Ildar Abdrazakov Named Artistic Director Of Obraztsova Music School

"Dima, You Will Win!": Ildar Abdrazakov, Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Gubanova, and Aleksandrs Antonenko
wear t-shirts that support colleague Dmitri Hvorostovsky at the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow for a
concert in memory of the late Elena Obraztsova.

"An international music school dedicated to legendary Russian opera star Yelena Obraztsova is to open its doors to pupils this summer in St. Petersburg. The inauguration of the Academy of Music will take place at the city’s Bolshoi Gostiny Dvor on August 8. The evening will see a gala concert featuring opera stars and some of the closest friends of the legendary opera singer, who died in January. The Mariinsky Theater's leading soloist Ildar Abdrazakov is to serve as the Academy's artistic director. 'Students from abroad will also be coming to the Academy. I am very often asked, both in Russia and abroad, about where I teach, where you can take a master class. Naturally, I will invite everybody to the Yelena Obraztsova Academy, where classes will be taught by professionals with a capital P,' Abdrazakov said at a press conference in St. Petersburg. 'Thomas Hampson and Deborah Voigt have already agreed to my proposal. And Anna Netrebko will also come,' said Abdrazakov. In addition, the creators of the academy have promised that the country’s best teachers will teach there on a regular basis, and the school itself will become international – talented young singers from different countries will come to the institute to exchange their experiences. Yelena Makarova, Obraztsova’s daughter and the

Abdrazakov and Netrebko in France last week. The two sang
on a July 4th gala concert at Château de Versailles.

director of the academy, said that to open such an educational institution had been her mother’s dream. 'It's a dream that my mother nurtured for many years. A dream that helped her fight her illness,' she said. According to her, the Obraztsova Academy will provide training for both adults and children. The purpose of opening the academy is to create a unique educational institution, taking into account the peculiarities and individuality of each student. Ildar Abdrazakov will give the first master class between November 1 and 12. Training at the academy will be provided on a fee-paying basis, but there will be 10 free places in the adult department and another 10 available for children. In addition, individual grants from Makarova and Abdrazakov are being planned. The gala concert to celebrate the opening of the Obraztsova Academy will feature Abdrazakov, Olga Makarina, Vasily Ladyuk, Yusif Eyvazov and Yelena Makarova, as well as an orchestra led by the Mikhailovsky Theater's principal conductor Mikhail Tatarnikov." [Source] More photos after the jump.

Elena Obraztsova Has Passed Away In Germany At 75

"Prominent Russian opera singer Elena Obraztsova passed away on Monday in Germany at the age of 75. Details about the cause of Obraztsova’s death have not been made public. Representatives of Obraztsova’s charitable organization told RIA Novosti that she was recently undergoing treatment at a German clinic. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the family and friends of Obraztsova, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Monday. Elena Obraztsova was born on July 7 in Leningrad (Saint Petersbrurg), USSR. Thanks to her outstanding vocal abilities, she was widely recognized as one of the greatest opera singers of all time." [Source] More about the mezzo-soprano, as well as an extensive gallery, after the jump.

Uncovering Elena Obraztsova Treasures As 75 Years Is Celebrated

Operatic Tsaritsa: The legendary
 Elena Obraztsova

For over 50 years, Elena Obraztsova has been a fixture on the operatic scene. Her debut was at the Bolshoi Theater in a production of Boris Godunov in 1963 and as of last week the performer was still singing with plenty of full voice during a gala celebrating her 75th birthday with stars like Anna Netrebko, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Maria Guleghina, José Cura, Julia Lezhneva, Hibla Gerzmava and Olga Peretyatko. In her native Mother Russia, Ms. Obraztsova recorded a trove of music for the label Melodiya over the years. The label was later acquired by EMI and many of the recordings never made it to the CD format barring the arias disc with Giuseppe Patanè that first appeared in Japan and eventually on Russian import. Thanks to the scrupulous work of Melodiya digitizing much of the mezzo-soprano's back catalog, these albums are now available in MP3 format and reveal a surprising depth for the song repertoire by this monumental artist. The majority of her recorded legacy features the works of Soviet neo-romantic composer Georgy Sviridov. Music recorded between 1977-1983, with the composer at the piano, shows how the opera singer placed her esteem of his work alongside Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff whose works she also laid down for posterity. Whether arias,

One of the prized solo recordings to 
make a commercial release worldwide.

romances, or folk songs, it is clear that Ms. Obraztsova was first and foremost a nationalist. The most surprising treat in the discography is a disc of Schumann lieder featuring the complete Frauenliebe und leben alongside excerpts from Liederkreis, 12 Gedichte, Myrthen, and 6 Gedichte von N. Lenau und Requiem. Her rendition of "Mondnacht" rivals that of German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Next to the contributions of fellow Russian stars Irina Arkhipova and Galina Vishnevskaya, the collection of music put forth by Elena Obraztsova is admirable. There are still albums of hers not available to the public, including a disc of Bach & Händel arias, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, Vivaldi's Gloria, Cavalleria Rusticana with tenor Zurab Sotkilava, Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, Brahm's Rhapsody for Alto, and a collection of Viennese operetta with conductor Algis Ziuraitis, but there are others still in print on various labels including Deutsche Grammophon (Un Ballo in Maschera, Aida, Alexander Nevsky, Werther, Samson et Dalila, Rigoletto), Sony (Adriana Lecouvreur), Decca (Cavalleria Rusticana, Andrea Chénier), EMI (Nabucco), as well as a slew of recordings on private labels and live performance documents. After the jump: Learn more about Elena Obraztsova, see all of the recordings currently available digitally, and watch the 75th birthday concert in its entirety.

Elena Obraztsova stands center stage as international opera stars pay hommage last week.

Opera Star Power Comes Out For Cardiff SOTW Master Classes

The class of 2013: Singers from around the globe ready to compete for a main prize of £15,000 (Photo: Facebook).

Cardiff Singer of the World Competition began this past weekend, but the real event may take place this Saturday. Check out the scheduled opera stars that will be giving master class:

Saturday 22 June
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Dora Stoutzker Hall – with competition non-finalists
11am, Håkan Hagegård, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
3pm, Elena Obraztsova, Neil Shicoff

Richard Burton Theatre – with vocal studies students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
12.30pm, Christoph Prégardien
4pm, Dame Felicity Palmer
Each session lasts more than one hour and times are likely to overlap.
[Source]

Check out more of the television and radio broadcast schedule by clicking here. And watch a preview of the BBC special celebrating 30 years of the competition after the jump.

Russian Operatic Royalty Attends Bolshoi Theatre Gala

The audience for the reopening of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow was filled with politicians, businessmen, celebrities and some well-known opera singers who performed at the landmark auditoriums throughout their careers.

Mezzo-soprano Elena Obraztsova was sitting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (not pictured) in the Tsar's box which rests in the center rear of the auditorium. 

Soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, widow of Mstislav Rostropovich, was sitting in a special box stage right. 

In addition to guests in the auditorium a number of artists that have been part of the Bolshoi Theatre's history were present through previously recorded interviews, including the late Irina Arkhipova who passed away in February 2010:

Although Russia has two powerhouse opera facilities (the other being that bastion of culture in St. Petersburg led by Valery Gergiev known as the Mariinsky Theatre), it seems odd that so many prominent Russian opera singers were not present for the festivities that reopened the Bolshoi Theatre on October 28 either to perform or just appear as dignitaries. Perhaps this had to do with schedules and the fact that the government was in charge of the invitation list for the evening. Here are some audio clips in their honor:


Anna Netrebko - "O ne rydai, mai Paolo" Francesca da Rimini (Rachmaninoff)


Galina Gorchakova - "''Da, On Rassejalsja'' The Fiery Angel (Prokofiev)


Ljuba Kazarnovskaya - "Den li tsarit" (Tchaikovsky)


Olga Peretyatko - "Lilacs" (Rachmaninoff)


Olga Borodina - "Merknet svet dnevnoj" Prince Igor (Borodin)


Larissa Diadkova - "Duenna's Aria" Betrothal in a Monastery (Prokofiev)


Sergei Leiferkus - "The Field Marshal" Songs and Dances of Death (Mussorgsky)


Vladimir Atlantov - "Kuda, kuda vï udalilis" Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)


Maria Guleghina - "The Cuckoo" (Tchaikovsky)


Yevgeny Nesterenko - "Vas tabor spit. Luna nad nim" Aleko (Rachmaninoff)


Nina Rautio - "Prastite Vy, Xalmy" The Maid of Orleans (Tchaikovsky)


Vladimir Chernov - "Prince Andrei's Aria, Act I" War and Peace (Prokofiev)

Also curiously missing were some major opera singers who participated in a cultural exchange in 1964 between La Scala and the Bolshoi Theatre. Opera stars like Renata Scotto, Fiorenza Cossotto, Leontyne Price and Mirella Freni, all took part in that event and are all still around today. Would that have been too much of a gesture on the part of Moscow? The exchange between companies took place again in 1974 (with Montserrat Caballé and Plácido Domingo) and 1989. Here is an audio clip of Mirella Freni singing "Non mi resta" from L'Amico Fritz at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on September 13, 1964:

Side-by-Side: Elena Obraztsova Sings Carmen's "Habanera"