Pi Nârâti Librettist Michael Besack.

Of Russian descent, born in Berlin, in 1945, Michael Besack reaches Morocco at a young age. While living in Marrakech from 1950 to 1965, he completes his French high-school curriculum and moves again, this time to the United States, where he attends the University of California, at Berkeley, graduating in 1969 with a degree in Computer Science. During that time his interest in classical music and opera grows. Already involved with various choral groups, he starts studying voice. From 1978 on, he appears in recitals of Russian classical songs (Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Sviridov and Moussorgsky). Coaching him and accompanying him is pianist Natalia Neff, at the time an official accompanist at the Piatigorsky Seminar for Cellists, held in Los Angeles, and a member of the staff at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 1982, at the conclusion of a master class held in Marin County, he goes on to study with Wagnerian tenor Jess Thomas. Working on the parts of Hunding in Die Walküre and Wotan in Das Rheingold, he tries to come to terms with Wagner’s Ring. Franz Schubert’s Winterreise similarly captures his attention. Five books see the light of day as a consequence of these pursuits. They are part of a series called Esoteric Journeys through Poetry and Song:

 An opera libretto, Pi Nârâti, completed in the spring of 2007, builds on the insights gained while working on the preceding series. Future projects include a recording of Franz Schubert’s Winterreise, together with a film script dealing with the same subject.

The following musical samples are in MP3 format (click on the name to listen):

Opera:

Ernani, G. Verdi, « Infelice! e tuo credevi… Infin che un brando vindice », (M. Besack, N. Neff)

La juive, J. Halévy, « Si la rigueur », (M. Besack, N. Neff)

Lied:

Der Wanderer, F. Schubert, (M. Besack, N. Neff)

Gute Nacht, F. Schubert [Winterreise], (M. Besack, N.Neff)

Ständchen, F. Schubert [Schwanengesang], (M. Besack, N. Neff)

Russian songs:

Doubt, M. Glinka, (M. Besack, N. Neff)

I am sad, A. Dargomyzhsky, (M. Besack, N. Neff)