Russian Double Bill by Cui, Langer, fre. 24 mar. 2023, Fra (2023/2023), Instrueret af Max Hoehn, Dirigent Lada Valešová, New Athenaeum Theatre, Glasgow, United Kingdom

All three operas are based on plays of two of the greatest Russian playwrights, Alexander Pushkin and Anton Chekov. Many years before Peter Schaffer’s famous play Amadeus exploring a possible rivalry between the official court composer to the Hapsburg Court and the revolutionary upstart who dies at the age of 35, Rimsky-Korsakov too decided to delve into their possible association. As we exit the COVID pandemic, Cui’s opera follows the Pushkin short story written in 1830 where at a banquet its host taunts Death with a toast: “And so O Plague, we hail thy rain.” Ironically, because of the pandemic interest in the opera has been revived through virtual performances notably in Brazil, Sweden and Russia. Four Sisters is a comedy loosely based on Chekov’s play Three Sisters. Sung in English it has been written by Russian-born British composer, Elena Langer, who composed Welsh National Opera’s two recent hits, Figaro gets a Divorce and Rhondda Rips it Up, both pieces nominated for an International Opera Award. This will be its staged world premiere.