Spain Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov: Asmik Grigorian (soprano), Lukas Geniušas (piano). Teatro Real, Madrid, 30.9.2025. (JMI)
This recital by Asmik Grigorian had raised great expectations, especially after her recent performance in the role of Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello (review here) which can be described as truly exceptional. Added to this was her triumph last season in Rusalka at Barcelona’s Liceu and the recitals she gave at both Teatro Real and Valencia’s Palau de Les Arts.
As I say, the expectations were high, with a nearly full Teatro Real, but the result was rather disappointing, at least for me. Not because I found her voice or her vocal technique lacking, on the contrary, but rather because of the program chosen for this recital, which may make sense in Russia but not in Madrid.
With this recital the Teatro Real in Madrid opened the Voces del Real series, dedicated to great singers on the current opera scene. Gregorian is acclaimed for her interpretation of repertoire from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and Russian and Slavic composers have been her favorite composers throughout her rise to stardom in the singing world. On this occasion, she featured romances and songs by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov and was accompanied by her regular collaborator, pianist Lukas Geniušas. It was a continuation of her recent European and U.S. tour highlighting repertoire from their 2022 album Dissonance.
For that recording Grigorian was named the Opus Klassik Female Singer of the Year and it also received an International Classical Music Award and a Gramophone Classical Music Award, as well as five-star reviews from BBC Music Magazine, Financial Times and The Guardian. Seen and Heard International has reviewed the program twice before in London (here) in 2023 and Berkeley in the U.S. (here) last year.
The recital was in two parts: the first was dedicated to songs by Tchaikovsky, while the second consisted of those by Rachmaninov. The pieces were fairly well-chosen but, overall, they were rather monotonous, especially for an audience unfamiliar with the music and the language of the texts. To this one should add that Grigorian’s performance lasted 22 minutes in the first half, while in the second half the songs lasted 35 minutes, for a total of 57 minutes. This was completed with a 22-minute solo recital by her pianist, Lukas Geniušas, whose playing was excellent.
After 17 Russian songs, I confess I hoped for something different in the encores. To my surprise, there was only one, and it was another Russian song, the title of which was not given.
I expect I will continue to enjoy Asmik Grigorian’s operatic roles and, if there are recitals, I will try to find out about the content beforehand.
José M. Irurzun
Featured Image: Lukas Geniušas and Asmik Grigorian © J. del Real