Famous opera house in italy. Opera gem of Italy: La Scala theater

Natalie Dessay (born Nathalie Dessaix) is a French opera singer, coloratura soprano. One of the leading singers of our time, at the beginning of her career she was known for her very high and transparent voice, now she sings in a lower range. Loved by the audience for excellent dramatic data and a lively sense of humor. Nathalie Dessay was born April 19, 1965 in Lyon and grew up in Bordeaux. While still at school, she omitted the letter "h" from her name, in honor of actress Natalie Wood, and later simplified the spelling of her last name. In her youth, Dessay dreamed of becoming a ballerina or actress and took acting lessons, but one day, playing with fellow students in a little-known play of the 18th century, she had to sing, she performed Pamina's aria from The Magic Flute, everyone was amazed, she was recommended to switch attention to music. Natalie entered the State Conservatory in Bordeaux, completed a five-year study in just one year, and graduated with honors in 1985. After the conservatory, she worked with the National Orchestra of the Capitole of Toulouse. In 1989, she took second place in the New Voices competition held by France-Telecom, which allowed her to study for a year at the Paris Opera School of Lyric Arts and perform there as Eliza in Mozart's The Shepherd King. In the spring of 1992, she sang the short role of Olympia from Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann at the Bastille Opera, her partner was José van Dam, the production disappointed critics and audiences, but the young singer received a standing ovation and was noticed. This role will become a landmark for her, until 2001 she will play Olympia in eight different productions, including during her debut at La Scala. In 1993, Natalie Dessay won the International Mozart Competition held by the Vienna Opera and remained to study and perform at the Vienna Opera. Here she sang the role of Blonde from Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio, which became another of her most famous and most frequently performed roles. In December 1993, Natalie was offered to replace Cheryl Studer in the now famous role of Olympia at the Vienna Opera. Her performance was recognized by the audience in Vienna and praised by Placido Domingo, in the same year she performed with this role at the Lyon Opera. Natalie Dessay's international career began with performances at the Vienna Opera. In the 1990s, her recognition was constantly growing and the repertoire of roles was constantly expanding, she received many offers, she performed at all the leading opera houses in the world - the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, the Bavarian Opera, Covent Garden, the Vienna Opera and others. A distinctive feature of the actress Dessay is that she believes that an opera singer should consist of 70% of the theater and 30% of music and strive not only to sing her roles, but also to play them dramatically, so each of her characters is a new discovery, never like the others. In the 2001/2002 season, Dessay began to experience vocal difficulties and had to cancel her performances and recitals. She left the stage and in July 2002 had an operation to remove polyps on her vocal cords, already in February 2003 she returned with a solo concert in Paris and actively continued her career. In the 2004/2005 season, Natalie Dessay had to undergo a second operation. A new public appearance took place in May 2005 in Montreal. The return of Natalie Dessay was accompanied by a reorientation in her lyrical repertoire. She eschews "light" roles without depth (like Gilda in "Rigoletto") or roles she doesn't want to play anymore (Queen of the Night or Olympia) in favor of more "tragic" characters. This position at first brought serious disagreements with some directors and colleagues. Today, Natalie Dessay is at the pinnacle of her career and is the leading soprano of today. Lives and performs mainly in the USA, but constantly tours in Europe. Russian fans could see her in St. Petersburg in 2010 and in Moscow in 2011. In early 2011, she sang (for the first time) the role of Cleopatra in Handel's Julius Caesar at the Opéra Garnier, returned to the Metropolitan Opera with her traditional " Lucia di Lammermoor", then returned to Europe again with a concert version of "Pelléas et Mélisande" in Paris and London and a concert in Moscow. The singer's immediate plans include many projects: "La Traviata" in Vienna in 2011 and at the Metropolitan Opera in 2012, Cleopatra in "Julius Caesar" at the Metropolitan Opera in 2013, "Manon" at the Paris Opera and La Scala in 2012, Marie ("Daughter of the Regiment") in Paris in 2013, and Elvira at the Met in 2014. Natalie Dessay is married to bass-baritone Laurent Naoury and they have two children. On the opera stage, they can be seen together very rarely, unlike the star couple Alanya-Georgiou, the fact is that for a baritone-soprano there is much less repertoire than for a tenor-soprano. For the sake of her husband, Dessey adopted his religion - Judaism.

Pauline Viardot, full name Pauline Michelle Ferdinand García-Viardot (fr. Pauline Michelle Ferdinande García-Viardot) is a leading French singer, mezzo-soprano, 19th century, vocal teacher and composer of Spanish origin. Pauline Viardot was born on July 18, 1821 in Paris. Daughter and student of the Spanish singer and teacher Manuel Garcia, sister of Maria Malibran. As a child, she studied the art of playing the piano with Franz Liszt and was going to become a pianist, but her amazing vocal abilities determined her profession. She performed in various theaters in Europe and gave many concerts. She was famous for the roles of Fidesz ("The Prophet" by Meyerbeer), Orpheus ("Orpheus and Eurydice" by Gluck), Rosina ("The Barber of Seville" by Rossini). The author of romances and comic operas to the libretto of Ivan Turgenev, her close friend. Together with her husband, who translated Turgenev's works into French, she promoted the achievements of Russian culture. Her last name is written in various forms. With her maiden name Garcia, she achieved fame and notoriety, after marriage she used the double surname Garcia-Viardot for some time and at some point she abandoned her maiden name and called herself "Mme Viardot". In 1837, 16-year-old Pauline Garcia gave her first concert in Brussels, and in 1839 she made her debut as Desdemona in Rossini's Otello in London, becoming the highlight of the season. Despite some shortcomings, the girl's voice combined exquisite technique with amazing passion. In 1840, Pauline married Louis Viardot, composer and director of the Théatre Italien in Paris. Being 21 years older than his wife, her husband began to pursue her career. In 1844, in the capital of the Russian Empire, the city of St. Petersburg, she performed on the same stage with Antonio Tamburini and Giovanni Battista Rubini. Viardot had many admirers. In particular, the Russian writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev fell passionately in love with the singer in 1843 after hearing her perform in The Barber of Seville. In 1845 he left Russia to follow Pauline and eventually became almost a member of the Viardot family. The writer treated Pauline's four children as if they were his own and adored her until his death. She, in turn, was a critic of his work, and her position in the world and connections represented the writer in the best light. The true nature of their relationship is still a matter of debate. In addition, Pauline Viardot communicated with other great people, including Charles Gounod and Hector Berlioz. Renowned for her vocal abilities and dramatic abilities, Viardot inspired such composers as Frederic Chopin, Hector Berlioz, Camille Saint-Saens and Giacomo Meyerbeer, the author of the opera The Prophet, in which she became the first performer of the role of Fidesz. She never considered herself a composer, but she actually composed three music collections and also assisted in composing music for roles that were created especially for her. Later, after leaving the stage, she wrote an opera called Le dernier sorcier. Viardot was fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, English, German and Russian and used various national techniques in her work. Thanks to her talent, she performed in the best concert halls in Europe, including the Opera Theater of St. Petersburg (in 1843-1846). Viardot's popularity was so great that George Sand made her the prototype of the protagonist of the novel Consuelo. Viardot sang the mezzo-soprano part in Tuba Mirum (Mozart's Requiem) at Chopin's funeral on October 30, 1849. She played the title role in Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice. In 1863, Pauline Viardot-Garcia left the stage, left France with her family (her husband was an opponent of the regime of Napoleon III) and settled in Baden-Baden. After the fall of Napoleon III, the Viardot family returned to France, where Pauline taught at the Paris Conservatoire until her husband's death in 1883, and also kept a music salon on the Boulevard Saint-Germain. Among the pupils and students of Pauline Viardot are the famous Desiree Artaud-Padilla, Sophie Röhr-Brainin, Bailodz, Hasselman, Holmsen, Schliemann, Schmeiser, Bilbo-Bachelet, Meyer, Rollant and others. Many Russian singers went through an excellent vocal school with her, including F.V. Litvin, E. Lavrovskaya-Tserteleva, N. Iretskaya, N. Shtemberg. May 18, 1910 Pauline Viardot died, surrounded by loving relatives. She was buried in the Montmartre cemetery in Paris. Russian poet Alexei Nikolaevich Pleshcheev dedicated his poem "The Singer" (Viardo Garcia) to her: No! I will not forget you, captivating sounds, As I will not forget the first sweet tears of love! When I listened to you, the pain in my chest humbled, And again I was ready to believe and love! I won't forget her... That inspired priestess, Covered with a wreath of broad leaves, She appeared to me... and sang a sacred hymn, And her gaze burned with divine fire... That pale image in her I saw Desdemona, When she, bending over the harp golden, A song was sung about the willow... and groans were interrupted by the dull overflow of that old song. How deeply she comprehended, studied the One who knew people and the secrets of their hearts; And if a great one had risen from the grave, He would have put his crown on her forehead. Sometimes a young Rosina appeared to me And passionate, like the night of her native land... And, listening to her magical voice, I strove with my soul to that fertile land, Where everything enchants the ear, everything delights the eyes, Where the vault of the sky shines with an eternal blue, Where the nightingales whistle on the branches of the sycamore tree And the cypress shadow trembles on the surface of the waters! And my chest, full of holy pleasure, Pure delight, rose high, And anxious doubts flew away, And my soul was calm and light. As a friend after days of painful separation, I was ready to embrace the whole world... Oh! I will not forget you, captivating sounds, As I will not forget the first sweet tears of love!<1846>

Angela Gheorghiu (Romanian Angela Gheorghiu) is a Romanian opera singer, soprano. One of the most famous opera singers of our time. Angela Georgiou (Burlacu) was born on September 7, 1965 in the small town of Ajud, Romania. From early childhood it was obvious that she would become a singer, her destiny was music. She studied at a music school in Bucharest and graduated from the National University of Music of Bucharest. Her professional operatic debut took place in 1990 as Mimi in Puccini's La bohème in Cluj, and in the same year she won the Hans Gabor Belvedere international vocal competition in Vienna. The surname Georgiou remained with her from her first husband. Angela Georgiou made her international debut in 1992 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in La Boheme. In the same year, she made her debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera and at the Vienna State Opera. In 1994, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, she sang the part of Violetta in La Traviata for the first time, at this moment the "birth of a star" took place, Angela Georgiou began to enjoy constant success in opera houses and concert halls around the world: in New York, London, Paris, Salzburg, Berlin, Tokyo, Rome, Seoul, Venice, Athens, Monte Carlo, Chicago, Philadelphia, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Lisbon, Valencia, Palermo, Amsterdam, Kuala Lumpur, Zurich, Vienna, Salzburg, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Prague, Montreal, Moscow, Taipei, San Juan, Ljubljana. In 1994, she met the tenor Roberto Alagna, whom she married in 1996. The wedding ceremony took place at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Alanya-Georgiou couple has long been the brightest creative family union on the opera stage, now they are divorced. Her first exclusive record deal was signed in 1995 with Decca, after which she released several albums a year, now she has about 50 albums, both staged opera and solo concerts. All of her CDs have received critical acclaim and won many international awards, including the Gramophone magazine award, the German Echo Prize, the French Diapason d’Or and Choc du Monde de la Musique, and many others. Twice in 2001 and 2010, the British "Classical BRIT Awards" named her "Best Female Singer of the Year". The range of roles of Angela Georgiou is very wide, she especially loves operas by Verdi and Puccini. The Italian repertoire, perhaps due to the relative similarity of the Romanian and Italian languages, she does excellently, some critics note that French, German, Russian and English opera is performed weaker. The most important roles of Angela Gheorghiu: Bellini "Sleepwalker" - Amina Bizet "Carmen" - Micaela, Carmen Cilea "Adriana Lecouvreur" - Adriana Lecouvreur Donizetti "Lucia di Lammermoor" - Lucia Donizetti "Lucrezia Borgia" - Lucrezia Borgia Donizetti "Love Potion" - Adina Gounod "Faust" - Marguerite Gounod "Romeo and Juliet" - Juliet Massenet "Manon" - Manon Massenet "Werther" - Charlotte Mozart "Don Giovanni" - Zerlina Leoncavallo "Pagliacci" - Nedda Puccini "The Swallow" - Magda Puccini "La Boheme" - Mimi Puccini "Gianni Schicchi" - Loretta Puccini "Tosca" - Tosca Puccini "Turandot" - Liu Verdi Troubadour - Leonora Verdi "La Traviata" - Violetta Verdi "Luise Miller" - Louise Verdi "Simon Boccanegra" - Maria Angela Gheorghiu continues to perform actively and is located at the top of the opera Olympus. Future engagements include various concerts in Europe, America and Asia, Tosca and Faust at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Cecilia Bartoli is an Italian opera singer, coloratura mezzo-soprano. One of the leading and commercially successful opera singers of our time. Cecilia Bartoli was born on June 4, 1966 in Rome. Bartoli's parents are Silvana Bazzoni and Pietro Angelo Bartoli, professional singers, employees of the Rome Opera. The first and main teacher of Cecilia in vocals was her mother. At the age of nine, Cecilia first appeared on the "big stage" - she appeared in one of the mass scenes at the Rome Opera in the form of a shepherd boy in the production of "Tosca". As a child, the future singer was fond of dancing and engaged in flamenco, but her parents did not see her career in dancing and were unhappy with her daughter's hobby, they insisted that she continue her musical education. Flamenco gave Bartoli the ease and passion with which she performs on stage, and her love for this dance is still relevant today. At the age of 17, Bartoli entered the Santa Cecilia Conservatory. In 1985, she performed in the television show New Talents: she sang "Barcarolle" from Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffmann", Rosina's aria from "The Barber of Seville" and even a duet with baritone Leo Nucci. And although she took second place, her performance made a splash among opera lovers. Bartoli soon performed in a concert organized by the Paris Opera in memory of Maria Callas. After this concert, three "heavyweights" in the world of classical music drew attention to her - Herbert von Karajan, Daniel Barenboim and Nikolaus Arnoncourt. His professional operatic debut took place in 1987 at the Arena di Verona. The following year, she sang the role of Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Cologne Opera and the role of Cherubino opposite Nikolaus Harnoncourt in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in Zurich, Switzerland. Herbert von Karajan invited her to participate in the Salzburg Festival and perform J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor with him, but the death of the maestro prevented her plans from being fulfilled. In 1990, Bartoli made her debut at the Bastille Opera with the role of Cherubino, at the Hamburg State Opera as Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo, and also in the USA at the Mostly Mozart festival in New York and signed an exclusive contract with DECCA. In 1991 she made her debut at La Scala as the page Isolier in Rossini's La comte Ory, and since then, at the age of 25, she has established her reputation as one of the world's leading performers of Mozart and Rossini. Since then, her career has developed rapidly - listing the best theaters in the world, premieres, solo concerts, conductors, recordings, festivals and Chechili Bartoli awards could grow into a book. Since 2005, Cecilia Bartoli has focused on baroque and early classicist music by composers such as Gluck, Vivaldi, Haydn and Salieri, and more recently on the music of the romantic era and Italian bel canto. She currently lives with her family in Monte Carlo and works at the Zurich Opera. Cecilia Bartoli is a frequent guest in Russia, since 2001 she has visited our country many times, the last of the tours took place in September 2011. Some critics notice that Cecilia Bartoli is considered one of the best mezzo-sopranos of our time only because with this type of voice (unlike soprano) she has very few competitors, nevertheless her performances gather full halls of fans, and discs are sold in millions of copies. . For services in the field of music, Cecilia Bartoli has been awarded many state and public awards, including the French Orders of Merit and Arts and Letters and the Italian knighthood, and she is also an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London, etc. She is the owner of five Grammy awards, the last of which won in 2011 in the nomination "Best Classical Vocal Performance" with the album "Sacrifice" (Sacrificium).

Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya (October 25, 1926 - December 11, 2012) - great Russian, Soviet opera singer (lyric-dramatic soprano). People's Artist of the USSR. Commander of the French Order of the Legion of Honor, honorary doctor of a number of universities. Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya was born on October 25, 1926 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), but she spent most of her childhood in Kronstadt. She suffered the blockade of Leningrad, at the age of sixteen she served in air defense units. Her creative activity began in 1944 as a soloist of the Leningrad Operetta Theater, and her career on the big stage began in the fifties. In her first marriage, she was married to a naval sailor Georgy Vishnevsky, whom she divorced two months later, but retained his last name; in the second marriage - with the director of the operetta theater Mark Ilyich Rubin. In 1955, four days after they met, she married for the third time to the later famous cellist M.L. Rostropovich, in an ensemble with which (M.L. Rostropovich - first as a pianist, and later as a conductor) performed at the most prestigious concert venues in the world. From 1951 to 1952, having left the operetta theater, Vishnevskaya took singing lessons from V.N. Garina, combining classical vocal classes with performances as a pop singer. In 1952, she took part in the competition for the trainee group of the Bolshoi Theater, was accepted, despite the lack of a conservatory education, and soon (according to the figurative expression of B.A. Pokrovsky) became "a trump card in the deck of the Bolshoi Theater", the leading soloist of the country's main opera house . During her 22 years of artistic career at the Bolshoi Theater (from 1952 to 1974), Galina Vishnevskaya created many (more than thirty!) unforgettable female images in Russian and Western European operatic masterpieces. Having brilliantly made her debut as Tatiana in the opera Eugene Onegin, she performed at the theater the parts of Aida and Violetta (Aida and La Traviata by Verdi), Cio-Cio-san (Cio-Cio-san by Puccini), Natasha Rostova (“War and Peace” by Prokofiev), Katharina (“The Taming of the Shrew” by Shebalin, first performer, 1957), Lisa (“The Queen of Spades” by Tchaikovsky), Kupava (“The Snow Maiden” by Rimsky-Korsakov), Martha (“The Tsar’s Bride” by Rimsky-Korsakov) Korsakov) and many others. Vishnevskaya took part in the first productions on the Russian stage of Prokofiev's opera The Gambler (1974, Polina's part), Poulenc's mono-opera The Human Voice (1965). In 1966, she starred in the leading role in the film-opera "Katerina Izmailova" by D.D. Shostakovich (directed by Mikhail Shapiro). She was the first performer of a number of compositions dedicated to her by D.D. Shostakovich, B. Britten and other outstanding contemporary composers. Under the impression of listening to her recording, Anna Akhmatova's poem "Woman's Voice" was written. During the Soviet era, Galina Vishnevskaya, together with her husband, the great cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, provided invaluable support to the outstanding Russian writer and human rights activist Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and this became one of the reasons for the constant attention and pressure from the secret services of the USSR. In 1974, Galina Vishnevskaya and Mstislav Rostropovich left the Soviet Union and in 1978 were deprived of citizenship, honorary titles and government awards. But in 1990, the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council was canceled, Galina Pavlovna returned to Russia, the honorary title of People's Artist of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin were returned to her, she became an honorary professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Abroad, Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya lived in the United States, then in France and Great Britain. Galina Vishnevskaya has sung on all the major stages of the world (Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera, Grand Opera, La Scala, Munich Opera, etc.), performing with the most outstanding masters of world musical and theatrical culture. She performed the role of Marina in a unique recording of the opera Boris Godunov (conductor Herbert von Karajan, soloists Gyaurov, Talvela, Spiess, Maslennikov), in 1989 she sang the same part in the film of the same name (director A. Zhulavsky, conductor M. Rostropovich). Among the recordings made during the period of forced emigration are the complete version of S. Prokofiev's opera "War and Peace", five discs with romances by Russian composers M. Glinka, A. Dargomyzhsky, M. Mussorgsky, A. Borodin and P. Tchaikovsky. The whole life and work of Galina Vishnevskaya was aimed at the continuation and glorification of the greatest Russian operatic traditions. After the start of perestroika, in 1990, Galina Vishnevskaya and Mstislav Rostropovich were restored to citizenship. In the early 1990s, G. Vishnevskaya returned to Russia and became an honorary professor at the Moscow Conservatory. She described her life in the book "Galina" (published in English in 1984, in Russian - 1991). Galina Vishnevskaya is an honorary doctor of a number of universities, for many years she has worked with creative youth, giving master classes around the world and acting as a jury member of major international competitions. In 2002, the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Singing Center was opened in Moscow, the creation of which the great singer had long dreamed of. At the center, she passed on her accumulated experience and unique knowledge to talented young singers so that they could adequately represent the Russian opera school on the international stage. The missionary aspect of the activities of Galina Vishnevskaya is emphasized by the largest federal and regional mass media, heads of theaters and concert organizations, and the general public. Galina Vishnevskaya was awarded the most prestigious world prizes for her invaluable contribution to world musical art, numerous awards from the Governments of different countries: the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" (1943), the Order of Lenin (1971), the Diamond Medal of the City of Paris (1977), the Order of Merit for Fatherland" III degree (1996), II degree (2006). Galina Vishnevskaya - Grand-officer of the Order of Literature and Art (France, 1982), Cavalier of the Order of the Legion of Honor (France. 1983), Honorary Citizen of the city of Kronstadt (1996).

Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova is a Russian opera singer (soprano) and dancer, one of the most famous singers of pre-revolutionary Russia. Leading soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre, participant of Sergei Diaghilev's Russian Seasons. She worked with N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, Richard Strauss, Jules Massenet, sang in tandem with Fyodor Chaliapin and Leonid Sobinov. After leaving Russia after 1917, she continued to perform successfully abroad. Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova was born in 1880 in Odessa. Maria grew up in a creative and intellectual atmosphere, her father Nikolai Kuznetsov was an artist, and her mother came from the Mechnikov family, Maria's uncles were Nobel laureate biologist Ilya Mechnikov and sociologist Lev Mechnikov. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky visited the Kuznetsovs' house, who drew attention to the talent of the future singer and composed children's songs for her, from childhood Maria dreamed of becoming an actress. Her parents sent her to a gymnasium in Switzerland, returning to Russia, she studied ballet in St. Petersburg, but refused to dance and began to study vocals with the Italian teacher Marty, and later with the baritone and her stage partner I.V. Tartakov. Everyone noted her pure beautiful lyrical soprano, noticeable talent as an actress and feminine beauty. Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky described her as "... a dramatic soprano that could be seen and listened to with the same appetite." In 1904, Maria Kuznetsova made her debut on the stage of the St. Petersburg Conservatory as Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, and on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in 1905 as Marguerite in Gounod's Faust. Soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre, with a short break, Kuznetsova remained until the revolution of 1917. In 1905, two gramophone records with a recording of her performances were released in St. Petersburg, and in total she made 36 recordings during her creative career. Once, in 1905, shortly after Kuznetsova's debut at the Mariinsky, during her performance in the theater, a quarrel broke out between students and officers, the situation in the country was revolutionary, and panic began in the theater. Maria Kuznetsova interrupted Elsa's aria from "Lohengrin" by R. Wagner and calmly sang the Russian anthem "God Save the Tsar", the buzzers were forced to stop the quarrel and the audience calmed down, the performance continued. The first husband of Maria Kuznetsova was Albert Albertovich Benois, from the well-known dynasty of Russian architects, artists, historians Benois. In the prime of her career, Maria was known under the double surname Kuznetsova-Benoit. In her second marriage, Maria Kuznetsova was married to the manufacturer Bogdanov, in the third - to the banker and industrialist Alfred Massenet, nephew of the famous composer Jules Massenet. Throughout her career, Kuznetsova-Benois participated in many European opera premieres, including the parts of Fevronia in Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia" and Cleopatra from the opera of the same name by J. Massenet, which the composer wrote especially for her. And also on the Russian stage she presented for the first time the role of Vogdolina in R. Wagner's "Gold of the Rhine", Cio-Cio-san in "Madama Butterfly" by G. Puccini and many others. She has toured cities in Russia, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, the USA and other countries with the Mariinsky Opera Company. Among her best roles: Antonida ("Life for the Tsar" by M. Glinka), Lyudmila ("Ruslan and Lyudmila" by M. Glinka), Olga ("Mermaid" by A. Dargomyzhsky), Masha ("Dubrovsky" by E. Napravnik), Oksana ("Cherevichki" by P. Tchaikovsky), Tatyana ("Eugene Onegin" by P. Tchaikovsky), Kupava ("The Snow Maiden" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov), Juliet ("Romeo and Juliet" by Ch. Gounod), Carmen ("Carmen" Zh Bizet), Manon Lesko ("Manon" by J. Massenet), Violetta ("La Traviata" by G. Verdi), Elsa ("Lohengrin" by R. Wagner) and others. In 1914, Kuznetsova temporarily left the Mariinsky Theater and, together with the "Russian ballet" by Sergei Diaghilev, she performed in Paris and London as a ballerina, and also partially sponsored their performance. She danced in the ballet "The Legend of Joseph" by Richard Strauss, the ballet was prepared by the stars of their time - composer and conductor Richard Strauss, director Sergei Diaghilev, choreographer Mikhail Fokin, costumes and scenery Lev Bakst, lead dancer Leonid Myasin. It was an important role and good company, but from the very beginning the production faced some difficulties: there was little time for rehearsals, Strauss was in a bad mood, as the guest ballerinas Ida Rubinstein and Lydia Sokolova refused to participate, and Strauss did not like to work with French musicians and constantly quarreled with the orchestra, and Diaghilev was still worried about the departure of the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky from the troupe. Despite problems behind the scenes, the ballet made a successful debut in London and Paris. In addition to trying her hand at ballet, Kuznetsova performed several operatic performances, including Borodin's production of Prince Igor in London. After the revolution in 1918, Maria Kuznetsova left Russia, as befits an actress, she did it in dramatic beauty - in the clothes of a cabin boy she hid on the lower deck of a ship bound for Sweden. She became an opera singer at the Stockholm Opera, then in Copenhagen and then at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London. All this time she constantly came to Paris, and in 1921 she finally settled in Paris, which became her second creative home. In the 1920s Kuznetsova staged private concerts where she sang Russian, French, Spanish and gypsy songs, romances and operas. At these concerts, she often danced Spanish folk dances and flamenco. Some of her concerts were charitable to help the needy Russian emigration. She became the star of the Parisian opera, being accepted into her salon was considered a great honor. "The color of society", ministers and industrialists crowded in her front. In addition to private concerts, she has frequently worked as a soloist at many opera houses in Europe, including those at Covent Garden and at the Paris Opera and the Opéra Comique. In 1927, Maria Kuznetsova, together with Prince Alexei Tsereteli and baritone Mikhail Karakash, organized the Russian Opera private company in Paris, where they invited many Russian opera singers who had left Russia. The Russian Opera staged Sadko, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia, Sorochinsky Fair and other operas and ballets by Russian composers and performed in London, Paris, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Milan and in distant Buenos Aires. "Russian Opera" lasted until 1933, after which Maria Kuznetsova began to give fewer performances. Maria Kuznetsova died April 25, 1966 in Paris, France.

Annette Dasch is a German opera singer and soprano. One of the leading contemporary German opera singers. Annette Dasch was born on March 24, 1976 in Berlin. Annette's parents, father, judge, and mother studied medicine, loved music and instilled this love in their four children. At home, traditionally, all family members played music and sang together, having matured, all the children became professional musicians: the eldest daughter - a concert pianist, younger brothers - one - a singer, bass-baritone, a member of the classic pop quintet "Adoro", the second - a music teacher . From childhood, Annette performed in the school vocal ensemble and dreamed of becoming a rock singer. She was also an active Scout and still enjoys hiking and hiking. In 1996, Annette moved to Munich to study vocals academically at the Munich Higher School of Music and Theatre. In 1998/99 she also took courses in music and drama at the University of Music and Theater in Graz (Austria). International success came in 2000 when she won three major international vocal competitions - the Maria Callas Competition in Barcelona, ​​the Schumann Songwriting Competition in Zwickau and the competition in Geneva. Since then, she has performed on the best opera stages in Germany and the world - at the Bavarian, Berlin, Dresden State Operas, the Paris Opera and the Champs-Elysées, La Scala, Covent Garden, Tokyo Opera, the Metropolitan Opera and many others. In 2006, 2007, 2008 she performed at the Salzburg Festival, in 2010, 2011 at the Wagner Festival in Bayorot. The range of roles of Annette Dasch is quite wide, including the roles of Armida ("Armida", Haydn), Gretel ("Hansel and Gretel", Humperdinck), Goose Girls ("Royal Children", Humperdinck), Fiordiligi ("Everybody Does It So" , Mozart), Elvira ("Don Giovanni", Mozart), Elvira ("Idomeneo", Mozart), Countess ("The Marriage of Figaro", Mozart), Pamina ("The Magic Flute", Mozart), Anthony ("Hoffmann's Tales", Offenbach), Liu ("Turandot", Puccini), Rosalind ("The Bat", Strauss), Freya ("Gold of the Rhine", Wagner), Elsa ("Lohengrin", Wagner) and others. Annette Dasch is not only an opera singer, she still performs oratorios and gives concerts. Her repertoire includes songs by Beethoven, Britten, Haydn, Gluck, Handel, Schumann, Mahler, Mendelssohn and others. The singer held her last concerts in all major European cities (for example, in Berlin, Barcelona, ​​Vienna, Paris, London, Parma, Florence, Amsterdam, Brussels), she performed at the Schubertiade festivals in Schwarzenberg, early music festivals in Innsbruck and Nantes, as well as other prestigious festivals. Since 2008, Annette Dasch has been hosting her very popular television entertainment music show "Dash Salon", whose name in German is consonant with the word "laundry" (Waschsalon). Season 2011/2012 Annete Dasch opened a European tour with recitals, upcoming opera commitments include the role of Elvira from Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera in spring 2012, then the role of Madame Pompadour in Vienna, a tour with the Vienna Opera in Japan with a role in The Merry Widow ", also another performance at the Bayorot festival.

Salomeya Amvrosievna Krushelnitskaya is a famous Ukrainian opera singer (soprano), teacher. Even during her lifetime, Salome Krushelnitskaya was recognized as an outstanding singer in the world. She had an outstanding voice in terms of strength and beauty with a wide range (about three octaves with a free middle register), a musical memory (she could learn opera parts in two or three days), and a bright dramatic talent. The singer's repertoire included over 60 different parts. Among her numerous awards and distinctions, in particular, the title of "Wagnerian prima donna of the twentieth century." The Italian composer Giacomo Puccini presented the singer with his portrait with the inscription "beautiful and charming Butterfly". Salomeya Krushelnytska was born on September 23, 1872 in the village of Belyavintsy, now the Buchatsky district of the Ternopil region, in the family of a priest. Comes from a noble and ancient Ukrainian family. Since 1873, the family moved several times, in 1878 they moved to the village of Belaya near Ternopil, from where they never left. She started singing from a young age. As a child, Salome knew a lot of folk songs, which she learned directly from the peasants. She received the basics of musical training at the Ternopil gymnasium, where she took exams as an external student. Here she became close to the musical circle of high school students, of which Denis Sichinsky, later a famous composer, the first professional musician in Western Ukraine, was also a member. In 1883, at the Shevchenko concert in Ternopil, the first public performance of Salome, who sang in the choir of the Russian conversation society, took place. In Ternopil, Salomea Krushelnytska got acquainted with the theater for the first time. Here, from time to time, the Lvov theater of the Russian conversation society performed. In 1891, Salome entered the Lviv Conservatory. At the conservatory, her teacher was the then famous professor in Lviv, Valery Vysotsky, who brought up a whole galaxy of famous Ukrainian and Polish singers. While studying at the conservatory, her first solo performance took place; on April 13, 1892, the singer performed the main part in G. F. Handel's oratorio "Messiah". The first operatic debut of Salome Krushelnytska took place on April 15, 1893, she performed the role of Leonora in the performance of the Italian composer G. Donizetti's "Favorite" on the stage of the Lviv City Theater. In 1893 Krushelnytska graduated from the Lvov Conservatory. In Salome's graduation diploma, it was written: "This diploma is received by Panna Salomea Krushelnitskaya as evidence of an art education received by exemplary diligence and extraordinary success, especially at a public competition on June 24, 1893, for which she was awarded a silver medal. "While still studying at the conservatory, Salomea Krushelnytska received an offer from the Lviv Opera House, but she decided to continue her education. Her decision was influenced by the famous Italian singer Gemma Bellinchoni, who was touring in Lviv at that time. In the autumn of 1893, Salomea left to study in Italy , where Professor Fausta Crespi became her teacher. In the process of studying, performances at concerts in which she sang opera arias were a good school for Salomea. In the second half of the 1890s, her triumphant performances on the stages of theaters of the world began: Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Russia, Poland, Austria, Egypt, Argentina, Chile in the operas "Aida", "Il trovatore" by D. Verdi, "Faust" by S. Gounod, "The Terrible Yard" by S. Moniuszko, "The African Woman" by D. Meyerbeer, "Manon Lesko" and "Cio-Cio-San" by G. Puccini, "Carmen" by J. Bizet, "Electra" by R. Strauss, "Eugene Onegin" and "The Queen of Spades" by P.I. Milan theater "La Scala" Giacomo Puccini presented his new opera " Madame Butterfly." Never before had the composer been so sure of success... but the audience booed the opera indignantly. The celebrated maestro felt crushed. Friends persuaded Puccini to rework his work, and to invite Salome Krushelnitskaya to the main part. On May 29, on the stage of the Grande Theater in Brescia, the premiere of the updated Madama Butterfly took place, this time triumphant. The audience called the actors and the composer to the stage seven times. After the performance, touched and grateful, Puccini sent Krushelnitskaya his portrait with the inscription: "To the most beautiful and charming Butterfly." In 1910, S. Krushelnitskaya married the mayor of the city of Viareggio (Italy) and the lawyer Cesare Riccioni, who was a connoisseur of music and an erudite aristocrat. They were married in one of the temples of Buenos Aires. After the marriage, Cesare and Salome settled in Viareggio, here Salome bought a villa, which she called "Salome" and continued to tour. In 1920, Krushelnitskaya left the opera stage at the zenith of her fame, performing for the last time at the Naples Theater in her favorite operas Lorelei and Lohengrin. She devoted her further life to chamber concert activity, performing songs in 8 languages. She has toured Europe and America. All these years until 1923 she constantly came to her homeland and performed in Lvov, Ternopil and other cities of Galicia. She had strong ties of friendship with many figures in Western Ukraine. A special place in the singer's creative activity was occupied by concerts dedicated to the memory of T. Shevchenko and I.Ya. Frank. In 1929, the last tour concert of S. Krushelnitskaya took place in Rome. In 1938, Krushelnitskaya's husband, Cesare Riccioni, died. In August 1939, the singer visited Galicia and, due to the outbreak of World War II, was unable to return to Italy. During the German occupation of Lviv, S. Krushelnytska was very poor, so she gave private vocal lessons. In the post-war period, S. Krushelnytska began working at the Lviv State Conservatory named after N.V. Lysenko. However, her teaching career barely started, almost ended. During the "cleansing of personnel from nationalist elements" she was accused of not having a conservatory diploma. Later, the diploma was found in the funds of the city historical museum. Living and teaching in the Soviet Union, Salomeya Amvrosievna, despite numerous appeals, for a long time could not obtain Soviet citizenship, remaining a subject of Italy. Finally, having written a statement about the transfer of her Italian villa and all property to the Soviet state, Krushelnitskaya became a citizen of the USSR. The villa was immediately sold, compensating the owner for a meager part of its value. In 1951, Salome Krushelnitskaya was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR, and in October 1952, a month before her death, Krushelnitskaya received the title of professor. On November 16, 1952, the heart of the great singer stopped beating. She was buried in Lviv at the Lychakiv cemetery next to the grave of her friend and mentor, Ivan Franko. In 1993, a street was named after S. Krushelnytska in Lviv, where she lived the last years of her life. The memorial museum of Salomea Krushelnytska was opened in the singer's apartment. Today, the Lviv Opera House, the Lviv Musical Secondary School, the Ternopil Musical College (where the Salomeya newspaper is published), the 8-year-old school in the village of Belaya, the streets in Kyiv, Lvov, Ternopil, Buchach (see Salomei Krushelnytska Street) bear the name of S. Krushelnytska ). In the Mirror Hall of the Lviv Opera and Ballet Theater there is a bronze monument to Salome Krushelnytska. Many artistic, musical and cinematographic works are dedicated to the life and work of Salomea Krushelnytska. In 1982, at the A. Dovzhenko Film Studio, directed by O. Fialko, the historical and biographical film "The Return of the Butterfly" (based on the novel of the same name by V. Vrublevskaya), dedicated to the life and work of Salomea Krushelnitskaya, was shot. The picture is based on the real facts of the singer's life and is built as her memories. The parts of Salome are performed by Gisela Zipola. The role of Salome in the film was played by Elena Safonova. In addition, documentaries were created, in particular, "Salome Krushelnitskaya" (director I. Mudrak, Lvov, "Most", 1994) "Two Lives of Salome" (director A. Frolov, Kyiv, "Contact", 1997), cycle "Names" (2004), documentary film "Solo-mea" from the cycle "Game of Fate" (director V. Obraz, VIATEL studio, 2008). March 18, 2006 on the stage of the Lviv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. Krushelnitskaya hosted the premiere of Miroslav Skorik's ballet "Return of the Butterfly", based on facts from the life of Salomea Krushelnitskaya. The ballet uses the music of Giacomo Puccini. In 1995, the premiere of the play "Salome Krushelnitskaya" (author B. Melnichuk, I. Lyakhovsky) took place at the Ternopil Regional Drama Theater (now the Academic Theater). Since 1987, the Salomea Krushelnytska Competition has been held in Ternopil. Every year Lviv hosts the international competition named after Krushelnytska; festivals of opera art have become traditional.

Lyubov Yurievna Kazarnovskaya - Soviet and Russian opera singer, soprano. Doctor of Musical Sciences, Professor. Lyubov Yuryevna Kazarnovskaya was born on May 18, 1956 in Moscow, mother, Kazarnovskaya Lidia Aleksandrovna - philologist, teacher of Russian language and literature, father, Kazarnovsky Yuri Ignatievich - reserve general, older sister - Bokadorova Natalya Yuryevna - philologist, professor of French language and literature. Lyuba always sang, after school she ventured to apply to the Gnessin Institute - to the faculty of musical theater actors, although she was preparing to become a student at the faculty of foreign languages. Student years gave Lyuba a lot as an actress, but the meeting with Nadezhda Matveevna Malysheva-Vinogradova, a wonderful teacher, vocalist, accompanist of Chaliapin, a student of Stanislavsky himself, was decisive. In addition to invaluable singing lessons, Nadezhda Matveevna, the widow of Pushkin literary critic Academician VV Vinogradov, revealed to Lyuba all the power and beauty of Russian classics, taught her to understand the unity of music and words hidden in it. The meeting with Nadezhda Matveevna finally determined the fate of the young singer. In 1981, at the age of 21, while still a student at the Moscow Conservatory, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya made her debut as Tatyana (Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky) on the stage of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater. Laureate of the All-Union Competition named after Glinka (II prize). Since then, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya has been at the center of Russia's musical life. In 1982 she graduated from the Moscow State Conservatory, in 1985 - postgraduate studies in the class of Associate Professor Shumilova Elena Ivanovna. 1981-1986 - soloist of the musical academic theater named after Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko, in the repertoire of "Eugene Onegin" by Tchaikovsky, "Iolanta", "May Night" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Pagliacci" by Leoncavallo, "La Boheme" by Puccini. 1984 - at the invitation of Svetlanov, she performed the part of Fevronia in a new production of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh, and then in 1985 - the part of Tatiana (Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky) and Nedda (Pagliacci by Leoncavallo) at the State Academic Theater of Russia. 1984 - Grand Prix of the UNESCO Young Performers Competition (Bratislava). Laureate of the Competition Mirjam Hellin (Helsinki) - III prize and an honorary diploma for the performance of an Italian aria - personally from the chairman of the competition and the legendary Swedish opera singer Birgit Nilsson. 1986 - Laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize. 1986 -1989 - Leading soloist of the State Academic Theatre. Kirov: Leonora (“Force of Destiny” by Verdi), Margarita (“Faust” by Gounod), Donna Anna and Donna Elvira (“Don Giovanni” by Mozart), Leonora (“Trovatore” by Verdi), Violetta (“Traviatte” by Verdi), Tatiana ( “Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky), Lisa (“The Queen of Spades” by Tchaikovsky), Soprano (“Requiem” by Verdi). Close cooperation with such conductors as Janssons, Temirkanov, Kolobov, Gergiev. The first foreign triumph - at the Covent Garden Theater (London), in the part of Tatiana in Tchaikovsky's opera "Eugene Onegin" (1988) 1989. - "Maestro of the World" Herbert von Karajan invites a young singer to "his" festival - a summer festival in Salzburg. In August 1989 - a triumphant debut in Salzburg (Verdi's Requiem, conductor Ricardo Muti). The entire musical world noted and appreciated the performance of the young soprano from Russia. This sensational performance marked the beginning of a dizzying career, which later led her to such opera houses as Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Colon, Houston Grand Opera. Her partners are Pavarotti, Domingo, Carreras, Araiza, Nucci, Cappuccili, Cossotto, von Stade, Baltza. September 1989 - participation in the world gala concert on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia in support of the victims of the earthquake in Armenia, together with Kraus, Bergonzi, Prei, Arkhipova. October 1989 - participation in the tour of the Milan Opera House "La Scala" in Moscow (G. Verdi's "Requiem"). 1991 - Salzburg. 1992-1998 - Close cooperation with the Metropolitan Opera. 1994-1997 - close collaboration with the Mariinsky Theater and Valery Gergiev. In 1996, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya made her successful debut on the stage of the La Scala Theater in Prokofiev's The Gambler, and in February 1997 she triumphantly sang the part of Salome at the Santa Cecilia Theater in Rome. The leading masters of operatic art of our time work with her - such conductors as Muti, Levine, Thielemann, Barenboim, Haitink, Temirkanov, Kolobov, Gergiev, directors - Zefirelli, Egoyan, Wikk, Taymor, Dew ... “La Kazarnovskaya”, as it is called by the Italian press, has more than fifty parties in its repertoire. She is called the best Salome of our time, the best performer of operas by Verdi and verists, not to mention the part of Tatiana from Eugene Onegin, her calling card. Particular success brought her performance of the main roles in the operas "Salome" by Richard Strauss, "Eugene Onegin" by Tchaikovsky, "Manon Lescaut" and "Tosca" by Puccini, "Force of Destiny" and "La Traviata" by Verdi. 1997 - Lyubov Kazarnovskaya creates her own organization in Russia - the Lyubov Kazarnovskaya Foundation, to support the art of opera in Russia: she invites leading masters of vocal art to Russia for concerts and master classes, such as Renata Scotto, Franco Bonisolli, Simon Estes , Jose Cura and others. , establishes scholarships to help young Russian singers. * 1998-2000 - close cooperation with the Bolshoi Theater of Russia. 2000 - the singer patronizes the world's only Children's Opera Theater named after Lyubov Kazarnovskaya (Dubna). With this theater Lyubov Kazarnovskaya is planning interesting projects in Russia and abroad. 2000 - heads the creative coordinating Council of the Cultural Center "Union of Cities", carrying out a large cultural and educational work in the cities and regions of Russia. 12/25/2000 - another premiere took place in the concert hall "Russia" - a brilliant opera show "Faces of Love", broadcast live to the whole world. The three-hour musical action, presented for the first time in the world by a leading opera singer, became an event of the last year of the outgoing century and evoked enthusiastic responses in Russia and abroad. 2002 - Lyubov Kazarnovskaya is in the center of active social activity, was elected Chairman of the Commission for Cultural and Humanitarian Cooperation of Municipalities of the Russian Federation, is Chairman of the Board of the Russian Musical Educational Society. Lyubov Kazarnovskaya was awarded a diploma from a prestigious center in Cambridge (England) as one of the 2000 most outstanding musicians of the 20th century. The creative life of Lyubov Kazarnovskaya is a series of impetuous and unstoppable victories, discoveries, achievements, in relation to which the epithet “first” is appropriate in many respects: *Grand Prix at the UNESCO vocal competition. *Kazarnovskaya is the first Russian soprano invited to Salzburg by Herbert von Karajan. *The only Russian singer who performed Mozart's parts in the composer's homeland in Salzburg on his 200th birthday. *The first and still the only Russian singer who performs the most difficult role of Salome (Salome by Richard Strauss) on the world's largest opera stages with great success. L. Kazarnovskaya is considered the best Salome of our time. *The first singer to record (on CD) all 103 Tchaikovsky romances. *With these discs and her numerous concerts in all musical centers of the world, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya opens the musical creativity of Russian composers to the Western public. *The first opera singer of international stature who made an unprecedented show in terms of her range - opera, operetta, romance, chanson ... *The first and only singer who performed two roles in one evening (in the operas "Manon Lescaut" by Puccini) in the play "Portrait of Manon on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia. Recently, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya, in addition to her international activities, has been devoting a lot of time and energy to the development of musical life in the Russian regions. Without a doubt, she is the most striking phenomenon in the vocal and musical life of Russia, and the press devoted to her is unprecedented in genre and volume. Her repertoire includes more than 50 opera parts and a huge repertoire of chamber music. Her favorite roles are Tatiana, Violetta, Salome, Tosca, Manon Lescaut, Leonora ("Force of Destiny"), Amelia ("Masquerade Ball"). Choosing a program for solo evenings, Kazarnovskaya avoids a disparate selection of even winning, attractive pieces, preferring original cycles representing the work of different authors. The uniqueness of the singer, the brightness of interpretation, the subtle sense of style, the individual approach to the embodiment of the most complex images in the works of different eras make her performances genuine events in cultural life. Numerous audio and video recordings emphasize the enormous vocal abilities, high style and the greatest musical talent of this brilliant singer, who actively demonstrates the real level of Russian culture to the whole world. The American company VAI (Video Artists International) released a series of video cassettes with the participation of the Russian diva, including "Great Singers of Russia 1901-1999" (two cassettes), "Gypsy Love" (video recording of Lyubov Kazarnovskaya's concert in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory). The discography of Lyubov Kazarnovskaya includes recordings by DGG, Philips, Delos, Naxos, Melodia. Currently, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya is preparing new programs for solo concerts, new opera parts (Carmen, Isolde, Lady Macbeth), plans numerous tours abroad and in Russia, and is acting in films. Married to Robert Roscik since 1989, in 1993 their son Andrey was born. These few quotes are just a small part of the enthusiastic responses that accompany Lyubov Kazarnovskaya's performances: "Her voice is deep and seductively insinuating ... The touching, beautifully executed scenes of Tatyana's letter and her last meeting with Onegin leave no doubt about the highest skill of the singer ("Metropolitan Opera", " New York Times") "A powerful, deep, superbly controlled soprano, expressive throughout the entire range ... The range and brightness of vocal characteristics are especially impressive" (Lincoln Center, solo concert, "New York Times") "Kazarnovskaya's voice is focused, delicately deep in the middle register and bright in the upper ... She is the radiant Desdemona" (France, "Le Monde de la Musique") "... Lyuba Kazarnovskaya charmed the audience with her sensual, magically sounding soprano in all registers" ("Muenchner Merkur") "The Russian Diva is so radiant in the role of Salome, - the ice began to melt on the streets when Lyuba Kazarnovskaya sang the final scene of "Salome" ... "(" Cincinnati Enquirer ") Infor mation and photo from the official site: http://www.kazarnovskaya.com A new site about beautiful flowers. Iris world. Breeding, care, transplantation of irises.

Ekaterina Shcherbachenko - Russian opera singer (soprano), soloist of the Bolshoi Theater. Ekaterina Nikolaevna Shcherbachenko (nee Telegina) was born on January 31, 1977 in Ryazan. In 1996 she graduated from the Ryazan Musical College. G. and A. Pirogov, having received the specialty "choir conductor". In 2005 she graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. P.I. Tchaikovsky (teacher - Professor Marina Alekseeva) and continued her postgraduate studies there. In the opera studio of the conservatory she sang the part of Tatiana in the opera "Eugene Onegin" by P. Tchaikovsky and the part of Mimi in the opera "La Boheme" by G. Puccini. In 2005 she was a trainee soloist of the Opera Company of the Moscow Academic Musical Theatre. K.S. Stanislavsky and V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. In this theater she performed the parts of Lidochka in the operetta "Moscow, Cheryomushki" by D. Shostakovich and the part of Fiordiligi in the opera "All Women Do This" by W. A. ​​Mozart. In 2005 at the Bolshoi she sang the part of Natasha Rostova in the premiere of S. Prokofiev's War and Peace (second edition), after which she received an invitation to the Bolshoi Theater as a permanent member of the opera troupe. Her repertoire at the Bolshoi Theater included the following roles: Natasha Rostova ("War and Peace" by S. Prokofiev) Tatyana ("Eugene Onegin" by P. Tchaikovsky) Liu ("Turandot" by G. Puccini) Mimi ("La Boheme" by G. Puccini) Mikaela ("Carmen" by G. Bizet) Iolanta ("Iolanthe" by P. Tchaikovsky) In 2004 she performed the part of Lidochka in the operetta "Moscow, Cheryomushki" at the Lyon Opera (conductor Alexander Lazarev). In 2007, in Denmark, she participated in the performance of Rachmaninov's cantata "The Bells" with the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (conductor Alexander Vedernikov). In 2008 she sang the part of Tatiana at the Cagliari Opera House (Italy, conductor Mikhail Yurovsky, directors Moshe Leiser, Patrice Corrier, staged by the Mariinsky Theatre). In 2003 she received a diploma from the International Competition "New Voices" in Gütersloh (Germany). In 2005 she won the 3rd Prize at the Shizuoka International Opera Competition (Japan). In 2006 - III prize of the International Vocal Competition named after. Francisco Viñas in Barcelona (Spain), where she also received a special prize as the "Best performer of Russian music", the "Friends of the Opera Sabadell" award and the award of the Musical Association of Catania (Sicily). In 2009, she won the BBC Singer of the World competition in Cardiff, and was also awarded the Triumph Youth Grant Award.

Inva Mula is an Albanian opera singer and soprano. She occupies a significant place in the opera world, however, outside the opera stage, she is best known for her performance of the aria in the film "The Fifth Element". Inva Mula was born on June 27, 1963 in Tirana, Albania, her father Avni Mula is a famous Albanian singer and composer, her daughter's name - Inva is a reverse reading of her father's name. She studied vocal and piano in her hometown, first at a music school, then at the conservatory under the guidance of her mother, Nina Mula. In 1987, Inva won the "Singer of Albania" competition in Tirana, in 1988 - at the George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest. The debut on the opera stage took place in 1990 at the Opera and Ballet Theater in Tirana with the role of Leila in "The Pearl Seekers" by J. Bizet. Soon Inva Mula left Albania and got a job as a singer in the choir of the Paris National Opera (Bastille Opera and Opera Garnier). In 1992, Inva Mula received first prize at the Butterfly Competition in Barcelona. The main success, after which fame came to her, was a prize at the first Placido Domingo Operalia competition in Paris in 1993. The final gala concert of this competition was held at the Opera Garnier, a disc was released and tenor Placido Domingo with the winners of the competition, including Inva Mula, repeated this program at the Bastille Opera, as well as in Brussels, Munich and Oslo. This tour attracted attention to her and the singer began to be invited to perform at various opera houses around the world. The range of roles of Inva Mula is wide enough, she sings Verdi's Gilda in "Rigoletto", Nanette in "Falstaff" and Violetta in "La Traviata". Her other roles are Michaela in Carmen, Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann, Musetta and Mimi in La Boheme, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Nedda in Pagliacci, Magda and Lisette in The Swallow, and many others. Inva Mula's career continues successfully, she regularly performs at European and world opera houses, including La Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera, the Arena di Verona, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, as well as theaters in Tokyo, Barcelona, ​​​​Toronto , Bilbao and others. Inva Mula chose Paris as her home, and is now considered more of a French singer than an Albanian one. She constantly performs in French theaters in Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon and, of course, in Paris. In 2009/10 Inva Mula opened the Paris Opera season at the Opéra Bastille, starring in Charles Gounod's rarely performed Mireille. Inva Mula has released several albums as well as television and video recordings of her performances on DVD, including the operas La bohème, Falstaff and Rigoletto. A recording of the opera The Swallow with conductor Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra in 1997 won the Grammafon Award for "Best Recording of the Year". Until the mid-1990s, Inva Mula was married to Albanian singer and composer Pirro Tchako and at the beginning of her career used either her husband's surname or the double surname Mula-Tchako, after the divorce she began to use only her first name - Inva Mula. Inva Mula, outside the operatic scene, made a name for herself by voicing the role of Diva Plavalaguna (a tall blue-skinned alien with eight tentacles) in Jean-Luc Besson's fantasy film The Fifth Element, starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich. The singer performed the aria "Oh fair sky! .. Sweet sound" (Oh, giusto cielo! .. Il dolce suono) from the opera "Lucia di Lammermoor" by Gaetano Donizetti and the song "Diva's Dance", in which, most likely, the voice was subjected to electronically processed to achieve a height impossible for a human, although the filmmakers claim the opposite. Director Luc Besson wanted the voice of his favorite singer, Maria Callas, to be used in the film, but the quality of the available recordings was not good enough to be used on the film's soundtrack, and Inva Mula was brought in to provide the voice.

Yulia Novikova is a Russian opera singer and soprano. Yulia Novikova was born in St. Petersburg in 1983. She started playing music at the age of 4. She graduated with honors from a music school (piano and flute). For nine years she was a member and soloist of the Children's Choir of Television and Radio of St. Petersburg under the direction of S.F. Gribkov. In 2006 she graduated with honors from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov in the vocal class (teacher O.D. Kondina). During her studies at the conservatory, she performed at the opera studio the roles of Suzanne ("The Marriage of Figaro"), Serpina ("The Servant Lady"), Marfa ("The Tsar's Bride") and Violetta ("La Traviata"). Yulia Novikova made her professional debut in 2006 at the Mariinsky Theater as Flora in B. Britten's opera The Turn of the Screw (conductors V. A. Gergiev and P. A. Smelkov). Julia received her first permanent contract at the Dortmund theater when she was still a student at the conservatory. In 2006-2008 Yuliya performed at the Dortmund Theater the parts of Olympia (The Tales of Hoffmann), Rosina (The Barber of Seville), Queen of Shemakha (The Golden Cockerel) and Gilda (Rigoletto), as well as the part of the Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute) in Frankfurt Opera. In the 2008-2009 season Julia returned with the part of the Queen of the Night to the Frankfurt Opera, and also performed this part in Bonn. Also this season, Oscar ("Un ballo in maschera"), Medoro ("Furious Orlando" by Vivaldi), Blondchen ("Abduction from the Seraglio") were performed at the Bonn Opera, Gilda - in Lübeck, Olympia - at the Komisch Opera (Berlin). Season 2009-2010 began with a successful performance as Gilda in the premiere production of Rigoletto at the Berlin Comische Opera. This was followed by the Queen of the Night at the Hamburg and Vienna State Operas, at the Berlin Staatsoper, Gilda and Adina ("Love Potion") at the Bonn Opera, Zerbinetta ("Ariadne auf Naxos") at the Strasbourg Opera, Olympia at the Komisch Opera, and Rosina at Stuttgart . On September 4 and 5, 2010, Julia performed the part of Gilda in a live TV broadcast of "Rigoletto" from Mantua to 138 countries (producer A. Andermann, conductor Z. Meta, director M. Belocchio, Rigoletto P. Domingo, etc.). In the 2010-2011 season Yuliya will perform with Amina (Sleepwalker) in Bonn, Norina (Don Pasquale) in Washington, Gilda at the Komisch Opera Berlin, Olympia at the Frankfurt Opera and Oscar, Queen of the Night, Zerbinetta and Adina at the Vienna State Opera. Yulia Novikova also appears in concerts. Julia has performed with the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by J. Darlington), with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie (dir. Ch. Poppen), as well as in Bordeaux, Nancy, Paris (Champs Elysees), Carnegie Hall (New York). Solo concerts took place at the Grachten Festival in Amsterdam and the Muziekdriedaagse Festival in The Hague, a gala concert at the Budapest Opera. The nearest plans include a concert with the Bern Chamber Orchestra and a New Year's concert in Vienna. Yulia Novikova - winner and laureate of several international music competitions: - Operalia (Budapest, 2009) - first prize and audience award; - Musical debut (Landau, 2008) - winner, winner of the Emmerich Resin Prize; - New Voices (Gütersloh, 2007) - Audience Choice Award; - International Competition in Geneva (2007) - Audience Choice Award; - International Competition. Vilhelm Stenhammar (Norrköpping, 2006) - 3rd prize and prize for the best performance of contemporary Swedish music. Information from the official website of the singer Yulia Novikova http://www.julianovikova.com/

Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theater is a musical theater in Samara, Russia. The Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theater is one of the largest Russian musical theaters. The opening of the theater took place on June 1, 1931 with Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov. Outstanding Russian musicians stood at the origins of it - a student of Taneyev and Rimsky-Korsakov, conductor and composer Anton Eikhenvald, conductor of the Bolshoi Theater Ariy Pazovsky, famous Russian conductor Isidor Zak, director of the Bolshoi Theater Iosif Lapitsky. Such masters as conductors Savely Bergolts, Lev Ossovsky, director Boris Ryabikin, singers Alexander Dolsky, People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR Nikolai Poludyonny, People's Artist of Russia Viktor Chernomortsev, People's Artist of the RSFSR, future soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Natalia Shpiller, Larisa Boreiko entered their names in the history of the theater and many others. The ballet troupe was headed by Evgenia Lopukhova, a soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre, a participant in the legendary Diaghilev seasons in Paris. She opened a series of brilliant St. Petersburg choreographers who in different years headed the Samara ballet. The ballet masters of the Samara Theater were the talented choreographer, student of Agrippina Vaganova Natalya Danilova, the legendary St. Petersburg ballerina Alla Shelest, soloist of the Mariinsky Theater Igor Chernyshev, People's Artist of the USSR Nikita Dolgushin. The theater is rapidly gaining repertoire. The productions of the 1930s featured opera and ballet classics: operas by Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Dargomyzhsky, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, ballets by Tchaikovsky, Minkus, Adan. The theater also pays great attention to the modern repertoire, in accordance with the requirements of the time. In the pre-war period, the operas The Steppe by A. Eikhenwald, Tanya by Kreitner, The Taming of the Shrew by Shebalin and others were staged for the first time in the country. In its posters there are dozens of titles, from the classics of the 18th century. (“Medea” by Cherubini, “The Secret Marriage” by Cimarosa) and little-performed works by Russian composers of the 19th century. ("Servilia" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "The Enchantress" by Tchaikovsky, "The Elka" by Rebikov) to the European avant-garde of the 20th century. (“The Dwarf” by von Zemlinsky, “The Wedding” by Stravinsky, “Arlekino” by Busoni). A special page in the life of the theater is co-creation with modern domestic authors. Outstanding Russian composers Sergei Slonimsky and Andrei Eshpay, Tikhon Khrennikov and Andrei Petrov entrusted their works to our stage. The world premiere of Slonimsky's opera Visions of Ivan the Terrible, performed by the great 20th-century musician Mstislav Rostropovich in collaboration with outstanding stage masters director Robert Sturua and artist Georgy Aleksi-Meskhishvili, was a significant event far beyond Samara's cultural life. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the cultural situation in the city changed dramatically. In October 1941, the State Bolshoi Theater of the USSR was evacuated to Kuibyshev/Samara (“reserve capital”). The artistic initiative passes to the greatest masters of the Soviet opera and ballet scene. For 1941 - 1943 The Bolshoi Theater showed 14 operas and ballets in Samara. World-famous singers Ivan Kozlovsky, Maxim Mikhailov, Mark Reizen, Valeria Barsova, Natalya Shpiller, ballerina Olga Lepeshinskaya performed on the Samara stage, Samosud, Fire, Melik-Pashaev conducted. Until the summer of 1943, the collective of the Bolshoi Theater lived and worked in Kuibyshev. In gratitude for the help of local residents in this difficult time, its artists came to the Volga more than once after the war with their new works, as well as with the historical wartime repertoire. In 2005, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the staff of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia presented the Samara audience with a new meeting with their art. Tour performances and concerts (Shostakovich's ballet "The Bright Stream", Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunov", the great Victory Symphony - Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, a concert of a brass band and opera soloists) were a triumphant success. As General Director of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia A. Iksanov noted, “For the entire staff of the Bolshoi Theater, these tours are another opportunity to express their deep gratitude to the people of Samara for the fact that the Bolshoi Theater found a second home here in the most difficult wartime.” The pinnacle of the musical life of Samara in the 20th century, a truly historic event, was the performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's Seventh ("Leningrad") Symphony on the stage of the Samara Opera House. The great work, reflecting the tragic events of wartime, conveying all the greatness of the feat of Soviet soldiers, was completed by the composer in December 1941 while evacuated to Samara and performed by the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra under the direction of Samuil Samosud on March 5, 1942. The theater lives an intense life. The reconstruction is being completed, new names appear on the poster, singers and dancers win prestigious international and all-Russian competitions, new creative forces are pouring into the troupe. The theater team can be proud of the concentration of talented, bright creative individuals. Honored Artists of Russia Mikhail Gubsky and Vasily Svyatkin are soloists not only at the Samara Theatre, but also at the Bolshoi Theater of Russia and the Moscow Novaya Opera Theatre. Anatoly Nevdakh takes part in the performances of the Bolshoi Theater, Andrey Antonov successfully performs on the stages of Russian and foreign theaters. The level of the opera troupe is also proved by the presence in it of a large number of "titled" singers: 5 people's artists, 8 honored artists, 10 laureates of international and all-Russian competitions. There are many talented young people in the troupe, with whom the older generation of artists willingly shares the secrets of mastery. Since 2008, the ballet troupe of the theater has significantly raised the bar. The theater team was headed by Kirill Shmorgoner, Honored Artist of Russia, who had graced the ballet troupe of the Perm Theater for a long time. K. Shmorgoner invited to the theater a large group of his students, graduates of one of the best educational institutions in the country - the Perm Choreographic School. Young ballet dancers Ekaterina Pervushina and Viktor Malygin became laureates of the prestigious international competition "Arabesque", a whole group of Samara dancers successfully performed at the All-Russian festival "Delphic Games". In recent years, the theater has hosted several premieres that have received a great response from the audience: the operas Mozart and Salieri by Rimsky-Korsakov, The Moor by Stravinsky, The Maid by Pergolesi, Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky, Rigoletto by Verdi, Madama Butterfly" by Puccini, choreographic cantata "The Wedding" by Stravinsky, Hertel's ballet "Vain Precaution". The theater actively cooperates in these productions with Moscow masters from the Bolshoi Theatre, Novaya Opera, and other Russian theaters. Much attention is paid to staging musical fairy tales for children. Opera and ballet artists also perform on the concert stage. Among the theatre's tour routes are Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Spain, China, Russian cities. The intensive touring practice of the theater made it possible to get acquainted with the latest works and the residents of the Samara region. A bright page in the life of the theater is festivals. Among them are the Alla Shelest Classical Ballet Festival, the international festival Basses of the 21st Century, Five Evenings in Togliatti, and the Samara Spring Opera Festival. Thanks to the festival initiatives of the theatre, the Samara audience could get acquainted with the art of dozens of the greatest masters of domestic and foreign opera and ballet art. The theater's creative plans include productions of the opera "Prince Igor", the ballets "Don Quixote", "The Sleeping Beauty". By the 80th anniversary, the theater plans to show Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov, thus returning to the roots at a new stage in its historical development. A massive gray building rises on the central square of the city - according to art critics, "a grandiose monument of the late" pilonade style "to which brutal classics is added", "a vivid example of the architecture of the 30s". The authors of the project are Leningrad architects N.A. Trotsky and N.D. Katseleneggbogen, who won the competition for the creation of the Palace of Culture in 1935. The theater was located in the central part of the building. In the left wing for some time there was a regional library, in the right wing - a sports school and an art museum. In 2006, the reconstruction of the building began, which required the eviction of the sports school and the museum. By 2010, the theater's anniversary season, the reconstruction was completed. Source: official website Samara Opera and Ballet Theater

The Bastille Opera (opera de la Bastille) is a modern opera house in Paris, France. Built in 1989. Together with the Opéra Garnier they constitute the public-commercial enterprise "State Paris Opera". It is the largest opera house in Europe with a total of 2703 seats in the large hall. The proposal to build a new opera house in Paris, in addition to the existing ones, was put forward as early as 1968 by an initiative group led by composer Pierre Boulez, choreographer Maurice Béjart and director Jean Vilar. In 1982, President François Mitterrand decided to build a new opera in Paris, "modern and popular", bringing classical music to the masses, which the Opéra Garnier could no longer cope with. In 1983, an international competition was organized, in which 756 projects from more than 1,700 architects were submitted. The winner of the competition was a little-known architect from Uruguay and living in Canada, Carlos Ott. For the construction of a new opera house, a site was chosen near Place de la Bastille, which housed an inactive railway station that served the city from 1859 to 1969, which housed several exhibitions at the time of the demolition. The dismantling of Bastille Station began in 1984. The grand opening of the theater took place on July 13, 1989 - on the 200th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille in the presence of many heads of other states. The Bastille Theater opened with a performance directed by Bob Wilson's The Night Before Morning and a gala concert featuring Teresa Bergansa, Plácido Domingo, Barbara Hendricks and other opera stars. However, the theater started working on a regular basis only on March 17, 1990 with the production of Hector Berlioz's opera Les Troyens. The theater building is made mostly of gray-blue glass and is especially beautiful at night when it glows from within. The Great Hall is rectangular in shape, rather than the horseshoe shape traditional for opera houses, and the audience sits in front of the stage. The new theater has a complex system of mobile platforms with automated control - nine stages can be ready at the same time, if necessary, they can quickly change each other and switch from one show to another during the day, alternating performances. There are four halls inside the theater: a large hall with 2,703 seats, an amphitheater with 450 seats, a studio hall with 237 seats, and a Gounod hall for orchestra rehearsals. Criticism and shortcomings: Even before the start of construction, this project caused a lot of criticism and scandals. Some found the building excessively large and unwieldy, out of keeping with the surrounding architecture, and called it a "behemoth". The first years of the theater operation were accompanied by frequent failures of the automated control of stage mechanisms, later they were debugged. The hall itself is overly large and the seats are far from the stage, the stairs are too long, the sound is "cold". Due to the very rapid deterioration of the facade of the building since 1996, the outer coating began to fall off from it, which was dangerous for passers-by, and for a long time the theater was forced to be covered with a protective mesh. The state started a lawsuit against the contractors, accusing them of substandard work. The state won this process only in 2007, and began to renovate the cladding of the building that had fallen into disrepair.

The Metropolitan Opera is a musical theater at Lincoln Center in New York, New York, United States. The largest opera house in the world. It is often referred to as "The Met" for short. The theater belongs to the most famous opera stages in the world. The artistic director of the theater is James Levine. CEO - Peter Gelb. Created at the expense of the Metropolitan Opera House Company. Subsidized by wealthy firms, individuals. The Metropolitan Opera opened with a performance of Charles Gounod's Faust on October 22, 1883, with Swedish soprano Christina Nilsson as the female lead. The theater is open seven months a year: from September to April. About 27 operas are staged per season. Performances are held daily, in total about 220 performances. From May to June the theater goes on tour. In addition, in July, the theater gives free performances in the parks of New York, gathering a huge number of spectators. There are regular live radio and TV broadcasts. The orchestra and choir of the theater work on a permanent basis, and soloists and conductors are invited under a contract for a season or for certain performances. Operas are traditionally performed in their original language. The basis of the repertoire is the world classics, including Russian composers. The first Metropolitan Opera, designed by J. Cleveland Cudi, was located on Broadway, between 39th and 40th streets. In 1966, the theater moved to the new Lincoln Center in Manhattan and has one main stage and three auxiliary ones. The main auditorium has a capacity of 3,800 seats and, despite its size, is known for its excellent acoustics.

Teatro San Carlo (Real Teatro di San Carlo) is an opera house in Naples, Italy. One of the oldest operating opera houses in the world. One of the largest opera houses in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The San Carlo Theater was built by order of the Neapolitan king Charles VII (in Spain Charles III) from the Spanish branch of the Bourbon dynasty, who wanted to provide Naples with a new and larger theater, instead of the outdated San Bartolomeo theater built in 1621. San Carlo was built by the architects Giovanni Antonio Medrano and Angelo Carasale and was inaugurated on November 4, 1737 (41 years older than La Scala in Milan and 51 years older than La Fenice in Venice). The interior of the new theater was in blue and gold colors (the official colors of the Bourbons) and admired for its architecture, the auditorium had five tiers and a large royal box. The first opera staged at San Carlo was Achilles auf Skyros by Domenico Sarro, based on a play by the famous poet and playwright Pietro Metastasio. On February 12, 1816, the San Carlo theater was destroyed by fire, however, it was quickly, in nine months, rebuilt according to the project of the architect Antonio Nicolini, and less than a year later, on January 12, 1817, the opening of the new San Carlo took place with the premiere of the opera Johann Simon Mayr "Partenope's Dream". The inauguration was attended by the famous French writer Stendhal, who expressed his impression of the theater: "There is nothing in Europe comparable to this theater, nothing can give the slightest idea of ​​​​what it is ..., it dazzles the eyes, it delights soul..." In its history, the San Carlo Theater missed only one full season of 1874/75, all the rest of the many repairs and reconstructions that were made planned or unplanned, as in 1816 due to a fire, or in 1943 during World War II, when the theater suffered from bombing, or in 1969, when part of the facade collapsed due to lightning, they were held quickly and the theater did not miss seasons. Important stages in the reconstruction of the theater were in 1844, when the interior was changed and red and gold became the main colors, in 1890, when the orchestra pit was put into operation, and subsequent ones, when the theater was electrified and a new wing was attached to the building. In recent history, the theater is constantly being updated, the latest work was carried out in 2007 and 2008, during the latest restorations, all seats were completely replaced, an air conditioning system was installed, and all decorative reliefs were gilded. The number of visual places - 3285. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Neopolitan school of opera composition enjoyed great success throughout Europe, both in the field of opera buffa and opera seria. The representatives of this school were the composers Francesco Feo (1691-1761), Nicola Porpora (1686-1768), Tommaso Traetta (1727-1779), Niccolò Piccinni (1728-1800), Leonardo da Vinci (other) (1690-1730), Pasquale Anfossi (1727-1797), Francesco Durante (1684-1755), Niccolo Iomelli (1714-1774), Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801), Giovanni Paisiello (1741-1816), Nicolo Zingarelli (1752-1837), Giuseppe Gazzaniga ( 1743-1818) and many others. Naples was one of the capitals of European music and some foreign composers came specially to give the premiere of their works in San Carlo, among them Johann Adolf Hasse (who later stayed in Naples), Joseph Haydn, Johann Christian Bach, Christoph Willibald Gluck. From 1815 to 1822 Gioacchino Rossini was the musical and artistic director of the royal opera houses, including the San Carlo. Here he held the premieres of ten of his operas: "Elizabeth, Queen of England" (1815), "The Newspaper", "Othello" (1816), "Armida", (1817) "Moses in Egypt", "Ricciardo and Zoraida" (1818) , "Hermione", "Bianca and Faliero", "Eduard and Christina", "Lady of the Lake" (1819), "Mohammed II" (1820) and "Zelmira" (1822). In Naples, Rossini met his future wife, the San Carlo theater singer Isabella Colbran. A whole galaxy of famous singers worked (or regularly performed) in the theater, among them Manuel Garcia, himself a famous singer and teacher, he is the father of two legendary sopranos of his time - Maria Malibran and Pauline Viardot. Other famous singers were Clorinda Corradi, Maria Malibran, Giuditta Pasta, Giovanni Battista Rubini and two great Frenchmen - Adolphe Nourri and Gilbert Dupre. After Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, another star of Italian opera, became the artistic director of the royal opera houses. Donizetti remained in this position from 1822 to 1838 and wrote sixteen operas, including "Mary Stuart" (1834), "Roberto Devereux" (1837), "Polyeuct" (1838) and the famous "Lucia di Lammermoor" (1835). Vincenzo Belini held the premiere of "Bianca and Fernando" in San Carlo, Giuseppe Verdi presented here "Alzira" (1845) and "Louise Miller" (1849), the premiere of his third opera "Gustav III" was banned by censors (and never came out in original form, later a revised version was presented in Rome under the name "Masquerade Ball"). In the twentieth century, composers and conductors such as Giacomo Puccini, Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea worked and staged their operas in the theater.

Teatro Massimo (Italian: Il Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele) is an opera house in Palermo, Italy. The theater is named after King Victor Emmanuel II. Translated from Italian, Massimo means the largest, the greatest - the architectural complex of the theater is the largest among the buildings of opera houses in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. In Palermo, the second largest city in southern Italy, there has long been talk of the need for an opera house in the city. In 1864, the mayor of Palermo, Antonio Rudini, announced an international competition for the construction of a major opera house, which was supposed to beautify the city's appearance and raise the image of the city in the light of the recent national unity of Italy. In 1968, a well-known architect in Sicily, Giovanni Battista Filippo Basile, was selected as a result of a competition. For the new theater, a place was determined on which the church and monastery of San Giuliano were located, they, despite the protests of the Franciscan nuns, were demolished. According to legend, the "Last Mother Superior" still wanders the halls of the theater, and those who do not believe in her always stumble on one step ("the nun's step") at the entrance to the theater. Construction began with a solemn ceremony of laying the first stone on January 12, 1875, but progressed slowly, with a constant lack of funding and scandals, in 1882 it was frozen for eight years and resumed only in 1890. In 1891, the architect Giovanni Basile died before the opening of his project, the work was continued by his son Ernesto Basile. On May 16, 1897, 22 years after the start of construction, the theater opened its doors to opera lovers, the first opera staged on its stage was Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff directed by Leopoldo Mugnone. Giovani Basile was inspired by ancient Sicilian architecture and thus the theater was built in a simple neoclassical style with elements of ancient Greek temples. The monumental staircase leading to the theatre, is adorned with bronze lions carrying statues of women on their backs - the allegorical "Opera" and "Tragedy". The building is crowned with a large semicircular dome. Rocco Lentini, Ettore de Maria Begler, Michele Cortegiani, Luigi di Giovanni worked on the interior decoration of the theater, which is designed in the style of the late Renaissance. A spacious vestibule leads to the auditorium, the hall itself is in the shape of a horseshoe, used to be 7-tiered and designed for more than 3000 spectators, now with five tiers of boxes and a gallery it can accommodate 1381 seats. The first seasons were very successful. Thanks to the largest businessman and senator Ignazio Florio, who sponsored the theater and sought to make Palermo the capital of the opera, the city attracted many guests, including crowned heads, who constantly visited the theater. Leading conductors and singers have performed at the theater, starting with Enrico Caruso, Giacomo Puccini, Renata Tebaldi, and many others. In 1974, the Massimo Theater was closed for a complete restoration, but due to corruption scandals and political instability, the restoration was delayed for 23 years. On May 12, 1997, four days before the centenary, the theater was reopened with the performance of the Second Symphony by G. Mahler, but the restoration was not yet fully completed and the first opera performance was held in 1998 - "Aida" by Verdi, and the regular opera season began in 1999.

Perm Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after P.I. Tchaikovsky is one of the oldest theaters in Russia. For more than a century of its history, the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater has invariably remained the country's largest musical center, which hosts significant creative events. In the theater, which is often called the Tchaikovsky House, all stage works of the great composer have been staged. The "golden fund" of the repertoire carefully preserves the classical works of Borodin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov. The theater returns to the audience and undeservedly forgotten musical canvases. For the first time in Russia, operas were staged at the theater: “Foam of Days” by E. Denisov, “Cleopatra” by J. Massenet, “Lolita” by R. Shchedrin based on the novel by V. Nabokov, “Alcina” by G.F. Handel, "Orpheus" by C. Monteverdi, "Christ" by A. Rubinstein. The third ballet Mecca, after Moscow and St. Petersburg, is called Perm, where, next to the academic ballet troupe, there is a renowned choreographic school. Since the 70s, the Perm Ballet has been in the orbit of unflagging attention of a large audience. The unity of the performing style of the soloists and the corps de ballet is a feature of the collective. The Perm Ballet is perhaps the only troupe in the Russian Federation that consists entirely of graduates from one school. For more than a decade, the Ural stage has been a kind of "launching pad" for many artists known far beyond the borders of Russia. The creative biography of many "stars of the first magnitude" of the capital and other major theaters of the country and the world began in the Perm Theater. The names of world famous dancers - Galina Ragozina-Panova, Lyubov Kunakova, Nadezhda Pavlova, Olga Chenchikova, Marat Daukaev, Yuri Petukhov, Galina Shlyapina, Svetlana Smirnova - glorified the Perm Territory. The participation of its opera singers and ballet dancers in international festivals brought fame to the Perm Theater. The Perm Opera and Ballet Theater is the initiator and organizer of the Arabesque Open Russian Ballet Competition and the Diaghilev Seasons: Perm-Petersburg-Paris International Arts Festival. Opera and ballet performances of the Perm Theater have repeatedly become nominees and winners of the All-Russian National Theater Festival "Golden Mask". The leading soloists of the Perm Theater visited different continents of the world with performances and concert programs. Since 1973, the Perm troupe in full force went on tour to Austria, Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, England, Ireland, Holland, Spain, China, USA. In France and Cuba, Cambodia and Canada, Thailand and Egypt, Nicaragua, India and the USA - wherever the artists performed, they received critical acclaim and found loyal friends and fans. The Perm Academic Opera and Ballet Theater was created in the 19th century on the initiative of the public of the Kama region, with the participation of the city's amateur musical circle, which included the famous Diaghilev family. The official founding date of the theater is November 24, 1870. The first performance is the opera "A Life for the Tsar" by M. Glinka. “In Perm, the theater as an institution has existed for a long time. At first there was a wooden theater building on Obvinskaya Street, but it burned down in 1863. After that, a wooden theater was built, later dismantled ... For the first time, residents of the city of Perm saw a good troupe and, moreover, an opera in the winter of 1879/80 in the still unfinished stone theater. The troupe was kept by the subsequently known entrepreneur P.P. Medvedev... In 1896, a whole era begins in the history of the Perm Theatre. He is taken under his direct care by the vowels of the city duma, who decide to conduct theatrical business at the expense of the city; for the direct management of the theater, the city directorate is chosen, which takes care of inviting artists. It was decided to support the opera troupe at the expense of the city. VS Verkholantsev Brief historical and statistical essay "The City of Perm, its past and present" 1913 The first "municipal" season opened... with the production of "Aida". In total, the directorate spent six seasons, of which one was a drama, one was an opera and drama, the rest were operas. They began in September and ended before Lent. Up to a hundred or more performances took place during the season, the annual repertoire included over thirty works. Mostly Russian classics were staged - "Eugene Onegin", "The Queen of Spades", "Mazepa" by P. Tchaikovsky, "Prince Igor" by A. Borodin, "Boris Godunov" by M. Mussorgsky, "The Demon" by A. Rubinstein. In addition to them, there are such rare guests on the modern opera stage as "The Enemy Force" by A. Serov, "May Night" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, "The Stone Guest" by A. Dargomyzhsky and others. Since the mid-90s of the 19th century, Perm has been getting acquainted with choreographic art. On November 5, 1896, a performance of a small ballet by Zannenfeld "The Camp of the Hungarian Gypsies" took place. In January 1897, The Magic Flute by R. Drigo, then The Doll Fairy by I. Bayer saw the light of the Perm stage... The existence of the theater in the first two decades of the 20th century was uneven, but the opera continued to live. Entrepreneurs supported the audience's interest in the opera and the level of performances by relying on premiere singers. A. Nezhdanova, P. Petrova-Zvantseva, N. Figner, M. Maksakov, L. Sobinov and other outstanding vocalists performed in Perm in different seasons. On August 20, 1921, the first theatrical season after the Civil War opened. In the posters - "Demon", "Faust", "Aida", "Eugene Onegin", "Boris Godunov", "Rigoletto", "The Barber of Seville". By the end of the 1920s, Perm became one of those centers of opera art, where outstanding vocalists and talented conductors willingly come. So in the 1925/26 season, Permians admired the inimitable Carmen F. Mukhtarova, and the next season - Lensky I. Kozlovsky. Throughout the spring of 1929, S. Lemeshev was on the staff of the theater. In 1925, the first theater studio was founded in Perm, which began training ballet dancers, as well as drama, choir and orchestra. On February 2, 1926, A. Adam's ballet "Giselle" was staged by the studio. On October 20, 1931, the premiere of Swan Lake took place (choreographer O. Chaplygin). In the pre-war years, the ballet troupe was led by choreographers of dissimilar trends and schools. Perm balletomanes remembered for a long time N. Goncharova, R. Minaeva, B. Korshunova, A. Bronsky, A. Ezersky and other dancers in the performances of those years. During the war years, the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater evacuated to Perm performed on the stage of the theater. Kirov. The Perm troupe did not stop working in the cities of the region ... Why did the former Mariinsky Theater end up in Perm, then Molotov? ... The idea belonged to the chief conductor A. Pazovsky, who took his first steps into great art here ... The local authorities met this proposal with understanding. Leningraders worked here for three winters and two summers - a long time for the history of the city's musical culture... The school of the world-famous Mariinsky Ballet ended up in Perm, which subsequently contributed to the creation of the Perm Choreographic School... based on the materials of the book by M. Stepanov, Y. Silin " 125 years. Perm Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. P.I. Tchaikovsky” in 1995. In 1931, the Perm theater was named “2nd State Opera of the Urals”. In the post-war years, the main creative principles of the Perm theater, laid down by its entire prehistory, begin to assert themselves. One of the fundamental principles is the renewal of the repertoire at the expense of works rarely performed on the stage. The revival of the unfamiliar, forgotten, for various reasons not accepted by the Russian stage is typical for all periods of the theater's life. The Perm Theater opened to the public the great works of S. Prokofiev: in the 1981-82 season. performed the author's two-night version of S. Prokofiev's opera "War and Peace" and for the first time in the USSR gave stage life to the opera "Fiery Angel" (1984). The opening of many cuts of the opera "War and Peace" enlarged, made the national-patriotic line of the opera larger, the dramaturgy of the whole became more harmonious and logical, the characters of some of the main characters became more multifaceted. This production went down in history, and was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation. M.I. Glinka. Another principle of the theatre's creative life is work on works by contemporary composers. In Perm, they received a ticket to the life of the opera “Masquerade” by D. Tolstoy and “The Sisters” by D. Kabalevsky, the ballets “Stone Flower” by A. Fridlinder, “Bela” and “Grushenka” by B. Mashkov, “The Shore of Happiness” by A. Spadavecchia. Among the most interesting creative principles of the theater is an attempt to master the entire opera and ballet heritage of P.I. Tchaikovsky, a native of the Kama region. In 1974, the Perm Academic Theater named after P.I. Tchaikovsky invited the best soloists from many theaters in the country and all his spectators to the First Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Festival. This holiday was successfully repeated in 1983 and 1988. The Perm Theater has become a true Tchaikovsky House. The "Golden Age" of the Perm Ballet, generously donated by N. Boyarchikov (chief choreographer of the theatre, student of famous Russian choreographers F. Lopukhov and B. Fenster) to theatergoers of the 70s, has become an exciting legend for subsequent generations. Among his productions are such diverse in visual language as "The Wonderful Mandarin" by B. Bartok, "Three Cards", "Romeo and Juliet", "Tsar Boris" by S. Prokofiev, "Orpheus and Eurydice" by A. Zhurbin. N. Pavlova, O. Chenchikova, G. Shlyapina, M. Daukaev, L. Fominykh, R. Kuzmicheva, Yu. Petukhov, G. Sudakov, L. Shipulina, K. Shmorgoner, O. Levenkov, V. Dubrovin. In 1965, the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater was named after P.I. Tchaikovsky, and in 1969 - the status of "academic" theater. The creative principles formed in the post-war years determined the artistic strategy of the theater in the difficult 1990s. In the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater, rare operas for the Russian stage sounded: Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, which had not been staged for many decades, V.-A. Mozart, The Flying Dutchman by R. Wagner, N. Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Kashchei the Deathless, which is practically not going on in the country. In 1996, being the chief director of the theatre, G. Isahakyan staged the original performance “Three Faces of Love”, which included the one-act operas “Master Pedro’s Raek” by M. de Falla, “Breasts of Tiresias” by F. Poulenc and “Maddalena”, the first opera by the twenty-year-old S. Prokofiev, whose stage language largely determined the modern “ operatic" appearance of Perm. In Perm, for the first time, Alexander Tchaikovsky's opera The Three Prozorov Sisters by A.P. Chekhov and his one-act ballet The Queen of Spades, a paraphrase to the music of P. Tchaikovsky, saw the limelight. Joint productions with American choreographers, directors and artists from Germany, Spain, Switzerland and other countries and continents have become a good tradition. "Peer Gynt" by E. Grieg was staged by the American choreographer Ben Stevenson, "Concerto Baroque" by J.S. Bach is a gift from the G. Balanchine Foundation. The Russian-Spanish production of the opera Salome by R. Strauss became a notable event at the International Festival in Madrid in the autumn of 1995. The Russian opera The Golden Cockerel by N. Rimsky-Korsakov was staged by the Swiss director D. Kagi and the German artist S. Pasterkamp. To the 200th anniversary of A.S. Pushkin, a unique program "Opera Pushkiniana" was prepared. The group of directors who worked on "Pushkiniana Opera" was awarded the State Prize of Russia in the field of literature and art in 1999. As part of the Diaghilev Seasons 2005, operas based on the plots of A.S. Pushkin (The Miserly Knight, The Stone Guest, Mozart and Salieri, During the Plague) and Boris Godunov, which made up this cycle, went on for a whole day without a break. In 1990, the first Open Arabesque Ballet Competition was held, artistic directors of which were Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maksimova. For 20 years, every two years, dancers from all over the world have gathered in Perm to take part in a ballet competition. Young singers from around the world participated in the First International Competition for Young Opera Singers, held in Perm in 1993. One of the members of the jury of the competition were O. Borodina and D. Hvorostovsky, winners of the First All-Russian Competition for Young Opera Singers, held in Perm in 1987. The national theater award "Golden Mask" for the best female and male role in 1996 was awarded to Tatyana Kuindzhi and Anzor Shomakhia - performers of the main roles in the Perm production of G. Donizetti's opera "Don Pasquale". In 1998, this prestigious award was received for the scenography of the play The Queen of Spades. Today the theater is headed by: artistic director - holder of the Order of Friendship, laureate of the National Theater Award "Golden Mask" Teodor Currentzis, chief conductor - Honored Artist of Russia, People's Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan Valery Platonov, chief guest conductor - Honored Artist of Russia, laureate of the State Prize of the Republic Belarus, winner of the National Theater Award "Golden Mask" Alexander Anisimov, chief choreographer - Alexei Miroshnichenko, chief choirmaster - Dmitry Batin, chief designer - Elena Solovieva. Well-known stage designers of Russia and the world cooperate with the theater - Y. Ustinov, I. Akimova, V. Okunev, Y. Kharikov, A. Kozhenkova, E. Heydebrecht, Y. Cooper and many others. The "golden fund" of the theater's repertoire, as before, is classics, productions are constantly updated, preserving not a museum, but a modern art form. Russian classics are represented by A. Borodin's operas "Prince Igor", N. Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Tsar's Bride", "The Snow Maiden". Popular operas by G. Verdi, V.A. Mozart, R. Leoncavallo. In cooperation with the George Balanchine Foundation, the long-term Russian-American project "Choreography of George Balanchine on the Perm Stage" continues. The Perm audience also got acquainted with the choreography of his younger contemporary, the outstanding American choreographer Jerome Robbins. Within the framework of the Russian-American cultural project "George Balanchine's Choreography on the Perm Stage", the one-act ballets "La Sonnambula" by V. Rieti, "Donizetti Variations" (2001), "Ballet Imperial" to the music of the Second Piano Concerto by P. Tchaikovsky were staged (2002), Concerto Baroque to the music of a concerto for two violins and string orchestra by I.S. Bach and "Serenade" to the music of "Serenade for String Orchestra" by P. Tchaikovsky "Ballet Imperial" in 2004 became the winner of the "Golden Mask" festival as the best ballet performance. In 2005, a unique project “The most grandiose Swan Lake in the world” was carried out together with the Dutch company Stardust. At the turn of the millennium, the theater increasingly confirms its authority as a pioneer, continuing and enriching the traditions of the "modern opera laboratory". In 2001, the premiere of J. Massenet's opera "Cleopatra" took place, which has never been performed in Russia, and is almost unknown in the world. In 2004, for the first time in Russia, the magic opera “Alcina” by G. F. Handel, staged for the first time in Russia, the first experience of performing an old opera in the Perm Theater, opened up new facets of the wonderful opera soloists. In 2007, in the year of the 400th anniversary of C. Monteverdi's opera "Orpheus", this opera was staged on the Perm stage. According to the Moscow critic Dmitry Morozov, “Georgy Isahakyan staged, perhaps, his best performance and made a real artistic breakthrough. Orpheus is not just the first production of Monteverdi's masterpiece in Russia, but also the first success of our theater on the field of the old opera. ... "Orpheus" turned out to be the best and certainly the most harmonious musical performance of the year. As part of the Diaghilev Seasons 2007 festival, for the first time in the world, the opera by N. Sidelnikov "Chertogon", arousing great interest among festival guests, professional musicians and critics. Significant events of recent years are the showing in Moscow at the invitation of the Theater of Nations of the performances "Lolita" and "Cleopatra", the performance on the famous stage of the Mariinsky Theater with the ballet program of J. Balanchine. In 2004, the opera troupe performed at the festival of contemporary art "SAKRO ART" in Lokkum with the world premiere of A. Shchetinsky's opera "The Bestiary". The performance was also presented at the Theater of Nations in Moscow and at the theater festival in Yaroslavl. In the spring of 2006 and 2007, the performances of the Perm Theater - "Carmen" by J. Bizet, "The Nightingale" by I. Stravinsky, "Cinderella, or the Tale of Cinderella" by J. Massenet and "... by the name of the Little Mermaid" by A. Dvorak - again became nominees for the Golden Mask. The troupe's tour performances in Moscow and St. Petersburg receive a great response. The participation of Perm artists in the Stars of the White Nights festival on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, in the music festivals Baltic Seasons in Kaliningrad, Panorama of Russian Opera Houses in Omsk, Crescendo in the capital, on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, increased the glory of the Perm theater . In January 2008, the tour of the Perm Opera in America was a huge success on the stage of the famous Carnegie Hall, which once opened to the sound of an orchestra conducted by P. I. Tchaikovsky. Now the Perm Theater, named after P. I. Tchaikovsky, presented the concert "Tchaikovsky known and unknown" with arias and scenes from such operas by the great composer as "The Queen of Spades", "Cherevichki", "The Maid of Orleans", "Eugene Onegin", "Iolanta", "Oprichnik", "Ondine", "Enchantress", "Mazepa". The performances of the Perm troupe met with a very warm welcome from the demanding New York audience and received a wide response in the American press. Perm traditionally hosts the Arabesque Open Competition of Russian Ballet Dancers, headed by Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maksimova. In 2003, under the auspices of UNESCO, the first International Festival "Diaghilev's Seasons: Perm - Petersburg - Paris" was held. One of the first festivals in Russia that unites different types of art under the sign of creativity and inspiration. The first premiere of the 137th season was A. Rubinstein's spiritual opera "Christ" (dir. Georgy Isahakyan), staged for the first time on the Russian stage. In February 2009, the premiere of the opera "Othello" directed by V. Petrov, who made his debut as a musical theater director, took place. The Russian and world premiere of the opera One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, which appeared thanks to the creative collaboration of G. Isahakyan and composer A. Tchaikovsky and the good will of A. I. Solzhenitsyn, was held as part of the IV Diaghilev Seasons festival. This production opened up for the operatic art the "camp" theme, which had hardly been touched upon before. At the end of March, the premieres of two modern one-act ballets took place: Medea (choreographer Y. Possokhov) and Ring (choreographer A. Miroshnichenko). Specially for Diaghilev's Seasons, ballets in classical choreography by M. Fokine, one of the legendary choreographers of Diaghilev's Russian Seasons, were revived: Polovtsian Dances and the miniature ballet The Vision of the Rose. It was these performances that were presented by Perm artists at the Bolshoi Theater at the celebration of the centenary of Diaghilev's Russian Seasons, which took place on May 30. The Perm Opera and Ballet Theater took part in the National Theater Festival "Golden Mask-2009" with the ballet performance "Corsair" (choreography by Marius Petipa, updated by director from St. Petersburg V. Medvedev) and the opera "Orpheus" (director G. Isahakyan), which premiered in November 2007. "Orpheus" was awarded two Golden Masks: for the best director (stage director G. Isahakyan) and for the best set design (stage designer Ernst Heydebrecht). A year later, the theater took part in the festival with the ballet performance Medea (choreographer Yuri Posokhov) and the opera One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (directed by Georgy Isahakyan). The latter was awarded the "Golden Mask" in the nomination "The best work of a conductor", the award was presented to the chief conductor of the theater Valery Platonov. Source: Tetra official website

Donetsk National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. A.B. Solovyanenko is an opera house in Donetsk, Ukraine. It was created in 1932 in the city of Lugansk on the basis of the Mobile Opera House of the Right-Bank Ukraine. In the documents of the People's Commissariat of Education of Ukraine, from March 15, 1932, it is proposed to transfer the Mobile Opera to the disposal of the Donetsk Theater Trust for permanent service to the population of Donbass. On September 1, 1932, the opera "Prince Igor" by A. Borodin opened the first theatrical season. The artistic director and director of the theater was the Honored Artist of the Republic Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolyubov, the music director and chief conductor of the theater was the Honored Artist of the Republic Alexander Gavrilovich Erofeev. The theater worked: conductor Max Cooper, director Alexander Zdikhovsky, choreographer Mark Zeitlin, artists - Oles Vlasyuk, Eduard Lyakhovich. In the repertoire of the theater in 1935: "The Queen of Spades", "Eugene Onegin" by P. Tchaikovsky, "Carmen" by J. Bizet, "Faust" Sh Gounod, "Rigoletto", "La Traviata", "Aida" by G. Verdi, "Madama Butterfly" by G. Puccini, "Pagliacci" by R. Leoncavallo, "The Barber of Seville" by G. Rossini, "The Cossack beyond the Danube" by S. Gulak- Artemovsky, "Tales of Hoffmann" by J. Offenbach; ballets: "Raymonda", "Red Poppy" by R. Glier, "Ferenji" by B. Yanovsky. The theater included 40 choir artists, 45 ballet dancers, 45 orchestra artists, 3 soloists. In total, the theater employed 225 people. By 1940, a group of talented masters of the opera stage was determined: conductors E.M. Shekhtman, A.F. Kowalski; director A.A. Zdikhovsky, artist E.I. Lyakhovich, P.I. Zlochevsky. The first performers who brought fame to the theater were Yuri Sabinin, Nadezhda Lototskaya, Alexander Martynenko, Pavel Nikitenko, Tamara Sobetskaya, Tamara Podolskaya and others. In 1936, the construction of the theater began in Donetsk. Ludwig Ivanovich Kotovsky was appointed the chief architect of the construction, Solomon Davidovich Krol was appointed the chief engineer. On April 12, 1941, the Donetsk Musical Theater opens its season in a new theater building, designed by architect Ludwig Ivanovich Kotovsky, with the premiere of M.I. Glinka "Ivan Susanin" (stage directors: directors I.M. Lapitsky, Y.S. Presman, conductor A.F. Kovalsky, artist E.I. Lyakhovich). Today the theater building is an architectural monument. The first director and artistic director of the theater was Yosif Lapitsky, an outstanding opera director, a follower of the Stanislavsky system in the musical theater, Honored Artist of the RSFSR The first artists arrived at the Donetsk Theater from Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv, Lugansk and Vinnitsa. The orchestra included the best musicians of the Luhansk and Vinnitsa Opera and Ballet Theaters, the Stalin Regional Philharmonic. From the first days of the organization of the team, work was carried out with the audience: visiting performances, conversations, concerts. New productions of opera and ballet performances were carried out. The repertoire of 1941 included: C. Gounod's opera Faust, premiered on May 4, 1941, R. Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci, premiered on May 22, G. Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville, premiered in June . On August 7, 1941, the premiere of the first ballet performance "Laurencia" by A. Crane took place. Nina Goncharova, later Honored Artist of Ukraine, danced the part of Laurencia. During the Great Patriotic War, the theater staff was evacuated to the Kyrgyz Republic (village of Sazanovka), and in June 1942 moved to the city of Przhevalsk, where he continued to work on the creation of new performances and conducted concert activities in military units and hospitals. In April 1944, the theater returned from evacuation. And already in September 1944, the theater premiered A. Borodin's opera "Prince Igor ". "Polovtsian Dances" in the opera was staged by the choreographer of the Bolshoi Theater, Honored Artist of the Republic Kasyan Goleizovsky. The theater becomes the center of the musical culture of the Donetsk region, the stage for Ukrainian and foreign, classical and modern, opera and ballet art, classical operetta, musical performances for children. In 1946, a choreographic studio was organized at the theater, which was headed by avila Claudia Vasina (soloist of the National Opera of Ukraine). Thanks to this studio, the Donetsk troupe was replenished with young artists, which contributed to the staging of ballet performances. Significant success was achieved by the ballet troupe of the theater under the leadership of the chief choreographer of the theater A.P. Girman. In 1947, the first ballet performances took place - B. Asafiev's ballet "The Fountain of Bakhchisaray", which was in the repertoire of the theater for 38 years, and "Lileya" by K. Dankevich. In 1948, the premiere of P. Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" took place. In September 1947, the Donetsk Russian Musical Theater was renamed the Stalin State Russian Opera and Ballet Theater. In 1961, it was renamed the Donetsk State Russian Opera and Ballet Theater. In creative circles In the former USSR, the Donetsk theater was called the “laboratory of modern opera.” A great merit in this is the chief director of the theater, People's Artist of Ukraine Oleksandr Zdikhovsky, who during the years of his work at the theater staged more than 70 opera and musical performances. For the first time in Ukraine, it was on the stage of the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater that operas were staged: "Betrothal in a Monastery", "Semyon Kotko" by S. Prokofiev, "Don Giovanni" by W. A. ​​Mozart, "Andre Chenier" by W. Giordano, "Yaroslav the Wise ” Y. Meitus and others. The Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater was one of the first in Ukraine to turn to the works of modern Ukrainian composers, having staged the performances “Sorochinsky Fair”, “Oksana” based on the poem by T. Shevchenko, “Slip”, “Handy” Homolyaks, "Marusya Boguslavka" by A. Sveshnikov, "The Fox Song" by N. Skorulskaya, "Nezradzhena Love" by L. Kolodub, "Katerina" by N. Arkas, "Lileya" by K. Dankevich, "Zaporozhets beyond the Danube" by S. Gulak- Artemovsky, “Natalka Poltavka” by N. Lysenko. On the stage of the Donetsk Theater, performances by composers of the national republics were staged: “Shuralle” by F. Yarullin, “Keto and Kote” by V. Dumbadze, “Spartak” by A. Khachaturian, “A Thousand and One Nights” F. Amirova and others. The glory and pride of the theater in different years were famous artists: Y. Sabinin, E. Gorchakova, T. Podolskaya, A. Kolobov, A. Galenkin, Yu. Gulyaev, A. Korobeichenko, N Momot, V. Zemlyansky, G. Kalikin, R. Kolesnik, M. Vedeneva, A. Boytsov, director - A. Zdikhovsky, artists - V Moskovchenko, B. Kupenko, V. Spevyakin; conductor - T. Mikitka, and on the stage of the Donetsk Theater in different years danced and sang such luminaries and stage masters as People's Artists of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozlovsky, Sergey Lemeshev, Maria Bieshu, Olga Lepeshinskaya, Marina Semenova, K. Shulzhenko, A. Solovyanenko and many others. other. November 2, 1977 the theater was awarded the title of "academic". In 1992, the school of choreographic skills of Vadim Pisarev was established at the theater. By the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated December 9, 1999, the theater was named after A. B. Solovyanenko. Since 1993, the theater has been hosting the international festival "Stars of the World Ballet", the founder and artistic director of which is Vadim Pisarev, People's Artist of Ukraine, laureate of international ballet competitions in Moscow, Helsinki, Paris, Jackson. Now Vadim Pisarev is the artistic director of the theater and focuses on the traditions and productions of classical ballet. Over the years, about 300 of the strongest dancers from 25 countries of the world have taken part in the festival. In November 2009, the XVI International Festival "Stars of the World Ballet" took place. In 2009, the theater hosted the VI International Festival of Children's Ballet Performances "Grand Pa" - the youngest and the only one in Ukraine. Created by the efforts of the theater management, "Grand Pa" already has its own history and its fans. Pupils of different choreographic schools from Ukraine, countries of near and far abroad take part in the festival. Today, the theater's ballet troupe employs already recognized masters and talented young people who have won recognition at international ballet competitions. Talented and experienced tutors work with the group of artists: the chief choreographer of the theater, People's Artist of Ukraine E. Khasyanova, People's Artist of Ukraine G. Kirillina, Honored Artist of Ukraine E. Ogurtsova. Spectators of many cities and republics of the former Soviet Union, as well as abroad: Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Sweden, Austria, Norway are familiar with the opera and ballet art of the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. The ballet troupe of the theater is invited to tour the USA, England, Japan, China, Korea; opera troupe, symphony orchestra and choir - to Italy, Spain, Switzerland. The theater choir, under the direction of the theater’s chief choirmaster, People’s Artist of Ukraine Lyudmila Streltsova, in addition to participating in theater tours, has repeatedly toured with a large concert program, including works of world choral classics, in Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, France, etc. Today, the theater choir is recognized as one of the best on Ukraine. The repertoire of the theater includes performances that are not available in any other opera theater in Ukraine: "Bogdan Khmelnitsky" by K. Dankevich, "Falstaff", "Love Potion" by G. Donizetti. In 2009, the theater was given the status of "national". Theater building. Theater built according to the project of the architect L. Kotovsky, who sought to achieve a solemn monumentality of forms, convincing expressiveness and new planning solutions.Reworking the Renaissance techniques of composition, built on calm grandeur and harmonious proportions of volumes, the theater building is crowned with bas-reliefs and three-dimensional sculpture, which emphasize and complete the main architectural The theater building was originally designed for dramatic performances.After the decision to create a musical theater, a number of adjustments were made to certain planning decisions during the construction process.The architecture of the theater was designed in the classical style.The main facade with a loggia faces the theater square.The height of the facade is one hundred rony area of ​​about 30 meters. The building is located along the axis of Teatralny Avenue, between Artem Street and Pushkin Boulevard. The square and the staircase provide a convenient approach to the theater from three sides. The auditorium, foyer, ceilings and walls of the theater are lavishly decorated with stucco and corresponding light gilding. Sculptural busts of composers, writers and decorative vases are installed in separate niches in the foyer. The auditorium is designed as a parterre for 650 seats and a mezzanine for 320 seats, with small balconies. Above the mezzanine and balconies of the auditorium, there are busts of prominent composers and poets in niches. The form of arrangement of rows of seats in the stalls and on the mezzanine is such that it provides good visibility. In the center of the ceiling of the hall is a large crystal chandelier. The theater has a mechanized stage, the area of ​​the main stage is 560 sq. m. In 1989-1994. the theater was undergoing reconstruction and selective overhaul.

Italy, which gave the world such great composers as Paganini, Vivaldi, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, is a country of classical music. Italy has also inspired many foreigners: for example, Richard Wagner created his Parsifal during his stay in Ravello, which brought this city, where the famous music festival is now held, international fame. The musical seasons open, depending on the theatre, from November to December and are an important event in Italian and international musical life. TIO.BY and the Italian National Tourism Agency have prepared a selection of which of the many Italian theaters to choose. We have attached a link to the program for each theater.

La Scala theater in Milan

One of the most famous theaters is undoubtedly Milan's La Scala Theatre. Every year, the opening of its season becomes a high-profile event with the participation of famous people from the world of politics, culture and show business.

The theater was created at the behest of the Austrian Queen Maria Teresa after the fire that destroyed the city's Royal Theater of Reggio Ducale in 1776. The seasons of La Scala are one of the most significant events in the cultural life of Milan. The program alternates opera and ballet, as well as the names of Italian and foreign composers.

The program of the season is available here.

Teatro La Fenice in Venice

Not far behind La Scala and the Venetian opera house La Fenice, built on Campo San Fantin square in the San Marco quarter. Translated from Italian, the theater is called "Phoenix" - precisely because it was reborn twice after fires, like a fabulous phoenix bird, from the ashes. The last restoration was completed in 2003.

It hosts an important opera salon and the International Festival of Contemporary Music, as well as the annual New Year's Concert. Each of the seasons is rich and interesting, and its program combines works of classical and modern repertoire. Please check the season's schedule before visiting.

Royal Theater in Turin

The Royal Theater of the Teatro Regio in Turin was built at the behest of Victor Amadeus of Savoy. The facade of the building of the XVIII century, along with other residences of the Savoy dynasty, is recognized as a UNESCO monument.

The opera and ballet season begins in October and ends in June, and every year you can find all kinds of musical events on the poster: concerts of choral and symphonic music, chamber music evenings, performances at the Teatro Piccolo Reggio, intended for new audiences and for family viewing, as well as a festival "MITO - Musical September".

Rome also offers opera and ballet lovers many beautiful encounters. The most important center of classical music is the Rome Opera, also known as the Costanzi Theatre, after its creator, Domenico Costanzi. Pietro Mascagni was a frequent guest of this theater, as well as the artistic director of the 1909-1910 season. Ballet lovers will be interested to know that on April 9, 1917, the Italian premiere of the ballet The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky, performed by the artists of the Russian Ballet troupe Sergei Diaghilev, took place here.

There are many opera performances on the playbill of this theater, but great attention is also paid to ballet.
If the winter seasons of the Rome Opera are held in an old building in Piazza Beniamino Gigli, then since 1937 the stunning archaeological site of the Baths of Caracalla has become the venue for its open-air summer seasons. . Opera performances staged on this stage are a huge success with the public, especially with tourists who are delighted with the combination of this wonderful place with opera performances.

Teatro San Carlo in Naples

The most important theater in the Campania region is, of course, the San Carlo Theater in Naples. It was built in 1737 at the behest of King Charles of the Bourbon dynasty, who wished to create a new theater representing royal power. San Carlo took the place of the small theater of San Bartolomeo, and the project was entrusted to the architect, Colonel of the Royal Army Giovanni Antonio Medrano and the former director of the San Bartolomeo Theater Angelo Carazale. Ten years after the theater was built, on the night of February 13, 1816, the building was destroyed by fire, which left only the outer walls and a small extension intact. What we see today is a reconstruction followed by redevelopment.

This wonderful theater always welcomes opera lovers with a very rich program, which often represents a journey into the Neapolitan operatic tradition and the return of the great classics of the symphonic repertoire, including those read through the prism of a new perception and with the participation of world celebrities. Every season on the stage of Europe's oldest opera house there are bright debuts and wonderful returns.

Of course, it is simply impossible to describe all the splendor of theatrical Italy. But we want to advise you a few more theaters with programs that deserve attention.

Philharmonic Theater in Verona; season's program at the link.

Teatro Comunale in Bologna; programs of opera, music and ballet seasons.

Theater Carlo Felice in Genoa; programs of musical, opera and ballet seasons.

Royal Theater in Parma; season program link

Teatro Comunale in Treviso; season program link

Giuseppe Verdi Opera House in Trieste; season program link

Concert Hall Auditorium in the Music Park in Rome; season's program

Surprisingly, the largest European theater is not in London or even in Vienna, but in Naples. The Royal Theater of Naples or Teatro San Carlo has a capacity of 3285 people.

In addition, it is the oldest operating theater in the world. The San Carlo Opera House was opened in 1737 by King Charles of Bourbon. Before the construction of La Scala in Milan, this opera house was the most prestigious theater in Italy.

Many operas were staged here, including the famous works of Gioacchino Rossini. In the twentieth century, composers and conductors such as Giacomo Puccini, Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea worked and staged their operas in the theater.

Teatro alla Scala (La Scala), Milan

Despite the fact that Milan's La Scala theater cannot boast of outstanding statistical records, it is perhaps the most famous stage in the world.

The world famous Milanese opera Teatro alla Scala was built in 1776-1778 on the site of the church of Santa Maria della Scala, from where the name of the theater itself comes from. The new venue was opened on August 3, 1778 with a performance of Antonio Salieri's opera Recognized Europe.

During World War II the theater was destroyed. After the restoration of its original appearance by the engineer L. Secchi, the theater was reopened in 1946. Now the La Scala auditorium consists of 2,015 seats.

To perform in this theater is an honor for any artist; the best of the best have been coming here since the 18th century. The names of many of the world's great opera composers are closely associated with La Scala, including Rossini, Donizetti and Verdi.

La Scala houses not only the opera company, but also the choir, ballet and symphony orchestra of the same name. A museum has been organized in the foyer, which displays paintings, sculptures, costumes and historical documents related to the history of opera and theater.

By the way, when visiting the theater, it is worth remembering that it is customary to come to La Scala in black clothes.

(Royaloperatictheatre), London

Few people can argue with Italy in opera art, but modern theater was revived in Britain.

Theater Royal Covent Garden is considered one of the most famous venues in the world. The first theater on this site was built in 1732. After the fires of 1808 and 1856, the building was completely destroyed. The current theater building was designed by Barry (the son of the architect who built the Parliament) in 1858.

Here, in 1892, for the first time in the UK, Wagner's grandiose opera Der Ring des Nibelungen was performed under the baton of the outstanding composer and conductor Gustav Mahler. The building is now home to the Royal Opera and Ballet Company, although it is often hosted by touring opera and ballet theaters from around the world.

In December 1999, the theater was reopened after reconstruction, which made it possible to significantly expand the auditorium. There is also a new foyer in the Flower Hall, where concerts are regularly held. Unlike the London Coliseum (National Opera), where all operas are performed in English, regardless of the original, at the Royal Opera everything is performed in the language in which the opera was written.

(Paris Opera or Opera Garnier), Paris

The Paris State Opera House has been the heart of French musical and theatrical culture for many years. It is currently called the National Academy of Music and Dance. The theater was opened on January 5, 1875, it also houses a ballet school that has existed since 1713 and is considered the oldest in Europe.

The building is located in the Palais Garnier in the IX arrondissement of Paris, at the end of Opera Avenue, near the metro station of the same name. The building is considered a benchmark for eclectic Beaux Arts architecture. It refers to the era of major transformations of the city, successfully implemented by Napoleon III and Prefect Haussmann. The building of the Grand Opera is striking in the complexity of the decor and somewhat excessive luxury, the same applies to the interior of the theater.

The lobby of the main staircase is one of the most famous places in the Opéra Garnier. Lined with marble of different colors, it contains a double flight of stairs leading to the theater foyer and the floors of the theater hall. The main staircase is also a theater, the stage where, in the days of the crinolines, the chosen audience defiled. Various musical allegories are depicted on the four parts of the painted ceiling. At the bottom of the stairs are two bronze floor lamps - female figures holding bouquets of light.

The large foyer was conceived by Garnier on the model of the front galleries of old castles. The play of mirrors and windows visually gives the gallery even more space. On the magnificent ceiling, painted by Paul Baudry, there are plots of musical history, and the main decorative element is the lyre.

The red and gold Italian-style auditorium is in the shape of a horseshoe. It is lit by a huge crystal chandelier, and the ceiling was painted in 1964 by Marc Chagall. The hall accommodates 1900 seats, trimmed with red velvet. A magnificent curtain made of painted fabric imitates red drapery with gold galloons and tassels.

(Vienna State Opera House), Vienna

The Vienna State Opera is the leading opera company in Austria. The building itself, in which it is located now, was built in 1869, but the first performances of the opera troupe were given 2 centuries earlier. They were held in the royal palace, as well as on the stage of other theaters.

The theater opened on May 25 with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. The auditorium has 1313 seats, but there are also 102 standing places.

The facade of the Vienna Opera is richly decorated, it depicts fragments from the opera "The Magic Flute", written by Mozart. The heyday of the theater is associated with the name of the outstanding Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler.

Since 1964, the opera house has been hosting performances of the world-famous ballet Swan Lake, the main role in which for many years was performed by the talented choreographer Rudolf Nureyev, whose fans have become many residents and guests of Vienna.

Every year in February, the building is transformed, the most famous ball in Austria is held here, and at night both the stage and the auditorium turn into a huge dance floor, where numerous couples are circling in a waltz.

, Moscow

The State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia (GABT RF), or simply the Bolshoi Theater, is one of the largest in Russia and one of the most significant opera and ballet theaters in the world. It is customary to conduct the history of the theater from March 1776.

During the war with Napoleon, the theater building burned down, so in 1821 the construction of the theater began on the original site. It reopened three years later on August 20, 1856.

The next reconstruction was made already in the XXI century. The Opera House resumed its work in 2012 after reconstruction. The new seats for the auditorium repeat the appearance of the chairs of the pre-Soviet era, the number of spectator seats has also returned to the previous number. Chairs and armchairs have become more comfortable, the width of the aisles has increased.

The décor of the auditorium has been restored as Kavos originally intended. It took 4.5 kg of gold to gild papier-mâché stucco elements. By special order for the Bolshoi Theater, an organ was made and delivered from Belgium.

Perhaps the most famous productions of the theater are the ballets "Swan Lake" and "The Golden Age" directed by Grigorovich.

, St. Petersburg

The Mariinsky Theater traces its history back to the Bolshoi Theater founded in 1783 by order of Empress Catherine the Great. The Mariinsky Theater itself, named after the wife of Alexander II, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, opened on October 2, 1860 with Mikhail Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar.

In 1883-1896, large-scale restoration work was carried out in the building of the Mariinsky Theater under the guidance of architect V. Schroeter. As a result of the work, the acoustic conditions of the stage and the auditorium were significantly improved, the necessary extensions were erected, and magnificent interiors were created, which brought the Mariinsky Theater fame as one of the most beautiful theaters not only in Russia, but throughout the world.

For more than a century, the Mariinsky Theater has been a symbol of Russian theatrical culture. The names of such well-known figures of the Russian stage as F. Chaliapin, F. Stravinsky, G. Ulanova, A. Pavlova, R. Nureyev, M. Baryshnikov and many others are associated with the Mariinsky Theater.

The world-famous productions of the Mariinsky Theater, such as Swan Lake, Eugene Onegin, The Nutcracker, have been recognized as classics of world art.

If you have ever been to Italy, then you know what the inhabitants of the Apennine Peninsula are proud of. The Uffizi Gallery and the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain in Rome, St. Mark's Basilica and the Grand Canal in Venice. Does this list seem to be missing something? That's right, Milan's La Scala, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, is missing.

affectionate name

For those who are a little familiar with the Italian language, the name of the La Scala theater may surprise you. Indeed, the Italian word skala, translated into Russian, means, oddly enough, an ordinary staircase. But in fact, the theater got its name from the church of Santa Maria della Scala, on the site of which it was built. And the church was so christened in honor of the powerful patroness, one of the rulers of Verona, who bore the surname Scaliger.

One million lire for a new theater

In the 70s of the 18th century, the Royal Ducal Theater already existed in Milan. But in 1776, it was consumed by fire, so the inhabitants of the city had to think about creating a new theater - they did not want to lose the glory of the capital of the Italian opera. With the consent of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, the famous architect Giuseppe Piermarini was commissioned to design a new building on the site of the church.

In the 18th century, the Royal Ducal Theater already existed in Milan.

The theater cost the city almost a million lire, which by the standards of that time was a huge amount! 90 of the city's most eminent aristocrats divided the costs among themselves and forked out. It took the architect Piermarini and his assistants two years to create a brilliant example of the neoclassical style, and already in 1778 the theater was opened to visitors.

La Scala theater building

Center of Milanese life

From its very opening, La Scala fell in love with the audience. The theater hall, made in the form of a huge horseshoe (100 by 38 meters!), equipped with almost two hundred boxes, each of which could accommodate up to 10 spectators, richly decorated with gilding, was never empty.

The theater hall, made in the form of a huge horseshoe

True, not all citizens came to the theater to listen to the opera. At that time, La Scala became the real center of Milanese life. It was equipped with gambling rooms and buffets, gambling evenings, balls and even bullfights were held within the walls of the theater!

La Scala Theater Hall

Rossini, Verdi and Tchaikovsky

The first work staged on the stage of the newborn theater was Antonio Salieri's opera Recognized Europe, which the composer wrote specifically for the baptism of fire at La Scala. Interestingly, after the reconstruction in 2004, Known Europe reopened a series of productions on the stage of the theater. Probably, the inhabitants of Milan see something symbolic in this.

Masterpieces by eminent composers were continuously staged on the stage of the theater

Masterpieces by eminent composers were constantly staged on the stage of the theater. Over the many years of his work, La Scala managed to collaborate with Cherudini, Paisiello, Rossini (experts even talk about a special Rossini period in the history of the theater). Not to mention Donizetti, Bellini, Puccini and, of course, Verdi! True, the latter did not immediately make friends with the Milan theater. After staging his Joan of Arc, the composer terminated the contract with La Scala and left. A little later he returned again, already head over heels in love with this theater. On the stage of the "Milanese" works of Russian classics were staged more than once. For example, Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges and Shostakovich's Katerina Izmailova were enthusiastically received.

Giuseppe Verdi

Clash of the Titans

Of course, is there a theater without performers? Among the famous opera singers who performed on the stage of La Scala, one can name Caruso and Ruffo, de Luca and Skip, Gigli and Benzanzoni, Canilla and Del Monaco, as well as the famous Russian singer Chaliapin! Opera lovers remember the middle of the 20th century as a legendary confrontation between two prima donnas - Tebaldi and Callas. Each of the singers has its own real fan club. Passions sometimes ran so high that fans of opera divas had to be separated by the police. It is impossible to say who won this rivalry, but in 1955 Callas earned the title of "divine" by performing the part in La Traviata.

Renata Tebaldi

Maria Callas

Twenty year old genius

For many opera lovers, the name La Scala is strongly associated with the name of its most famous conductor, Arturo Toscanini. For the first time, he appeared on the stage of the Milan theater in 1887 at the age of 20, already being famous then - he became famous by performing Aida in Brazil. The young conductor made his debut with a resounding success, took the reins of the theater in his hands and introduced iron discipline. Toscanini was indefatigable, he spent many hours rehearsing, despite the fact that many actors almost collapsed from fatigue. In the early 30s, the genius had to leave Italy due to disagreement with the ideology of the government, and the conductor went to America. When Toscanini learned in 1943 that the theater had been destroyed by bombs, he became disheartened. In 1945, he donated a million lire to restore his beloved brainchild, and already in 1946 he arrived in sunny Milan to conduct again in the renovated theater.

Arturo Toscanini

Hand in hand with ballet

In addition to the opera, the La Scala theater is famous, of course, for its ballet. The most eminent choreographers in Europe worked on the stage of this theater: Rossi, Franchi, Clerico, Vigano, Taglioni, Casati - this is not a complete list.

In addition to the opera, the La Scala theater is famous, of course, for its ballet.

A whole galaxy of beautiful dancers and dancers grew up on the stage of La Scala: Vulcani, Pelosini, Fabiani, Franchi, Cerrito, Salvioni and many others. Among the productions and still known are "The Creations of Prometheus", "The Vestal Virgin", "Giselle", "Swan Lake", "The Nutcracker", "Daphnis and Chloe", "Romeo and Juliet".

Ekaterina Astafieva

"La Scala"(ital. Teatro alla Scala or La Scala ) is an opera house in Milan. The theater building was designed by the architect Giuseppe Piermarini in 1776-1778. on the site of the church of Santa Maria della Scala, from where the name of the theater itself came from. The church, in turn, received its name in 1381 not from the “ladder” (scala), but from the patroness - the representative of the family of the rulers of Verona by the name of Scala (Scaliger) - Beatrice della Scala (Regina della Scala). The theater was opened on August 3, 1778 with a performance of Antonio Salieri's opera Recognized Europe.

In 2001, the La Scala theater building was temporarily closed for restoration, in connection with which all productions were transferred to the building of the Arcimboldi theater specially built for this purpose. Since 2004, productions have been resumed in the old building, and Arcimboldi is an independent theater operating in collaboration with La Scala.

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Theater "Busseto" named after G. Verdi.

Busseto(ital. Busseto, emil.-rom. Buse, local Busse) is a region in Italy, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, subject to the administrative center of Parma.

A city inextricably linked with the life of the opera composer, Giuseppe Verdi.

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi(ital. Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, October 10, 1813, Roncole near the city of Busseto, Italy - January 27, 1901, Milan) is a great Italian composer, whose work is one of the greatest achievements of world opera and the culmination of the development of Italian opera in the 19th century.

The composer created 26 operas and one requiem. The composer's best operas: Un ballo in maschera, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata. The pinnacle of creativity is the latest operas: Aida, Othello.

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The Teatro Giuseppe Verdi is a small 300-seat theater built by the municipality with Verdi's support but not approval. Giuseppe Verdi Theater(Giuseppe Verdi Theatre) is a small opera house. Located in the Rocca Dei Marchesi Pallavicino wing of Piazza Giuseppe Verdi in Busseto, Italy.

The theater opened on August 15, 1868. At the premiere, the color green prevailed, all the men wore green ties, the women wore green dresses. Two operas by Verdi were presented that evening: “ Rigoletto" and " Masquerade Ball». Verdi did not attend, although he lived only two miles away, in the village of Sant'Agata in Villanova sull'Arda.

Although Verdi was against the building of the theater (it would be "too expensive and useless in the future", he said), and is reputed to have never set foot in it, he donated 10,000 lire to build and maintain the theatre.

In 1913, Arturo Toscanini held celebrations on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi and organized a fundraiser for the creation of a monument to the composer. A bust of Verdi, by Giovanni Dupre, was installed on the square in front of the theater.

The theater was restored in 1990. It regularly hosts a season of opera performances.

9. Monument to Giuseppe Verdi.

Royal Theater of San Carlo, Naples (Naples, San Carlo).

Opera House in Naples. It is located next to the central Piazza del Plebiscita, next to the Royal Palace. It is the oldest opera house in Europe.

The theater was commissioned by the French Bourbon King Charles VII of Naples, designed by Giovanni Antonio Medrano, military architect, and Angelo Carasale, former director of the San Bartolomeo Theatre. The cost of construction is 75,000 ducats. Designed for 1379 seats.

The new theater delighted contemporaries with its architecture. The auditorium is decorated with gold stucco and blue velvet chairs (blue and gold are the official colors of the House of Bourbon).

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Royal Theater of Parma(Teatro Regio).

Favorite theater of G. Verdi and violinist Nicolo Paganini.

Parma has always been known for its musical traditions and their greatest pride is the opera house (Teatro Regio).

Opened in 1829. The first performer was Zaira Bellini. The theater was built in a beautiful neoclassical style.

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Farnese Theater in Parma (Parma, Farnese).

Farnese Theater in Parma. It was built in the Baroque style in 1618 by the Aleotti architect Giovanni Battista. The theater was nearly destroyed during an Allied air raid during World War II (1944). It was restored and reopened in 1962.

It is claimed by some to be the first permanent proscenium theater (i.e. a theater in which the audience watches a one-act theatrical performance, which is known as the "arched proscenium").

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Caio Melisso Opera House in Spoleto (Spoleto, Caio Melisso).

The main venue for opera performances during the annual summer festival Dei Due Mondi.

The theater has undergone a number of transformations and changes since the end of the 17th century. Teatro di Piazza del Duomo, also known as Teatro della Rosa, built in 1667, modernized in 1749 and reopened in 1749 as Nuovo Teatro di Spoleto. After 1817 and the construction of a new opera house, the building was not in demand until the middle of the 19th century. 800 seats Nuovo theater was restored between 1854 and 1864 through voluntary donations.

The old theater has been preserved and reconstructed once again with a new design and layout. Renamed to Teatro Cayo Melisso, it reopened its doors in 1880.

The first opera festival took place on June 5, 1958. Fragments of G. Verdi's opera " Macbeth” and other lesser known operas typical for this festival.

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Theater "Olympico", Vicenza (Vicenza, Olimpico).

The Olimpico is the first indoor theater in the world with brickwork and wood and stucco interiors.

It was designed by the architect Andrea Palladio between 1580-1585.

The Teatro Olimpico is located in Piazza Matiotti, in the city of Vicenza. The city is located between Milan and Venice in northeastern Italy. Included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The theater, which has 400 seats, hosts, among others, music and theater festivals such as the Music of the Weeks at the Teatro Olimpico, the Sounds of Olympus, the Homage to Palladio festival, András Schiff and Friends and a cycle of classic shows.

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