Sonya Yoncheva - Siberia - DVD

Gabriel Faurè considered Umberto Giordano's Siberia to be one of the most interesting and singular works of the early 20th century. The opera's tragic narrative follows Prince Alexis's courtesan Stephana. She falls in love with an innocent soldier, Vassili, who is sent to Siberia for killing the Prince. Stephana gives up her life of luxury to follow him but cannot escape her past. With it's intensely Russian atmosphere and passionately soaring melodies, Siberia was Giordano's favorite among his operas. This acclaimed Fiorentino production was greeted with multiple ovations.

The English musical Renaissance reached it's apogee with Henry Purcell. Inspired by French pomp and Italian melodies, he forged a unique style, blending royal splendour with an authentic British spirit. His masterpiece, Dido and Aeneas, is a timeless lyrical gem, exploring the eternal tragedy of love and abandonment. The majestic Sonya Yoncheva plays Dido, the queen in love betrayed by fate, while Halidou Nombre gives voice to the passions of Aeneas, torn between his love and the call of Rome, who is caught up in an intrigue hatched by dark forces. At the Opera Royal of Versailles, the music of the Orpheus britannicus resonates with eternal splendour, magnified by the dreamlike staging of Cecile Roussat and Julien Lubek. Their masterful approach, combining mime, dance and acrobatics, transforms every moment into a magical tableau, sublimated by the fervour of the young soloists from the Academie de l'Opera Royal.

?Umberto Giordano's opera Siberia with it's libretto by Puccini's successful librettist Luigi Illica (La bohème, Tosca) premiered in 1903 at La Scala as a replacement of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, which was not finished at the time. Madama Butterfly came out in Milan shortly after Siberia and flopped completely. Umberto Giordano, however, briefly became a public favorite. Shortly after successful re-runs on important theatres, including Buenos Aires, New York and São Paulo, Siberia could not maintain it's position in repertoire although Gabriel Fauré designated the second act as Inchone of the most remarkable and captivating that modern dramatic music can offer.Inch This opera rarity performed at Bregenz Festival Inchis musical narrative theatre in perfectionInch (Süddeutsche Zeitung) in which InchUryupin leads the agile Wiener Symphoniker through the score with a sense for delicately tinted colours. Ambur Braid sings the challenging part of Stephanas with bravourInch (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).