News

Adam Klein to sing at the Metropolitan Opera

Tuesday, 8th May 2012
Adam Klein will sing the role of Loge in Wagner’s Das Rheingold on Thursday, April 26, replacing Stefan Margita, who is ill.
Klein has sung thirteen roles at the Met, most recently appearing as Chekalinsky in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades in 2011. Klein debuted at the Met as a boy soprano singing Yniold in Pelléas et Mélisande in 1972. His Met debut as a tenor came in 2001 as Count Elemer in Richard Strauss’s Arabella. He has previously sung Loge at the Indianapolis Opera and with the Liederkranz Foundation.
Das Rheingold is conducted by Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi and features Wendy Bryn Harmer as Freia, Stephanie Blythe as Fricka, Patricia Bardon as Erda, Gerhard Siegel as Mime, Bryn Terfel as Wotan, Eric Owens as Alberich, Franz-Josef Selig as Fasolt, and Hans-Peter König as Fafner. The production is by Robert Lepage.

 

 

GLORY! Russian Treasures –Gala Concert at Jordan Hall will be Grand Finale of 2d International Rachmaninoff Russian Music Festival

Wednesday, 21st March 2012

On Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 4:00 PM, New England Conservatory’s beautiful Jordan Hall will fill with glorious sounds of Russian masterpieces, performed by a star-studded roster of world-class talents.

At the heart of the program is the festival’s organizing group, the Rachmaninoff Festival Choir of America, combining with two guest choirs, Kovcheg, an all-male ensemble from St. Petersburg, Russia, and Elegia, a mixed chorus from Moscow, to form a mighty 100-voice strong choir led by Irina Shachneva, Artistic Director and festival founder.

The “opening acts” for this powerful group include rising stars of international repute: renowned pianist Vassily Primakov,  prize-winning soprano Maria Lyudko, and counter-tenor Andrey Nemzer, a winner this year in the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious National Council competition. Also performing are instrumentalists from Würzburg, Germany’s youth orchestra and Juventas New Music Ensemble of Boston.

Audiences will be treated to genial and rarely performed sacred, secular and operatic works by Russian masters such as Berezovsky (his motet Do Not Reject Me in My Old Age), Tchaikovsky, Gretchaninoff, Glinka and, of course, the festival’s namesake, Rachmaninoff, including the Études Tableaux performed by pianist Vassily Primakov, Three Russian Songs for orchestra and choir, and selections from his Vespers. Bells will peal out for the grand finale, featuring all the festival performers in a resounding rendition of the chorus “Glory!” from  Glinka’s opera A Tsar’s Life, concluding an extravagant musical afternoon not to be missed!

Music Festival Featured Artist Wins Top Prize at Metropolitan Opera

Sunday, 18th March 2012
Andrey Nemzer 193x280 Music Festival Featured Artist Wins Top Prize at Metropolitan Opera

Andrey Nemzer, counter-tenor

New York – On Sunday, March 18, the Metropolitan Opera hosted its annual National Council Auditions Grand Finale, at which nine talented singers from across America competed. The Rachmaninoff Festival Choir of America is proud to announce that its soloist, counter-tenor Andrey Nemzer, was named a grand-prize winner of this prestigious contest.

Mr. Nemzer’s unique vocal talent – a rich, soaring counter-tenor of unusual power and agility – will be showcased at two concerts during the 2d International Rachmaninoff Russian Music Festival in Boston this coming May: at a vocal concert on May 25th at 7:30 PM and at the festival’s grand finale event on Sunday, May 27th , at 4:00 PM in Jordan Hall.

The 2d International Rachmaninoff Russian Music Festival will be a week-long event featuring performances of opera, choral music, orchestral works and vocal masterpieces from the Russian repertoire. It will be held May 20 – 27, 2012 in Boston.

To learn more about the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions, visit http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/press/detail.aspx?id=21754

Welcome to the International Russian Music Festival

Saturday, 4th February 2012
Irina IMG 9176 web 199x280 Welcome to the International Russian Music Festival

Irina Shachneva, Founder and Artistic Director

Thank you for visiting our website, where you can find information about past, current and future programs offered for your spiritual enrichment, viewing enjoyment, and auditory enchantment.

In May, 2012, please join us in Boston for the 2d International Rachmaninoff Russian Music Festival. Named in memory of that brilliant Russian émigré, Sergei Rachmaninoff, this series of events will celebrate the rich traditions and dramatic beauty of my homeland. From the spectacle of Russian opera to the grand gala finale in New England Conservatory’s legendary Jordan Hall, the festival offers something for all tastes.

I invite you to browse these pages for details about this upcoming program, as well as information about our past projects, including our 2011 tour to Russia and our premiere festival in 2010: see us, hear us, and learn all about this unique project, born out of a shared love of Russia, a love of music, and, above all, a love of humanity.

Please spread the word: tell your friends, “like” us on Facebook, and Support Us however you can!