Les Arts closes its ‘Lied’ cycle with Ekaterina Semenchuk in an evening dedicated to the Russian repertoire

'Les Arts és Lied'

• He returns to the Main Hall, which still remembers his sublime performances in 'Il trovatore', 'La forza del destino' and 'Macbeth'
• Accompanied by pianist Semyon Skigin, from the legendary St. Petersburg school, she will perform songs by Glinka and Mussorgsky

Valencia (7.04.2024). The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía closes the fifth edition of its Lied cycle with the highly anticipated return to the Main Hall of Ekaterina Semenchuk, one of the most important mezzo-sopranos on the international scene, next Sunday, April 14, at 7.00 p.m.

Accompanied by the renowned pianist, Semyon Skigin, from the legendary St. Petersburg school, the Belarusian diva reveals herself to the Les Arts audience as a recitalist with an evening centered around the Russian repertoire.

An essential artist in the seasons of London's Covent Garden, Milan's La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, or the opera houses of Paris and Vienna, Ekaterina Semenchuk made her operatic debut in Spain at Les Arts, where she has achieved outstanding success for her Verdi incursions in titles such as 'Il trovatore', 'Macbeth', or 'La forza del destino'.

For her first recital in Valencia, the mezzo-soprano will perform works by two essential Slavic composers, Mikhail Glinka and Modest Mussorgsky. Semenchuk will dedicate the first part of her program to Glinka's Russian Romanticism with 'Farewell to St. Petersburg,' which includes some of the movement's most popular themes, such as love, jealousy, nature, oriental exoticism, and also a tribute to the beauty of the Russian landscape in the famous romance 'The Lark.'

After the intermission, the Minsk mezzo-soprano presents one of the greatest song cycles of the genre, Mussorgsky's 'Songs and Dances of Death'. A piece of overwhelming dramatic power, the four songs portray death at various stages of life: a child, a maiden, a drunkard, and the battlefield.