A Quartet of Great Voices

Nachtigall Artists Management, in cooperation for Prague PROMS International Music Festival, presents an exceptional vocal quartet with a starry “front-woman” – soprano Anna Netrebko. Other famous singers will be her stage partners in arias, duets and ensembles from Italian and Russian operas: Ekaterina Gubanova – mezzo-soprano, Aleksandrs Antonenko – tenor, and Ildar Abdrazakov - basso. The singers will be accompanied by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marco Armiliato.

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The phenomenal Russian soprano Anna Netrebko has no equal competition in her field. Since her triumphant debut at Salzburg Festival in 2002, she regularly appears at all front opera houses in the world. The most famous opera house, the Met, hosted the soprano in fifteen opera productions, including three season-openings and ten Live in HD broadcasts! On 23rd November 2012, Anna Netrebko made her long-awaited Prague debut; per Nachtigall Artists invitation, she included Prague on her European Tour with P. I. Tchaikovsky’s opera Iolanta.

Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova caught international attention in 2005 with her portrayal of Brangäne (Wagner: Tristan und Isolde) at Opéra National de Paris. In 2007, she made her debut at the Met in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann, alongside Anna Netrebko (HD broadcast on 19th December 2009); she was also cast in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena (HD broadcast on 15th October 2011). Met production of this opera brought together two more artists who will take part at the concert in Prague: Russian basso Ildar Abdrazakov (in role of Enrico, or Henry VIII), and conductor Marco Armiliato.

Ildar Abdrazakov is a permanent guest-artist of the Met since his debut in 2004. So far, he performed in thirteen opera productions; his last performance of Carmen brought his Escamillo together with Don José of Aleksandrs Antonenko (HD broadcast on 1st November 2014).

Born in Riga, Latvian tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko made his Met debut as the Prince in Dvořák’s Rusalka (9th March 2009). His other engagements at the Met included Grigoriy in Musorgsky’s Boris Godunov (HD broadcast 23rd October 2010) and future engagements include Verdi’s Otello (September 2015).

The charismatic Italian conductor Marco Armiliato has conducted over 360 performances at the Met since his debut in 1998. He ranks among the most established and most occupied opera conductors. His 2014/2015 season includes the following engagements:  Metropolitan Opera (Aida and La traviata), Opernhaus Zürich (La fanciulla del West and La traviata), Vienna State Opera (Tosca, Andrea Chénier, L’elisir d’amore and Don Carlo), and Deutsche Oper Berlin (Faust).

Considered one of Czech’s great orchestras, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra has been enriching the concert life of the Czech capital  and at the same time it is a welcome guest at concert halls abroad.

Program

Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)
Triumphal March & Ballabile
Aida, Act II

Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857–1919)
Recitar!... Vesti la giubba (Canio)
I pagliacci, Act I

Francesco Cilea (1866–1950)
Acerba voluttà (Princess de Bouillon)
Adriana Lecouvreur, Act II
Ekaterina Gubanova

Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880)
Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour (Nicklausse & Giulietta)
Barcarolle, Le contes d’Hoffmann
Ekaterina Gubanova, Anna Netrebko

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
Intermezzo
Manon Lescaut

Giuseppe Verdi
Mentre gonfiarsi l’anima parea… Oltre quel limite, t’attendo, o spettro! (Attila)
Attila, Act I
Ildar Abdrazakov

Giuseppe Verdi
Qui Radamès verrà!... O patria mia (Aida)
Aida,  Act III
Anna Netrebko

Giuseppe Verdi
L’aborrita rivale a me sfuggia... Già i Sacerdoti adunansi (Amneris & Radamès)
Aida,  Act IV
Ekaterina Gubanova, Aleksandrs Antonenko

Interval

Giuseppe Verdi
Overture
I vespri siciliani

Giuseppe Verdi
Dio! Mi potevi scagliar (Otello)
Otello,  Act III
Aleksandrs Antonenko

Giacomo Puccini
In questa reggia (Turandot)
Turandot, Act II
Anna Netrebko

Giuseppe Verdi
Infelice!... e tuo credevi... Infin che un brando vindice (Don Ruy Gomez de Silva)
Ernani,  Act I
Ildar Abdrazakov

Pietro Mascagni
Intermezzo
Cavalleria rusticana

Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945)
Voi lo sapete, o mamma (Santuzza)
Cavalleria rusticana
Ekaterina Gubanova

Giuseppe Verdi
Qui posa il fianco!... Qual voluttà trascorrere (Giselda, Oronte & Pagano)
I Lombardi alla prima crociata, Act III
Anna Netrebko, Aleksandrs Antonenko, Ildar Abdrazakov

Subject to change and to be completed.