"I started singing in the hospital"

Once the English counteratradenor Alfred Deller (1912–1979), a German fan asked after the concert: "Sorry, sir, are you eunuch?" The singer replied: "No, Madame, I am unique." In English, these words sound like a pun (eunuch-unique ). But Deller was really a vocal unique. It was he who almost alone revived the art of singing the tallest of male opera voices, starting to sing a party of castrates in operas, so composers of the Baroque era (Monteverdi, Pirsell, Handel, etc.). In the program "Retrastenores" you can hear the voice of Alfred Deller. But the main character of this release is “over the barriers” is the contrastingor Vyacheslav Kagan-Paley. He received a musical education in Belarus and in England. Now lives in Tel Aviv.

- Mom said that when I was born, my first sound that I made was like singing. The doctors said that I did not scream, but sang. In my opinion, I began to sing even before I learned to speak. When I was 7 years old, I was admitted to a children's special music school in Gomel, where I was born. I really wanted to play the piano, but as a result I was accepted on the violin, because I had an absolute hearing. And along the way, I sang all the time. I could sing everything - any sopranium arias. There were no traditions of counteratradists in the Soviet Union. These voices were not glory to Russian music. Of course, there is a beautiful voice by nature, but I wanted to know something from a professional point of view. I met Zara Dolukhanova, who was once a wonderful singer, especially in a chamber repertoire. And even then I sang romances-Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov. She said that, of course, I need to study abroad. The conversation came to London. Again, I was lucky, because as a result of the petition, which was compiled for training abroad, I met Alfred Harrievich Schnita, who signed this letter and Yuri Abramovich Bashmet. Then Minin, our conductor, also signed. I got the Oppenheimer scholarship. I had a choice where to go to study - to America or to Italy. But I chose England, London.

- Vyacheslav, why are the traditions of counteratradists established in England, and in Russia remain on the sidelines?

- After the actually two hundred years of silence of counteratrades, the surge of authentic performance began precisely in England. The first Retrastenor world was the English singer Alfred Deller. Why not in Russia? I read somewhere that before the revolution in Russia there were such votes. I do not know why they did not get such wide fame, but in theaters at the court there were such votes. And they told me that they were given specially and paid with gold. Again, in the Baroque era, all the works that were written for execution in the church were intended for male voices. And the choirs at that time also existed exclusively by male. The boys sang in choirs, bass, alta, tenor, absolutely replacing female voices. Then historically it happened that women actually replaced men. Now such a tendency is that everything is returning to the original voices.

I have a ball of such a period in my life when I worked in a choral chapel in Minsk during the year. The conductor of this chapel, by the way, was a woman, hearing me, immediately took me, although I was still studying like a violinist, at the highest bet. Like a soloist. And therefore, a very interesting situation developed in this choir: as soon as they took me, all the sopranian parties were given to me, so half of the choir just hated me.

- Glory, you left the Soviet Union in 1989. Have you been to your homeland since then?

-Yes, I visited after a 14-year break. I had television performances and interviews in the newspaper. To my surprise, the main newspaper of Belarus was called "Soviet Belarus." The impressions are very strange, but most sad for me, because I have very good friends who still live and work there. They have very difficult. The first thing that catches your eye is very clean. So clean that it even cuts the eye. I just got on the city of Minsk, and there should have been a popular walk. But all this made a depressing impression, some gray people ...

- You said you performed on Belarusian television

- Seeing this program, I realized that a lot was simply cut out. Moreover, I did not say anything special. For example, I was asked: "Would you like to return to Belarus?" I did not understand the question and asked: "Forever?" The presenter was very surprised by such a reaction. I replied that I am always glad to come, to visit friends, and I’m not going to return. The second example: in those days there was a Jewish New Year. And in the newspapers there were notes that today Ethiopia celebrates the New Year. When I mentioned Israel, I had the feeling that the leading program expands the pupils.

Vyacheslav Kagan-Paley in the role of Masha

Speaking of female roles: when they talk about some tenor, then this is necessarily baroque. And for some reason it happened to me that those operas in which I played were modern. And if the first opera in my life was the opera Benjamin Britten “Sleep on a Summer Night”, then the second was an opera written specifically for the festival of a modern opera in Covent Garden. There I had to play Jeanne d'Arc. In the next opera, after that I played a witch in Lu Harrison’s opera Rapunzel. 1997 in the Lyon Opera, in France, in the production of Three Sisters according to Chekhov, I had a dream of all dramatic actresses - the role of Masha. For me, it was a very interesting experience, although, by and large, I am increasingly agreeing with the opinion of my beloved singer Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, who said, perhaps slightly exaggerating that for her modern music ended in Stravinsky. The production was Japanese, the director was a famous Japanese choreographer. It was really a mixture of Japanese kabuki with the Russian theater. Because the opera was in Russian. And basically all the soloists were also from Russia. But the design was Japanese. We were painted like geisha. The composer was the Hungarian composer Peter Etvesh.

- Glory, did your stage mash have fans?

- Well, except Vershinin, who was on the stage, and there was no jealous husband. Women react more to this role. They looked at all this with special tenderness. Not so often you will see this ancient tradition in the modern world on stage.

- Do you feel at home on different scenes of the world?

- Yes. When I was asked: “Where is your homeland now?”, I calculated, and I got six of them. And in each of these countries I feel at home. Because, firstly, the country is people for me. I meet with very interesting people, and we become friends. Therefore, wherever I come, I know that I will meet friends. I do not feel far from home even in Japan. Although sometimes, since 1995, I’m actually like a Japanese Santa Claus-I have Christmas tour, which are held in December, and the last concert takes place just on a Christmas night, you understand how this culture is not yours, although you are already used to it and understand it, and you just want to run home.

-Why did you still become a favorite of Japan?

- One friend of mine, when we discussed this issue, but in some countries I did not sing at all, answered me: "Because the Japanese are the smartest." As soon as I graduated from Guildhal School of Musica and Drama ) and recorded my first disk in England, I met a Japanese producer who immediately felt success in Japan in this entry. And immediately signed a contract with me. And since then I have started a close job there.

- A modern successful singer, performing on different scenes of the world, I am talking about you, is able, as they say, to feed yourself?

-Again , I was lucky. Japan in this case is my nurse. On the other hand, I can share with you frankly, they signed an initially exclusive contract with me. And for a very long time in material terms, it suited me, because immediately after the student bench I got into one of the first countries of the world, where they really pay more than in other countries. But as a result, it turned out that I was a little different from Europe. When there were invitations for recording with other companies, I received a refusal. Once in Munich, we performed with pianist Boris Berezovsky. We performed Kurt Vile and Malera in one concert. Then the idea arose to record such an unusual disk that Wail and Malera’s music would enter. I wanted to do this with my money. The Japanese forbade me, they did not allow me to do this.

“You said you have six homelands.” Russia is included in this number?

- Yes, sure. Once, even before perestroika, it was possible to get an apartment with the help of friends in order to gain a foothold in Russia, not to leave. But even then I said that even if I had been settled in the palace, I would not be able to live there constantly. After all, I have to open the windows every morning. And when you open the windows, you see what is happening, reality, which, unfortunately, is not always happy. I had an idea to move to Russia, but, having spent several months there, I realized that I could not do this.

Even in the program "On top of the barriers":

Baba Nina and Baba Katya from the village of Mosalovo (Kursk region). Talking about earthly sins and God's punishment.

In the heading "red dry" Ukrainian poet, prose writer and translator Yuri Andrukhovich