The Beautiful Sounds of Rachmaninoff and the Tsar at Stages Theater

To the haunting, wordless, and ethereal sound of solo soprano accompanied by a caressing orchestra, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise ushers us into a lush garden of birch trees bordered by flowers, two simple benches on the grass, and a perfectly proportioned house in the background.

Into this dreamscape wanders the iconic Russian composer, conductor, and legendary pianist, looking a bit forlorn and slightly frayed around the edges. He tells us he’s in a morphine haze, dying from melanoma. We are in his beloved garden in his house in Hollywood. The drugs make him hazy, make him remember, and take him back to the Russia of his youth.

The atmosphere, the setting, the sheer beauty of the music allows us to fall quickly under the spell of Hershey Felder’s musical bio, Rachmaninoff and the Tsar, the latest play from this accomplished concert pianist, author, actor, and filmmaker. His former romps through the great composers have included Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, Gershwin, Bernstein, Berlin. Felder’s one-man shows have introduced us to these titans of music, allowing them to shine through stories, correspondence, archival source material, and most importantly, their music.

With charm, finesse, and astonishing piano prowess, Felder brings them up close and personal. He also has a catalog of films that run the gamut from Puccini, Debussy, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Mozart, even Klezmer.

But here, he adds another character into his drama, Tsar Nicholas II, the hapless, tragic last of the Romanovs, assassinated by the Bolsheviks with his family in 1917. Jonathan Silvestri gives off sparks in this role, righteously bellowing his God-given right to be ruler of Mother Russia while also being blind to the miseries inflicted upon his people by his infuriating noblesse oblige. He softens considerably when reminiscing about his youngest daughter.

Felder unearths a little-known tale about Rachmaninoff. After he left Russia during the Revolution, already internationally famous for his Prelude in C# minor, Symphony #2, and his titanic Piano Concertos #1, #2, and #3, he toured Europe and America as a famed conductor and pianist. But he never felt at home outside Russia. Living in New York, he heard the story of Anna Tchaikovsky, a mental patient in Berlin who claimed to be the surviving daughter of Nicholas and Czarina Alexandra, spirited out of Russia after the alleged botched killing in Yekaterinburg. This was sensational news around the world. Although Rachmaninoff doubted the woman’s fantasies, he helped arrange her passage to America where he hoped she would receive better medical care. His love of Russia and his incredible homesickness tinged his decision.

Blaming Nicholas for the Revolution because of his disregard for his people, Rachmaninoff also blamed the father for the fate of his daughter. So Felder’s play puts these two in opposition – to music, love of family, duty to country. It’s an intriguing premise but only for so long. When Rachmaninoff’s career travels past the ‘20s and Anna’s story is debunked, Silvestri in his handsome military uniform is relegated to his park bench as he sits and listens while Felder regales us with Rachmaninoff’s ultra-romantic and intricate music. Nicky doesn’t have much to do, except to become a visual reminder of Rachmaninoff’s pining for long-ago Russia. He could just as easily walk out of the garden. I’m not sure what more could be done with him, but Felder doesn’t seem to know either.

If the drama is somewhat manufactured, Felder’s live performance is shattering and inspiring. Rachmaninoff was revered as the world’s preeminent pianist. He was also its highest paid, and his music was (and still is) beloved for its sweeping lyricism, dynamic outbursts, chromatic coloring, and technical precociousness. It is fiendishly difficult to play. Felder brushes this off with deceptive ease. He relishes the show-offishness of Rachmaninoff. He loves this music. And we love his playing of it.

So when the drama lacks a bit of punch, does it matter that much when the music is so good? There are sequences when Felder plays against a recorded orchestral background as images project behind the set. Scenes of the Revolution, Rasputin, the Tsar’s family – poached from Felder’s movie version Nicholas, Anna, and Sergei – add depth to the story and augment the already neo-romantic dreamy mood.

Rachmaninoff’s music carries us away. Felder has him say right up front, I love three things: Russia, my garden, and composing. When he left Russia in 1917, he never returned. He curtailed his composing to concentrate on solo performing and conducting. He became rich and revered, but he always looked back with regret at what had been. Hear what he lost in this musical look into his soul.

Rachmaninoff and the Tsar continues through October 20. at 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at Stages, 800 Rosine. For more information, call 713-527-0123 or visit stageshouston.com. $49-$88.