Interbellum beauties, these women embody the elegance and sophistication of an era marked by chaos and violence. Join us at the bulthaup design gallery on May 21 at 7:30 pm for a special concert, Interbellum: A Poem Without a Hero.

Interbellum refers to the period between the two world wars, and in this word we hear beauty (bella), the ringing of bells, war (bellum), in between (inter). This concert pays tribute to the ‘Belles d’Interbellum’, heroines of this period – iconic ladies from Paris, Moscow, Leningrad, Berlin, Prague and Amsterdam – and highlights the beauty that could not save the world.

For the first time in St. Petersburg, we will present vocal music by female composers Henriëtte Bosmans and Marjo Tall, inspired by the poetry of Paul Éluard, Alfred de Musset, Jacques Prévert, André Verdet, Alexander Blok, Anna Akhmatova and Osip Mandelstam, performed in French and Russian. Also, for the first time in St. Petersburg, we will present piano music by French composer Elsa Barraine and German composer Ilse Fromm-Michaels. The concert program includes the famous Akhmatova cycle by Sergei Prokofiev, one of the most remarkable works of Russian vocal music of the 20th century.

The performers are soprano Zoya Tsererina, Honored Artist of Tatarstan and guest soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, and Julia Broido, pianist, musicologist and artistic director of the project.

You will be welcomed with a glass of sparkling wine before the concert begins.

Program:

Henriette Bosmans. Eight French Songs (1920 / 1951)

Elsa Barraine. Hommage A Paul Dukas (1936)

Marjo Tal. Six Songs on Poems by Russian Poets (1975)

Ilse Fromm-Michaels. Langsamer Walzer (1950)