The recently appointed Theater Bremen Kappellmeister, Sasha Yankevych, has earned acclaim for his house debut, conducting Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito. The Ukrainian/Swedish conductor, known for “an ardent and fiery temperament, which he balances with sensitivity and musicality. …should be followed very closely over the next few years“ (Olyrix).
The critics applaud his performance, writing:
“At the helm of the Bremen Philharmonic stood the new First Kapellmeister of the Bremen Theater: Sasha Yanekvych made a brilliant debut with his finely balanced and highly impetuous reading of Mozart’s rich music. He was an empathetic companion for the singers, gave a lot of space and breath to the lyrical parts, but also added dramatic accents that were pointed to the point.” – W. Denker / Weser Kurier
“Sasha Yankevych and the Bremen Philharmonic conjured up the tumultuous wildness and enchanting tenderness of this unique music. And the choir once again made a dazzling impression. Never-ending cheers for a performance that is once again worth the trip.” – NMZ / U. Schalz-Laurenze
“Conductor Sasha Yankevych elicits astonishing sounds from the Bremen Philharmonic. He ensures the contact between the stage and the orchestra pit in an exemplary manner, which not only supports the singers during the transitions, but also during the sometimes exorbitantly demanding arias.”- Klassik.com / M. Pitz-Grewenig
Further performances will take place on 12 April and 5, 8 and 17 May. Sasha discusses the production with Dramaturg Frederike Kruger in this interview on theaterbremen.de.
Later this month, Sasha will participate in the final round of the Malko Competition in Copenhagen. He will also conduct performances of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Royal Swedish Opera (22, 24, 26 April). In Bremen, he will also conduct a new production of Prokofiev’s The Love for the three Oranges, premiering on May 18 with further performances on 26, 31 May and June 2, 12, 20, 22.
Since 2018, Sasha has been working at the Royal Stockholm Opera, serving as assistant and cover conductor on Szymanowski’s Król Roger, Puccini’s La bohème and Verdi’s La traviata. His operatic repertoire is very wide and features titles from Mozart to Bizet, from Verdi, Puccini and Rossini to Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. Recent highlights include his debut at the Hamburg Staatsoper conducting Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Die Fledermaus), Palau de Las Arts (Pique Dame), Orchestre de St. Etienne, Filarmonica Toscanini, and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester.
He also served as Assistant Conductor at the Verbier Festival working alongside Gianandrea Noseda, Klaus Makela, Lahav Shani, Reinhard Goebel – exploring the 18th century historical practice, Martin Frost, and Yuja Wang.
Sasha has conducted concerts throughout Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Ukraine, Russia, Estonia, Austria, Germany and Czech Republic. Recently he has conducted Youth Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg and Soloists of the Mariinsky Theater, Musikkolegium Winterthur, Toscanini Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Bordeaux in a gala with Benjamin Bernheim for a Deutsche Grammophon recording, Gävle Symfoniorkester, Nörrköping Symphony Orchestra, and Royal Swedish Orchestra.
During those years, Sasha had the opportunity to work with eminent artists such as Fabio Luisi, Andreas Homoki, Gianluca Capuano, Jonathan Darlington, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Alan Gilbert, Asmik Grigorian, Anne Sofie von Otter, Benjamin Bernheim, Malin Byström, Adriana Gonzalez and many others, incredibly enriching his operatic repertoire.
In 2021 Sasha was awarded the 2nd Prize and Orchestra Prize at the Arturo Toscanini Competition in Parma. He is laureate at several international competitions, such as the S. Richter International Piano Competition and HSBC Académie d’Aix-en-Provence in 2018.
