Grandiose potpourri of opera and song

On 7 September at 5 p.m., almost thirty listeners await the concert organized by the SMPV Schaffhausen in the magnificent Louis XVI-style guild hall of the Sorell Hotel Rüden in Schaffhausen full of excitement and anticipation. Perhaps it is the fact that it is possibly the last beautiful, warm weekend of the year, perhaps it is also the fact that the two young singers, Albina Asadullina, soprano, and Elena Dietrich, mezzo-soprano, are still unknown in Schaffhausen, but both the musicians and the audience are so committed that the initial brief disappointment at the small audience disappears almost immediately.

The president of the Schaffhausen chapter of the SMPV begins by briefly informing the audience that the two singers have won a special prize at this year's Elvirissima singing competition and why the concert in honor of singing teacher Elvira Lüthi-Wegmann, which otherwise takes place annually in the monastery church of St. Katharinental near Diessenhofen, is being held this year in the Zunftsaal of the Zunft zum Rüden, but then the musical delicacies begin quickly. The singers show off their skills with Johann Strauss' Fledermaus, brilliantly and sensitively accompanied on the piano by Maja Wüthrich. Works by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Massenet, Bellini, Vaughn Williams and many others follow - sometimes one sings, sometimes the other, sometimes the two very different voices merge in wonderful harmony to form a duet, for example in the famous "Flower Duet" from the opera "Lakmé" by Léo Delibes or in the witty little piece "The Art of Kissing" by Andreas Hammerschmidt. Their flexible voices effortlessly combine high and low notes, captivating pianos are followed in the next moment by hall-filling fortos, and the two dance across the stage, changing from role to role with wit and grace.

One of the highlights of the Siberian-born Tatar Albina Asadullina's performance is the Tatar folk song "To the Mother". The intimacy of the a cappella piece, the lightness of Asadullina's voice in all registers and the tremendous power of her expression leave the audience so spellbound that they could have heard a pin drop. The Swiss mezzo-soprano, Elena Dietrich, also has these moments: In "Tell me the Truth about Love" by Britten or Schönberg's "Der genügsame Liebhaber", the 26-year-old former ETH chemistry student shows what great acting talent she has and that she is able to maneuver her voice effortlessly from Sprechgesang through soft lyrical passages to the highest heights. The third member of the group, pianist and accompanist Maja Wüthrich from the wine-growing village of Wilchingen in Schaffhausen, should by no means go unmentioned. On this evening, she does what makes an excellent accompanist at the piano: she often disappears into the background, shines in the introductions, interludes and final passages, supports the singers, goes along and lives with them, and shows her pianistic skills even in the most challenging passages.

The audience thanked the three musicians with thunderous and long-lasting applause. After two wonderfully witty and virtuoso encores, the concert evening comes to an end. A musical delight that lingers on for a long time and makes you want more.