Press

But in the end, the stars of the show were the young conductor, Dmitry Matvienko, the orchestra and the chorus. I said, when writing about the Brussels concert that opened this new season, that Matvienko’s conducting there boded well for his Verdi here, and – though I say it myself – I was right. He is visibly attentive to both stage and pit, while bringing clarity, colour, contrast and nuance, along with a rhythmic spring, to the score. Never before have I felt Verdi’s ballets (not actually danced in this production, so it was easy to focus on the pit) were a highlight of an evening of Aïda: played with delicacy, they sparkled colourfully like something by Rimsky-Korsakov. And the chorus in the temple scene was sublime – Matvienko is from Belarus and studied in St. Petersburg. He must have the Orthodox sound in his veins. He’s now based in Aarhus, but as far as I’m concerned, he can come to Paris whenever he wants.

Il aurait pu paraître difficile de succéder à Michele Mariotti en plein milieu de cette série d’Aida à l’Opéra Bastille. Le jeune Dmitry Matvienko procède avec intelligence. Il s’appuie clairement sur les dynamiques travaillées par son prédécesseur, dont on entend encore tout le fracas dans les conclusions de scènes, et parsème les détails pour apporter une touche personnelle.

Overall, Matvienko’s maturity in mastering all these elements seemed exceptional in one so young - and bodes well for his Verdi later in the week. Often alluded to as a 'rising star,' he is, I’ve concluded, definitely one to watch, and Aarhus may have trouble holding on to him for long.

Even if not a masterpiece, then, this opera can be enjoyable, something of which past conductors have not been able to convince me: Mstislav Rostropovich, Valery Gergiev and even Vladimir Jurowski. But here Dmitry Matvienko (a former Jurowski assistant) brought a heady mix of precision and punch to the music, revealing things behind its cardboard facade. He made the most of the score's subtleties, where they exist, not least in the striking accompaniment to the Act 3 quartet.

"Dass "Die Verlobung im Kloster" musikalisch ein echter Prokofjew ist, stellt der junge Dirigent Dmitry Matvienko als Hausdebütant am Pult des RSO unter Beweis. Der Komponist flechtet zahlreiche Tänze in seine Partitur, erinnert immer wieder an seine filmmusikalischen Arbeiten, spielt mit lautsprachlichen Elementen im Wechselspiel mit der Musik. Zupackend, zugänglich kommt das Ganze daher. Gott sei Dank kein Schweigekloster!"

"Auch das RSO Wien und der Arnold Schoenberg Chor waren in Hochform. Der Dirigent Dmitry Matvienko sorgte für einen musikalischen Genuss. Das Publikum feierte alle, auch die Regie frenetisch."

"In comedy, timing is everything and Dmitry Matvienko led the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien through the clockwork precision of Prokofiev’s whirring score. I imagine the majority of the audience were encountering this opera for the first time on stage. It deservedly made a lot of friends."

"Guest conductor Dmitry Matvienko took a blistering pace with Robert Schumann’s overture Manfred (Op.115). Following the tutti explosion of sound at the beginning of the work, Matvienko insisted on a hard-hitting attack from the orchestra, and his incisive gesturing left no doubt in anyone’s mind – audience and musician alike – that he had a tempo and dynamic plan and would brook nothing else."

"Matvienko’s reading of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred was as good as it gets – visually and aurally exciting."

"I had come to hear Giovanni’s first Rach 3 but was mesmerised too by Matvienko’s wonderfully theatrical conducting of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite .I have heard this orchestra many times but never as tonight with players listening to each other and a conductor who could illuminate their path with such authority and clarity."

"Matvienko drew and shaped stellar playing from the DSO. He obviously has a keen understanding of this music, and was able to impart his musical ideas to the orchestra, with impressive results. His conducting style is precise, with a clear downbeat, and while expressive, favors compact and efficient gestures over theatricality."

"This concert was Matvienko’s Australian debut and it’s clear he is indeed a rising star in the ranks of international conductors. He has an athletic style and broad physical language with almost balletic gestures in some of the grand passages where the entire orchestra is working together."

"Dirigent Dmitry Matvienko wiederum schaff es, mit dem formidablen ORF-RSO Wien Prokofjews markante Ideen transparent zum Leuchten zu bringen. Die opulenten Entladungen kommen ebenso klar wie intensiv rüber. Und auch die bissigen, tanzaffinen Strukturen und die lyrischen Passagen entfalten ihr Fluidum auf den Abend verkürzende Art und Weise."

"Faszinierend, wie Dirigent Dmitry Matvienko die enorme Bandbreite der schillernden Partitur voller kleiner augenzwinkernder Zitate und Hinweise auf "Figaros Hochzeit" oder den "Barbier von Sevilla" zwischen großem Bombast und zarter Kantilene zusammen mit dem furios aufspielenden ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien von der mächtigen Ouvertüre bis zum orgiastischen Finale dem staunenden Wiener Publikum präsentiert und das bestens disponierte Sängerensemble in seiner Spiel- und Sangesfreude immer weiterträgt."

"Das ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien unter der Leitung von Dmitry Matvienko exekutierte den ziemlich lauten und grobschlächtigen Abend, der dem Publikum offenbar sehr gefiel. Als zum Finale der abgenagte Fisch erschien, kannte der Jubel kein Ende."