the Netrebko/Villazon programme here [pdf

Tuesday 31 October 2006, 7.30pm
Anna Netrebko soprano
Rolando Villazón tenor
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Emmanuel Villaume conductor
An evening of operatic arias and duets,
zarzuelas and orchestral music.
Barbican Hall
The Barbican Centre is provided by the
City of London Corporation as part of its
contribution to the cultural life of London
and the nation.
Find out first Why not download your Great Performers programme
before the concert? Each programme is now available online five days in
advance of each concert. Due to the possibility of last minute changes, the
online programme content may differ slightly from that of the final printed
version. For details visit www.barbican.org.uk/greatperformers
Programme
Gounod Overture (Roméo et Juliette) 3‘
Gounod ‘Je veux vivre’ (Roméo et Juliette) 5‘
Anna Netrebko
Massenet ‘Ah! parais, parais, astre de mon ciel!’ (Le Mage) 4‘
Rolando Villazón
Massenet ‘Toi! Vous!’ (Manon) 6‘
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón
Tchaikovsky Polonaise (Eugene Onegin) 5‘
orchestra
Tchaikovsky ‘Kuda, kuda vi udalilis’ (Eugene Onegin) 7‘
Rolando Villazón
Rachmaninov ‘Ne poy, krasavitsa’ (Six Songs Op.4, No.4) 3‘
Anna Netrebko
Tchaikovsky ‘Tvayo malchanye nepanyatna’ (Yolanta) 8‘
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón
interval
Bizet Prelude to Act IV (Carmen) 3‘
orchestra
Delibes Chanson espagnole or ‘Les filles de Cadix’ 7‘
Anna Netrebko
Sorozábal ‘ No puede ser!’ (La tabernera del puerto) 3‘
!
Rolando Villazón
!
Torroba ‘ Cállate, corazón!’ (Luisa Fernanda) 3‘
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón
Mascagni Intermezzo (Cavalleria rusticana) 3‘
orchestra
Mascagni ‘Mamma, quel vino’ (Cavalleria rusticana) 5‘
Rolando Villazón
Catalani ‘Ebben? … Ne andrò lontana’ (La Wally) 3‘
Anna Netrebko
Puccini ‘O soave fanciulla’ (La bohème) 3‘
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón
3
Notes
Charles Gounod (1818-1893)
Overture (Roméo et Juliette)
orchestra
‘Je veux vivre’ (Roméo et Juliette)
Anna Netrebko
Gounod
Overture (Roméo et Juliette)
Although he is mostly remembered as the composer of
Faust, Gounod wrote a dozen other operas which are
largely forgotten today. His take on Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet does occasionally receive an airing; the
short but stirring overture sets the scene of the warring
clans of Montagues and Capulets in medieval Verona.
‘Je veux vivre’ (Roméo et Juliette)
Romeo has just seen Juliet at a masked ball and has
fallen in love with her, but she is not yet aware of his
existence. She has no plans to tie herself down; buoyed
up by the excitement of the ball, she intends to live for the
moment, in a whirl of pleasure...
Ah! Je veux vivre
Dans ce rêve qui m’enivre;
Ce jour encor,
Douce flamme,
Je te garde dans mon âme
Comme un trésor!
Cette ivresse
De jeunesse
Ne dure, hélas! qu’un jour!
Puis vient l’heure
Où l’on pleure,
Le cœur cède à l’amour
Et le bonheur fuit sans retour.
Je veux vivre, etc.
Loin de l’hiver morose
Laisse-moi sommeiller
Et respirer la rose
Avant de l’effeuiller.
Ah! Douce flamme,
Reste dans mon âme
Comme un doux trésor
Longtemps encor!
Ah! I want to live
in this intoxicating dream;
I’ll keep the sweet flame
of this day
in my heart
like a treasure!
This intoxication
of youth
only lasts, alas, a single day.
Then comes the time
when you weep,
the heart yields to love,
and happiness flees, never to return.
I want to live, etc.
Far from gloomy winter
let me slumber
and breathe the scent of the rose
before tearing off its petals.
Ah! Sweet flame,
stay in my heart
like a sweet treasure
for a long time yet!
4
Notes
Jules Massenet (1842-1912)
‘Ah! parais, parais, astre de mon ciel!’
(Le Mage)
Rolando Villazón
Like Gounod, Massenet is now only remembered for a
couple of well-known operas, Manon and Werther,
although he wrote many more. One of the least-known of
Massenet’s 27 operas must surely be Le Mage, the
unlikely story of a Persian general and ‘magus’, Zarâstra,
secretly in love with the captive Anahita, who is actually a
queen in disguise; he, in turn, is loved by a powerful
scheming princess (the plot bears a distinct resemblance
to Verdi’s Aida). In this aria, he calls upon his beloved to
show herself.
Ah! parais, parais, astre de mon ciel!
Abeille d’or dont l’amour est le miel!
Soulève l’ombre de ces voiles
Cachant ton front gracieux!
Soulève l’ombre de ces voiles,
Que je montre à tous les yeux
Ton visage d’aurore et tes regards d’étoiles.
Parais! parais!
Oui, parais, soleil de mes yeux,
Seul trésor vraiment précieux,
Seul bien dont mon désir s’enflamme.
Toi que j’ai prise et qui m’as pris,
De ma victoire sois le prix! Anahita!
Soulève l’ombre de ces voiles
Cachant ton front gracieux!
Soulève l’ombre de ces voiles,
Que je montre à tous les yeux
Ton visage d’aurore et tes regards d’étoiles.
Parais, Anahita!
Ah, appear, appear, star of my heaven!
Golden bee whose honey is love!
Lift those shadowy veils
that hide your charming brow!
Lift those shadowy veils,
so that I can show to all eyes
your face lovely as the dawn, and your starry glances.
Appear! Appear!
Yes, appear, sun of my eyes,
my only truly precious treasure,
the only thing that sets my desire aflame.
You whom I have captured and who have captured me,
be the prize of my victory! Anahita!
Lift those shadowy veils
that hide your charming brow!
Lift those shadowy veils,
so that I can show to all eyes
your face lovely as the dawn, and your starry glances.
Appear, Anahita!
5
Notes
Jules Massenet
‘Toi! Vous!’ (Manon)
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón
Massenet
On more familiar operatic territory, Manon is the story of
a very young girl who is on her way to join a convent
when she meets and runs away with Des Grieux, a
penniless student. But she has also discovered her power
over men; later, she leaves Des Grieux for a life of luxury
with a rich older man. In despair, Des Grieux decides to
take holy orders; Manon comes to find him at the
seminary of St-Sulpice where he is preaching, and they
fall in love all over again.
DES GRIEUX
Toi!... Vous!
MANON
Oui, c’est moi!
DES GRIEUX
Que viens tu faire ici?
Va-t-en! Éloigne-toi!
MANON
Oui, je fus cruelle et coupable,
Mais rappelez-vous tant d’amour!
Ah! dans ce regard qui m’accable
Lirai-je mon pardon, un jour?
DES GRIEUX
Non! j’avais écrit sur le sable
Ce rêve insensé d’un amour
Que le ciel n’avait fait durable
Que pour un instant, pour un jour!
MANON
Oui, je fus coupable!
Oui, je fus cruelle...
DES GRIEUX
J’avais écrit sur le sable...
C’était un rêve
Que le ciel n’avait fait durable
DES GRIEUX
My darling... I mean... it’s you!
MANON
Yes, it’s me.
DES GRIEUX
Why have you come here?
Go! Go away!
MANON
Yes, I was cruel, I was to blame,
but remember how we loved!
Ah! In your look that overwhelms me
shall I one day see forgiveness?
DES GRIEUX
No! I had written in the sand
that insane dream of a love
that heaven created to endure
only for a moment, for a day.
MANON
Yes, I was to blame!
Yes, I was cruel...
DES GRIEUX
I had written in the sand...
It was a dream
that heaven created to endure
6
Notes
Que pour un instant, pour un jour!
Ah! perfide Manon!
MANON
Si je me repentais...
DES GRIEUX
Ah! perfide! perfide!
MANON
...Est-ce que tu n’aurais pas de pitié?
DES GRIEUX
Je ne veux pas vous croire.
Non! vous êtes sortie enfin de ma mémoire
Ainsi que de mon cœur!
MANON
Hélas! Hélas! L’oiseau qui fuit
Ce qu’il croit l’esclavage
Le plus souvent la nuit
D’un vol désespéré revient battre au vitrage!
Pardonne-moi!
DES GRIEUX
Non!
MANON
Je meurs à tes genoux.
Ah! rends-moi ton amour
Si tu veux que je vive!
DES GRIEUX
Non! il est mort pour vous!
MANON
L’est-il donc à ce point que rien ne le ravive?
Ecoute-moi! Rappelle-toi!
N’est-ce plus ma main que cette main presse?
N’est-ce plus ma voix?
only for a moment, for a day.
Ah, faithless Manon!
MANON
If I repented...
DES GRIEUX
Ah, faithless! Faithless!
MANON
...would you have no pity?
DES GRIEUX
I won’t believe you.
No, you are at last banished from my memory
as well as from my heart.
MANON
Alas, alas! The bird that escapes
what it thinks is servitude
so often returns in the night
in a desperate flight, to beat its wings against the windows.
Forgive me!
DES GRIEUX
No!
MANON
I’m dying at your feet.
Ah, give me back your love
if you want me to live!
DES GRIEUX
No! For you it is dead.
MANON
Has it reached the point at which nothing will revive it?
Listen to me! Remember!
Is this no longer my hand that clasps yours?
Is this no longer my voice?
please turn page quietly 7
Notes
N’est-elle pour toi plus une caresse,
Tout comme autrefois?
Et ces yeux, jadis pour toi pleins de charmes,
Ne brillent-ils plus à travers mes larmes?
Ne suis-je plus moi?
N’ai-je plus mon nom?
Ah! regarde-moi!
N’est-ce plus ma main que cette main presse,
Tout comme autrefois?
N’est-ce plus ma voix?
N’est-ce plus Manon?
Rappelle-toi!
N’est-ce plus ma main?... etc.
DES GRIEUX
O Dieu! Soutenez-moi dans cet instant suprême!
MANON
Je t’aime!
DES GRIEUX
Ah! Tais-toi!
Ne parle pas d’amour ici, c’est un blasphème!
MANON
Je t’aime!
DES GRIEUX
C’est l’heure de prier...
MANON
Non! Je ne te quitte pas!
DES GRIEUX
On m’appelle là-bas...
MANON
Non! Je ne te quitte pas! Viens!
N’est-ce plus ma main que cette main presse,
8
Doesn’t it seem to you like a caress,
just as it used to?
And these eyes, once for you so full of charm,
do they no longer shine through my tears?
Am I no longer me?
Do I no longer have my name?
Ah, look at me!
Is this no longer my hand that clasps yours,
just as it used to?
Is this no longer my voice?
Am I not still Manon?
Remember!
Is this no longer my hand?... etc.
DES GRIEUX
O Lord, protect me in this hour of need!
MANON
I love you!
DES GRIEUX
Ah, be quiet!
Do not speak of love here, it is blasphemy!
MANON
I love you!
DES GRIEUX
It is the hour of prayer...
MANON
No! I won’t leave you!
DES GRIEUX
Down there they are calling for me...
MANON
No, I won’t leave you! Come with me!
Is this no longer my hand that clasps yours,
Notes
Tout comme autrefois?
DES GRIEUX
Tout comme autrefois!
MANON
Et ces yeux, jadis pour toi pleins de charmes,
N’est-ce plus Manon?
DES GRIEUX
Tout comme autrefois!
MANON
Ah! Regarde-moi!
Ne suis-je plus moi?
N’est-ce plus Manon?
DES GRIEUX
Ah! Manon!
Je ne veux plus lutter contre moi-même!
MANON
Enfin!
DES GRIEUX
Et dussè-je sur moi faire crouler les cieux,
Ma vie est dans ton cœur,
Ma vie est dans tes yeux!
Ah! viens, Manon! Je t’aime!
MANON, DES GRIEUX
Je t’aime!
just as it used to?
DES GRIEUX
Just as it used to!
MANON
And these eyes, once for you so full of charms...
am I not still Manon?
DES GRIEUX
Just as before!
MANON
Ah, look at me!
Am I no longer me?
Am I not still Manon?
DES GRIEUX
Ah, Manon!
I can no longer struggle against myself!
MANON
At last!
DES GRIEUX
And even if I should bring the heavens crashing down
upon my head,
my life is in your heart,
my life is in your eyes!
Ah, come, Manon! I love you!
MANON, DES GRIEUX
I love you!
9
Notes
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Polonaise (Eugene Onegin)
orchestra
‘Kuda, kuda vi udalilis’ (Eugene Onegin)
Rolando Villazón
Tchaikovsky
Polonaise (Eugene Onegin)
Alexander Pushkin’s ‘novel in verse’, Eugene Onegin, is
one of the greatest works of Russian literature.
Tchaikovsky knew and loved the poem, and set ‘lyric
scenes’ from it as an opera premiered in 1879. As the
curtain rises on Act III, the cream of St. Petersburg high
society has gathered for a glittering ball, at which
everyone dances this spectacular Polonaise.
‘Kuda, kuda vi udalilis’ (Eugene Onegin)
Pushkin challenged his wife’s lover to an ill-advised duel
and was shot dead, at the age of only 37. In a chilling
instance of ‘life imitating art’, the same thing happens to
Pushkin’s young poet, Vladimir Lensky, in Eugene
Onegin; Lensky has seen his friend Onegin flirting with
his own girlfriend, Olga, and challenges him to a duel in
which he meets his death. In the misty dawn as he waits
for Onegin to arrive for the fatal duel, Lensky sadly
speculates on destiny, his life, and his love for Olga.
Kuda, kuda vi udalilis,
vesni moyei zlatiye dni?
Shto dyen gryadushchi mnye gotovit?
Yevo moi vzor naprasno lovit:
V glubokoi mglye tayitsa on!
Nyet nuzhdi; prav sudbi zakon!
Padu li ya, streloi pronzyonni,
il mimo proletit ona.
Vsyo blago; bdyeniya i sna
prikhodit chas opredelyonni!
Blagoslovyen i dyen zabot,
blagoslovyen i tmi prikhod!
Blesnyot zautra luch dennitsi
i zayigrayet yarki dyen,
a ya, bit mozhet, ya grobnitsi
soidu v tayinstvennuyu syen!
I pamyat yunovo poeta
poglotit myedlennaya Lyeta.
Zabudet mir menya; no ti...
Where, where have you gone,
golden days of my youth?
What is the fate that awaits me today?
I cannot foresee it:
the future is shrouded in darkness.
No matter; fate’s decree is just.
The fatal arrow may hit its mark
or pass me by.
So be it; there is a time for sleeping
and a time for waking.
Blessed are the cares of the day,
blessed is the coming of darkness.
Soon dawn will break
and a bright new day begins,
but I, perhaps, may descend
to the darkness of the grave.
The memory of a young poet
will be lost in the waters of Lethe.
The world will forget me; but you...
10
Notes
Ti!... Olga... Skazhi,
Pridyosh li, dyeva krasoti,
slezu prolit nad rannei urnoi
i dumat: on menya lyubil!
On mnye yedinoi posvyatil
rassvyet pechalni zhizni burnoi!
Akh, Olga, ya tebya lyubil!
Tebye yedinoi posvyatil
rassvyet pechalni zhizni burnoi!
Akh, Olga, ya tebya lyubil!
Serdyechni drug, zhelanni drug,
pridi, pridi! Zhelanni drug,
pridi, ya tvoi suprug!
Ya zhdu tebya, zhelanni drug.
Pridi, pridi; ya tvoi suprug!
Kuda, kuda vi udalilis,
zlatiye dni moyei vesni?
you, Olga... Tell me,
lovely girl, will you come
to shed a tear over my grave
and think: ‘He loved me!
To me he devoted
the sad dawn of his stormy life’?
Ah, Olga, I loved you!
To you I devoted
the sad dawn of my stormy life!
Ah, Olga, I loved you!
My dearest, my beloved,
come to me, come! My beloved,
come, I am your husband!
I wait for you, my beloved,
come to me; I am your husband!
Where, where have you gone,
golden days of my youth?
11
Notes
Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninov
(1873-1943)
‘Ne poy, krasavitsa’ (Six Songs Op. 4,
No. 4)
Anna Netrebko
Rachmaninov
In 1820, having written some anti-establishment political
poems and epigrams, Pushkin found himself banished to
the Ukraine and the Crimea. It was a bitter-sweet exile; he
loved the southern landscapes and people, and had
several stormy love-affairs. In this poem he looks back to
those years with nostalgia. (‘The songs of Georgia’, he
later wrote, ‘are mostly doleful, but quite pleasant...’)
Sergei Rachmaninov is mainly known for his symphonies,
piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of
Paganini, but he also wrote over 70 songs to Russian
texts; this must surely be the most heart-wrenchingly
beautiful of them.
Ne poy, krasavitsa, pri mne
ti pesen Gruzii pechalnoy:
napominayut mne one
druguyu zhizn i bereg dalniy.
Lovely girl, do not sing to me
your sad songs of Georgia;
they recall to my mind
another life and a distant shore.
Uvi! napominayut mne
tvoi zhestokiye napevi
i step i noch – i pri lune
cherti dalyokoy, bednoy devi.
Alas, your cruel song
recalls to my mind
the steppe, the night – and in the moonlight
the face of a maiden, sad and far away.
Ya prizrak miliy, rokovoy,
tebya uvidev, zabivayu;
no ti poyosh – i predo mnoy
evo ya vnov voobrazhayu.
As I look at you, I forget
that beloved and fateful vision;
but you sing – and once more
it comes back to me.
Ne poy, krasavitsa, pri mne
ti pesen Gruzii pechalnoy:
napominayut mne one
druguyu zhizn i bereg dalniy.
Lovely girl, do not sing to me
your sad songs of Georgia;
they recall to my mind
another life and a distant shore.
12
Notes
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
‘Tvayo malchanye nepanyatna’ (Yolanta)
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón
In the garden of the castle of King René of Provence, Count
Vaudémont discovers a beautiful young girl asleep; she is
the King’s daughter, Princess Yolanta. She awakes, and as
they talk, they begin to feel a growing attraction to each
other. But when he asks her to pick him a red rose, she gives
him only white ones, asking ‘What does “red” mean?’ The
Count now realises, to his horror, what no one has ever
dared to tell the girl: she is blind.
IOLANTA
Tvayo malchanye nepanyatna;
ni znayu, chem may slava
tibye magli byt nepriyatny...
Skazhy mne, f chom maya vina?
Chuzhykh ya ryetka zdes fstrichayu,
i mnogava yesho ne znayu;
ty na-uchi, ya malada,
ya budu slushatsa tibya.
Malchish? Ne hochesh byt sa mnoy?
Pust budit tak! Tvayi zhelanya mne zakon;
mayu pichal at fsyokh ya skroyu...
No, shtoby eta byl ni son,
ne prizrak shastya,
v znak prashanya,
sarvi i daiy adnu iz ros
na pamyat nasheva svidanya!
VODEMON
Ditya, o nyet, ne nada slos!
IOLANTA
Ty ni ushol yeshcho?
VODEMON
Bednyashka! Skazhyte mne, neuzhli nikagda,
hot izretka, vam mysl ni prihadila,
shto groznaya, zhestokaya sudba
vas dara dragatsennava lishyla?
Neuzheli vy ni znali,
YOLANTA
I do not understand your silence;
I don’t know what I have said
that could have offended you.
Tell me, what am I guilty of?
I do not often meet strangers here,
and there is much that I don’t yet know;
you shall teach me, I am young,
I will listen to you.
You’re silent? Do you wish to leave me?
So be it. Your wish is my command;
I will hide my sorrow from the world...
But so that I know this was not a dream,
no illusion of happiness,
as a parting gift
pluck one of the roses and give it to me
as a souvenir of our meeting.
VAUDÉMONT
Oh no, dear child, do not cry!
YOLANTA
So you’re not going away yet?
VAUDÉMONT
Poor girl! Tell me, have you never,
from time to time, had the thought
that a cruel and terrible fate
has deprived you of a precious gift?
Do you really not know
please turn page quietly 13
Notes
dlya chevo u vas blestyat
bez-zhyznenniya ochi?
IOLANTA
Zachem glaza dany mne?
Dlya tavo, shtop plakat...
VODEMON
Plakat v vechnam mrake nochi!
IOLANTA
Kak but’ta ty ni znayesh, shto at slos
pichal prahodit lehche i bystreye?
Tak fsyo f prirode posle letnikh gros
stanovitsa dushystey i badreye.
VODEMON
O, znachit nyet f tvayey grudi zhelanya
uvidet svet i slavu mirazdanya?
IOLANTA
Shto znachit ‘videt’?
VODEMON
Paznavat svet Bozhiy.
IOLANTA
Rytsar, shto takoye ‘svet’?
VODEMON
Chudniy pervenets tvarenya,
perviy miru dar Tvartsa,
Slavy Bozhey prayavlenye,
luchshiy perl yevo ventsa.
Sontse, neba, zvyost siyanye
napalnayut mir zemnoy,
fsyu prirodu i sazdanya
neskazannay krasatoy!
Kto ni znayet blaga sveta
tot ne mozhet tak lubit
Bozhiy mir va mrak adetiy,
14
why your eyes shine
lifelessly?
YOLANTA
Why have I been given eyes?
So that I can weep...
VAUDÉMONT
Weep in eternal darkness of night!
YOLANTA
Surely you know that shedding tears
relieves and chases away sorrow?
As in nature, after summer storms,
everything smells fresher and brighter.
VAUDÉMONT
Is there no desire in your heart
to see light, and the glory of the universe?
YOLANTA
What does ‘to see’ mean?
VAUDÉMONT
To know the light of God.
YOLANTA
Sir knight, what is this ‘light’?
VAUDÉMONT
The wonderful first-born of creation,
the Creator’s first gift to the world,
God’s glory made manifest,
the loveliest pearl in His crown!
Sun, sky and shining stars
fill the world
and all nature and creation
with inexpressible beauty!
Anyone who does not know the blessing of light
cannot so love
God’s world swathed in gloom,
Notes
Boga f tme, kak f svete chtit!
Im paznal ya, nedastoyniy,
vas, o dyeva krasatiy,
stan vash defstvenniy i stroyniy,
obraz miliy i cherty;
da, on pervenets tvarenya,
luchshiy miru dar Tvartsa.
IOLANTA
Ty gavarish tak slatka!
Ya ni znayu, shto sa mnoy?
Nikagda takova shastya
ne ispytala ya ...
No ty ashypsa, nyet, nyet!
Shtoby Boga slavit vechna,
rytsar, mne ni nuzhen svet:
blagast Bozhya beskanechna,
yey nigde predelaf net!
V zharkam dne, v blaga-ukhanyakh,
v zvukakh i va mne samoy
atrazhon va vsekh sazdanyakh
Bokh nezrimiy i blagoy!
Mozhna l videt shchebetanye
ptichki v rozavam kuste,
ili slatkaye zhurchanye
bystray rechki na peske?
VODEMON
Da! Pravda!
Blagast Bozhya beskanechna,
yey nigde predelav net!
To pravda! O, ty prava,
f tvayey grudi siyayet pravdy svetach,
i pered nim nash svet zemnoy
i prehadash, i zhalak.
nor honour God in darkness, as in the light!
By that light, unworthy as I am,
I knew you, beautiful maiden,
your slender, virginal figure,
your dear form and features;
yes, it is the first-born of creation,
the Creator’s dearest gift to the world.
YOLANTA
You speak so sweetly!
I don’t know what is the matter with me;
never have I experienced
such happiness...
But you are wrong: no, no!
To praise God eternally,
sir knight, I do not need light:
the blessings of God are without end,
they know no bounds!
In the warmth of the day, in its fragrance,
in sounds and in myself,
throughout all creation
God resounds, invisible and beneficent.
Is it possible to see the twittering
of the little birds in the rosebush,
or the gentle babbling
of swift brooks in sandy beds?
VAUDÉMONT
Yes, it’s true!
The blessings of God are without end,
they know no bounds!
What you say is true! Oh, you are right,
within your breast shines the torch of truth,
and before it, our earthly light
is fleeting and pitiful.
please turn page quietly
15
Notes
Veryu, mozhna chtit Tvartsa
i ne znaya blaga sveta!
Blagast Bozhya bes kantsa!
Yey nigde predelav net!
IOLANTA
Mozhna l videt v nebe groma rakatanye,
ili treli salavya, il tsvetka blaga ukhanye,
golas tvoy, tvai slava? Net,
shtob Boga slavit vechna,
rytsar, mne ni nuzhen svet!
No, shtoby stat kak ty,
hatela b ya uznat svet sontsa.
Etat pervenets tvarenya,
perviy miru dar Tvartsa,
slavy Bozhey prayavlenye,
luchshiy perl yevo ventsa!
interval
16
I believe that it is possible to praise the Creator
without knowing blessed light.
The blessings of God have no end,
they know no bounds!
YOLANTA
Is it possible to see the rumbling of thunder in the sky,
or the trilling of the nightingale, or the scent of blossoms,
your voice, your words? No,
to praise God eternally,
sir knight, I do not need light.
But, to be like you,
I want to know the light of the sun.
That is the first-born of creation,
the Creator’s first gift to the world,
God‚s glory made manifest,
the loveliest pearl in His crown!
Notes
Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
Prelude to Act IV (Carmen)
orchestra
Léo Delibes (1836-1891)
Chanson espagnole or ‘Les filles de Cadix’
Delibes
Anna Netrebko
Prelude to Act IV (Carmen)
Music from the best-loved and most frequently performed
opera of all time – Bizet’s Carmen. It is the day of the
bullfight; the crowd is filled with excitement and anticipation,
and there is a sense of danger and bloodshed in the air …
Chanson espagnole or ‘Les filles de Cadix’
Delibes has been described as ‘France’s Tchaikovsky’:
with his eternally popular scores for Coppélia and Sylvia,
he brought respectability and well-written music to the
previously undervalued art form of the ballet. Delibes also
wrote several operas and operettas. Less well known are
his solo songs, which have an irresistible charm and gaiety
reminiscent of his contemporaries, Bizet and Chabrier. Les
filles de Cadix sets a text by Alfred de Musset as a
vivacious ‘Spanish song’ in bolero rhythm.
Les filles de Cadix
Nous venions de voir le taureau,
Trois garçons, trois fillettes,
Sur la pelouse il faisait beau,
Et nous dansions un boléro
Au son des castagnettes.
Dites-moi, voisin,
Si j’ai bonne mine,
Et si ma basquine
Va bien, ce matin,
Vous me trouvez la taille fine?
Ah! ah!
Les filles de Cadix aiment assez cela.
The girls of Cadiz
We had just been watching the bullfight,
three lads, three girls,
the sun was shining on the grass,
and we were dancing a bolero
to the sound of castanets.
‘Tell me, neighbour,
am I looking good?
Does my Basque skirt
suit me this morning?
Do you think I have a slender waist?
Ah....!
The girls of Cadiz quite like such things.’
Et nous dansions un boléro
Un soir c’était dimanche,
Vers nous s’en vint un hidalgo
Cousu d’or, la plume au chapeau,
Et la poing sur la hanche:
Si tu veux de moi,
Brune au doux sourire,
Tu n’as qu’a le dire,
Cette or est à toi.
Passez votre chemin, beau sire.
Ah! ah!
Les filles de Cadix n’entendent pas cela.
And we were dancing a bolero
one Sunday evening
when a hidalgo came towards us,
rolling in money, a feather in his hat,
his hand on his hip:
‘If you want me,
dark girl with the sweet smile,
you only have to say so
and this gold is yours.’
‘On your way, fine sir.
Ah...!
The girls of Cadiz won’t hear of such things.’
17
Notes
Pablo Sorozábal (1897-1988)
‘ No puede ser!’ (La tabernera del puerto)
!
Rolando Villazón
The Spanish word ‘zarzuela’ has two meanings: a
nourishing stew of mixed fish, and a particularly Spanish
form of home-grown operetta, as familiar and cherished
in Spain as are the works of Gilbert and Sullivan in
England. This lovely aria from a classic zarzuela is a
favourite among Spanish-speaking tenors. The young
fisherman, Leandro, is in love with the beautiful tavernkeeper, Marola, but he has heard rumours that she has
been seen with a disreputable older man; he cannot
believe that this can be true. (All is well, as the ‘older man’
turns out to be her father, a drug-smuggler on the run; so
that’s all right then …)
¡No puede ser! Esa mujer es buena.
¡No puede ser una mujer malvada!
En su mirar como una luz singular
he visto que esa mujer es una desventurada.
It can’t be true! She is a good woman.
She cannot be a wicked woman!
In her gaze like a strange light
I have seen that this woman is ill-fated.
No puede ser una vulgar sirena
que envenenó las horas de mi vida.
¡No puede ser! porque la ví rezar,
porque la ví querer,
porque la ví llorar.
She cannot be a vulgar temptress
who has poisoned my whole life.
It can’t be true, for I have seen her praying,
I’ve seen her loving,
I’ve seen her weeping.
Los ojos que lloran no saben mentir;
las malas mujeres no miran así.
Temblando en sus ojos dos lágrimas ví
y a mi me ilusiona que tiemblen por mí.
Eyes that weep do not know how to lie;
evil women do not look at you like that.
I saw two tears trembling in her eyes,
and I tell myself that they are for me.
Viva luz de mi ilusión,
sé piadosa con mi amor,
porque no sé fingir,
porque no sé callar,
porque no sé vivir.
Bright light of my illusion,
be merciful with my love,
for I cannot pretend,
I cannot keep silent,
I cannot live.
18
Notes
Federico Moreno Torroba (1891-1982)
‘ Cállate, corazón!’ (Luisa Fernanda)
!
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón
Torroba’s Luisa Fernanda, composed in 1932, has been
described as ‘the last great romantic zarzuela’. The opera is
set in Madrid, in 1868; republican revolutionaries are
threatening the monarchy. Luisa Fernanda’s fiancé, Javier,
has gone off to fight for the republican cause. In his absence,
she unwillingly accepts a proposal of marriage from a rich
landowner, Vidal Hernando. The revolution succeeds, but
Javier has been wounded in the fighting and comes home a
broken man. In this moving duet, she tells him that she still
loves him but she must stand by her promise to marry Vidal.
At the altar, however, Vidal realises that he cannot keep
Luisa from her true love, and sets her free to be with Javier.
LUISA FERNANDA
¡Cállate, corazón!
¡Duérmete y calla!
No debe retoñar
la hierba mala.
¡Ay, qué tendrá el amor
de venenoso,
que cuanto más cruel
es más sabroso!
Duérmete y calla;
que no retoñe más
la hierba mala.
JAVIER
¡Dichoso el que en su camino
de duelos y de pesares
escucha una voz amiga
que alegra sus soledades!
¡Felices los desterrados
que encuentran en su destierro
para el dolor de una ausencia
el bálsamo de un recuerdo!
LUISA FERNANDA
Calla, por Dios, Javier,
no me atormentes.
Vete, por caridad;
LUISA FERNANDA
Be silent, my heart!
Sleep, and be silent!
The evil weed
must not put forth shoots again.
Alas, love contains
such poison;
how much more cruel
is that which tastes more delicious!
Sleep and be silent,
so that the evil weed
shall not put forth shoots again.
JAVIER
Fortunate is he who, on his path
of grief and woes,
hears a friendly voice
that cheers his solitude.
Happy are the outcasts
who, in their exile,
find comfort for the pain of absence
in the balm of memory.
LUISA FERNANDA
For heaven’s sake, Javier, be silent,
do not torment me.
No more, for pity’s sake;
please turn page quietly
19
Notes
déjame y vete.
JAVIER
Vengo a decirte ¡adiós!
Ya es para siempre.
LUISA FERNANDA
Nunca ya te veré.
¡Dios me consuele!
JAVIER
Con la esperanza voy
de que aun me quieres.
LUISA FERNANDA
Contra mi voluntad,
te quise siempre:
cuando fuiste ilustre,
cuando no eras nadie,
cuando me quisiste,
¡cuando me olvidaste!
JAVIER
¡Subir, subir y luego caer,
la fortuna alcanzar
y volverla a perder!...
LUISA FERNANDA
¡Amar, amar,
sin dejar de creer,
y venir el amor,
cuando no puede ser!...
JAVIER
¡Subir, subir y luego caer,
LUISA FERNANDA
¡Y venir el amor
cuando no puede ser!
20
leave me, and say no more.
JAVIER
I come to bid you farewell;
this is goodbye for ever.
LUISA FERNANDA
I shall never see you again.
May God give me comfort!
JAVIER
I leave with the hope
that you still love me.
LUISA FERNANDA
Against my will
I have loved you always:
when you were famous,
when you were nobody,
when you loved me,
when you forgot me.
JAVIER
To rise, to rise and then to fall,
to achieve good fortune
and then, as it turns, to lose it again...
LUISA FERNANDA
To love, to love,
without ceasing to believe,
and for love to come
when it cannot be...
JAVIER
To rise, to rise and then to fall,
LUISA FERNANDA
And for love to come
when it cannot be!
Notes
Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945)
Intermezzo (Cavalleria rusticana)
orchestra
‘Mamma, quel vino’ (Cavalleria rusticana)
Rolando Villazón
Intermezzo (Cavalleria rusticana)
Mascagni shot to fame when his first opera, Cavalleria
rusticana (‘Rustic Chivalry’), won a competition for oneact operas in 1890. He went on to write another eight
operas, none as successful as his first, a vivid tale of love
and vengeance in rural Sicily. The serene and beautiful
Intermezzo is played to an empty stage, heightening the
tension before the tangle of jealousy and anger reaches its
tragic conclusion.
‘Mamma, quel vino’ (Cavalleria rusticana)
The young soldier, Turiddu, is caught in a love-triangle
between Lola, who is now married to someone else, and
Santuzza, who is pregnant and in disgrace. Lola’s
husband has challenged him to a fight. Turiddu confides
his fears to his mother, asking her to look after Santuzza.
Within minutes, he will be killed.
TURIDDU
Mamma, quel vino
È generoso, e certo
Oggi troppi bicchier
Ne ho tracannato...
Vado fuori all’aperto.
Ma prima voglio
Che mi benedite
Come quel giorno
Che partii soldato.
E poi, mamma, sentite...
S’io non tornassi...
Voi dovrete fare
Da madre a Santa,
Ch’io le avea giurato
Di condurla all’altare.
TURIDDU
Oh! nulla! È il vino
che m’ha suggerito!
Per me pregate Iddio!
Un bacio, mamma...
Un altro bacio... addio!
TURIDDU
Mother, that wine
is strong, and I’ve certainly
drunk too many
glasses of it today...
I’m going out into the fresh air.
But first I want you
to bless me
as you did on the day
when I went away to be a soldier.
And then, mother... listen...
if I don’t come back...
you must be
a mother to Santuzza,
since I vowed to her
that I would lead her to the altar.
TURIDDU
Oh, it’s nothing; it’s the wine
putting ideas in my head.
Pray to God for me!
Mother, kiss me...
Another kiss... goodbye!
21
Notes
Alfredo Catalani (1854-1893)
‘Ebben? … Ne andrò lontana’ (La Wally)
Anna Netrebko
Catalani was one of an unlucky generation of Italian
composers who would have been famous if Puccini had
never existed. La Wally was the last of his six operas,
completed a year before his untimely death at the age of
39; the conductor Arturo Toscanini thought so highly of
the opera that he named his daughter Wally after it. The
heroine (whose name is short for Walburga, although we
are never told this) is based on a real-life tomboy
character in the Austrian Tyrol, who notoriously once
climbed down a crag into an eagle’s nest. In the opera,
Wally is lowered down a ravine to rescue her lover, who
has been thrown off a cliff by his rival. The opera’s most
famous aria, ‘Ebben? … ne andrò lontana’, is heard at
the end of the first act, when Wally declares that she will
leave the village rather than be forced to marry a man
she does not love.
WALLY
Ebben? ... Ne andrò lontana,
Come va l’eco della pia campana,
Là, fra la neve bianca;
Là, fra le nubi d’ôr;
Laddóve la speranza
È rimpianto è dolor!
O della madre mia casa gioconda,
La Wally ne andrà da te
Lontana assai, e forse a te
Non farà mai più ritorno,
Nè più la rivedrai!
Mai più, mai più!
Ne andrò sola e lontana,
Come l’eco è della pia campana,
Là, fra la neve bianca,
E fra le nubi d’ôr!
Very well... I shall go far away from here,
as far as the echo of the church bell will reach,
there amid the white snow,
there among the golden clouds;
there where all there is to hope for
is regret and sorrow.
Oh, happy house of my mother,
Wally will go away from you,
very far away, and perhaps
she will never come back to you,
you will never see her again.
Never again, never again!
I shall go far away, alone,
as far as the echo of the church bell,
there amid the white snow
and among the golden clouds.
22
Notes
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
‘O soave fanciulla’ (La bohème)
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón
Puccini
Finally, one of the sweetest and best-known love duets in
all opera (Puccini’s La bohème is probably the second
most frequently performed opera of all time, after Bizet’s
Carmen). On a snowy Christmas Eve, the penniless poet
Rodolfo has been trying to do some work in his attic
when there is a timid knock at the door. It is his neighbour,
Mimì; her candle has gone out and she has lost her key.
Very soon, they begin to fall in love; as a ray of moonlight
shines on Mimì’s face, Rodolfo pours out his feelings, and
she responds.
RODOLFO
O soave fanciulla, o dolce viso
di mite circonfuso alba lunar,
in te, vivo ravviso
il sogno ch’io vorrei sempre sognar!
Fremon già nell’anima
le dolcezze estreme,
nel bacio freme amor!
MIMÌ
Ah! tu sol comandi, amor!...
Oh! come dolci scendono
le sue lusinghe al core...
tu sol comandi, amore!...
No, per pietà!
RODOLFO
Sei mia!
MIMÌ
V’aspettan gli amici...
RODOLFO
Già mi mandi via?
MIMÌ
Vorrei dir... ma non oso...
RODOLFO
Di’!
RODOLFO
Oh, gentle girl, your sweet face
bathed in pale moonlight,
in you I recognise, brought to life,
the dream I’d like to dream for ever.
Already my soul is throbbing
with supreme tenderness;
love trembles in a kiss!
MIMÌ
Ah, we are ruled by love alone...
Oh, how sweetly
his words charm my heart...
We are ruled by love alone!
No, please...
RODOLFO
You are mine!
MIMÌ
Your friends are waiting for you.
RODOLFO
Are you sending me away already?
MIMÌ
I’d like to say... but I daren’t...
RODOLFO
Say it!
please turn page quietly
23
Notes
MIMÌ
Se venissi con voi?
RODOLFO
Che?... Mimì?
Sarebbe così dolce restar qui.
C’è freddo fuori.
MIMÌ
Vi starò vicina!
RODOLFO
E al ritorno?
MIMÌ
Curioso!
RODOLFO
Dammi il braccio, mia piccina.
MIMÌ
Obbedisco, signor!
RODOLFO
Che m’ami di’...
MIMÌ
Io t’amo!
RODOLFO, MIMÌ
Amore!
MIMÌ
What if I came with you?
RODOLFO
What’s that, Mimì?
It would be so sweet to stay here,
it’s cold outside.
MIMÌ
I’ll be close beside you.
RODOLFO
And when we return?
MIMÌ
Wait and see!
RODOLFO
Give me your arm, my little one.
MIMÌ
I obey you, my lord!
RODOLFO
Say you love me...
MIMÌ
I love you!
RODOLFO, MIMÌ
Love...
Programme notes and translations by Jonathan Burton © 2006
24
About the performers
Anna Netrebko soprano
Anna Netrebko made her highly successful debut at San
Francisco Opera as Lyudmila in Glinka’s Ruslan and
Lyudmila in 1995, and has subsequently been engaged
by leading opera houses and symphony orchestras
around the world. Born in Krasnodar, she studied at the
St. Petersburg Conservatory. Since making her 1994 Kirov
Opera debut as Susanna/Le nozze di Figaro Anna
Netrebko has appeared frequently at the Mariinsky
Theatre in performances of nearly all her leading roles,
and has featured in many concerts with Valery Gergiev.
In 2005 she was awarded the Russian State Prize by
President Putin – the country’s highest award in the field
of arts and literature.
She made an acclaimed debut at the Metropolitan Opera
in 2002 as Natasha Rostova in Prokofiev’s War and Peace
conducted by Valery Gergiev. Following this success she
made her debut at the Salzburg Festival as Donna
Anna/Don Giovanni, making her role debut under the
direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt. The following season
she sang Violetta/La traviata at the Vienna Staatsoper,
returning to the role in Munich for her debut with the
Bayerische Staatsoper in 2003. She makes regular
appearances with Washington National Opera, appearing
as Ilia/Idomeneo opposite Plácido Domingo,
Gilda/Rigoletto, and Susanna. She made her Philadelphia
debut as Giulietta/I Capuleti e i Montecchi. Return visits to
San Francisco Opera have included Ilia, Musetta/La
bohème, Adina/L’elisir d’amore, Nannetta/Falstaff,
Louisa/Betrothal in a Monastery, and Marfa in RimskyKorsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride. On the concert platform she
has appeared with symphony orchestras around the world
and made her United States recital debut to a sold-out
audience in San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre.
In 2002 Anna Netrebko became an exclusive recording
artist with Deutsche Grammophon. Her first solo
recording, released in 2003, attracted editor’s choice
awards in Gramophone magazine and Opera News. In
1995 her performance as Lyudmila with the Kirov Opera
was recorded for DVD and CD by Philips Classics. She can
also be heard as Louisa and Ninetta/The Love for Three
Oranges. In 2005 she was awarded the Echo Klassik
Award for both Album of the Year (Sempre Libera) and
Female Artist of the Year, and in 2003 she was Female
Singer of the Year in Opernwelt.
Anna Netrebko began the 2006/07 season with her debut
in the title role of Massenet’s Manon opposite Rolando
Villazón at Los Angeles Opera. She returns to the role later
in the season for her debut at the Berlin Staatsoper Berlin,
and also at the Vienna Staatsoper opposite Roberto
Alagna (following appearances there as Amina in Bellini’s
La sonnambula). She returns to the Metropolitan Opera to
sing another Bellini heroine, Elvira/I puritani, and for a
performance of La bohème in what marks her first
appearance as Mimì outside Russia. Other engagements
include a Metropolitan Opera gala concert with Rolando
Villazón and concert performances as Mimì in Munich (to
be recorded by DG). She completes her opera season with
a return visit to the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, to sing
Donna Anna. She appears extensively in concerts this
season with Rolando Villazón, including at the Théâtre des
Champs-Elysées in Paris and the Stadthalle in Vienna, as
well as on an extensive summer tour in Germany. Finally this
season she returns to the Salzburg Festival and Cortona,
Italy, for performances of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater.
25
About the performers
Rolando Villazón tenor
Rolando Villazón began his musical studies in his native
Mexico City before taking part in the young artist
programmes of Pittsburgh and San Francisco.
In 1999 he won several awards at the Operalia/Plácido
Domingo Singing Competition, including the prize for
which the winner is nominated by the public and the
Zarzuela Prize. He made his European debut in that
same year as Des Grieux/Manon in Genoa.
In 2000 he made his Paris Opéra debut as Alfredo/La
traviata and appeared for the first time at the Berlin
Staatsoper in a new production of Verdi’s Macbeth.
Immediately after this, he was invited to make his debut
appearances on the stages of many of the world’s
leading opera houses in rapid succession, including the
Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich (La bohème); Théâtre
de la Monnaie in Brussels (La bohème conducted by
Antonio Pappano); Metropolitan Opera (La traviata);
Royal Opera, Covent Garden (Les contes d’Hoffmann);
the Vienna Staatsoper (Roméo et Juliette), the Gran
Teatra del Liceu in Barcelona (L’elisir d’amore);
Amsterdam Opera (Don Carlo, also recorded on
DVD); and Salzburg Festival (La traviata) (also available
on DVD).
Rolando Villazón collaborates regularly with Daniel
Barenboim and the Berlin Staatsoper where he attracted
particular acclaim in the role of Don José/Carmen. He
also appears regularly with Los Angeles Opera.
He gives many recitals and concerts each season,
making appearances in New York, Miami, Vancouver,
Tokyo, Liège, Paris, Toulouse, Monte Carlo, Moscow,
26
Prague, Baden-Baden, Berlin, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Munich,
Regensburg, Vienna, Zurich, Madrid, Peralada and
Copenhagen and at Bryn Terfel’s Faenol Festival, as well
as in London.
His discography includes a recital of Italian arias, a
recital of arias by Gounod and Massenet, and a third CD
called simply Opera Recital (EMI/Virgin Classics), all of
which have been critically acclaimed. Futures releases
will include Monteverdi’s Il combattimento di Tancredi e
Clorinda (EMI/Virgin Classics) under Emmanuelle Haïm
and a DVD from the Vienna Staatsoper of L’elisir
d’amore.
Rolando Villazón has recently signed an exclusive
contract with Deutsche Grammophon, which has
released the recent Salzburg production of La traviata in
both CD and DVD format, an issue that has already
proved to be one of the most successful complete opera
recordings in recent times.
About the performers
Emmanuel Villaume conductor
Emmanuel Villaume, who holds an honorary doctorate
from the University of Indianapolis, is currently in his
seventh season as Music Director for Opera and
Orchestra at the Spoleto Festival, USA. His recent
engagements have included L’elisir d’amore for
Washington National Opera, Samson et Dalila at the
Metropolitan Opera New York, La rondine (with Angela
Gheorghiu) at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and La
Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein and La bohème (with
Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna) at Los Angeles
Opera. In July 2006 he appeared at the Aspen and
Grant Park music festivals.
Born in Strasbourg, Emmanuel Villaume studied at the
Conservatoire there and later in Paris, graduating in
literature, philosophy and musicology. He was appointed
Dramaturg of the Opéra du Rhin in Strasbourg at the
age of 21, and made his American debut at the 1990
Spoleto Festival with Le nozze di Figaro.
Since then he has conducted many orchestral concerts
and opera performances at Spoleto, including the
American première of Henze’s Der Prinz von Homburg
in 1995 and productions of Ariadne auf Naxos, Manon
Lescaut, Der fliegende Holländer, Lakmé and Don
Giovanni. He is also regularly invited to conduct many of
the world’s leading orchestras.
d’Hoffmann, La rondine); Paris Opéra Bastille (Rigoletto);
Dallas Opera (Faust and Le nozze di Figaro); Hamburg
Staatsoper (Der fliegende Holländer); San Francisco
Opera (Madama Butterfly); Santa Fe Opera (Carmen);
Toulouse Opera (Mignon); Bonn Opera (La fanciulla del
West); Martina Franca Opera (La Grande-Duchesse de
Gérolstein); Montreal Opera (La vie parisienne);
Sarasota Opera (Les contes d’Hoffmann, Die
Zauberflöte and Manon); Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
(La rondine and Faust); Opéra de Marseille (Pelléas et
Mélisande and Norma); and the Klangbogen Festival in
Vienna (Don Quichotte and Goya with Plácido
Domingo).
Engagements in 2006/07 include (with Anna Netrebko
and Rolando Villazón) the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
in Vienna and the Orchestre National de Belgique at the
Festival de Saint-Denis, as well as the Slovak
Philharmonic at the Bratislava Festival, and the Münchner
Rundfunkorchester. Future opera projects include La
bohème and Hamlet for Washington National Opera,
Hansel and Gretel for Los Angeles Opera, Manon and
The Merry Widow (with Natalie Dessay) for Chicago
Lyric Opera, Les contes d’Hoffmann for the Metropolitan
Opera, Meyerbeer’s Il crociato in Egitto for the opening
of the 2007 season at La Fenice, and Ariane et BarbeBleue at the Teatro Regio di Torino.
He has appeared with the Washington National Opera
(La rondine, Norma, Le Cid, Les contes d’Hoffmann and
Lucia di Lammermoor); the Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden (Les contes d’Hoffmann); the Lyric Opera of
Chicago (Samson et Dalila); Cologne Opera (La bohème
and Werther); Los Angeles Opera (Les contes
27
About the performers
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
In 2006 the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra proudly
celebrates its 60th anniversary. Founded in 1946 by Sir
Thomas Beecham, with his vision of bringing world-class
performances of great music to the whole country, the
orchestra continues to maintain Beecham’s legacy. It
offers audiences in the UK and abroad the highest
possible standards of music-making, accompanied by
some of the most acclaimed artists of the day. Since its
formation 60 years ago, the RPO has been directed by
some of the world’s finest conductors, notably Rudolf
Kempe, Antal Doráti, André Previn and Vladimir
Ashkenazy. The orchestra continues to commit to a busy
concert, touring and recording schedule, under the
leadership of Daniele Gatti (Music Director since 1996).
Forthcoming highlights include its Royal Albert Hall
season featuring a number of spectacular concerts
ranging from Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major and
Mahler’s Symphony No.5 to Best of Broadway and
Filmharmonic. Concerts in the current Royal Albert Hall
season include performances with Martha Argerich,
John Lill, Leila Josefowicz and Yuri Temirkanov. The
RPO’s London Residency at Cadogan Hall complements
the immensity of the orchestra’s performances at the
Royal Albert Hall by offering a range of concerts within
the intimate surroundings of London’s newest concert
venue. The autumn 2006 series features a range of
leading artists such as Joanna MacGregor, Leonard
Slatkin and Emma Johnson.
28
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra uses its schedule in the
capital as the springboard for a comprehensive regional
touring programme including residencies in Northampton,
Lowestoft, Wimbledon, Catford and Crawley. The
orchestra also plays to tens of thousands of people across
the country in open-air concerts throughout the summer
each year.
As an international orchestra, the RPO has toured more
than 30 countries in the last five years, including giving
performances for the late Pope John Paul II in the Vatican
and for the President of China in Tiananmen Square as
well as appearing at the 10th anniversary celebration of
Kazakhstan’s independence. Recent and forthcoming
tours include a week-long tour of Germany, Switzerland
and Austria with Daniele Gatti and the RPO’s first ever
tour to Egypt, where it will perform in the opera houses in
Cairo and Alexandria with Leonard Slatkin.
The RPO extends its artistic work through a community
and education programme, players involved on specific
projects with a wide range of participants.
The orchestra records widely for all the major
commercial record companies, with no less than five of its
CDs featuring in the record charts last autumn. It also has
its own record label, which includes the popular Here
Come The Classics™ series. A special disc to celebrate
the orchestra’s 60th anniversary features archive
recordings of performances with several conductors from
Sir Thomas Beecham to Daniele Gatti.
About the performers
First Violin
Thomas Bowes
Tamas Andras
Patrick Savage
Gerald Gregory
Russell Gilbert
Andrew Klee
Kay Chappell
Anthony Protheroe
Erik Chapman
Jonathan Lee
Rosie Campton
Benjamin Harte
Second Violin
Daniel Bhattacharya
Clara Biss
Peter Nutting
Steve Merson
Guy Bebb
Nina Whitehurst
Peter Dale
Colin Callow
Jennifer Christie
Susan Bowran
Viola
Andrew Williams
Helen Kamminga
Andrew Sippings
David Hirschman
Elizabeth Butler
Mimi Reiter
Nicholas Bootiman
Rachel Calaminus
Cor Anglais
Leila Ward
Timpani
Matt Perry
Cello
François Rive
Chantal Webster
William Heggart
Emma Black
Shinko Hanaoka
Daniel Hammersley
Rachel van der Tang
Anne Waddington
Clarinet
Michael Whight
Charys Green
Bass Clarinet
Tom Watmough
Percussion
Stephen Quigley
Martin Owens
Michael Doran
Chris Guy
Bassoon
Daniel Jemison
Helen Simons
Harp
Suzy Willison
Double Bass
Roy Benson
David Broughton
David Gordon
Benjamin Cunningham
John Holt
Albert Dennis
Horn
Martin Owen
Kathryn Saunders
Phil Woods
Andrew Fletcher
Hugh Seenan
Flute
Emer McDonough
Julian Coward
Helen Keen
Piccolo
Helen Keen
Julian Coward
Oboe
Tim Watts
Helen Barker
Leila Ward
Trumpet
Julian Brewer
Stuart Essenhigh
Miles Maguire
Trombone
Graham Lee
Phil White
Bass Trombone
Roger Argente
Tuba
Kevin Morgan
Keyboard
John Alley
Music Director
Daniele Gatti
Managing Director
Ian Maclay
Finance Director
Richard Huxtable
Concerts Director
Elizabeth Forbes
Concerts Manager
Elsa Tatevossian
Head of Press & Marketing
Chris Evans
Head of Community & Education
James Hutchinso
Orchestra Manager
Sally Douglas
Personnel Manager
Jane Moss
Librarian
Patrick Williams
Stage Manager
Chris Ouzman
29
Barbican Committee
Chairman
John Barker OBE
Barbican Music Department
Head of Music
Robert van Leer
Deputy Chairman
Barbara Newman CBE
Concert Hall Manager
Vicky Atkinson
Mary Lou Carrington
Stuart Fraser
Christine Cohen OBE
Jeremy Mayhew
Maureen Kellett
Joyce Nash OBE
John Owen-Ward
Hamish Ritchie
John Robins
Patrick Roney CBE
Lesley King-Lewis
Music Programmers
Gijs Elsen
Bryn Ormrod
Programming Assistants
Andrea Jung
Katy Morrison
Technical Supervisors
Mark Bloxsidge
Steve Mace
Concerts Planning Manager
Frances Bryant
Technicians
Maurice Adamson
Jasja van Andel
Jason Kew
Gabriele Nicotra
Martin Shaw
Artistic Director
Graham Sheffield
Head of Marketing
Chris Denton
Commercial Director
Mark Taylor
Music Marketing Manager
Jacqueline Barsoux
Services Director
Michael Hoch
Marketing Executives
Naomi Engler
Bethan Sheppard
Executive Assistant
to Sir John Tusa
Leah Nicholls
Technical Manager
Eamonn Byrne
Deputy Technical Manager
Ingo Reinhardt
Music Administrator
Thomas Hardy
HR Director
Diane Lennan
Event Coordinator
Nick Fielding
Programming Consultant
Angela Dixon
Barbican Directorate
Managing Director
Sir John Tusa
Finance Director
Sandeep Dwesar
Event Managers
Kate Packham
Kirsten Siddle
Fiona Todd
Performing Arts Marketing
Assistant
Sarah Hemingway
Media Relations Managers
Miles Evans
Nicky Thomas
Acting Senior Production Manager
Eddie Shelter
Production Managers
Katy Arnander
Jessica Buchanan-Barrow
Alison Cooper
Stage Manager
Elizabeth Burgess
Deputy Stage Manager
Julie-Anne Bolton
Stage Supervisors
Christopher Alderton
Paul Harcourt
Stage Assistants
Ademola Akisanya
Michael Casey
Andy Clarke
Trevor Davison
Heloise Donnelly-Jackson
Hannah Wye
Technical & Stage Coordinator
Colette Chilton
Programme edited by Edge-Wise, artwork by Jane Denton; printed by Vitesse London; advertising Barbican Centre
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