As the conflict on our borders rages on, after several months of intense fighting, cultural life on the home front is beginning to show signs of adapting to a “new normal.” Concerts and performances were canceled and postponed, but are now starting to attract audiences again, as the truncated 2023-2024 seasons of both the Israeli Opera and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) pick up more or less where they left off.
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The delayed opening of the current season of the Israeli Opera kicked off earlier this week with Lucia di Lammermoor, an unusual Italian adaptation of a novel by Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott turned into a classic opera by 19th-century composer Gaetano Donizetti. The current production, originally created for the Oviedo Opera House, is actually a reprise of a previous one on the Tel Aviv stage in 2012.
Also returning to Israel for this production is Italian guest conductor Carlo Montanaro, who is at the podium with the Opera Orchestra, the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon Lezion. On the other hand, making her directorial debut with this production is Israeli Omer Ben Seadia.
Lucia di Lammermoor is best known for its “mad scene” and the aria of the lead soprano as she descends into insanity. The entire scene was acted and sung superbly by familiar Israeli soprano Hila Fahima on the evening of the premiere. Fahima is alternating in this role with Laura Ulloa, a Cuban soprano in her debut role with the Israeli Opera.
The other highlight of Lucia di Lammermoor is a sextet featuring all the major roles, two female and four male artists spanning the entire range of voices from soprano to bass. It was performed flawlessly by the sextet dominated by the two male leads, Italian tenor Oreste Cosimo in the role of Edgado and Romanian-born Israeli Opera baritone Ionut Pascu in the role of Enrico.
The next opera scheduled to be performed by the Israeli Opera is Hanoch Levin - The Opera, a new work that is a collaboration of five contemporary Israeli composers. The revamped season will now comprise seven operas, with two originally scheduled operas now postponed to the 2024-2025 season.
The IPO aspires to a full calendar
Heading into 2024, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has re-instituted an ambitious slate of concerts, characterized by a roster of guest conductors, as IPO music director Lahav Shani focuses on his duties as chief conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, Shani has been appointed chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, effective 2026.
The IPO concluded the year 2023 with concerts in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem under the baton of Semyon Bychkov, the Russian-American conductor of the Czech Philharmonic. Bychkov conducted a program consisting of works less commonly heard in Israel – Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony #4 (the “Italian”) and Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony #8 – which came as a refreshing change from the usual repertoire.
As it turns out, Bychkov himself stole the show. The former Soviet refusenik spoke movingly of his identification with Israel and the emotion of solidarity he felt coming to the country during wartime. He then led the orchestra and the entire audience in a stirring rendition of the national anthem HaTikva, in the hope of better times.
Moreover, in addition to his insisting on coming to Israel in spite of the perils of war, Bychkov made the admirable gesture of donating his salary to the orchestra.
Among the guest conductors scheduled to take the podium in February is the IPO’s own music director emeritus, Zubin Mehta, in a rare appearance following his retirement.