Opera stars gather at Dzintari for "Baltic Awards" concert

The Dzintari Concert Hall hosted the concert "GALA GALANTE. Viva La Musica!" on the evening of August 22, dedicated to the laureates of the international Baltic Awards. Opera and classical music performers from several countries shared the same stage.

The lineup included Italian tenor Giorgio Berrugi, Ukrainian tenor Dmytro Popov, Estonian soprano Elina Nechayeva, soprano Annija Kristiāna Ādamsone, pianist Andrejs Osokins, the Lithuanian string ensemble "NICO Ensemble", bass Edgars Ošleja, pianist Gustavs Kalējs and opera diva Inese Galante. German maestro Ekhart Wycik conducted.

Berrugi's performance and classic arias

One of the evening's central guests was Berrugi, a tenor once described by Plácido Domingo as his creative heir. Together with Inese Galante and Dmytro Popov, he performed the famous aria "Parigi, o cara" from Verdi's opera "La Traviata". The program also featured arias from Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci", Puccini's "Tosca" and Gounod's "Faust". Nechayeva and Ādamsone jointly presented a new interpretation of a piece from Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffmann".

A varied program

The classical repertoire was complemented by works by Raimonds Pauls and Ludovico Einaudi. Osokins performed together with the Baltic Awards Orchestra, while the NICO Ensemble brought a contemporary academic-music sound to the concert. The evening closed with all performers joining together for "Time to Say Goodbye", capping off what has become one of Jūrmala's established summer cultural traditions.