Tbilisi Baroque Festival Comes to an End
On November 25, one of the concerts were held on the Small Stage of Rustaveli Theatre. Two symphonies of Haydn and the ‘Requiem’ of Mozart were performed that evening. The performers were following: ‘Georgian Sinfonietta’, Ensemble ‘ZEFIRO’, the Tbilisi Baroque Choir (Creative Director – Giorgi Margvelashvili) and the soloists: Maria Kublashvili (Soprano), Nutsa Zakaidze (Mezzo Soprano), Giorgi Davitadze (Tenor), Givi Gigineishvili (Bass).
The concert hall was full of spectators, crowds were listening music standing, not hesitating to express their feelings and ovations to the musicians. As a result of the high professionalism of the performers and the interesting program of the concert, the evening turned out to be successful indeed. Georgian audience always treats the well-known program with great interest and tries not to miss any composition, even if it has already been listened many times. In such cases, it is much more critical in terms of evaluation, which increases the responsibility of the performers in multiple times. The vast majority of listeners attended the concert of 25th of November particularly because of Mozart’s ‘Requiem’, especially intrigued with the idea of authentic performance.
‘Georgian Sinfonietta’ targeted an extremely complicated task: the performance had to include the instruments envisaged according to the original manuscripts of mus-scores of Mozart and the manner of performance had to be maximally close to that époque.
That evening, the Small Stage of Rustaveli Theater really hosted the instruments of the 18th century, and most importantly, the orchestra included two favorite instruments of Mozart: Basset Horn and Organ, which has been the first precedent in Georgia.
The fact that the Georgian audience was admired by the performance was obvious by their ovations, tears on their eyes, ‘Bravi Tutti’ shouts and two encores at the end of the concert.
We congratulate all the musicians on this great success and are sure ‘Georgian Sinfonietta’ will perform numerous other masterpieces in future. Georgian audience is waiting for it with impatience from one festival to another. However, very soon, December 1, 2, 3, there is a big surprise for the devoted listeners of the Baroque Festival in the Royal District Theater. First time in Georgia, on the Georgian stage, the synthesis of old music and modern choreography will take place. ‘Georgian Sinfonietta’ and Giorgi Aleksidze Tbilisi Contemporary Ballet Company will present the mutual project – Contemporary Ballet ‘Folia’.
‘Folia’ is the 15th century Portuguese dance, which was later spread in Italy and France as ‘Folie d’Espagne’. This dance was performed by the male artists in female costumes with castanets. The name ‘Folia’ is related to madness, or to the thoughtless behavior of an artist.
After this melody appeared in 1650, and released in 1672 by Lully, a lot of different composers rewrote it with different interpretation, one of the most famous out of them being the version of Corelli released in 1700. ‘Folia’ of Marin Marais and Antonio Vivaldi are worth of noting as well. The composers of the 19th and 20th centuries were also using the theme of ‘Folia’ in their compositions quite frequently.
In case of the Royal District Theater, ‘Folia’ of Francesco Geminiani, Andrea Falconieri and Antonio Vivaldi will be performed. The spectators will also be presented ‘Sarabande’ of George Frideric Handel and ‘Stabat Mater’ of Vivaldi.
The project initiator is the Tbilisi State Chamber Orchestra ‘Georgian Sinfonietta’, and the original idea and choreography of the ballet belongs to Mariam Aleksidze.
Cast: Giorgi Aleksidze Contemporary Ballet Company – Intigam Mammadov, Natia Bunturi, Mariam Darchia, Natalia Kukuladze, Mariam Koiava, Tinatin Mchedlidze, Gvantsa Gelashvili, Mariam Aleksidze (Artistic Director), Tbilisi State Chamber Orchestra ‘Georgian Sinfonietta’ (Artistic Director – Giorgi Kerelashvili), Mikheil Abramishvili (Countertenor), Etienne Galletier (Theorbo, Baroque Guitar).
Three premiere plays will be performed in the Royal District Theater, December 1, 2, 3, at 19:30.
Tickets are available at the Royal District Theater Box Offices, at ‘Biblus Gallery’, located on Chavchavadze Ave., 7, and Online at: www.biletebi.ge
Photographer: Tina Kazakhishvili
Design: Besik Danelia
On the poster: Intigam Mammadov