Russia has always been famous for the most talented opera singers. Their life did not always work out in the best way, but they stubbornly continued to move forward. The most vivid names of the opera scene forever remained in the hearts of fans of the beautiful. Therefore, it is worth learning a little more about the life and formation of the legendary idols.
Dmitry Alexandrovich Hvorostovsky
This legendary opera singer holds the title of Honored Singer of the RSFSR. In addition, he became a people's artist of the Russian Federation. Dmitry fell in love with music at a very young age, inspired by the activities of his father. By profession, his dad was a chemical engineer, but he was very fond of opera music, so the house always had a crazy amount of phonograph records with records of famous voices.
Therefore, from childhood Dmitry Alexandrovich Hvorostovsky enjoyed the creations of Chaliapin and other famous singers. In addition, he adored Caruso, Arkhipova and many other legendary performers of that time.
Hvorostovsky’s singing talent began to appear even from the earliest years, when he first began to perform the most complicated arias and romances. After that, no one had any doubt what fate was destined for a talented boy. In 1985, he became a soloist in the Krasnodar Opera and Ballet Theater. He worked there until 1990.
In the interval between performances in the theater, one of the most famous Russian opera singers managed to become a prize winner at the Glinka competition. At the same time, in 1988 he won the competition among the most prominent representatives of the opera industry in France. During this period of time, he also managed to light up on the BBC television competition, becoming the winner in the nomination “Singer of the World”.
Askar Abdrazakov
Speaking of Russian opera singers, one cannot but say about the man who was born in 1969. Askar Abdrazakov began in the same way as Hvorostovsky. His talent manifested itself from an early age. Already in 1991, he became the main soloist of the Opera and Ballet Theater, located in Ufa.
In addition, Askar participated in various productions of the conservatories of his city. Among other things, Abdrazakov became a participant in the festival of Irina Arkhipova, where he made the most lasting impression on the public.
During his career, he visited a huge number of foreign countries. By and large, one of the great Russian opera singers traveled the whole world. However, he reached the Bolshoi Theater of Russia only in 1995, when he first debuted on stage. His biggest breakthrough is considered to be participation in the production of "Eugene Onegin" in 1996 in the city of Trieste (Italy). Just like many other famous opera singers, Askar took part in all kinds of singing competitions and received a huge number of high titles and titles.
Vladimir Andreevich Atlantov
Speaking of Russian opera singers, it is worth mentioning this legendary person who was born in 1939 in Leningrad. Unlike many of his other colleagues, he was born into a family of professional singers. His mother worked at the Kirov Theater, where she played the most important roles. Therefore, it is not surprising that Vladimir spent almost his entire youth in the very place where he could learn all the charm and beauty of music and singing. By and large, he began to devote himself to this direction at the age of 6 years, when he entered the choral school.
Initially, one of the most famous Russian opera singers learned to play the piano, violin and cello. Thanks to this, already in 1862 he received the Glinka silver medal.
It is not surprising that the Kirov Theater, in which his mother worked, became interested in young talent. Since then, he began to work there and really completely imbued with the spirit of creative activity. A year after his appearance in the troupe, he moved from the category of secondary singers to the leaders.
Vladimir received his first gold medal in 1996. And in 1967 he took part in a competition in Sofia, where he became the owner of the main prize. His amazing voice was appreciated in all the countries where he performed.
George Andreevich Baklanov
This famous Russian opera singer was born in 1881. In his youth, he went to study at the State Conservatory, located in Kiev. There, for the first time, his first debut, which took place in 1904, took place.
From that moment, over the next 5 years, he was the main soloist of the Bolshoi Theater. However, in 1909, George decided to leave his homeland and begin touring in Russian cities. In addition, he began to travel frequently to Western Europe and the United States. In 1915, Baklanov completely decided to move abroad.
His most successful performances took place in 1911, when he gave a concert in Berlin, performing the aria “Scarpia and Rigoletto”. He was also a performer of the Eugene Onegin party, which he sang brilliantly in Paris. By and large, this legendary opera singer traveled around the world, participating in the most ambitious productions. His bewitching voice was to the taste of the European listener.
Alexander Filippovich Vedernikov
This singer was born in 1927. In 1995, he successfully graduated from the conservatory located in Moscow. A year later, for the first time, he was nominated for the prize of the vocal competition in Berlin, which he successfully won. Beginning in 1955, for 3 years, Alexander Filippovich Vedernikov was the main soloist of the Mariinsky Theater. The performer reached the Bolshoi Theater in 1957. A year later, he became his soloist. A little later he successfully completed an internship in Italy. Alexander Vedernikov received a huge number of awards both in the territory of the Soviet Union and abroad. Throughout his career, he has visited a huge number of countries and received only the best reviews. Most critics noted that this opera singer has a unique voice and the ability to get used to the role so enthusiastically that the audience literally has goosebumps.
Evgeny Evgenievich Nesterenko
This opera singer was born in 1938. For all his time, Evgeni Nesterenko received a huge number of awards both in the territory of the Soviet Union and in other countries. Initially, the legendary person studied at the Leningrad Civil Engineering Institute, but in 1965 he decided to retrain, and sent to the Leningrad State Conservatory. Rimsky-Korsakov.
A little later, Evgeny Nesterenko becomes a soloist of the Maly Opera House. After that, he decided to engage in pedagogical activities. If we talk about the main achievements of this opera singer, it is worth noting that he performed more than 50 leading parts. He performed operas in the original language.
Also in 1967, Eugene participated in the competition of young opera singers, which took place in the city of Sofia (Bulgaria). There he received a silver medal. In 1970, Nesterenko acquired a gold medal, successfully winning the Tchaikovsky competition, which took place on the territory of the USSR.
Nesterenko truly was the owner of a gorgeous voice, which was appreciated by his colleagues and critics.
Evgeny Gavrilovich Kibkalo
This opera singer distinguished himself with an excellent baritone and his experience in teaching. Also, Eugene Kibkalo was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR. The ingenious opera singer began his career in Ukraine. However, already in 1956 he moved to the Bolshoi Theater, where he became a soloist. Initially, everyone believed that only a singer with good bass would be made of him. However, his voice could perfectly take the low frequencies.
Thanks to his versatile talents, in 1963 he went on an internship to Milan. Teachers of the Milan Theater noted his soft, even and beautiful voice, which is distinguished by its amazing frequency and uniformity. They noted that Eugene Gavrilovich can perfectly switch to falsetto.
After that, Eugene Kibkalo played the part of Eugene Onegin in the film-opera Tikhomirova. He immediately singled out the singer in front of all the other baritones who claimed this role. Later, the director never regretted his decision.
It is worth noting that Eugene finished his role right in the process of filming, as he had very little time. However, this did not prevent him from fulfilling his party with great success. It is worth noting that the opera singer has always been distinguished by excellent singing talent and speed of training. Many experts recognized his voice as a reference among baritones. However, with all this, he could also give voices to his singing, thanks to which he really became a unique performer.
Ivan Kozlovsky
This opera singer was born in 1900 in the Kiev province. His father played the Viennese accordion and sang great. Thanks to this, from childhood, Kozlovsky Ivan Semenovich awakened a strong craving for music and singing. His father immediately noticed that the boy had excellent hearing, and many professional opera singers could envy his voice. Therefore, it is not surprising that when Ivan grew up, he went to sing in the choir of the Trinity People’s House, which was located in Kiev. However, having conquered everyone with his talent, after some time Ivan Kozlovsky became the soloist of the Bolshoi Academic Choir. At that time, he was led by Kosice. He became the mentor of young talent. Thanks to his lessons and recommendations, Kozlovsky was able to enter the Kiev Music and Drama Institute, which he graduated with honors in 1920. However, after that, his plans changed a little, since Ivan decided to volunteer for the Red Army. He was assigned to the rifle brigade of engineering troops, after which Kozlovsky was forced to go to Poltava. However, he was allowed to combine service and concert work. A little later in 1924, Ivan entered the Kharkov Opera House.
The voice of this talented opera singer astounded even the most tireless critics, who always found a reason for low ratings. However, Kozlovsky always received the highest scores and the recognition of his colleagues.
Ivan Ershov
This famous opera singer was born in 1867 on a farm in the Rostov region. When it turned out that he had a huge talent for music and singing, Ivan Yershov entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1893, he successfully graduated from it and went to improve in Italy. Later in 1894, he became a soloist with the Kharkov Opera House. Later, the talented singer moved to the Mariinsky Theater.
Zurab Lavrentievich Sotkilava
This talented singer was born in 1937 in the city of Sukhum. Like many others, he was born in a family where few people made music. His father was a doctor, and his mother worked as a specialist historian.
The future opera singer Zurab Lavrentievich Sotkilava at first was fond of football. His passion for vocals began to manifest only in his teens, when he first met one professor at the Tbilisi Conservatory. After that, Zurab began to sing in between sports training.
In 1959, Sotkilava received a rather serious injury and was forced to abandon football. It was then that he began to devote all his free time to singing.
A year later, he entered the conservatory and successfully completed it. Since 1974, the singer began working at the Bolshoi Theater. His voice impressed many with its versatility. Thanks to this, a talented young man who dreamed of becoming a famous football player turned into a legendary performer of the most complex opera arias.
Alexander Iosifovich Baturin
Another legendary opera singer, which is worth mentioning, was born in 1904 in the Vilnius province. His father worked as an ordinary rural teacher. He died a year after the birth of his son. After that, Alexander Baturin was forced to roam the homes of relatives. However, at this time, his interest in music began to manifest. Despite the difficult childhood, in 1920 he entered the Odessa vocational school, where he learned to be a driver. He later received a degree in mechanics.
In his free time, Alexander Baturin spoke in an amateur circle, where everyone immediately noticed his unusual voice. Thanks to the efforts of his colleagues, in 1921, at a meeting of the Union of Transport Workers, it was decided to send talented talent to study at the Petrograd Conservatory.
In 1927, Alexander was first called to the director of the Bolshoi Theater, after which he was successfully enrolled in the troupe. Until this time, Baturin acted only in provincial small towns. However, this did not prevent him from receiving the highest ratings from the most aggressive foreign critics. A little later, journalists even wrote that Baturin is a new star, which replaced Chaliapin himself, who left Russia. Thus, Alexander became famous not only in the territory of his homeland, but also far beyond its borders. The beautiful voice of the former footballer excited spectators around the world.