Translated material
Divas choose a princess
The Elena Obraztsova competition has ended in St. Petersburg
People are pouring into the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic - on the eve of the third round they are giving a concert dedicated to Sergei Rachmaninoff. The laureates of past Obraztsova competitions sing, and Elena Vasilievna herself is at the very end. There are four in the first part, but I would single out only Elena Gorshunova, her gentle soprano comfortably fits the graceful “Daisies” and the sweetness of the romance “I feel good”, she sings sincerely and tenderly. The second part is opened by Ashot Ghazaryan, playing the Armenian folk instrument - duduk. He has a small pipe in his hands, he puffs out his cheeks rather unaesthetically, but he makes real music. Both the vocalise and especially the transcription of the romance “Don’t Sing, Beauty” sound like human statements. For an encore, he plays something of his own, dear, and then he completely takes us all into the distance. After this, it is difficult to listen to ordinary competent singing.The penultimate number was Oksana Kramareva, who did not make much of an impression at the current Tchaikovsky Competition. Here she not only sings, but enters into the music with her whole being. The romance “You, My Niva” turns into a passionate confession, which the suffering girl sings at the utmost tension. And “Excerpt from Musset,” to which Obraztsova taught us the wild transfers of energy, Kramareva sings in her own way and is quite convincing, despite the fact that I would not call her voice truly beautiful. She takes it precisely through penetration into the spirit of music.
Obraztsova is the last to take the stage, beside herself with excitement. (I saw her backstage during intermission - she appeared among the social crowd in a white wavy dress, said something, but it was felt that the monstrous excitement, not overcome by reason, would not let her go for a minute). Together with Obraztsova is Vazha Chachava, her faithful pianist. He began to enchant immediately, throwing out waves of sensual and sophisticated music. It took Obraztsova some time to pull herself together, although her voice sounded powerful and full-bodied from the very beginning. And suddenly self-control returned, her voice began to obey both forte and pianissimo, and she wove all the necessary lace, showed what Rachmaninov’s music is, what unprecedented secrets it conceals. And without any exaggeration, without playing along with the prima donna, one could say that these few minutes became the main event of this concert.
The next day came the third round. From the side box of the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, which appeared after renovation in all its aristocratic glory, it is convenient to keep an eye on not only the participants, but also the jury members. And there, besides Obraztsova, there are four more prima donnas of the highest rank. Focused German Christa Ludwig, performer of the “heavy” repertoire, a legend of Vienna and Salzburg, Moscow saw her in the role of Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier under the direction of the great Karl Boehm in 1971. The gracefully refined Spaniard Teresa Berganza, on the contrary, represents the “light” Mozart-Rossini layer. Hungarian Eva Marton, the best Turandot of the 80s and 90s and the recognized Brünnhilde, embodied the strength and pressure of dramatic sopranos. Her compatriot Sylvia Shash, who at one time received second prize at the Tchaikovsky competition, with her mysteriously lyrical appearance recalled that in the 70s and 80s she was rightfully considered the heiress of Callas. All the singers maintained equanimity during the contestants’ performances, and only the expansive Berganza kept opening her mouth, as if helping the young ones to hit the right note, or clicking the correct rhythm with her fingers.
Eighteen singers performed in the third round, of which only five belonged to the stronger sex. It seems that this has become a trend in vocal competitions all over the world - the weaker sex is eager to fight more actively, and achieves more significant successes. Russia and Ukraine, Azerbaijan, China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea were represented. Singers from the East were not included in the list of laureates.
Of course, there was more singing as such than interpretive discoveries or soul-stirring artistry. But one cannot help but remember the charming twenty-year-old Alexandra Maksimova from Vladimir - in the aria of the Shemakhan queen she flashed her graceful phrasing and attention to precise details. Muscovite Ksenia Volkova, who received the third prize, announced herself as a temperamental actress with undeniable stage radiance. St. Petersburg bass Pavel Shmulevich (second prize), whose elegant appearance is at odds with the usual ideas about the bass, showed himself to be a master in Verdi's aria and got lost in our familiar Konchak. The young Saratov tenor Alexey Sayapin (third prize), with a typically Russian voice, suddenly sang an aria from the German opera “Martha” (Flotov) in Italian and thereby flogged himself, emphasizing his fundamentally non-Italian vocals. Kiev resident Alexander Stryuk was pleased with the beauty of the rounded sound, but his Mazepa lacked authority and sincerity, while Figaro’s narcissism came to the fore.
There were no men worthy of first place, but the first prize among women was awarded to St. Petersburg resident Ekaterina Goncharova. Slender, beautiful, charming and sensitive, in the third round she shone in Servilia’s aria from Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera of the same name. The soft timbre of a rounded, gently flowing voice was combined with the grace of phrasing, and Goncharova managed to create a special atmosphere, involving the audience in her experiences. Mimi’s story sounded a little paler, but here, you understand, our demands are too high!
The Grand Prix went to the phenomenal singer, eighteen-year-old Yulia Lezhneva from Moscow. Small in stature, with a high forehead and luminous eyes, she is naturally endowed with a rare vocal and lyrical gift. She turned Louise's rustic, touching aria from Charpentier's opera into a string of spiritual insights, as if we heard the shimmer of pearl drops hanging on silver threads. And in Rossini’s aria of Zelmira, the same one that opens the famous disc of Cecilia Bartoli, she not so much arranged the chimes of stunning coloraturas, but rather opened with her singing a joyful place where you can come and cry with happiness. God forbid Julia not to lose this Orpheus gift!
On the third day, in the evening, awards were presented and sponsors were thanked. Elena Obraztsova was worried again and said that it would be better for her to sing than to give speeches. One of the main sponsors of the competition, a businessman, and now also the general director of the Mikhailovsky Theater, Vladimir Kekhman, helped her distribute awards. At his invitation, Elena Obraztsova became the artistic director of the opera at this theater. Ksenia Strizh announced the results of the voting on the Sto channel, which broadcast the third round live: the audience award was won by the same miracle singer Yulia Lezhneva.
The laureates sang at the final concert, and there were no re-evaluations or discoveries; everything was confirmed. Variety was added to the concert by two laureates of the Anneliese Rothenberger competition on the German island of Mainau - the Uzbek Pulkhar Sabirova with her rich Italian voice (and somewhat careless attitude to rhythm) and the German Theresa Kronthaler, who showed off not only a stylish outfit (an elegant little white dress), but also and artistry, which did not fade next to Lezhneva’s miracle: in Purcell’s Dido’s aria, impeccable sound engineering also absorbed the deepest, genuine sorrow. And it all ended with the Rossini roulades of our little Lezhneva.