Soloist of the Latvian National Opera Jūlija Vasiljeva and pianist Māris Skuja invite you to the program “Garūta. Rachmaninov” on December 5 at 3 pm in the Beletage Hall of the Latvian National Opera. The concert program includes solo songs by Lūcija Garūta and romances by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
But already with Julia Vasilyev we meet at the “Classic” studio.
“Lūcija Garūta will be commemorated next year on the 100th anniversary, and in honor of this event, together with Māris Skujs, we are working on the recording of her solo song album,” says Jūlija Vasiljeva. “The first part of the concert will feature Lūcija Garūta’s solo songs – both the popular” Saint Love “,” Moon Boat “and” You’re Here Again! “And lesser-known ones. Lūcija Garūta has studied in France, and her compositions have a great influence on the harmony, fragility and depth of French music.
This program is a challenge for both the singer and the pianist.
In order to diversify the program and give it a romantic accent, we included Sergei Rachmaninoff’s romances in the second part of the concert. ”
Jūlija Vasiljeva has been a soloist at the Latvian National Opera since 2013, she sings in leading soprano parties, including Violeta Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Traviata, Norina Gaetano’s Donicetti in Don Pasquale, Margaret Charles Guno in Faust, and Chlorindo Jacquino Rosini. “Lelde Imanta Kalniņa” I play, I dance “and others.
In the conversation, we also mention the production of “Cinderella” and recent recordings for the Latvian Radio Foundation.
(excerpt from the conversation)
Ilze Medne: This time is very full of beautiful events for you. There will be performances of Joaquino Rossini’s “Cinderella” and at the same time today you will invite all listeners to a beautiful event in the Beletage Hall of the Latvian National Opera, where you will meet the wonderful pianist Māris Skujs again. A year ago you had a concert and now the next one – and this time in the program Rachmaninov and Garuta. But first I want to ask you if you are one of those people who likes to do different things at the same time, because chamber music and the role in opera are not easy.
Julia Vasilyeva: In fact, the plans were a little different –
The “Cinderella” series was supposed to take place in late October and early November, so now would have been the time to focus only on the chamber music concert. Two different things don’t go together so easily.
But with the fact that we are all in such a situation, we need to unite. Yes, there is a lot of work, you have to switch all the time, but it keeps you in good shape. You have to work with your mind all the time, you have to maintain your vocal form every day, exercise and repeat everything. But I will say that I feel very good. I’m not tired, I still have a beautiful show in front of me, which is the anniversary show for Egils Siliņš – it will be “Traviata”, where he will sing Hermann. There is a lot ahead, and it is a very bright and good perspective – it gives you the strength, peace and opportunity to do it all.
Cinderella performances are also taking place at the moment. How do you feel about this production? Is there enough fun for you to take part in it, not just the audience watching this sparkling performance?
Yes, now it’s really enjoyable. The production process was difficult because
none of us were used to working in a mode that the director had set for us from the beginning. He arrived with a completely written piano excerpt, where every break, every step was explained, the whole choreography was arranged.
He had such a precise concept that it was quite difficult to learn it all, along with the lyrics, the song and the dances, but it gave a very good structure. It is also what contains the whole show together, despite the fact that the premiere was postponed three times. In the end, now everyone knows what he is doing. Everything is very precise and you can really enjoy it all, that’s where the game begins, because you can put your emotions, some gestures and something on everything the director has created. So this show is really mature.
Is Rossini’s music comfortable for your voice?
I would say that
it is like an elixir and a kind of prevention, which does very good things to the voice – it cleanses the excess, helps not to force it, to check how it is with each stage of the testament that takes place. I will say that it is very convenient for me to sing Rossini’s music,
despite the fact that my role is quite complex ensembles – I have to sing in a high school for a long time, I have to keep all the soloists and other men’s choirs together. In that sense, I like it very much, there is a lot of text, I have to talk fast, it requires intense thinking, good form, we must not relax for a moment. But it’s a very good workout for what’s next.
And what’s next?
Yes, I will share a beautiful event scheduled for the beginning of March: it will be a concert performance of Verdi’s opera “Louise Miller” with the great conductor Giorgio Morandi.
Which we remember after the fantastic Verdi Requiem here in Riga, as well as after his visit to the opera.
Yes, three Aida performances are now planned, in which I will sing the role of the High Priestess. But “Louise Miller” is a rarely performed opera, because it is complicated in terms of voice composition – there is a very large a cappella quartet in the second act, which imposes difficult tasks on large and world-famous soloists. Here we will be with Rinald Kandalincev, there will be a guest soloist – tenor, and such a famous conductor, which we all look forward to.
(..)
About cooperation with Māris Skujs: now is the second program that has been created for both of you. Are there any tips you hear from him for the first time?
That is a lot. As for this particular program, which will be played on December 5 – the first part of Lūcija Garūta’s songs – we also plan to record them. Next year will be Lūcija Garūta’s 120th anniversary, and an album dedicated to it will feature her 22 solo songs with piano. Maris Skuja himself studied polyphony with Lucia Garuta, so he knows first-hand what her style is, how to perform these songs, and really – it is so valuable that we can do it together with all the nuances he knows. I think it will be valuable not only for me, but also for the listeners.
Was Lūcija Garūta’s music and her special musical language a discovery for you?
Absolutely! At first, I will admit, the songs seemed very difficult not only in terms of vocals, but also in terms of images. We discussed this a lot with Māris. He explained the characters who enter music through poetry, the language of music, where it came from, because Lucia Garuta studied in France and was very influenced by French composers.
The language of her music is special, along with the fragility there are such harmonious compositions, such guiding themes īt To hear and feel it all … It’s like a sea to swim.
But now that you start working on the recording right away and the concert is here – do these songs still seem very complicated, or has the key been found?
It seems to me that the key has been found, and it lies in the peace that needs to be achieved in order to sing these songs. In the voice of peace. There is no forcing or tremolating, there is no big sound – there are a lot of nuances and a big line.
And also freedom, according to the pianist, because there is already a lot of feeling and vibration here, maybe there is quite a lot here as well stolen and moments of free feeling.
Absolutely! Maris is a very demanding concertmaster, he has a lot to do in this repertoire, so we coordinate literally every break, every phrase, but it is very easy for us to play music together. And that is also the key to why we have joint programs.
Because we both believe we have a common tact …
Is it an inner feeling? How can we explain this to the audience?
You see, the thing about musicians is that we can’t pick up the sound right away – we need the so-called preparation phase, just like a conductor. We need a common breath.
Someone will say – yes, the singer is breathing, but the pianist is not breathing …
The pianist also has a lot of color and ability to change the sound of the piano. It seems that there can be a change – there are white and black keys, just put your fingers on top and there will be. But no, it is really very important how a person does it, how he controls the right hand, how he plays one or the other chord, where the upper voice or the low one stands out.
Does it help that Māris Skujas has a lot of experience working with singers? These skills are definitely of exceptional quality. Not every pianist is able to work with a singer. What does an ideal singer have to know?
I think the main feature is good hearing. Vocal hearing. It is important not only to hear whether the intonation is slipping somewhere or is rhythmic together. But the way the vocalist makes sound and that’s what Māris also has – very good vocal hearing.
–
Latvijas Radio invites to express its opinion on what is heard in the program and supports the discussion among the listeners, however, reserves the right to delete comments that violate the boundaries of dignified attitude and ethical conduct.
