Belcanto in Bruges, that turned out to be Anima Eterna Brugge , this time under the direction of Giovanni Antonini, one of the four conductors. But we also heard founder and inspirer Jos Van Immerseel at the pianoforte. That could hardly be otherwise. The selection of belcanto arias came from Mozart, Rossini and Schubert sung by the young Russian soprano Julia Lezhneva.
"Of course we knew the stories about people who woke up in a different body in the morning. But that was not what we felt."
That is written on the back of the chair in front of me in the Bruges Concert Hall. It is a fragment of "One day", the continuous thematic poem by Peter Verhelst on all the seats in the hall. What I felt in any case when I started this report the next day was a feeling of contentment. It had been a long time since I last heard Anima Eterna Brugge , but the orchestra sounded perfect. It matched so perfectly with what the orchestra's first cellist answered to the question from Klara presenter of the evening Olav Grondelaers: "How is it to play with the voice of soprano Julia Lezhneva?" The answer: "We sing with our instrument, the breath is our bow."
It was a belcanto programme, with only one Italian, Gioachino Rossini. How can that be? No Verdi or Puccini but the Austrians Mozart, Haydn and Schubert. But yes, it can. The Viennese were crazy about Italian opera, they called Rossini il Tedeschino, the little German. And was the impulse for "beautiful singing", belcanto, not given by Mozart? And don't the first measures of the overture from Il Barbieri di Siviglia seem like Mozart before the real Rossini crescendo swells? With that, the start was given.
That we were listening to belcanto was immediately confirmed by soprano Julia Lezhneva with a Mozart aria, "Voi avete un cor fedele." Pure Mozart irony: "You have a faithful heart, but will it last?" But doubting the abilities of soprano Lezhneva is not necessary, those high notes flowed out so easily. And there was another concert aria by Mozart, with also founder of Anima Eterna Brugge Jos Van Immerseel at his beloved pianoforte. And an aria from Così fan tutte certainly could not be missing. It seemed as if conductor Giovanni Antonini was singing along in his conducting, so expressive and vivid was his approach. And certainly in that "Allegro moderato" from Schubert's "Unfinished". That orchestra played beautifully, from wind instruments to strings, powerful where it needed to be, subdued when necessary. More than excellent!
Not afraid of the high and low notes in Rossini and the fast trills, Lezhneva finally sang an aria from La donna del Lago. The audience of course applauded for an encore. That turned out to be Mozart. As the string players plucked their violins, Julia Lezhneva sang that beautiful "Voi che sapete", from Le Nozze di Figaro, "You who know what love is....."
What I know in any case is that Anima Eterna Brugge under the direction of conductor Giovanni Antonini surpassed itself.
WHAT: At the cradle of Belcanto!
WHO: Julia Lezhneva [soprano], Anima Eterna conducted by Giovanni Antonini, Jos Van Immerseel [pianoforte], Marjan de Haer [harp]
REPERTOIRE:
- Gioachino Rossini, overture from Il Barbieri di Siviglia; "Assisa ai piè di un salice" from Otello; "Tanti affeti in tal momento" from La donna del Lago;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Voi avete un cor (KV217); Ch'io mi scordi di te (KV505); "E parte…per pietà, ben mio" (from Così fan tutte).
- Franz Joseph Haydn, overture from L'isola disabitata.
- Franz Schubert, "Allegro moderato" from Symphony no. 7, "Unfinished"; overture "Im italienische Stile".
WHERE: Concertgebouw Brugge
WHEN: Saturday 14 January 2023