PROGRAMME
Charles Gounod. Walpurgis Night Dance from Faust
Gaetano Donizetti. Lucia's Aria from Act 1, Lucia di Lammermoor
Giuseppe Verdi. Gilda's Aria (Caro nome...) from Act 1, Rigoletto
Charles Gounod. Juliet's Waltz from Act 1, Roméo et Juliette
Jules Massenet. Manon's Gavotte Scene (Suis-je gentille ainsi?) from Act 3, Manon
Giacomo Puccini. Liù's Arioso (Signore, ascolta!) from Act 1, Turandot
Richard Strauss An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64
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"Julia is an emerging star – an excellent soprano with a brilliant voice. Working with her is a sheer delight as she sings and acts at a level you usually only find in performers of many more years of experience," this is what the world-famous tenor Placido Domingo said about the talented Russian opera singer Julia Novikova after they both appeared in the leading roles in a TV production of Verdi Rigoletto, broadcast to 138 countries all over the world.
After graduating from the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in her native city of Saint Petersburg, Julia Novikova quickly established herself as one of the leading sopranos of her generation. Following her professional debut with the Mariinsky Theatre at the age of 23 she appeared on other prestigious opera stages such as Théâtre des Champs Elysées, New York Carnegie Hall, Royal Opera House London and others. In 2012 she was invited to sing at the traditional Christmas Gala with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. "In a world that is moving so fast it is so important for us to stop once in a while and listen to and explore our inner self in order not to get lost. I think art and music help us to do that. I hope that when listening to an opera people can relate and respond to the beauty and emotions they experience and by doing this understand themselves better," says Julia Novikova. Tonight the soprano will perform highlights from operas by Gaetano Donizetti, Giuseppe Verdi, Charles Gounod, Jules Massenet and Giacomo Puccini.
The second part of the concert features Richard Strauss' compellingly evocative Alpine Symphony, Op. 64, written while the composer was living in the region of Bavarian Alps, within sight of the area's highest peak. Though labelled as a symphony by the composer himself, this piece was written as a single continuous movement: it is a tone painting of a ramble in the Alps, musically evoking the woods teeming with birds and animals, rushing streams and waterfalls, shepherds driving their flocks to the mountain pastures. At the same time the music alludes to a human life from dawn to sunset, its vitality and grandeur, fears and tumults.
At this concert for opera aficionados the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by its founder, artistic director and principal conductor, a Lithuanian National Prize winner, Maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius.