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QUEENS WEEKLY, DEC. 16, 2018
A consolidated troupe of 300 artists
of famous creative teams of Russia
will present “Carmina Burana,” a
cantata by Carl Orff, under the vaults
of the famous Stern Hall of Manhattan’s
Carnegie Hall on Dec. 29.
The evening promises to be a
grand spectacle, attended by 300
Russian artists of the country’s most
famous and oldest arts and cultural
groups: soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre
— Anna Aglatova (soprano),
Stanislav Mostovoi (tenor), and Vasily
Laduk (baritone) — sing with
Yurlov Capella Choir and Bolshoi
Symphonic Orchestra of Moscow
Conservatory. The staging includes
enchanting lighting effects, as well
as paintings from great artists of
the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance.
“Carmina Burana” is an ancient
manuscript of the collection of medieval
poetry, the original manuscript
of which was found in 1803
in the Benedictine monastery Bayern
(Beuern, lat. Buranum), now
Benediktbeuern, Bavaria.
The German composer Carl
Orff fi rst encountered these texts in
John Eddington Simon’s publication
“Wine, Women and Songs of 1884,”
which contained English translations
of 46 poems from a collection
found in the monastery. Michael Hoffman,
a law student and enthusiast of
Greek and Latin, helped Orff choose
24 poems about the impermanence of
luck and wealth, the transience of life,
the joy of the return of spring, and the
pleasure of drunkenness, gluttony,
gambling, and carnality.
The manuscript, hidden in the
monastery in the 13th century, was
found many centuries later. During
the European Middle Ages, it was
a “forbidden” text written, fi rst, by
“renegades vagrants” — people who
had the most ironic, and even satirical
views on the life, society, and its
mores. There is no religion in these
songs — even close to no words —
but almost on every page, it communicates
about the removal of taboos
and all sorts of prohibitions. Yes,
life is fl eeting, fortune is blind and
ruthless, there is no doubt. But, stop
praying, fearing, and waiting for
the end of the world — let’s rejoice:
spring, sun, drink, delicious food,
carnal love, warm company and
cheerful songs, here and now!
Orff wrote the libretto with the
texts of the poems in the old German
and Latin languages. The fi rst
performance of “Carmina Burana”
took place on June 8, 1937, conducted
by Bertil Wetzelsberger. In Europe,
on the eve World War II, the cantata
about the power and beauty of human
life sounded more relevant than
ever. But even the composer himself
could not assume that his creation
would become a bestseller of the
20th century. Now, the most famous
orchestras and choral chapels have
in their repertoire Orff’s work.
“Carmina Burana” is staged
by director Igor Ushakov, who
invited English conductor Jan
Latham-Koenig for the director’s
console. Music producer is Vladimir
Davydenko. Gennadiy Dmetryak,
people’s artist of Russia, is
the chief conductor and artistic director
of the Yurlov Russian State
Academic Choir.
Bolshoi Symphonic Orchestra of
the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory
Yurlov Capella Choir Soloists
of Bolshoi Theater present “Carmina
Burana” at Carnegie Hall 881
Seventh Ave. between W. 56th and W.
57th streets in Manhattan, (212) 247–
7800, https://www.carnegiehall.org/
Cart/Seat-Selection-Performance/
Syos?eventid=37213 Dec. 29, 8 pm.
Tickets from $22.50 to $210
ADV E RTI S E M E NT
Russian stars perform new staging of ‘Carmina Burana’
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