War and Peace - Experiences of 2023 Production
Just back from one of the most powerful opera experiences I’ve ever had: Bayerische Staatsoper politically charged new production of War & Peace. The intensity of the night was further increased by several unexpected personal coincidences:
When the curtain opened I couldn’t believe it - the set was so familiar. I then realised it was a replica of the House of Unions in Moscow - the very same building where I had my first portrait concert in Moscow (2017), but also where my grandfather was denounced by the soviet authorities (1948 - see photo). At my concert I had enthused that now it had become a place for adventurous new music - Russia was changing! Yet here it is in 2023 as an opera-set representing the Russian echo chamber of propaganda - (cruel reminder of the terrible u-turn Russia has taken). Dmitri Cherniakov’s staging this historical (1800s) epic in modern Moscow creates moments of intense emotional discomfort; the madness of war-time nationalism is given such reality, at times I felt sick with emotion.
At the interval I looked up & saw a very familiar face; by total coincidence here was a singer I worked with at Helikon Opera (2018), now living in Austria. He told me the familiar story of uncomfortable calls to his family who support Putin, convinced by the propaganda - on stage we witness this same misguided situation!
Afterwards I thanked Vladimir Jurowski, who’s remarkable conducting gave an exceptional sense of dramatic development to the opera, he told me he had personally orchestrated the final brass band ‘hymn’ from the Piano score (from earlier version of the opera), giving an alternative ending that was not the usual patriotic celebration of victory. I also met the incredible cast of singers who are (very poignantly) all from ex-soviet states: Ukraine, Armenia, Moldova, Russia.
Finally, as I entered a restaurant opposite the opera, to my disbelief I met Vladimir Tarnopolsky (composition prof of Moscow Conservatoire) & his wife. His ensemble ‘Studio for New Music’ had performed at my concert in the House Of Unions. What was he doing here? They had fled Russia 2 weeks after the invasion of Ukraine & were now refugees in Munich. #stopwarinukraine
