Tenor Petr Nekoranec in Recital
Photo: Lukáš Kimlička
The gala concert “Tenor Petr Nekoranec in Recital” was the opening event of the Year of Czech Music abroad. The concert featured songs by Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček and Bohuslav Martinů. The program offered a special performance of Janáček's extraordinary cycle “The Diary of One Who Disappeared.” Introductory remarks by Michael Beckerman, Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor of Music at New York University.
Tenor Petr Nekoranec (Czech National Theater, Prague) is one of the most outstanding vocal talents of the young Czech generation. From the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Program to leading roles with major opera companies around the world, Nekoranec dazzles with his performances of opera and song. The evening also featured pianist Valeria Polunina.
PROGRAM
Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884)
He Who Can Play the Golden Strings / Kdo v zlaté struny hrát zná /
from the cycle Evening Songs / z cyklu Večerní písně |
Leoš Janáček (1854–1928)
Mementos / Památky
from the cycle Moravian Folk Poetry in Songs / z cyklu Moravská lidová poezie v písních
Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959)
Forsaken Love / Opuštěný milý
Longing / Touha
The High Steeple / Vysoká veža
The Unhappy Lover / Smutný milý
from the cycle The New Chap-Book / z cyklu Nový špalíček
Bohuslav Martinů
Dew / Rosička
Unlocked by a Word / Otevření slovečkem
from the cycle Songs on One Page / z cyklu Písničky na jednu stránku
Leoš Janáček
Lover’s Likeness / Obrázek milého
Steadiness / Stálost
from the cycle Moravian Folk Poetry in Songs / z cyklu Moravská lidová poezie v písních
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
My only dear one, my dear love / Ó duše drahá jedinká
from the cycle Love Songs / z cyklu Milostné písně
Hey! How my triangle rings so sweetly / Aj, kterak trojhranec můj
The woods are silent all around / A les je tichý kolem kol
from the cycle Gypsy Melodies / z cyklu Cigánské melodie
Bohuslav Martinů
The Inquisitive Girl / Zvědavá dievča
from the cycle The New Chap-Book / z cyklu Nový špalíček
Leoš Janáček
The Diary of One Who Disappeared / Zápisník zmizelého
song cycle for tenor, alto, three female voices and piano on text by Ozef Kalda / písňový cyklus pro tenor, alt, tři ženské hlasy a klavír na text Ozefa Kaldy
1. Potkal sem mladou cigánku | One day I met a gypsy girl
2. Ta černá cigánka | That black-eyed gypsy
3. Svatojánské mušky tančia po hrázi | Twilight glow-worms
4. Už mladé vlaštúvky v hnízdě vrnoží | Already swallows
5. Těžko sa mi oře, vyspal sem sa malo | Weary work is ploughing
6. Hajsi, vy siví volci | Hey there, my tawny oxen
7. Ztratil sem kolíček | I’ve got a loose axle
8. Nehleďte, volečci | Don’t look, my oxen
9. Tahne vůňa k lesu | From the ripening cornfield
10. Tmavá olšinka | Forest’s shady height
11. Klavírní mezihra | Intermezzo erotico
12. Slnéčko sa zdvíhá | See how high the sun is
13. Moji siví volci | Now my tawny oxen
14. Co sem to udělal? | What has come over me?
15. Co komu súzeno | Who can escape his fate?
16. Nedbám já včil o nic | Nothing matters now
17. Letí straka, letí | See that thieving magpie
18. Mám já panenku | Have I a beauty
19. Můj drahý tatíčku | Father, how wrong you were
20. Sbohem, rodný kraju | Then farewell, dearest land
The Year of Czech Music celebrates Czech composers and their masterworks as well as gifted performers once every decade. This year it honors Bedřich Smetana (200th anniversary), Leoš Janáček (170th anniversary), Antonín Dvořák (120th anniversary of his death), and many others, marking important dates in the rich and diverse history of Czech music.
This event was presented by the Dvořák American Heritage Association in partnership with the Czech Center New York, with the support of the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York and the Bohemian Benevolent Literary Association.
Photos: Bruce C. T. Bybee