RUSSIAN RECITAL IN BUDAPEST
Ferruccio Furlanetto came to Budapest with the Russian song recital: songs by Rachmaninov and Mussorgsky in their original language. Igor Tchetuev at the piano. The evening became extraordinary success, the public and critics were completely captivated.
Furlanetto gave several interviews on the occasion, one of them published in the program. He spoke about the preparation of the recital in the beginning of 90-s with Alexis Weisenberg: “It took me a good two years to learn both the music and the lyrics. As I analyzed the pieces, a marvelous world opened up before me. Its magic carried me away from the very beginning.
“The Russian soul and, by extension, Russian people in general for some reason have a special relationship with suffering, and most of the pieces in the repertoire are rooted in this feeling. From a theatrical point of view, this is an extraordinary experience that confers a special profundity on the role and performer alike and allows us to work with a uniquely rich palette of colours and manners of interpretation”.
And in the Interview for the Fidelio Ferruccio Furlanetto told that he is still “studying texts of the Russian songs very precisely”, and exploring different versions of Boris Godunov helped him to get close to the Russian soul, to which he has been always attracted. “For me, the Russian music and Russian soul is simply charming”. Ferruccio Furlanetto also revealed to the correspondent Anna Tóth that his favorite Russian poet is Alexander Pushkin.
Program of the Recital
After the concert stellar review came out.
The reviewer from Cafe Momus pointed great voice and perfect pronunciation of the Russian words, so every of them was understand. Rachmaninov’s part evoked the world of the Russian classical romances, from which Furlanetto presented more tragic ones, also because they were contrasted by the works describing nature. The reviewer also pointed that the refren of the opening romance Sydba – Stuk-stuk-stuk – never sounded the same in the singer’s interpretation. “Kindly, mysterious, menacing, angry, horrified, etc.” “The songs were great. At the end of the block he performed an Aleko aria with impressive musicality”.
In the second half Furlanetto was able to convey Mussorgsky’s world with all the demons he was struggling in his youth, presenting almost air visions. With “The Songs and Dances of Death” crowned the evening.