Denis Sedov biography. Denis Sedov: The soul sings differently in different countries

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Russian Opera singer- bass-baritone, soloist of the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Grand Covent Garden Opera and many other theaters in the world, Denis Sedov came to Bishkek to support the Diamond & Friends project..

– Hello, Denis! On behalf of all lovers of opera art, I welcome you to the Kyrgyz land and say to you: "Welcome!"
- Thanks. I am pleased to.
- Have you been to our country before?
- Not. Just a few hours ago, I flew here from Brazil. I was met at the gangway of the plane, brought to the hotel. I managed to sleep for only a couple of hours, and now I'm back on stage.
– And what is your first impression of Kyrgyzstan?
- I was captivated by the kindness and hospitality of the people. Everyone is smiling and kind. The air is amazingly clean. It is filled with the aroma of herbs and flowers. Spring is in full swing. A sea of sunshine and greenery. Very beautiful.

- Denis, the rehearsal has just ended. How do you assess the acoustics of the hall and the performance of the orchestra?
- You have a cozy and thoughtful theater. The acoustics are amazing. Most likely, the building was built in the 50s of the last century. Because at that time, during the construction of opera halls, Special attention paid acoustic properties. I met the conductor and the musicians of the orchestra just a few minutes before the start of the rehearsal and immediately began to sing. We had contact with the maestro from the very first chords. You can feel the professionalism of the musicians. They hear the soloist. I felt comfortable. All just great.
- Of course, you are already familiar with concert program. Whose images will you present to our audience?
- I'll start with the verses of Mephistopheles from the opera Mephistopheles by Arrigo Boito. Konchak's aria from Borodin's opera "Prince Igor", Mascagni's "Rural honor", Nikolka's song from the operetta "Babi revolt" and the performance of the "table from Giuseppe Verdi's opera "La Traviata" will end. I was lucky enough to sing them in Brazil and now with you. In my opinion, this is enough.
- As far as I know, you came here as a friend of Almaz Istambaev and at his invitation. How did you meet him?
– We were introduced by the director of the St. Petersburg Theatre. Then Almaz and I talked on the site. He told me about the project and invited me to take part in it. I gladly agreed. Moreover, I have not been to Kyrgyzstan yet. And this is a new trip, new people and new friends, which is very important for me.
– Of course, you have heard that you are called the “modern” Chaliapin. What do you think about it?
- Fedor Ivanovich Chaliapin was smart, kind, intelligent and, of course, talented person. It appeals to me.
What character traits do you like in people?
– Openness, hospitality, decency.
– What do you dislike about yourself?
- Laziness.
- Then what is your principle of life?
- Work, work and work again.
– Are there parts you would like to sing?
- Yes. There are two of them - King Philip in the opera. Verdi's Don Carlos and Boris Godunov in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.
- What's stopping you?
- Age. These parties are quite difficult not in the vocal plan. The age of the soul is what makes these parties unique. The audience cannot be deceived by makeup or costumes. Only when the voice comes from the heart, it will vibrate and convey to the public all the experiences and emotions, filling the hearts with delight, and the eyes with tears.
- Your hobby?
– I really like to draw.
- Just like Chaliapin. And do you do sculptures?
- Not. I have never done sculpture. For ten years I drew, and then I became interested in playing the guitar. In Brazil I was attracted incendiary rhythms guitars. I learned brazilian songs and learned how to play the guitar dance tunes in the style of Bossanova and sambo. At first, he entertained his friends with singing, took the guitar with him on tour. Gradually, the hobby turned into a job. I have been playing the guitar for 15 years now. Petersburg and Tel Aviv I have my own creative teams. So the guitar won.
– Most bright event in your life?
- The birth of my son. He will be nine years old in May. tight schedule tour will not prevent us from celebrating his birthday together. Perhaps I will bring him here to show your wonderful and hospitable country.
Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.

Our reference. The opera singer was born in St. Petersburg. At the age of 11, Denis graduated with honors from the M. Glinka Choral School in the class choral conducting and his parents sent him to the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance named after S. Rubin, to enter the conducting department. It so happened that he accidentally missed the exam. In order not to lose a whole year of study, Denis decided to enter the vocal department there. In 1993, Denis' first professional performance took place at a festival in Germany, the city of Ludwigsburg. In 1995 he was invited to participate in the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in New York - Metropolitan Opera. At the age of 22, he made his debut in the opera Fedora by Umberto Giordano, where he sang along with Placido Domingo and Mirella Freni. One of the brightest stages in the singer's career was the performance at the opening ceremony of the XVIII Winter Olympic Games in Japan. Currently, the singer's repertoire consists of more than 50 operatic roles, gathering full houses in more than 40 countries around the world.

For a deep strong bass, critics call Denis Sedov a modern Chaliapin.

However, in my opinion, any comparisons in creativity are very superficial and a little ambiguous. Especially when it comes to a person who is undeniably talented, extraordinary and versatile. And also - incredibly charismatic and charming. And this is already a touch to a portrait that is more human than creative ...

You fall under the spell of Denis Sedov immediately and, as they say, without options. Resistance is pointless. And you are only feverishly trying to remember if there were male characters in mythology who were taken away with the sounds of their voices. So the hall was enchanted when the vocalist sang from the Philharmonic stage. The journalists were so fascinated when Denis answered our questions.

Thinking about fishing

- Denis, I heard in one of the interviews your confession that you are glad that the bass, not the tenor ...

- Yes. Because it suits me very much by nature to be a bass player.

- And what kind of special character at the bass?

- There is a lot on this subject. different jokes. For example, when they compare what each of the voices thinks about during the performance of a piece. So, the baritone is about the soprano, the tenor is about money, and the bass is about fishing, which he is going to after the performance. It's just that we bassists are allowed much more on stage than other singers. This is because of physiology: we sing where we sound. And we don't need to change our voice to take sky-high high notes, Or follow the chords as much as, for example, tenors, who two or three days before going on stage can’t even have a glass of cold water drink.

– Does this mean that bassists live so easily and there are no difficulties in the profession?

- Of course not. Maybe compared to other voices, it's easier for us. But in general, basses have enough difficulties in the profession. Because, firstly, it is a culture for which no one ever has money. And secondly, we are all at the forefront of the performance - we present ourselves without hiding behind any musical instrument. And who you are on stage today, how you sound, is how you are perceived by both the public and critics.

And if we take into account the level modern technologies, which allow you to almost instantly upload everything to the Web ... And if someone makes a mistake in the performance, be out of voice - the whole world will know about it in a couple of hours, and even with millions of views. You don't wish this on anyone. But what to do, such a profession is not easy for anyone in it.

Ballet ticket

- I know that all your childhood was spent behind the scenes Mariinsky Theater…

- Yes. In general, I was born on Glinka Street - literally three steps from the Mariinsky Theater, opposite St. Nicholas Cathedral. And my parents worked in the theater. They were not singers: dad worked in the administration, mom was a make-up artist. And, of course, I often visited them. I even remember when I was drawing bunnies as a child, they always had ballet tutus on them - apparently, the ballerinas made such an impression on me then. And I was brought to the performance for the first time in three years. And my grandmother kept that ticket in her theater binoculars as a memento of my first visit to the Mariinsky.

- When did you realize that you wanted to sing? And sing the classics?

- When I saw on TV a wonderful documentary"Leningrad nightingales". This is a picture about the St. Petersburg Glinka Choir School, where boys from seven to eighteen years old are engaged in vocals, conducting and everything else that is connected with the profession of a musician. And I told my mother that I want to study there. By the way, last year my colleagues and guys from Channel Five filmed a sequel to this film. In April, there will be a presentation in the St. Petersburg Chapel - let's see what happens.

- And how did you study?

- Wonderful. With love for music and great responsibility. I remember my first tour very well. I was nine years old, and leaving my parents, grandmother and Peter, I went with the guys to sing in Yaroslavl for five days ... So I studied wonderfully. The most difficult thing, probably, was to enter, because the competition was huge: 25 people per place. In general, many vocalists of the Mariinsky Theater and world-famous musicians who are in demand abroad have graduated from this institution. I have a photograph of the choir where we stand as ten-year-old boys - and through one we all became famous musicians.

Star of the Olympics

- We can say that you received the first portion of your world fame during your performance at the opening ceremony of the Nagano Olympics. Tell us more about it.

– The singers were selected by the conductor Seiji Ozawa, a brilliant Japanese musician who worked all his life in America, in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I then trained in the States, at the Metropolitan. And I'm lucky that among huge amount applicants Seiji heard me and took me to work in his star team. After all, there were the first consoles from Vienna, Berlin, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Israel - a huge orchestra of outstanding musicians from all over the world.

It is interesting that they had certain skirmishes among themselves when choosing execution strokes. One could often hear: “We in Berlin have been playing up all our lives!” – “And we are down in Vienna!” And then Seiji entered: “Friends, we are all gathered here peacefully. Therefore, I will decide the finishing touches - your terrorist from Japan "...

- What did you feel during the performance itself?

– Of course, an event of this level is an additional excitement that is added to the constant excitement from the upcoming appearance on the stage. However, when the first note is struck, all the feelings that are not involved in singing fade into the background. In Japan, we worked on camera, and the grandeur of what was happening only became clear after the opening ceremony, when my friends from all over the world talked about how they saw me on the TV screen. And in Japan itself, for several days I felt simply Hollywood star: literally everyone I met recognized me and took pictures.

For complete communication

You know eight languages...

- Yes. For more than twenty years I have been participating in opera productions in different countries. And each such work takes from three weeks up to two months. And language is part of the culture that people live in. It has always been important for me to understand the mentality of others, and without knowing the language it is impossible. How impossible it is to tell about our Russian culture. After all, we not only stand together on stage, but also communicate a lot, share our feelings and emotions with each other ...

I have a hobby - playing the guitar. At one time I even carried the instrument with me. Then I stopped because I realized that the guitar can be found anywhere in the world. And at some parties, when you meet people, many people play music and sing. And I also sang Russian songs with a guitar. And they always asked me: “What are you singing about?” Because our songs carry a lot precisely in words, in lyrics, and not so much in harmonic terms.

I explained, and then I got bored, and I just translated a few iconic pieces into Italian, English or Portuguese, so that everything was immediately clear.

- We approached the issue of music in life, and not on stage so smoothly ...

Spiritual music plays a very important role in my life. I, even living in the West, went to church to sing at Easter. Now I have finally recorded a disc with the choir of St. Isaac's Cathedral. For me it has always been very important. And I remember well the first time I sang in church. It was in 1990 in the Smolny Cathedral, where I sang for the deacon in the liturgy of John Chrysostom...

There are some Brazilian cult songs that I love very much. For example, "The Girl from Ipanema". In general, I love Brazilian music very much - I play the guitar and write it myself. I have a project “White Bossa” in St. Petersburg - maybe someday we will come to you on tour with this music.

- Or maybe remember some stories related to music?

My life has been connected with music since the age of five. Imagine how many stories it is! For almost every musical composition you can find yours. Because any opera aria calls certain feelings. When you performed it for the first time, or met someone, or someone sang with you - that is, a lot of things ...

Demonic Role

- Have you ever sung villains?

- Of course. Basses are either priests or devils ...

– They say that energetically these parts are very difficult to perform?

- In my opinion, this is a delusion. This is the same party as all the others. The opera was written by a man, there are two hundred pages in it - you took the funeral service, took off your makeup, left the theater, and that's it. Another thing is that Gounod's part of Mephistophile is very complex. And the same part by Boito is even more difficult, so this opera is practically not performed at all. Three and a half hours on stage, voice range of two and a half octaves.

It was the most difficult part that I had a chance to sing, but it has nothing to do with energy. So I think it's just that people often give the wrong reason when they refuse to sing. Who admits that they can't sing because they can't stand it? It's easier to refer to bad energy.

– Can you describe your audience?

- It is different in every country. But, probably, the unifying features will be: love for music and the joy of communicating with it, a willingness to perceive something new and a desire to hear familiar works.

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Denis Sedov was born in St. Petersburg. He graduated with honors from the Glinka Choir School at the St. Petersburg Singing Chapel and the vocal department of the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem. At the end of the last two years, he trained at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Denis' first professional performance took place in 1993 at the Ludwigsburg Festival, where he sang a concert contemporary music with an orchestra. The vocalist became widely known for his performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at the opening ceremony of the XVIII Winter Olympic Games in Nagano.

As a guest soloist, he takes part in productions of the world's leading opera houses: the New York Metropolitan Opera, Milan's La Scala, the Paris Grand Opera, and London's Covent Garden.

Sings in theaters in San Francisco, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Tel Aviv and others.