Another birthday of the Russian opera diva Galina Vishnevskaya coincided with the World Opera Day. According to the established tradition, a gala concert in memory of the great singer took place at the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre.
The Centre’s alumni, now soloists of the leading opera houses of Moscow, took part in the gala night: Agunda Kulaeva, Maria Pakhar, Oleg Dolgov, Sergei Polyakov, Alexey Tatarintsev, Elchin Azizov.
Olga Rostropovich, the Artistic Director of the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre, noted:
“All the participants of the concert today are all those who studied and learned from her. All this remains in memory, and we never deviate from the principles that she set here. And, you know, when everything is based on love, and not some other interests and desires, then everything is very simple.”
The Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre was opened in Moscow in 2002. Vocalists got the opportunity to receive a postgraduate training there at the beginning of their professional career. Galina Vishnevskaya International Opera Singers Competition has been held since 2006.
Galina Vishnevskaya, together with her students, has always tried to present some unexpected project on her birthday – an opera or a concert. She gave the young vocalists an invaluable gift and put her heart and soul into each of them. The graduates of the Opera Centre sacredly honour these traditions and continue to preserve the memory of their great mentor.
Orchestral excerpts, arias and duets from operas by Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Camille Saint-Saens, Charles Gounod, Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Alexander Borodin were performed to the accompaniment of the Opera Centre Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Yaroslav Tkalenko.
The brilliant acting performance, bright charisma and convincing vocals of each of the soloists did not disappoint the audience, who gave the singers long applause. I would like to express a special respect to Oleg Dolgov and Elchin Azizov, who dramatically performed the famous duet of Don Carlos and Rodrigo from Don Carlos opera by Giuseppe Verdi. Agunda Kulaeva and Alexey Tatarintsev, who shone in the languid duet of Konchakovna and Vladimir Igorevich from Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin, deserved no less praise. In general, the atmosphere of the Sunday gala concert was confidentially warm and homely cozy. Galina Vishnevskaya herself loved the same.
The diva’s divine voice sounded in a recording at the end of the evening. It was one of her crown roles – Liza in The Queen of Spades by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (an excerpt of an opera film).