Asmik Grigorian wins acclaim at Grafenegg concert

Soprano Asmik Grigorian won acclaim for two striking performances at Grafenegg on Friday, as the Tonkünstler orchestra and chief conductor Fabien Gabel presented a programme spanning Italian music and Richard Strauss, ORF reported.

The concert at the Wolkenturm venue opened with an Italian-themed programme. It began with Ottorino Respighi’s Fountains of Rome, which was musically beautiful but not necessarily a strong dramatic opening, according to Ewald Baringer of the Austrian Press Agency.

Grigorian then impressed with subtle vocal control and secure high notes in Bellini’s “Casta diva” from Norma. The first half concluded with ballet music from Verdi’s Macbeth.

After the interval, the programme focused on the theme of Salome. It included music by Mél Bonis, who lived from 1858 to 1937 and whose work has been rediscovered and performed more widely since the beginning of the 21st century.

Her Salomé follows the Impressionist tradition. Originally written for piano, it was later orchestrated by Bonis herself. Baringer noted that a work by Louise Farrenc had also featured in a Munich Philharmonic programme two days earlier, suggesting that bringing neglected women composers back to public attention can be rewarding.

After the Dance of the Seven Veils from Richard Strauss’s Salome, Grigorian returned for the opera’s highly dramatic finale. Wearing a black and red Krampus costume, she delivered a ferocious aria of madness, singing the words, “Ah! You would not let me kiss your mouth.”

Baringer said the orchestra’s lavish playing could have shown more dynamic restraint in places, although Grigorian’s voice carried through even at fortissimo. Overall, he described the performance as impressive and deservedly applauded.

ORF recorded the concert for broadcast on ORF III on Sunday, September 13, from 8.15pm and on Ö1 on Thursday, October 8, from 7.30pm.

Grafenegg’s anniversary season ends on Sunday with a matinée by the twelve cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic and a concert by the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Riccardo Muti cancelled his appearance for health reasons, and the festival’s outgoing artistic director, Rudolf Buchbinder, will replace him.