Bluebeard At Opéra dijon
Kristiina appeared at the helm of the Orchestre Français des Jeunes as their new Music Director in a new production of Opéra Dijon, performing Strauss’ Metamorphosen and Bleubeard’s Castle. The international press was full of praise for both the scenography and the musical performance.
Diapason: “The Orchestre Français des Jeunes shows an astonishing quality. Plastic in Strauss, reactive in Bartók, these students, well-prepared by their new music director Kristiina Poska, have clearly understood the task at hand. Together, they sketch out Metamorphoses with the clarity of line: its long organic developments unfold naturally, without pathos or sophistication, and with a kind of modesty that doesn't shy away from tenderness. More extroverted, their Bluebeard’s Castle embraces each of the dramatic demands of the score, making them thrilling in a few powerful moments—truly overwhelming waves that still send shivers down your spine, like the apotheosis at the opening of the fifth door. At the start of her tenure, the maestro’s ambition is therefore clear: to debut the OFJ in the (very) great repertoire. And one can only agree with this vision.
Opera online: “The great and beautiful surprise of the evening, however, remains in the pit, where the Orchestre Français des Jeunes shines brilliantly under the direction of its new conductor, the Estonian Kristiina Poska. Despite the young age of its musicians, and the fact that the OFJ was accompanying a staged opera for the first time in its history, the orchestra certainly holds its own when compared to more seasoned ensembles: under the expert and nurturing baton of the maestro, the sections weave a musical tapestry in which the notes shimmer and slide with nuance and perspective, offering the grace of a multi-layered musicality, far from any sense of one-dimensionality. Present in the shadows of the stage, the brass sections unfold for the opening of the fifth door with the intelligence not to overpower the pit. The balance is expertly managed, and one can only applaud the exemplary work and the masterful performance of the Orchestra and the musical direction of Kristiina Poska.”
Forum Opéra: “The score by Bartók, expressionist, powerful, dark to the point of terror, tense, but also sparkling […] is rendered in all its dimensions, and one is left in awe listening to this novice orchestra, whose cohesion, clarity, virtuosity, and colors (the numerous clarinet solos, the brass fanfares, on stage…) many more experienced ensembles could envy. A grand moment.”
Olyrix: “The Orchestre Français des Jeunes, under the precise and inspired baton of Kristiina Poska, masterfully explores a rich range of subtle nuances and impeccably calibrated musical gestures, free from any pretension.”
ResMusica: “We don’t remember hearing a Bluebeard's Castle with such audacity in terms of power. While the strings deliver marvels of cohesion in the Metamorphoses, the other sections never falter, especially not when the brass are invited to take the shadowed stage facing the audience for the fifth door.”
