FULL ALEKO Krasnoyarsk 2023 Nadezhda Komarova, Andrey Silenko, Mikhail Gubsky
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Aleko  
- Composer: Rachmaninov Sergei  
- Libretto: Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko    Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater named after Dmitry Hvorostovsky  
- Recorded: March 31, 2023
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: Nadezhda Komarova, Andrey Silenko, Mikhail Gubsky, Ilya Krivchikov, Janet Tarajan
- Conductor: Fabio Mastrangelo  
- Orchestra:
- Chorus Master: Dmitry Khodosh  
- Stage Director: Elizaveta Bondar   
- Stage Designer: Kristina Fedorova  
- Costume Designer:   
Information about the Recording
- Published by: TheKrasopera  
- Date Published: 2023  
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 2 Audio:3
- Subtitles: nosubs  
- Video Recording from: YouTube     FULL VIDEO
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
Opera “Aleko” is the final examination work of Sergei Rachmaninov at the Moscow Conservatory, marked with a gold medal. The opera was created by the 19-year-old composer in an amazingly short time – 17 days, which testifies to his extraordinary talent and his passion for this work.
This youthful work by Rachmaninoff attracted the close and enthusiastic attention of P. I. Tchaikovsky, who contributed to the production of the opera and even asked the young composer for permission to give “Aleko” along with his own one-act opera “Iolanta” (which shortly before that was shown at the premiere together with the ballet The Nutcracker).
The premiere of Aleko took place on April 27, 1893 at the Bolshoi Theatre. The performance was a success and was well received by critics. The second premiere took place on October 18, 1893 in Kyiv. Here Rachmaninoff performed as a conductor for the first time.
An outstanding performer of the role of Aleko was F. I. Chaliapin, a friend of Rachmaninoff. But a strange episode is connected with his first performance in this part: within the centenary of the birth of Pushkin on May 27, 1899, Chaliapin, acting as Aleko, put on make-up … by Pushkin himself (the singer said several times that he sees a certain similarity between the poet and Aleko). Chaliapin remained in history the brightest interpreter of this part, the singer returned to it more than once.