Tchaikovsky: None but the Lonely Heart [Blu-ray]

Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt (‘None but the lonely heart’), probably the best known of Tchaikovsky’s songs, lends its name to an intimate theatrical evening in which Christof Loy has combined songs or ‘romances’ and instrumental music to create a chamber opera of striking beauty and intensity. Tchaikovsky’s songs cover a stylistic diversity unsurpassed by other Russian composers, often setting enigmatic texts in which the unsaid and unsayable create expressive tensions and encapsulate true human emotions. Given a sumptuous period setting, these qualities create a unique drama in which suppressed love is confronted with longed for moments of passion, and sadness over broken relationships leads to withdrawal and loneliness.

Christof Loy is one of the most internationally sought-after directors of his generation. He has an intensive and long-standing collaboration with many of the world’s leading opera houses and in 2016, he won the award for Best New Production for his Peter Grimes at the International Opera Awards, where he was also named Director of the Year in 2017.

The five leading singers cast in this production create all of the atmosphere and emotional intensity demanded of Christof Loy’s vision. First Prize winner at the 2002 International Rimsky-Korsakov Competition in Saint Petersburg and of numerous awards since, Mariinsky Theatre baritone soloist Vladislav Sulimsky is the compellingly tragic central character, with Olesya Golovneva, Kelsey Lauritano, Andrea Carè and Mikołaj Trąbka all delivering powerful performances.

‘The singers were uniformly excellent, as exciting dramatically as they were vocally. Real Russian flavour was provided by Golovneva and Sulimsky, although Trąbka’s Polish roots made him almost their equal stylistically. Andrea Carè, one of Pavarotti’s last students, was handsome and dashing as the impetuous youngest incarnation of the protagonist. Kelsey Lauritano, a member of the Oper Frankfurt ensemble (as is Trąbka), revealed a rich voice perfectly suited for Tchaikovsky’s melodies. Pianist Mariusz Kłubczuk, who was on stage throughout the performance, played splendidly, as did Nikolai Petersen, a member of Oper Frankfurt’s conducting staff’ – Seen and Heard International