New York City Opera presents The New York City Opera Orchestra – Music of Survival: Works by Weinberg, Korngold, and Rovner in Review
New York City Opera Orchestra
Constantine Orbelian, conductor
Kristina Reiko Cooper, cello
Elizaveta Ulakhovich, soprano
Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
February 24,2025
“A celebration of survival and perseverance told through the universal language of music” was the advertised theme of a concert given by the New York City Opera Orchestra on Monday evening at Carnegie Hall, featuring music by Mieczysław Weinberg, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and Gennady Rovner. Exactly how this theme may have applied to the evening was not immediately apparent; it is doubtful that it was the music selected (unless one decides to consider the plots of the films for which some of the works were composed). Was it for the lives of the composers? Korngold did flee Austria before the Anschluss, and Weinberg was harassed by the Soviets (he was arrested in February 1953 in the “Doctors’ Plot,” Stalin’s last purge before his death). Maybe it was about New York City Opera itself, which has had its struggles for the last decade but soldiers onward.
Conductor Constantine Orbelian took the stage to open the first half with Weinberg’s Suite from The Last Inch, as arranged by Sergey Kornienko. The Last Inch was a 1959 Soviet adventure/drama film, one of many films for which Weinberg composed music. This arrangement is a five-minute “survey” of the larger score. Full of color, rhythmic vitality, and memorable melodies, it was a dynamic opener played with gusto.
Cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper took the stage as the soloist in the next two works, Weinberg’s Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 52, and Korngold’s Cello Concerto in C major, Op.37.
The Fantasy is essentially a concerto played as a single movement. It has a somber opening of uneasy stillness, before a dance-like motif raises the energy to build to a cello cadenza before returning to the opening mood and eventually fading away. Ms. Cooper’s tone was lush and singing, and she reveled in the happy dance section with a playful approach. There were some brief moments when intonation was imprecise, but Ms. Cooper more than demonstrated her excellent technique along with her artistry throughout.
Originally composed for the 1946 Bette Davis/Claude Rains/Paul Henreid film Deception, Korngold’s Cello Concerto is a single-movement work of approximately thirteen minutes. (Interesting factoid: Korngold conceived this work to be played by Gregor Piatigorsky, but the film studio refused to pay Piatigorsky’s $100,000 fee. Eleanor Aller, mother of conductor Leonard Slatkin, performed it instead.)
There is a lot of action packed into the thirteen minutes, from the lush romantic sweeps of which Korngold was an undisputed master, to some hair-raising virtuosity that would challenge any cellist. Ms. Cooper was a dynamo, moving from the lyric to the demonic with a practiced assurance. One could easily sense her complete immersion in both her part and that of the orchestra, and it was an outstanding performance. The orchestra was charged by her energy, leading at times to an excessive exuberance which threatened to overwhelm Ms. Cooper in a wall of sound, but she always managed to shine through.
The second half was the United States premiere of Metamorphosis by Gennady Rovner. His program bio states that writing music is a “favorite hobby.” His program biography suggests that his main claim to fame is having worked with someone who has worked with a prominent artist (e.g. Paul McCartney, Andrea Bocelli ). These are not the most compelling credentials, and I am at a loss to figure out how this work was programmed – it was not remotely close to being up the standard of the works on the first half.
Metamorphosis is nine short works, of which two include a part for (wordless) soprano. There were no indications or titles attached to any of the nine, but it was clear that the effect was something between film music vignettes and New Age musings. There was nothing particularly original or notable – it was as if AI had been fed instructions for the music (a climax here, some saxophone and accordion here, as if we were in a Parisian café, etc.).
To the credit of the orchestra, they played with the same high level of commitment as they did for the Weinberg and Korngold works. Special mention to concertmaster Laura Frautschi for her gorgeous playing of the solo in the first section. Elizaveta Ulakhovich also made the most of limited opportunity to demonstrate her lovely voice.
It would have been better if the order of the halves had been reversed – the brilliant ending of the Korngold would have been a proper conclusion, rather than the abrupt stop of the Rovner. One hopes that New York City Opera will regain their footing. I wish them all the best.
