Enjoy a rare chance to hear Anton Rubinstein‘s opera The Demon in a concert performance by the chorus and orchestra of Chelsea Opera Group under the baton of Oliver Zeffman. A cast of international soloists join conductor, orchestra and chorus for the performance.
Rubinstein was one of the greatest pianists of the 19th century, a conductor and a prolific composer, and became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.
The Demon, an opera in three acts (six scenes), was composed in 1871 to a libretto by Pavel Viskovatov, based on the poem of the same name by Mikhail Lermontov. The Demon contains some of his best music, with striking pre-echos of his pupil Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. The Demon boasts rich choral writing and a fiery libretto. The work vividly depicts the isolation and despair of a fallen angel doomed to eternal damnation. All is upended by a chance encounter with the princess Tamara with whom he falls desperately in love and he defies heaven and nature to possess her. Tamara’s attempts to resist him and her eventual submission end in her death and salvation, while the Demon is denied his hoped-for redemption through her love.
The performance will be conducted by Oliver Zeffman. Andrei Kymach will sing the title role. The other soloists are Angela Simkin (The Angel), Anush Hovhannisyan (Tamara), Barnaby Rea (Prince Gudal), Giorgi Sturua (Prince Sinodal) and Graeme Broadbent (Old Servant). The opera will be sung in Russian, with English surtitles. There will be a pre-performance talk given by Erin McHugh at 5.30pm in the QEH.
Oliver Zeffman was the Classical Music nominee for The Times Breakthrough Artist Award at the 2018 South Bank Sky Arts Awards. Andrei Kymach competes in the 2019 Cardiff Singer of the World for Ukraine. Anush Hovhannisyan returns to sing for COG after singing Amaltea in last season’s Mose in Egitto. Georgian tenor Giorgi Sturua is a member of the Young Artists Programme at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow. Angela Simkin is a Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Opera House.
Rubinstein: The Demon – fantastic opera in 3 acts (a concert performance in Russian, with English surtitles)
Sunday 30th June 2019 at 6.30pm at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre
For tickets click here.
For more about Chelsea Opera Group click here.