The Portrait

Synopsis

Based on the short story by Russian author Nikolai Gogol, Weinberg‘s little known opera portrays the harmful influence of money and fame. A talented but unsuccessful painter, acquires a portrait that is under a curse and allows him to quickly become a celebrated society artist. Bedazzled by the glory, the rich and famous are at his feet, the money and invitations roll in and he is the talk of the town. But ownership of the portrait leads him to betray his own art and when he realises this, he resorts to drastic and violent action.

Our Review:

Ron Simpson - 3 February 2011

One of Opera North’s strengths is the company’s ability to make a case for the most neglected of operas. The Portrait, written in 1980 and not staged until 1983, receives its UK premiere at Leeds; its composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg, who died in 1996, was hardly known in the West until David Pountney headed a Weinberg revival as Intendant of the Bregenz Festival and now in his production for Opera North.

The immediate reaction is puzzlement that such an exhilarating work should be so neglected, but I suspect that it needs a production and performance of this commitment, creativity and musical quality to hold an audience: there are longueurs even here. The story, based on Nikolai Gogol, invites David Pountney’s expressionist approach: Chartkov, a young painter, told by his professor that he has great promise, finds that the purchase of a portrait brings him wealth and success. He betrays his art by making a fortune from flattering society portraits, but this le...

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