Outrageous and yet inevitable: Stephana abandons her life of comfort as a courtesan in an elegant St. Petersburg palace to follow her great love, Vassili, into a Siberian penal colony. In exile, she is transformed into an unyielding fighter, standing up to injustice and slander. Amid the prisoners’ seemingly hopeless fate, hope begins to flicker when the couple’s impossible escape appears within reach. Then a shot rings out. In Siberia, Umberto Giordano shapes this gripping and tightly woven drama in the spirit of Italian verismo. Vivid emotional intensity, powerfully drawn characters, and an imposing chorus define the score. Striking Russian sonorities—from the Tsarist anthem to the Volga boatmen’s song—are seamlessly embedded in the music’s dramatic sweep. Yet despite this rich local color, Siberia remains, for the composer of Andrea Chénier and Fedora, a universal human drama: “Love and suffering know no nationality.”
A co-production with Theater Bonn.
Stage music in cooperation with the Vorarlberger Landeskonservatorium.
