*Voznesenskaya – only too human*
by Neil McGowan
La Voix Humaine (concert performance)
Vremena Goda Festival
Vremena Goda Orchestra/Bulakhov
29 September 2004
Bringing down the curtain on the Vremena Goda Festival this year was the Festival’s first-ever operatic offering – Poulenc’s “La Voix Humaine”. 2004 has been something of a treat for Poulenc fans in Moscow, who have had little to celebrate hereto – but this year we’ve had both The Carmelites (in a searing Helikon Opera production) and now La Voix Humaine. The chances of getting Les Mamelles de Tiresias as a Christmas cracker are a little remote, however – by Christmas, two of Moscow’s four main houses (Stanislavsky-Muzykal’ny and Helikon) will be in mothballs for long-overdue reconstruction work. The Bol’shoi struggles to stay open despite having the builders in the lobby, and only Novaya Opera enjoy the luxury of adequate new facilities. In a staggering waste of resources, the Vishnevskaya Opera Theatre is kept dark for all but 2-3 nights per month, when students of the Opera School perform at its prestige-address new premises.
[Remainder of article *here*]
Also, take a look at Neil’s *review* of Rigoletto at Ex-Prompt Theatre for Children, Moscow.
*Recommended Recording:*
