Northern sounds: Yoel Levi leads Haifa Symphony Orchestra to triumph

Donizetti’s L’Elisir D’Amore, performed by Haifa Symphony Orchestra under conductor Yoel Levi this week, presents another milestone on the HSO’s steady rise under the world-famous musical director.

“We are the only orchestra in the country that invests in fully produced and directed operas,” Levi told The Jerusalem Post. “This work by Donizetti has never been performed in Haifa.”

Donizetti’s star never shone brighter. This northern production starts just as Lucia di Lammermoor ends at the Israeli Opera Tel Aviv and before conductor Vag Papian leads the Ashdod-based Israel Chamber Opera to a new production of Rita.

L’Elisir D’Amore (The Elixir of Love) might be just what the doctor ordered during tough times.

The opera depicts Nemorino (tenor Danilo Formaggia), a simple man, who is in love with a woman quite out of his league, Adina (soprano Rania Ateek). Competing with Nemorino over Adina’s heart is Belcore (baritone Eduardo Martinez), a worldly man of the armed forces and, in this production, the navy.

Outgunned and desperate, Nemorino spends his last dime on a love potion which, he is told by Doctor Dulcamara (bass Denis Sedov), never fails to work. Will it work now?

“Despite these difficult times,” Levi said, “we brought the public a light, comical opera sure to make people smile and do a body good during troubled days.”

The relentless rain outside the concert hall during Sunday’s performance did not dim the Italian sun of L’Elisir D’Amore, due to video designer Yair Katzenlson’s impressive set. 

Katzenlson imagined Belcore as arriving by submarine to torment Nemorino and Dulcamara as landing by biplane to offer the remedy, these added delightful comic effects to the opera.

Ateek’s transformation on stage, from a fickle woman with one thousand loves to a woman who becomes love personified, was believed by all lucky enough to see it on stage. This was keenly felt during Ateek’s duet with Sedov in which she sang “the recipe is my little face/the elixir lives in my eyes.”

The role of Giannetta, a young woman on good terms with both Adina and Nemorino, was inhabited by soprano Audelia Shalev. Her lively performance of ‘Is it Possible’ (Saria possibile), a key plot twist informing us Nemorino is no longer poor, was perfect.

Shalev presented us with a perfect Giannetta, quick to laugh at Nemorino's misfortune with the rest of the people but, ultimately, good hearted. 

Haifa continues to offer universally-loved operas

UNDER LEVI, now beginning his fourth season as musical director in Haifa, the HSO offers great operas that are universally loved. These include Bizet’s Carmen (2022), Verdi’s La Traviata (2023), and the upcoming July performance of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, which Pevzner will also direct.

Thanks to the full backing of Ethos, under CEO Yigal Zeevi, and HSO director Ran Nachum, Levi was able to recruit 25 new musicians and is well on the way to reshaping the musical landscape up North.

“I grew up in Haifa,” Levi shared, “and I took this position with the intention to build something.”

The HSO is currently auditioning for a konzertmeister, or first chair. “He or she sits next to the conductor and serves as the musical leader of the orchestra,” Levi explains. “It is vital this position is inhabited by someone who has great chemistry with the other orchestra members.”

Marimba player Yana Kritchevsky will perform Concerto for Marimba by Emmanuel Séjourné followed by Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky this May.

“This performance requires a virtuoso,” Levi said. “It will be a totally new experience for the audience to hear Mussorgsky performed in such a manner.

“It is my philosophy,” he added, “to offer musicians opportunities so they will flourish. At these times, many young talents opt to work in other countries where the pay is better. It will be our joy if we may offer musicians a good life in Haifa.”

This May, pianist Mikhail Pletnev will also visit Haifa to offer two Rachmaninoff concertos.

“He is a first-class pianist,” Levi emphasized, “one of the greatest in the world today, a phenomenal talent.”

The fourth season of the Haifa Symphony Orchestra under conductor Yoel Levi includes the Sunday, May 19, 8 p.m. performance by pianist Mikhail Pletnev, and the Friday, May 24, 11 a.m. performance by marimba player Yana Kritchevsky. Both concerts include Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Madame Butterfly will be performed on Sunday, July 21, at 8 p.m. at the Haifa Auditorium, 140 Sderot Hanassi. Call *9300 for tickets.