Sergey Prokofiev: the Fiery Angel

Leigh Melrose (Ruprecht), Ewa Vesin (Renata), Anna Victorova (The Landlady), Mairam Sokolova (Fortune-teller/Mother Superior), Sergey Radchenko (Agrippa of Nettesheim), Andrii Ganchuk (Johann Faust/The Servant), Maxim Paster (Mephistopheles), Goran Juric (The Inquisitor), Domingo Pellicola (Jacob Glock), Petr Sokolov (Mathias Wiessman) & Coro Del Teatro Dell'Opera Di Roma, Orchestra Del Teatro Dell'Opera Di Roma, Alejo Perez

Serge Prokofieffs operatragedie 'The Fiery Angel' werd tijdens zijn leven nooit uitgevoerd - de broze energie, dramatiek en welsprekende lyrische tederheid van de muziek zouden opnieuw opduiken in zijn derde symfonie. Het verhaal concentreert zich onophoudelijk op Renata, die wordt achtervolgd door een engel die de duivel blijkt te zijn. Regisseur Emma Dante beschrijft de opera als "een explosieve mix van fantastisch realisme en eindeloze verwarring van nachtmerries, waanzin, seksuele impulsen en culturele botsingen", en de productie van het Teatro dell'Opera di Roma werd geprezen als "een presentatie van Prokofieffs meesterwerk dat schittert in al zijn groteske glorie" (operawire.com).

Sergey Prokofiev's operatic tragedy The Fiery Angel was never performed in the composers lifetime the musics brittle energy, drama and eloquent lyrical tenderness would re-emerge in his Third Symphony. The narrative focuses relentlessly on Renata, who is haunted by an angel who turns out to be the devil. Director Emma Dante describes the opera as an explosive mix of fantastical realism and endless confusion of nightmares, madness, sexual impulses and cultural clashes, and this Teatro dellOpera di Roma production was acclaimed as a presentation of Prokofievs masterpiece which sparkles in all its grotesque glory (operawire.com).

Prokofiev:
 The Fiery Angel (L'Ange De Feu/der Feurige Engel)

"Key to the success of any performance of this opera is the portrayal of Renata...Here the role is taken by Polish soprano Ewa Vesin, not one whit fazed by her unflattering outfits, let alone Prokofiev’s tortured vocal writing...Carmine Maringola has transplanted the opera from pre-Enlightenment darkness to a literal netherworld with his set design...Should you find balletic doppelgängers a distraction in opera this extravaganza won’t be for you...Outstanding among the singers is Leigh Melrose as Ruprecht."
Gramophone Magazine - March 2021