Review of the Nizhny Novgorod “Abduction from the Seraglio” at the Moscow Philharmonic

The orchestra of the Nizhny Novgorod Opera House La Voce Strumentale, conductor Dmitry Sinkovsky and soloists led by soprano Nadezhda Pavlova presented a concert performance of Mozart’s opera “The Abduction from the Seraglio” at the Moscow Philharmonic. Tells Yulia Bederova.

The Nizhny Novgorod Opera and Ballet Theater and its new chief conductor Dmitry Sinkovsky since 2022, in a sense, continue the work of Teodor Currentzis in his Perm period and build a repertoire with attention to the authentic background of the La Voce Strumentale orchestra: it was created in the theater on the basis of the ancient ensemble of the same name music, previously not assigned to any theaters or philharmonic societies. In Nizhny, the ensemble was expanded by graduates of the Academy of the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra and other musicians. Now the group is attracting more and more attention not only in the baroque-classicist repertoire, which requires a special historically informed approach, but also in the traditional, romantic role. True, both “The Queen of Spades” by Tchaikovsky, staged in Nizhny (and also performed in the Moscow Philharmonic Subscription), and “Carmen” by Bizet, which is only scheduled for the second half of the season, with all their purely romanticism, are scores with a stylistic secret.

The same, however, as Mozart’s “Abduction from the Seraglio” – a musical and theatrical score-box from 1782, which Mozart, who had only recently been freed from captivity of service at the archbishop’s court in Salzburg, settled in Vienna and immediately tied the knot of marriage, equipped with a lively and strong mechanism of the German Singspiel (opera with spoken dialogue in German), and hidden inside there are many cunning surprises. From the charmingly decorative box jump out every now and then references to the tragedy of the Italian opera seria, to the sensitivity of Rococo, to the lean French baroque dance, to the brilliant buffoonery almost a la Rossini (who, however, was born only ten years after the writing of “The Seraglio”). And, of course, to the bravura, flirtatiously unbridled style of “turkeri”, which the Viennese of that time culturally consumed with great enthusiasm both in everyday life and in art, both in the halls and on the streets, when half-toy Janissary orchestras marched through them. The cymbals, drum and triangle fell straight into Mozart’s orchestra from there, giving the Seraglio score an elegant, exotic noisiness.

The ardent genre hybridity and orchestral sonority of “Abduction” became a logical choice for Sinkovsky, known for the fundamental cheerfulness and speed of musical interpretations both in ensemble times and in his newest incarnation as a music director. In addition, the new residents of Nizhny Novgorod, as adherents of the old Perm model and heirs of Currentzis with his famous “Mozart trilogy,” seemed obliged to present their own Mozart. But they chose not a main name, but a rare for Russia and marginal for the popular Mozart anthology, Singspiel. Reasonably believing that the free imagination, apparent democratic innocence and affectionate hooliganism of “Abduction” will allow Nizhny Novgorod’s opportunities to be revealed from the best side.

And indeed, in the Tchaikovsky Hall, without staging, Mozart’s theater appeared as a sparkling sound collage, maintained in taut tempos and dense, slightly monochrome orchestral colors. Extensive prose dialogue scenes were reduced to individual lines, choruses were crossed out with a bold stroke of the concert pen. And the editing structure acquired its own rhythm, at the same time dotted and quite even, except for barely noticeable discrepancies, which, in general, are not fatal, like intonation roughness in solo and duet episodes, and in their own way fit into the cheerful course of singspiel outrages.

The gambling tone clearly prevailed over the pathos of subtle details. However, the balance was successfully corrected by the signature sophisticated Nadezhda Pavlova in the main role of the kidnapped Spaniard Constanza, who in turn stole the hearts of two kidnappers at once, one real (the wise Turkish Pasha Selim, whose captive we find Constanza at the start of operatic adventures) and one failed: Belmont, as if Roland/Ruggero is looking for his beloved in Selim’s domain, that is, God knows in what foreign lands. In the Nizhny Novgorod version of “The Seraglio”, Pavlova reveals and continues the metaphor of the lost island with its captives and wizards so organically, nuanced and easily that for a short time we forget where we are – in the landscapes of Mozart or on the musical map of Handel. Graduated pianissimo, subtle phrasing and a soft dark forte in the central aria “Martern aller Arten” take the listener along the fine line between styles and put him back on the ground, where the deft Singspiel stands firmly on his Janissary legs. In Moscow, the dark colors of Pavlov’s palette set off the sparkling and neat soprano of Galina Kruch – Blondchen, the neat comedy of Vladimir Kuklev in the role of Pedrillo and the light timbre of the voice of Sergei Godin – Belmont: it reveals a poetic and knightly stature. Another hero at the dark pole is Harry Agadzhanian. His Osmin (at the same time an avatar and alter ego of the invisible Selim, whose conferences the public hears through the speakers) captivates with his real artistry, confident mobility and attractive vocal theatricality. In the concert version, the performer’s lower register is partly hidden by the dense sound of the orchestra, but in a theatrical situation the balance will be different, which can add a little ghostliness to the instrumental colors and play into the hands of the hero and the entire ensemble.

The performance will be presented in Nizhny on February 29: Ekaterina Odegova is responsible for the direction, Ethel Ioshpa is responsible for the costumes, Dilyara Idrisova, Yana Dyakova and others are also promised in the cast. And the metaphor of an enchanted island, where “the aroma of the Garden of Love intoxicates, pulls you into your arms” and gives you “a moment of dream flight,” may be revealed through theatrical means: at least, the producers promise the public a “dream performance.”