Ekaterina Siurina DE 3583 Soprano

Amour éternel

Ekaterina Siurina DE 3583 soprano

Constantine Orbelian ● Kaunas City Symphony

1 DELOS DE 3583 EKATERINA SIURINA ♦ AMOUR ÉTERNEL

— O Dieu! pouvante é Faust — Je dis que rien ne m’ , soprano éternel

Total Playing Time: 76:11 Playing Total Amour CHARLES CASTRONOVO, tenor CHARLES CASTRONOVO, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra Kaunas City Symphony CONSTANTINE ORBELIAN, Conductor CONSTANTINE — Signore, ascolta; Tu, che di gel sei cinta Tu, ascolta; — Signore, EKATERINA SIURINA EKATERINA with Charles Castronovo in duets Castronovo with Charles — Je veux vivre; Va! Je t’ai pardonné; Roméo! qu’as-tu donc? • qu’as-tu Roméo! pardonné; Je t’ai Va! vivre; — Je veux

Depuis le jour

— Ekaterina arias and Italian Siurina French sings Louise Louise éo et Juliette — O salce, salce; Ave Maria — O salce, salce; Ave

cheurs seule dans la nuit • Carmen de perles — Me voilà

Rom

— Chi il Rondine La Donde lieta uscì • Fanciulla; O soave bohème — Sì. Mi chiamano Mimi; La Otello Otello Les pê Les

BIZET:

PUCCINI:

que de bijoux • Turandot bel sogno di Doretta VERDI:

GOUNOD: CHARPENTIER: CHARPENTIER:

DELOS DE 3583 EKATERINA SIURINA ♦ AMOUR ÉTERNEL Amour éternel Ekaterina Siurina sings French and Italian arias with Charles Castronovo in duets

1. Gustave Charpentier: Louise: “Depuis le jour” (5:23) 2. Charles Gounod: Romeo et Juliette: “Je veux vivre” (3:40) 3. Gounod: Romeo et Juliette: “Va! Je t’ai pardonné“ (6:04) 4. Gounod: Romeo et Juliette: "Roméo! qu’as-tu donc?" (7:01) 5. Gounod: Faust: “O Dieu! que de bijoux” (5:15) 6. Georges Bizet: Les pêcheurs de perles: “Me voilà seule dans la nuit” (6:29) 7. Bizet: Carmen: “Je dis que rien m’épouvante” (6:11) 8. Giacomo Puccini: La bohème: “Sì. Mi chiamano Mimi” (4:55) 9. Puccini: La bohème: “O soave fanciulla” (3:50) 10. Puccini: La bohème: “Donde lieta uscì” (2:54) 11. Puccini: La Rondine: “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta” (3:10) 12. Puccini: Turandot: “Signore, ascolta!” (2:25) 13. Puccini: Turandot: ”Tu, che di gel sei cinta” (2:44) 14. Giuseppe Verdi: Otello: “O salce, salce; Ave Maria” (16:06)

EKATERINA SIURINA, soprano with CHARLES CASTRONOVO, tenor

Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra Constantine Orbelian, conductor

Total Playing Time: 76:11 2 NOTES ON THE PROGRAM Du premier jour D’amour! 1. Depuis le jour Quelle belle vie! Ah! je suis heureuse! trop heureuse... First performed in Paris in 1900, Gustave Et je tremble délicieusement Charpentier’s so-called “musical novel” Au souvenir charmant Louise is now universally accepted as an du premier jour opera. The plot revolves around the naïve d’amour! young woman Louise, who — against her poverty-stricken parents’ fervent wish- • es — has run off to join her lover Julien at Since the day I gave myself, his cottage overlooking Paris. In her aria my fate seems all in bloom “Depuis le jour,” which opens Act III, Lou- I seem to be dreaming beneath a fairy heaven, ise sings ecstatically of her new life with my soul still enraptured Julien and their love for each other. by that very first kiss! What a wonderful life! LOUISE My dream was not a dream! Depuis le jour où je me suis donnée, Oh! I am so happy! toute fleurie semble ma destinée. Love spreads its wings over me! Je crois rêver sous un ciel de féerie, In the garden of my heart l’âme encore grisée a new joy sings. de ton premier baiser! Everything resonates, Quelle belle vie! everything rejoices in my victory! Mon rêve n’était pas un rêve! About me all is smiles, Ah! je suis heureuse! light and happiness! L’amour étend sur moi ses ailes! And I tremble deliciously Au jardin de mon coeur at the delightful memory chante une joie nouvelle! of that first day of love! Tout vibre, What a glorious life! tout se réjouit de mon triomphe! Oh, I am so happy! Too happy... Autour de moi tout est sourire, And I tremble deliciously lumiére et joie! at the delightful memory Et je tremble délicieusement of that first day Au souvenir charmant of love!

3 2. Je veux vivre le cœur cède à l’amour, et le bonheur fuit sans retour. Roméo et Juliette, Charles Gounod’s oper- Je veux vivre, etc. atic adaptation of Shakespeare’s immortal Loin de l’hiver morose tale of star-crossed lovers, premiered in Paris laisse-moi sommeiller in 1867. The plot adheres for the most part to et respirer la rose the original play, with a few liberties taken for avant de l’effeuiller. the sake of the opera’s musical structure. The Ah! first act is set in the Capulets’ palace, where Douce flamme, a masked ball is in progress. Count Capulet reste dans mon âme appears with his daughter, Juliet. Romeo, son comme un doux trésor of the rival Montague family’s patriarch, then longtemps encore! enters with his companions, all in disguise. Romeo tells them of a strange dream, where- • upon his friend Mercutio brushes it off as a Ah! spell from Mab, the mythical fairy Queen. Ju- I want to live liet then sings “Je veux vivre,” a joyous waltz in this thrilling dream; song, after which Romeo and Juliet meet and this day again, immediately fall in love. sweet flame, I keep you in my soul like a treasure! JULIETTE This intoxication Ah! of youth Je veux vivre does not last, alas! That one day! dans ce rêve qui m’enivre; Then comes the time ce jour encore, when we cry, douce flamme, the heart surrenders to love, je te garde dans mon âme and happiness flees and never returns. comme un trésor! I want to live, etc. Cette ivresse Away from the gloomy winter de jeunesse let me sleep ne dure, hélas! qu’un jour! and smell the rose Puis vient l’heure before stripping it. où l’on pleure, Ah!

4 Sweet flame, ROMÉO ET JULIETTE stay in my soul Nuit d’hyménée! like a sweet treasure Ô douce nuit d’amour! again for a long time! La destinée m’enchaîne à toi sans retour. Ô volupté de vivre! 3. Va! Je t’ai pardonné (duet) • Ô charmes tout puissants! 4. Roméo! qu’as-tu donc? (duet) Ton doux regard m’enivre, ta voix ravit mes sens! Fast-forward to Act IV of Roméo et Ju- Sous tes baisers de flamme liette: Romeo has been banished from le ciel rayonne en moi! Verona for killing Juliet’s cousin Tybalt in Je t’ai donné mon âme, a fit of blind anger. The secretly married à toi, toujours à toi! couple meet in Juliet’s chambers, where she forgives him for Tybalt’s death. The • happy couple then consummates their JULIET marriage — but when dawn is imminent, Go! I forgave you, Romeo must depart or face execution. Tybalt wanted you killed! If he had not died, you would have JULIETTE died instead! Va! je t’ai pardonné, Far be the pain from me! Far from Tybalt voulait ta mort! me remorse! S’il n’avait succombé, tu succombais He hated you and I love you! toi-même! Loin de moi la douleur! loin de moi le ROMEO remords! Ah! Repeat it, repeat it, that Il te haïssait et je t’aime! sweet word!

ROMÉO JULIET Ah! redis-le, redis-le, ce mot si doux! I love you, O Romeo! I love you, O my husband! JULIETTE Je t’aime, ô Roméo! je t’aime, O bridal night! Ô mon époux! O sweet night of love!

5 Destiny binds me to you forever. de la nuit les flambeaux pâlissent, O sheer delight in our lives, et l’aurore O all-powerful charms! dans les vapeurs de l’Orient Your gentle gaze enraptures me, se lève en souriant! your voice delights my senses! Beneath your ardent kisses, JULIETTE heaven shines within me. Non, non, ce n’est pas le jour, cette I have given you my heart; lueur funeste it is yours, forever yours. n’est que le doux reflet du bel astre O sheer delight in living, des nuits! O all-powerful charms, etc. Reste! reste! O bridal night! etc. ROMÉO Ah! vienne donc la mort! je reste! (4.) JULIETTE Roméo! qu’as-tu donc? JULIETTE Ah! tu dis vrai, c’est le jour! ROMÉO Fuis, il faut quitter ta Juliette! Écoute, ô Juliette! L’alouette déjà nous annonce le jour! ROMÉO Non! non! ce n’est pas le jour! JULIETTE Ce n’est pas l’alouette! Non, non, ce n’est pas le jour, ce n’est C’est le doux rossignol, confident pas l’alouette de l’amour! dont le chant a frappé ton oreille inquiète, JULIETTE c’est le doux rossignol, confident C’est l’alouette, hélas! messagère de l’amour! du jour! Pars! ma vie! ROMÉO C’est l’alouette, hélas! messagère ROMÉO du jour! Un baiser, et je pars! Vois ces rayons jaloux dont l’horizon se dore;

6 JULIETTE JULIETTE Loi cruelle! loi cruelle! Adieu! Mon âme! Adieu ma vie! Anges du ciel! à vous je le confie! ROMÉO Ah! reste! reste encor en mes • bras enlacés! JULIET Reste encore! Un jour il sera doux à What is it, Romeo? notre amour fidèle de se ressouvenir de ces ROMEO tourments passés. O Juliet, listen! The lark is already announcing the JULIETTE new day! Il faut partir, hélas! Il faut quitter ces bras JULIET où je te presse, No, no! It isn’t yet morning, et t’arracher à cette ardente ivresse! it’s not the lark whose song has sounded in your ROMÉO ET JULIETTE fearful ear, Il faut partir, hélas! it is the nightingale, love’s confidante! Alors que dans ses bras elle me presse ROMEO et l’arracher à cette ardente ivresse! It’s the lark, alas, herald of morning! Ah! que le sort qui de toi me sépare, See those envious streaks gilding plus que la mort est cruel et barbare! the horizon; Il faut partir, hélas! etc. night’s candles are extinguished and the dawn ROMÉO breaks smiling in the eastward mists! Adieu! Ma Juliette! Adieu! … JULIET JULIETTE No, no, it is not morning, Adieu! … that fateful glow is only the moon’s soft reflection! ROMÉO ET JULIETTE Stay! O stay! … Toujours à toi!

7 ROMEO in which I clasp you Ah, come then, death! I will stay! and tear yourself from this passionate joy.

JULIET ROMEO, JULIET Ah, you are right: it is morning! Alas, we must part! Flee! You must leave your Juliet! You must leave these arms in which you hold me, ROMEO and tear yourself from this passionate joy! No, no, it is not day! Ah, how much It isn’t the lark! more cruel and barbarous It is the gentle nightingale, love’s confi- than death is the fate dante! which separates me from you! etc.

JULIET ROMEO Alas, it is the lark, morning’s herald! Farewell, my Juliet, farewell! Go now, my life! JULIET ROMEO Farewell! One kiss and I’ll depart! ROMEO, JULIET JULIET Ever yours! O cruel decree! cruel decree! JULIET ROMEO Farewell, my soul, farewell, my life! Ah, stay, stay awhile in my embrace! Angels in heaven, to you, Stay awhile! to you do I entrust him! One day it will be sweet when our true love remembers its past torments. 5. O Dieu! que de bijoux

JULIET Gounod’s Faust was first performed in Alas, you must go! Paris in 1859. The aged scholar Faust has You must leave these arms signed his soul over to Méphistophélès, the devil, whereby he regains his youth

8 and is shown a vision of the lovely qu’on salue au passage! - young girl Marguerite. In Act III, Méphis- Ah, s’il était ici! ... tophélès — at Faust’s bidding — has come S’il me voyait ainsi! up with a gift for Marguerite: a box con- Comme une demoiselle, taining lovely jewelry and a hand mirror, il me trouverait belle. which he has left on her doorstep. Upon Achevons la métamorphose! finding the gift, Marguerite tries on the Il me tarde encor d’essayer jewelry, marveling at how it makes her le bracelet et le collier! look lovelier in her famous “Jewel Song” Elle se pare du bracelet et se lève. aria, “O Dieu! que de bijoux.” Faust soon Dieu! c’est comme une main seduces and impregnates her before qui sur mon bras se pose! abandoning her. Ah! je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir! MARGUERITE Est-ce toi, Marguerite? O Dieu! que de bijoux! ... Reponds-moi, reponds vite! est-ce un rève charmant Ah, s’il était ici! ... qui m’éblouit, ou si je veille? ... S’il me voyait ainsi! Mes yeux n’ont jamais vu de Comme une demoiselle, richesse pareille! il me trouverait belle. Si j’osais seulement Marguerite, ce n’est plus toi, me parer un moment ce n’est plus ton visage, de ces pendants d’oreille! ... non! c’est la fille d’un roi, Ah! voici justement, qu’on salue au passage. au fond de la cassette, un miroir! ... comment • n’être pas coquette? Oh God! What jewels! It is a charming dream which dazzles me, Ah! je ris de me voir, or am I awake? si belle en ce miroir! My eyes have never seen Est-ce toi, Marguerite? richness like this! Réponds-moi, réponds vite! - Dare I only to adorn myself for one moment Non! non! — ce n’est plus toi! with these earrings? Non! non! — ce n’est plus ton visage! Ah, just here it is, C’est la fille d’un roi, at the base of the box, a mirror!

9 How can one not be stylish? pearl fishermen sing and perform ritual How can one not be stylish? dances on a desolate seashore to protect Ah, I laugh to see myself themselves from the dangers of their pro- so beautiful in this mirror, fession. Zurga, the fishermen’s leader, and Ah, I laugh to see myself his old friend Nadir recall the time when so beautiful in this mirror, their strong friendship had almost ended Is it you, Marguerite, it is you? over their mutual love of the same beau- Answer me, answer me, tiful girl, and they resolve to never let a respond, respond, respond quickly! woman come between them again. Then No, no! it’s no longer you! a veiled priestess, Léïla, arrives to pray for No...no, it’s no longer your face; the fishermen’s safety. Zurga doesn’t rec- it’s the daughter of a king, ognize the veiled lady as the same wom- it’s no longer you, etc. an whom he and Nadir had previously One must bow to her as she passes! quarreled over; but she recognizes Nadir Ah, if only he were here! and he recognizes her voice. In Act II, Léï- He should see me thus la — alone in a nearby temple — sings of like a lady her love for Nadir and her happiness at he would find me so beautiful, ah! seeing him again in the aria “Me voilà Like a lady, seule dans la nuit.” Nadir then appears, he would find me beautiful! and they declare their passionate love for Let’s complete the metamorphosis. each other. I am late yet in trying on the bracelet and the necklace! LÉÏLA O God! It’s like a hand Me voilà seule dans la nuit, which is placed on my arm! Ah, ah! seule en ce lieu désert où regne Ah, I laugh le silence! to see myself so beautiful in this mirror! Je frissonne, j’ai peur! et le sommeil me fuit! Mais il est là! Mon cœur devine 6. Me voilà seule dans la nuit sa présence! Comme autrefois dans la nuit sombre, Georges Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles caché sous le feuillage épais, was first performed in Paris in 1863. Set il veille près de moi dans l’ombre, in ancient Ceylon, the opera begins as the je puis dormir, rêver en paix!

10 Il veille près de moi, Micaëla. Don José has been imprisoned comme autrefois, comme autrefois for his failure to arrest Carmen, a beautiful c’est lui! mes yeux l’ont reconnu! Gypsy girl who has been accused of as- C’est lui! mon âme est rassurée! sault. Upon his release from two months O bonheur! Il est venu, in detention, Don José is again smitten il est là près de moi, ah! by Carmen’s charms, and attacks Zuniga, Comme autrefois dans la nuit som- his superior officer, who has come - look bre, etc. ing for her. Meanwhile, smugglers have enticed Carmen and her Gypsy girlfriends • to help them dispose of contraband from I am alone, here in the night. their mountain hideout, and Don José, Alone in this empty place where now in serious trouble, is forced to join silence reigns! them. Carmen soon grows tired of Don But he is here; my heart can feel José and declares her love for the dashing his presence. bullfighter Escamillo, who has found their As he used to, in the dark night, lair. Likewise, Micaëla has found them hidden under the thick leaves, and sings of her fears while imploring di- he is watching near me, in the darkness, vine support in the aria “Je dis que rien I can sleep and dream in peace. m’épouvante.” She then finds Don José It is he, my eyes recognized him, and begs him to return to their home vil- it is he, my soul is soothed. lage, where his mother is dying. O happiness! Unhoped-for joy! He came to see me again! MICAËLA O happiness, he came, he is here C’est des contrebandiers le near me, ah! as he used to be, etc. refuge ordinaire. Il est ici; je le verrai! Et le devoir que m’imposa sa mère 7. Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante sans trembler je l’accomplirai

Carmen, Bizet’s masterpiece, got its 1879 Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante, premiere in Paris. Micaëla, a pretty peas- je dis hélas que je réponds de moi, ant girl from the soldier Don José’s home mais j’ai beau faire la vaillante, village, brings a letter from his mother, Au fond du cour, je meurs d’effroi who urges him to return home and marry seule, en ce lieu sauvage

11 toute seule, j’ai peur, I will soon approach that woman, mais j’ai tort d’avoir peur, whose accursed deceitfulness vous me donnerez du courage, has, in the end, slandered vous me protégerez, Seigneur. the man I once loved. Je vais voir de près cette femme She is dangerous, she is beautiful, dont les artifices maudits but I don’t want to be afraid, ont fini par faire un infâme no, no, I don’t want to be fearful, de celui que j’aimais jadis; I will speak boldly before her, elle est dangereuse, elle est belle, Ah! Lord, mais je ne veux pas avoir peur, you will protect me! non, non je ne veux pas avoir peur! Ah! I say that nothing frightens me, Je parlerai haut devant elle, I say alas! that I could answer for myself. Ah! Seigneur ... Vous me protégerez. But no matter how brave I may be, Ah! Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante, etc. I’m dying of fright! Protégez-moi! O Seigneur! Alone, in this wild place, Donnez-moi du courage! all alone, I’m afraid, Protégez-moi! O Seigneur! but I’m wrong to be afraid; Protégez-moi! Seigneur! You will give me courage, you will shield me, Lord. • protect me, O Lord! It is the smugglers’ customary refuge. Give me courage! He is here, I will see him! Protect me, O Lord! And the task that his mother imposed Protect me, Lord! I will accomplish it without fear.

I say that nothing frightens me, 8. Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì I say, alas! that I could answer for myself; but no matter how brave I am, La bohème, Giacomo Puccini’s best- in the depths of my heart I’m deathly afraid! known opera, was first performed in 1896 Alone, in this wild place, in Turin. Set in Paris around 1830, it depicts all alone, I’m afraid, the bohemian lifestyle common to poor but I’m wrong to be afraid; workers and artists at the time. In Act I, the you will give me courage, poet Rodolfo has been invited to go out you will shield me, Lord. with his three artistic companions but stays

12 home to finish an article he is writing. Mimi Sola, mi fo appears, having knocked on his door to il pranzo da me stessa. ask for matches to re-light her blown-out Non vado sempre a messa, candle. As she is about to leave, she says ma prego assai il Signore. she has lost her key; Rodolfo finds it but Vivo sola, soletta secretly pockets it, asking her to stay awhile là in una bianca cameretta: longer, and tells her of his life as a poet. At guardo sui tetti e in cielo; his urging, she responds with the aria “Sì. ma quando vien lo sgelo Mi chiamano Mimi,” describing to him her il primo sole è mio life as an embroiderer. il primo bacio dell’aprile è mio! Germoglia in un vaso una rosa... MIMI foglia a foglia la spio! Sì. Cosi gentile Mi chiamano Mimì, il profumo d’un fiore! ma il mio nome è Lucia. Ma i fior ch’io faccio, ahimè! non La storia mia hanno odore. è breve. A tela o a seta Altro di me non le saprei narrare. ricamo in casa e fuori... Sono la sua vicina son tranquilla e lieta che la vien fuori d’ora a importunare. ed è mio svago far gigli e rose. • Mi piaccion quelle cose MIMI che han sì dolce malìa, Yes. che parlano d’amor, di primavere, I am called Mimi, di sogni e di chimere, but my true name is Lucia. quelle cose che han nome poesia... My story is brief. lei m’intende? I embroider silk and satin at home or elsewhere. RODOLFO I’m calm and happy, Sì. and my pastime is making lilies and roses. MIMI I love all things Mi chiamano Mimì, that have tender magic, il perché non so. that speak of spring, or of love,

13 that talk of dreams and desires - 9. O soave fanciulla (duet) the things called poetry ... Do you understand me? As Act I of La bohème draws to a close, Rodolfo and Mimi are increasingly attract- RODOLFO ed to each other, and as he ecstatically Yes. sings “O soave Fanciulla” they both realize that they have fallen in love and continue MIMÌ in a passionate duet. As they sing, Mimi They call me Mimi – asks Rodolfo to take her with him to join I don’t know why. his friends at their favorite cafe. As they I live alone depart, they repeat their love for each and I eat by myself. other, their voices rising together to a I don’t often go to church, thrilling height at the end. but I like to pray. I stay all alone RODOLFO in my tiny white room, O soave fanciulla, o dolce viso I look at the roofs and the heavens. di mite circonfuso alba lunar But when spring arrives in te, vivo ravviso the sun’s first rays are mine. il sogno ch’io vorrei sempre sognar! April’s first kiss is mine, only mine! Fremon già nell’anima The sun’s first rays are mine! le dolcezze estreme, A rose blossoms in my vase, nel bacio freme amor! I breathe its sweet scent, petal by petal. So sweet is the flower’s perfume. MIMÌ But the flowers I make, alas, Ah! tu sol comandi, amor!... the flowers I make, have no scent. What else can I say? RODOLFO I’m just your neighbor, disturbing you Fremon già nell’anima at this bothersome hour. le dolcezze estreme.

MIMÌ Oh! come dolci scendono le sue lusinghe al core... tu sol comandi, amore!...

14 RODOLFO RODOLFO Nel bacio freme amor! Dammi il braccio, mia piccina.

MIMÌ MIMÌ No, per pietà! Obbedisco, signor!.

RODOLFO RODOLFO Sei mia! Che m’ami di’...

MIMÌ MIMÌ V’aspettan gli amici... Io t’amo!

RODOLFO RODOLFO Già mi mandi via? Amore !

MIMÌ MIMÌ Vorrei dir... ma non oso... Amor! se venissi con voi? • RODOLFO RODOLFO Che?... Mimì? Oh! lovely girl! Oh, sweet face Sarebbe così dolce restar qui. bathed in the soft moonlight. C’è freddo fuori. I see in you the dream I’d dream forever! MIMÌ Vi starò vicina!... MIMÌ Ah! Love, you rule alone!... RODOLFO E al ritorno? RODOLFO Already I taste in spirit MIMÌ the heights of tenderness! Curioso! MIMÌ You rule alone, O Love!

15 RODOLFO MIMÌ Already I taste in spirit I’d be near you! the heights of tenderness! Love trembles in our kiss! RODOLFO And when we come back? MIMÌ How sweet his praises MIM enter my heart ... Who knows? Love, you alone rule! No, please! RODOLFO Give me your arm, my dear ... RODOLFO You’re mine! MIMÌ Your servant, sir ... MIMÌ Your friends are waiting. RODOLFO Tell me you love me! RODOLFO You send me away already? MIMÌ I love you. MIMÌ I daren’t say what I’d like ... RODOLFO and MIMÌ Beloved! My love! My love! RODOLFO Tell me. 10. Donde lieta uscì MIMÌ If I came with you? In Act III of La bohème, Mimi — visibly ill — has found Rodolfo’s friend, Marcel- RODOLFO lo, in whom she confides that Rodolfo is What? Mimi! very jealous. Rodolfo then appears, and It would be so fine to stay here. Mimi runs and hides. She overhears the Outside it’s cold. friends’ earnest conversation and learns that Rodolfo’s jealousy has been an act.

16 The true reason he has left her is that he From where she gladly came has been terribly worried about her pro- at your call of love, Mimì gressive illness; and since his poverty has will return to her lonely abode; left him unable to care for her properly, she’ll once again return he believes that she would be better off to embroidering imitation flowers. without him. Mimi reveals herself, and Goodbye; and no hard feelings. bids Rodolfo farewell in the aria “Donde Listen, Oh listen. lieta uscì.” The lovers reaffirm their love Gather up the few things I left around. for each other and agree that it would be Inside my drawer best for them to stay together for now, is that little gold ring then separate amicably once the warmer and my prayer book. months of spring arrive. Wrap everything up in an apron and I’ll send the concierge. MIMÌ Look under the pillow; D’onde lieta uscì you’ll find the pink bonnet. al tuo grido d’amore, If you wish, keep it in remembrance of torna sola Mimì our love! al solitario nido. Goodbye, goodbye - and no hard feelings! Ritorna un’altra volta a intesser finti fior. Addio, senza rancor. 11. Chi il bel sogno di Doretta Ascolta, ascolta. Le poche robe aduna che lasciai Puccini’s opera La Rondine, despite its sparse. Nel mio cassetto lovely music, is not nearly as well-known stan chiusi quel cerchietto as the composer’s smash hits (for exam- d’or e il libro di preghiere. ple, La bohème, Madama Butterfly and Involgi tutto quanto in un grembiale others), in spite of its enthusiastic recep- e manderò il portiere... tion at its Monte Carlo premiere in 1917. bada, sotto il guanciale As Act I begins, the courtesan Magda c’è la cuffietta rosa. and her wealthy benefactor Rambaldo Se... vuoi... serbarla a ricordo d’amor!... are entertaining their culturally accom- Addio, senza rancor. plished friends. The poet Prunier declares that romantic love is once again • in vogue, and that no one can resist its

17 power. To reinforce his claim, he sings O sogno d’or a ballad he has written about Doretta: poter amar così! a girl who rejects a king’s advances be- cause she feels they don’t reflect true • love. Magda then improvises a second verse to the song, the aria “Chi il bel About Doretta’s dream: sogno di Doretta,” wherein Doretta falls Who could explain madly in love with a student. its mystery; how did it ever, How did it ever end? MAGDA Chi il bel sogno di Doretta Alas! One day, a student potè indovinar? kissed her lips, Il suo mister come mai and that kiss was come mai fini a revelation: It was pure passion! Ahimè! un giorno uno studente in bocca la baciò Crazy love! e fu quel bacio Mad intoxication! rivelazione: The delicate caress fu la passione! of such an ardent kiss, Who could ever describe it? Folle amore! Folle ebbrezza! Ah! My fantasy! Chi la sottil carezza Ah! My life! d’un bacio così ardente Who cares about wealth mai ridir potrà? if, in the end, pure bliss flourishes! Ah! mio sogno! Oh, golden dream, Ah! mia vita! to be able to love like that! Che importa la ricchezza se alfine è rifiorita la felicità!

18 12. Signore, ascolta! doman sarà deciso, noi morrem sulla strada dell’esilio. Puccini’s Turandot was left unfinished Ei perderà suo figlio, when the composer died in 1924. Both the io l’ombra d’un sorriso. incomplete version and Franco Alfano’s Liù non regge più! Ah! completed version were first performed on successive days at Milan’s La Scala in • April of 1926. Set in ancient Peking, the Sir, listen! Ah, sir, listen! plot tells of Princess Turandot’s brutal and I can bear no more! cold-hearted reign, and how it was final- My heart is breaking! ly overcome. In Act I, Calàf, the Prince of Alas, how long I’ve walked Tartary, hears a familiar proclamation to with your name in my soul, the crowds outside the Imperial palace: with your name on these lips! Any prince wishing to marry the Princess But if your fate must answer three riddles correctly or die. will be decided tomorrow, (A Persian prince is about to be beheaded We will die on the path of exile. for his failure to answer correctly.) In the He’ll lose his son crowd is Liù, the faithful servant girl of an and I, the shadow of a smile. elderly blind man, whom Calàf recogniz- Liù can bear no more! Ah! es as his father Timur, the banished King of Tartary. Enchanted by the Princess’s beauty, Calàf resolves to win her, where- 13. Tu che di gel sei cinta upon Liù — who is secretly in love with him — tries to dissuade him in her aria “Si- Prince Calàf has answered all three of gnore, ascolta!” Princess Turandot’s riddles correctly, but she implores the emperor in vain not to LIÙ give her away to him. But in an effort to Signore, ascolta! Ah, signore, ascolta! gain her love, Calàf tells her that if she can Liù non regge più, learn his name by dawn, he will willingly si spezza il cuor! die. In Act III, it has been decreed that no Ahimè, quanto cammino citizen of Peking may sleep until Turandot col tuo nome nell’anima, learns his name. Soldiers then drag Liù col nome tuo sulle labbra! and Timur before Turandot, who orders Ma se il tuo destino Timur to speak. Liù then tells her that

19 she alone knows the Prince’s name, but of jealousy and treachery, and stands as she remains silent even under torture. his greatest dramatic masterpiece. The ti- As the torture intensifies, Liù sings “Tu tle character is a brilliant Moorish general che di gel sei cinta,” then seizes a dag- whose traitorous standard-bearer Iago has ger from one of the soldiers and stabs falsely led Otello to believe that his wife, herself, falling dead as she stumbles to- Desdemona, has been having an affair wards Calàf — who wins the willing Prin- with Cassio, his captain. As Act 4 begins, cess in the end. we hear the short recitative “Era più calmo” wherein Desdemona’s maid Emilia is help- LIÙ ing her to prepare for bed. Desdemona Tu che di gel sei cinta, asks her to lay out her bridal gown, saying da tanta fiamma vinta, that she wishes to be buried in it should l’amerai anche tu! she die. She then sings the famous “Wil- Prima di questa aurora low Song” (“O Salce, Salce”) followed by io chiudo stanca gli occhi, the final “Ave Maria,” which is often sung perché egli vinca ancora… as a separate aria. Otello then enters and Per non vederlo più! murders Desdemona in a fit of jealous rage before committing suicide. • You who are bound by ice, EMILIA melted by so much flame, Era più calmo. you will love him! Before this dawn, DESDEMONA I will close my tired eyes, Mi parea. M’ingiunse so that he may win again... di coricarmi e d’attenderlo. Emilia, Never to see him anymore! te ne prego, distendi sul mio letto la mia candida veste nuziale. Senti. Se pria di te morir dovessi 14. O salce, salce • Ave Maria mi seppellisci con un di quei veli.

Giuseppe Verdi was enticed out of retire- EMILIA ment to compose Otello, his next-to-last Scacciate queste idee. opera, which was premiered at Milan’s La Scala in February of 1887. It’s a tragic tale

20 DESDEMONA Solea la storia con questo Son mesta tanto, tanto. semplice suono finir: Mia madre aveva una povera ancella, “Egli era nato per la sua gloria, innamorata e bella; io per amar...” era il suo nome Barbara; Ascolta. Odo un lamento. amava un uom che poi l’abbandonò. Taci... Chi batte quella porta? Cantava una canzone, la canzon del salce. EMILIA Mi disciogli le chiome. È il vento. Io questa sera ho la memoria piena DESDEMONA di quella cantilena. “Io per amarlo e per morir. “Piangea cantando nell’erma landa, Cantiamo! cantiamo! piangea la mesta, Salce! Salce! Salce!” O Salce! Salce! Salce! Emilia, addio. Sedea chinando sul sen la testa, Come m’ardon le ciglia! Salce! Salce! Salce! È presagio di pianto. Cantiamo! cantiamo! Buona notte. Il salce funebre sarà la mia ghirlanda.” Ah! Emilia, Emilia, addio! Emilia addio! Affrettati; fra poco giunge Otello. “Scorreano i rivi fra le zolle in fior, Ave Maria, piena di grazia, gemea quel core affranto, eletta fra le spose e le vergini sei tu, e dalle ciglia le sgorgava il cor sia benedetto il frutto, o Benedetta, l’amara onda del pianto. di tue materne viscere, Gesù. Salce! Salce! Salce! Prega per chi, adorando te, si prostra, Cantiamo! cantiamo! prega pel peccator, per l’innocente, Il salce funebre sarà la mia ghirlanda. e pel debole oppresso e pel possente, Scendean l’aucelli a vol dai rami cupi misero anch’esso, tua pietà dimostra. verso quel dolce canto. Prega per chi sotto l’oltraggio piega E gli occhi suoi piangean tanto, tanto, la fronte, da impietosir le rupi.” e sotto la malvagia sorte; Riponi quest’anello. per noi, per noi tu prega, Povera Barbara! prega sempre,

21 e nell’ora della morte nostra, This evening prega per noi, prega per noi, my memory is haunted prega! by that old refrain. Ave Maria ... “She wept as she sang on the lonely heath, ... nell’ora della morte. the poor girl wept, Ave! Amen! O Willow! Willow! Willow! She sat with her head upon her breast, • Willow! Willow! Willow! EMILIA Come sing! Come sing! Was he calmer? The green willow shall be my garland.”

DESDEMONA Make haste; Othello will soon be here. He seemed so to me. “The fresh streams ran between the flowery He commanded me to go to bed banks, she moaned in her grief, and there await him. in bitter tears which through her Emilia, I pray you, eyelids sprang lay upon my bed her poor heart sought relief. my white wedding nightgown. Willow! Willow! Willow! Listen. Come sing! Come sing! If I should die before you, The green willow shall be my garland. lay me to rest in one of those veils. Down from dark branches flew the birds towards the singing sweet. EMILIA Sufficient were the tears that she did weep Put such thoughts from you. that stones her sorrow shared.” Lay this ring by. DESDEMONA Poor Barbara! I am so sad, so sad. The story used to end My mother had a poor maidservant, with this simple phrase: she was in love and pretty; “He was born for glory, her name was Barbara; I to love...” she loved a man who then abandoned her. She used to sing a song, Hark! I heard a moan. the song of “The Willow.” Hush... Who knocks upon that door? Unbind my hair.

22 EMILIA Hail Mary ... ‘Tis the wind. ... and at the hour of our death. Hail! Amen! DESDEMONA “I to love him and to die. — Notes by Lindsay Koob Come sing! Come sing! Willow! Willow! Willow!” Emilia, farewell. One of the leading sopranos of her How mine eyes do itch! generation, Ekaterina Siurina performs at That bodes weeping. many of the top opera houses across the Good night. world. Ah! Emilia, Emilia, farewell! Emilia, farewell! Ekaterina studied at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts, in Moscow and became Hail Mary, full of grace, a soloist with the Municipal Moscow blessed amongst wives and maids Theater, Novaya Opera, where she are you, made her professional debut as Gilda in and blessed is the fruit, o blessed one, Rigoletto singing opposite the world- of your maternal womb, Jesu. renowned baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Pray for those who kneeling adore you, She was also a prize winner of the Rimsky- pray for the sinner, for the innocent Korsakov competition in St. Petersburg, and for the weak oppressed; and to the and of the Elena Obraztsova Competition. powerful man, who also grieves, your sweet She made her European debuts at compassion show. the Wiener Staatsoper as Amina in La Pray for him who bows beneath injustice Sonnambula, Olympia in Le Contes de and beneath the blows of cruel destiny; Hoffmann and Violetta in La traviata; for us, pray for us, Anne Truelove in The Rake’s Progress at pray for us always, the Opera de Paris; I Puritani in Monte and at the hour of our death Carlo and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at pray for us, pray for us, Teatro alla Scala. pray! Ekaterina’s American debut was at the Metropolitan Opera as Gilda in Rigoletto,

23 24 followed by other appearances. She then Burana, Mozart’s C minor Mass, Requiem performed in many famous opera houses and Handel’s Messiah. worldwide including Opera de Paris, Berlin Staatsoper, Savonnlinna Opera Festival, Known for her poignant interpretations of Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Teatro Colon, heroines in the coloratura and bel canto Arena de Verona and many more. repertoire, she also performs major lyric roles such as Mimi, Iolanta, Tatiana, Juliet, Throughout her career she has sung a Antonia, Amelia Grimaldi and Desdemona. variety of leading roles in Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte, Gianni Schicchi and Ekaterina is the winner of the Dora Award La bohème at the Royal Opera House for Outstanding Performance and The Covent Garden; Falstaff and Carmen at Onegin Award for Russian Artists. the Bayerische Staatsoper; L’elisir d’amore at Houston Grand Opera and Opera de She is featured on several DVD Nice; Don Pasquale at The Washington productions of operas, including Il Trittico Opera, conducted by Placido Domingo; with Antonio Pappano, L’elisir d’amore Maria Stuarda and La traviata in Moscow, from the Glyndebourne Festival, La Vienna, and for the Canadian Opera clemenza di Tito and Le nozze di Figaro Company; Les pêcheurs de perles at Opera from Paris, Idomeneo and Don Giovanni Australia and San Diego Opera; I Capuleti from the Salzburg Festival. e I Montecchi at Opera de Montpelier, the Liceu Barcelona, Opera de Paris and the Ekaterina’s debut solo album, Amore e Bayerische Staatsoper. Morte (Opus Arte) includes songs by Verdi, Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. She is also As a versatile soprano, Ekaterina is featured on the Complete Rachmaninoff recognized on the concert platform, songs album with Iain Burnside, and an where she has worked with many of award-winning album of Medtner Songs today’s prominent conductors including (Delphian). Yuri Temirkanov, Evelino Pidò, Daniel Oren, Philippe Jordan, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Richard Bonynge, Enrique Mazzola, Natalie Acclaimed internationally as one of the fin- Stutzmann and Marco Armiliato in a est lyric tenors of his generation, Charles wide range of works including Rossini’s Castronovo has sung at most of the world’s Stabat Mater, Beethoven’s Ninth, Carmina leading opera houses — including the Metro-

25 dolfo in La Bohème, Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress, Fenton in Falstaff, Elvino in La Sonnambula, and Lensky in Eugene Onegin, among others.

Born in New York and raised in California, Mr. Castronovo began his career with the Los Angeles Opera. He made his Metro- politan Opera debut as Beppe in I Pagli- acci. His memorable festival engagements include Salzburg, Aix en Provence and Savonlinna. A frequent concert stage soloist, he has appeared in La Damnation de Faust at Verbier and Valencia as well as Les Pecheurs de Perles in Amsterdam; also in the Verdi Requiem in Dresden and in var- politan Opera, the Chicago Lyric Opera, the ious events with the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Opera at Covent Garden, the Vienna the Chicago Symphony, the New York State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, the Ger- Philharmonic as well as concerts in China, man Opera Berlin, the Paris Opera, the Bavar- Japan, Russia, Sweden and Denmark. ian State Opera Munich, the Royal Theater of Monnaie Brussels and many others. Mezzo-soprano Rita Preiksaite (Emilia in Mr. Castronovo’s repertoire extends from the Otello track) is a soloist at Kaunas State the great Mozart tenor roles in Don Music Theater. Rita has performed over 40 Giovanni, Cosi Fan Tutte and Die Zauber- varied roles in operas, operettas and musi- flöte to Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, cals. She has played parts in Bizet’s Carmen, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Nemorino in Lubasha in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s L’Elisir d’Amore and Alfredo in La Travia- Bride, Frau Raich in Nicolai’s The Merry ta. He has also won wide acclaim for his Wives of Windsor, Siebel in Gounod’s Faust, performances in the title role of Faust, and Olga in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Maria of Des Grieux in Manon, Romeo in Ro- in the Richard Rodgers musical The Sound meo et Juliette, the Duke in Rigoletto, Ro- of Music and Prince Orlofsky in J. Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, among others. Preiksaite

26 cieties, and finds and promotes synergistic harmony from the best of each.” (Fanfare)

For over 25 years the brilliant American pianist/conductor has been a central fig- ure in Russia’s and Eastern Europe’s musical life — first as Music Director of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Phil- harmonia of Russia, and more recently as Chief Conductor of the Kaunas City Sym- phony Orchestra in Lithuania. In 2016 he also became Artistic Director of the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Ye- revan, Armenia. In all of these centers, Or- belian leads concerts and recordings with some of the world’s greatest singers. has taken part in numerous Baltic-area festivals, and has toured in the USA, Poland, Opera News calls Constantine Orbeli- Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, an “the singer’s dream collaborator,” and France, Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Ba- commented that he conducts vocal reper- hamas and the Netherlands. Rita‘s concert toire “with the sensitivity of a lieder pianist.” repertoire includes Verdi’s Requiem, Bee- The California-based conductor tours and thoven’s Mass in C, Stabat Mater settings records with American stars such as Son- by Rossini, Vivaldi, and Pergolesi, Mozart’s dra Radvanovsky and Lawrence Brownlee, Requiem and others. She has performed and made numerous celebrated record- with the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, ings with Dmitri Hvorostovsky before the the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and the legendary singer’s untimely death. Orbeli- St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, among an is the founder of the annual Palaces of others. St. Petersburg International Music Festival. “Orbelian has star quality, and his orches- Grammy-nominated conductor Constan- tra plays with passion and precision,” The tine Orbelian “stands astride two great so- Audio Critic wrote of his acclaimed series of over 50 recordings on Delos. Among his

27 concert and televised appearances are col- After graduating from Juilliard in New York, laborations with stars Renée Fleming and he embarked on a career as a piano virtuoso Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and with Van Cliburn that included appearances with major sym- in Cliburn’s sentimental return to Moscow, phony orchestras throughout the United the great pianist’s last performance. Orbe- States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Rus- lian’s frequent collaborations with Hvoros- sia. His recording of the Khachaturian piano tovsky included repertoire from their Delos concerto with conductor Neeme Järvi won recordings of universal sentimental songs the “Best Concerto Recording of the Year” Where Are You, My Brothers? and Mos- award in the United Kingdom. cow Nights, as well as their 2015 recording in the same series, Wait for Me. Orbelian Orbelian’s appointment in 1991 as Music has conducted historic live telecasts from Director of the Moscow Chamber Orches- Moscow’s Red Square, with such artists as tra was a breakthrough event: he is the first Hvorostovsky and Anna Netrebko. American ever to become music director of an ensemble in Russia. A tireless champi- Born in San Francisco to Russian and Arme- on of Russian-American cultural exchange nian emigré parents, Constantine Orbelian and international ambassadorship through made his debut as a piano prodigy with the his worldwide tours, he was awarded the San Francisco Symphony at the age of 11. coveted title “Honored Artist of Russia” in

28 2004, a title never before bestowed on a The Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra non-Russian citizen. In May 2010, Orbelian (KCSO) evolved from the Kaunas Cham- led the opening Ceremonial Concert for ber Orchestra, which was founded in 1988. the Cultural Olympics in Sochi — the first Since 2000, the orchestra has been man- event setting the stage for Russia’s host- aged by Algimantas Treikauskas; Constan- ing of the Olympic Games in 2014. In 2012 tine Orbelian is its principal conductor. the Consulate in San Francisco awarded him the Russian Order of Friendship Med- A prestigious Grammy Awards Nominee, al, whose illustrious ranks include pianist the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra is an Van Cliburn and conductor Riccardo Muti, integral part of the cultural life of Lithua- and which singles out non-Russians whose nia and the entire Baltic region. work contributes to the betterment of international relations with the Russian Fed- The orchestra performs more than 60 eration and its people. concerts a year. It has appeared at Lith- uanian music festivals — the International From his 1995 performance at the 50th Young Musicians festival, the festivals of Anniversary Celebrations of the United composers M. K. Čiurlionis and Edvard Nations in San Francisco, to his 2004 per- Grieg, the Pažaislis Music Festival, the in- formance at the U.S. State Department ternational contemporary music festival commemorating 70 years of diplomatic “Iš arti” — as well as the “Fjord Cadenza” relations between Washington and Mos- in Norway — and “Murten Classics” in cow, and a repeat State Department ap- Switzerland. The Kaunas City Symphony pearance in 2007, all with the Moscow Orchestra has also given concerts in other Chamber Orchestra, Orbelian continues foreign countries such as Latvia, Estonia, to use his artistic eminence in the cause Croatia, Italy, Germany and Finland. of international goodwill. He and his orchestras have also participated in cultural 2020 marks the orchestra’s 15-year anni- enrichment programs for young people, versary; during those years, a number of both in Russia and the United States. In major and significant projects have taken 2001 Orbelian was awarded the Ellis Island place. Memorable concerts — not only of Medal of Honor, an award given to immi- classical but also popular music — have grants, or children of immigrants, who been added to the KCSO’s biography. The have made outstanding contributions to orchestra has also collaborated in perfor- the United States. mances with legendary bands and world

29 artists such as The Scorpions, Electric Barbara Frittoli are some of the greats Light Orchestra, Smokie, Bonnie Tyler, who have performed with the Kaunas City Chris Norman, Robert Wells and Maggie Symphony Orchestra. Reilly. The orchestra‘s discography consists of The orchestra has made a remarkable se- over twenty CDs recorded with Maestro ries of recordings, produced tremendous- Orbelian and released in collaboration with ly successful projects and had the honor the legendary classical record label Delos. of performing with some of the world’s most famous vocal soloists. Dmitri Hvo- These recordings have received great crit- rostovsky, Lawrence Brownlee, Charles ical acclaim, and have been nominated Castronovo, Stephen Costello, John Os- for prestigious international classical mu- born, José Carreras, Ildar Abdrazakov, Na- sic awards such as the Grammy Awards, dine Sierra, Elīna Garanča, Sarah Coburn, the International Classical Music Awards Asmik Grigorian, Sarah Brightman and (ICMA) and others.

30 Delos founder Amelia Haygood (1919-2007) and I first heard Ekaterina Siurina sing when we were in Moscow making a recording with Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Constan- tine Orbelian in the year 2000. We immediately began making plans for a recording with Ekaterina, but somehow the scheduling never worked out. Now that the recording has finally come into being, Constantine and I would like to dedicate it to Amelia’s memory. — Carol Rosenberger

Special thanks to Algimantas Treikauskas, General Director of the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra Recorded at Kaunas Philharmonic, May 13-16, 2019 Producers: Vilius Keras, Aleksandra Kerienė Engineers: Evelina Staniulytė, Aleksandra Kerienė, Vilius Keras Editing: Evelina Staniulytė, Vilius Keras Mastering: Aleksandra Kerienė and Vilius Keras, Baltic Mobile Recordings www.bmr.lt Program notes, booklet editor: Lindsay Koob Layout and art design: Lonnie Kunkel

31 (left to right) Vilius Keras (Producer/Engineer); Constantine Orbelian; Ekaterina Siurina; Charles Castronovo; Aleksandra Kerienė (Co-producer/Engineer); Algimantas Treikauskas (General Director, Kaunas City Symphony)