BSO Shines On Opening Night

Opening night at Symphony Hall on Wednesday began as an all-out, all-Russian night. Ladies in evening gowns mingled with their tuxedoed dates in the lobby as displays of potatoes flanked rows of shot glasses filled with a Russian vegetable-based concoction at the cocktail reception. The recently restored clerestory windows let in natural light for the first time in 65 years, but, most importantly, the concert program featured the works of three great Russian composers. When the last round of applause on Wednesday night faded into indistinguishable chatter, the concertgoers left the hall assured that American-born conductor James Levine was back and had sent the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 128th season off to a rousing start.

Levine ascended the podium for the first time after undergoing surgery for kidney cancer. Baton in hand, he bowed his shock of wiry gray hair to acknowledge the standing audience’s warm reception. Earlier that day, Levine told the Associated Press that his doctors caught the cancer in its early stages and that he will need no further treatment. Once in his swivel chair, he surveyed the symphony members with a confidence that soon characterized the opening theme of Glinka’s “Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila.”

The toe-tapping quality of the overture, driven by the clear running notes of the stringed instruments, soon had all audience members in the 2,625-seat hall swaying to the carefree, catchy melody. With grand sweeps of the arm, Levine drew out the long lines of the lyrical theme, sustained by the cello and viola sections. The five-minute work received applause, which was soon replaced with quiet anticipation of Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska’s debut with the Boston Symphony.

Attired in a dark-colored floor-length dress that was scintillating under the bright stage lights, Kovalevska strode gracefully to the left of the podium and nodded slightly to Levine before he struck the downbeat of the Letter Scene from Tchaikovsky’s opera, “Eugene Onegin.” The young artist’s first entrance thirty seconds into the strings’ introductory tremolo was rather shaky, as if she had been caught off-guard. Although the orchestra tended to overpower her voice at times, Kovalevska delivered a very musical interpretation of the scene.

With her sleek brown hair half-pulled back, her high, sustained notes tugged at the audience’s heartstrings as she, playing heroine Tatiana, declared her love for the dashing Onegin. Throughout the performance, her slender hands remained mostly in a rest position, and she only occasionally engaged her body in physical expression of the music. Her expressive rubato allowed her voice to soar above the orchestra, but the musical lines could have been longer and more nuanced. Before the last note drew to an exciting end, a particularly enthused man seated in the first balcony shouted a fervent “Bravo,” as the rest of the audience joined in enthusiastic applause.

The main course of the night was served with Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Originally written for piano, the ten-piece suite was orchestrated by French Impressionist composer Ravel for former music director of the Boston Symphony Serge Koussevitzky. The opening “Promenade” theme in B-flat recurs frequently throughout the piece, though with different tonal shadings. Levine directed the orchestra through a broad and majestic “Promenade,” which contrasted sharply with the subsequent, darker movement depicting a crooked-legged gnome scurrying about. The trumpet solos were particularly successful in carrying the main theme throughout the work despite the many interludes. As in the overture, Levine was able to create rolling waves of sound in building the tensions of the piece, but always pulled back the swells with the regularity of the tide until the climactic end. With noble, powerful gestures, Levine roused the entire symphony in the grand return of the opening theme. As the musicians struck the final notes, filling the entire Symphony Hall with the glorious finale, all audience members were drawn to their feet for several solid minutes of thunderous applause.

The first two performances were undoubtedly enjoyable, but “Pictures,” without question, outshined the rest of the evening. Though Levine was asked to return to the stage multiple times for additional bows, no encore was played. But don’t worry: Levine is back—with an entire new season.

—Reviewer June Q. Wu can be reached at junewu@fas.harvard.edu.