for Swedish audiences through his roles of Posa in Don Carlos and the role of Marcello in La Bohème. It must be mentioned that Weinius debuted as a bariton. His first performance as a tenor took place in Norrlands Opera that was followed by successful performances in Stockholm and Gothenburg, especially in Verdi's operas. Success with Wagner brought him to Mannheim, Düsseldorf and Helsinki. In 2012, Weinius starred in Lohengrin in Royal Swedish Opera. Weinius has been honoured as the Court Singer by Swedish king which is the greatest acknowledgement for any opera singer in Sweden.
Soprano Marion Melnik and Eri Klas are close relatives. Local audiences know her well since Elvilä has previously performed as a soloist both in Birgitta festival as well as in other concerts together with Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. She held her debut performance in Estonian National Opera in 2008 and was a visiting soloist in 2008—2011.
Melnik studied opera singing in Sibelius Academy under the guidance of Marjut Hannula and has participated in numerous masterclasses. Her extremely wide repertoire extends from church music to opera and from lied to musicals. Among Melnik’s numerous roles are for instance Oscar from Verdi's A Masked Ball and the high priest from Verdi's Aida, Maria from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, Musetta and Mimi from Giacomo Puccini La Bohème, Despina from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, Papagena from Mozart's The Magic Flute, Zerlina from Mozart's Don Giovanni and many others. Melnik has performed on stages in Finland and abroad.
Mikhail Gubski, soloist and tenor at The Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow started his singer career in Samara, Russia. Gubski has performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and in Bach's Mass in B minor conducted by Kent Nagano; however, as an established singer in the Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow, Gubski's roles include Alfredo in La Traviata and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, to name a few. His artistic career has brought him to Mariinsky Theatre, Palermo, Regensburg and many other stages. It was also an honour for him to work together with maestro Eri Klas.
Vladimir Kudashev, soloist and bass at the Novaya Opera Theatre, began his opera singer career in Kazan, after which he went to Krasnoyask and Perm and finally to the Novaya Opera Theatre in Moscow in 2000. Now among the National Artists of Russian Federation, Kudashev's roles have included Basilio in The Barber of Seville, Ruslan in Ruslan and Ludmila, Susanin in Glinka's A Life for the Czar, to name a few. Kudashev has also worked together with Eri Klas in the Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow.