June 1, 2007: Charity concert on Child Protection Day - Participants
Maria Guleghina
Maria Guleghina is one of the most celebrated and acclaimed sopranos of the world. Her performances are invariably rewarded with standing ovations throughout the world’s foremost opera houses. She has been described as the “Cinderella from Russia”, “Russian soprano with Verdi flowing through her veins” and “Vocal Miracle”. She is particularly noted for her interpretation of the title role in Tosca. Her repertoire also includes the title role in Aida, Manon Lescaut, Norma, Fedora, as well as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Abigaille in Nabucco, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Oberto and La Forza del Destino, Elvira in Ernani, Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, and Un Ballo in Maschera, Lucrezia in I due Foscari, Desdemona in Otello, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Maddalena in Andrea Chenier, Lisa in Pique Dame and Odabella in Attila.
Maria Guleghina began her professional career at the State Opera in Minsk, and a year later made her debut in La Scala as Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera under Maestro Gavazzeni opposite Luciano Pavarotti. Her voice of great power, warmth, thrust and with immense acting ability made her a permanent and welcome guest everywhere. At La
Scala she has performed Lucrezia in I due Foscari, Tosca, Fedora, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Lisa in Pique Dame, Manon Lescaut, Abigaille in Nabucco and Leonora in La Forza del Destino conducted by Riccardo Muti in Tokyo. She has accompanied La Scala on two tours to Japan in 1991 and 1999 on which she also performed solo recitals at this world famous theatre.
Since her 1991 debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Maddalena in a new production of Andrea Chenier opposite Luciano Pavarotti, she has returned there many times as Tosca,
Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Aida, Abigaille in Nabucco and Dolly in Sly opposite Placido Domingo. In 1991 she made her Vienna State Opera debut in Andrea Chenier and
has returned to perform Lisa in Pique Dame, Tosca, Aida, Elvira in Ernani, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Leonora in Il Trovatore and Abigaille in Nabucco.
Ms. Guleghina is the recipient of the Giovanni Zanatello Prize for her debut at the Arena di Verona, Maria Zamboni gold medal, 1999 gold medal at the Osaka Festival, 2001 Bellini Prize, and the Arte e Operosita nel mondo prize from Milan. Maria Guleghina has been awarded the orden of Holy Olga, the Highest Orden of the Russian orthodox Church by Patriarch Alexis of Russia. Recently she has also been appointed on the Honorary Board of the International Paralympic Committee.
Recent media releases include a DVD of Andrea Chenier from Teatro Communale di Bologna (TDK), a DVD of Macbeth from the Liceu in Barcelona (Opus Arte), the Metropolitan Opera’s DVD of Nabucco with James Levine (DG), etc.
Larisa Dolina, People’s Artist of Russia
Larisa Dolina is truly being called one of the best voices of Russia. Although she started as a jazz singer, Larisa Dolina can do it all: from popular music and rock, to jazz and classical arias.
Starting from 1985, Larisa Dolina gives more than 150 concerts each year. She is a welcome guest in USA, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. She has recorded 14 solo albums and has sold more than 10 million copies. One of them “Singer and Musician” was nominated for a prize at the international festival in Montreux which was the first time in the history of Russian show business.
Larisa Dolina is the winner of numerous Russian and international music competitions. She has won four National Russian “Ovatsia” Awards and has been among the top 10 most successful and famous Russian pop- performers for the last 10 years.
In 1981, Larisa Dolina together with the orchestra of legendary Russian jazzman Anatoly Kroll created a unique program “The Anthology of Jazz Singing”, which was a huge success both in Russia and abroad. In 1984, Larisa Dolina brilliantly played the part of Mephistopheles Phantom in the famous musical composed by Alfred Shnitke “Doctor Jonathan Faust’s History”, with Mr. Shnitke calling her the best performer of this part ever. In December 1997, the Bolshoi Hall of the Moscow Conservatory held the premiere of the performance “The Outgoing Century Hits” in which Larisa Dolina, together with one of the best Russian orchestras, directed by Eugene Svetlanov, virtuously performed famous hits like “Cabaret”, “New York, New York” and “Barcelona”.
In 2005 in honor of Larisa Dolina’s anniversary she was awarded with Medal of Honor by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin for the big contribution to the development of musical art.
Denis Matsuev
“A new star of the world piano stage and one of the most sought after musicians in the world”, - this is how European and American newspapers characterize young Russian pianist.
Denis Matsuev was born into a family of musicians in the city of Irkutsk in 1975. After graduating from a music school in Irkutsk he moves to Moscow with his family in order to continue his professional training at Moscow Central Specialized Music School. In 1991 he becomes a laureate of International Charity Foundation “New Names”. This fact dramatically changes his career since it gives him the opportunity to deal with outstanding musicians and conservatory professors and to perform in different cities all over Russia and at international music festivals abroad.
After his brilliant victory at the International Piano Competition in Johannesburg in 1993 Denis enters the Moscow Conservatory and begins his studies with Professor Alexei Nasedkin. At the age of 20 he becomes a leading pianist at Moscow Academic Philharmonic Hall - the fact that gives him a lot of new opportunities for his concert work. He performs with the best Russian and foreign orchestras directed by such masters as V. Fedoseyev, M. Pletnev, A. Kats, M. Ermler, J. Levy, V. Spivakov, P. Kogan, I. Fisher, R. Abbado, M Jansons, E. Klass, J. DePreist, M. Venzago and many others.
The key year in his career was 1998 when after becoming a laureate at International Piano Competition in Paris and graduating from the Moscow Conservatory (Professor Sergey Dorensky) he becomes the winner of the XI International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, one of the top world music contests. According to Denis, from that moment his music career “has changed upside down. I had to work very hard”.
At the moment Denis Matsuev gives around 150 concerts during the season and performs in the most prestigious halls around the world. He is enthusiastically acclaimed by the world music press. “Denis Matsuev possesses phenomenal talents. His playing gives one a basis for believing that a new star has appeared in the firmament of pianists” (Westdeutsche Zeitung). This is not just a mere compliment - a newly discovered star in the Lyre constellation was called after Matsuev.
Dmitry Mayboroda (13 years old)
Born into a family of musicians, it was out of discussion that Dmitry will proceed a life without music. With 4 years old he started taking music lessons. Against his parents will he decided himself to learn how to play the piano, both parents are violinists.
With the age of 8 Dmitry began to give concerts in association with his music school ZMSha, the Zentral Music School of Moscow, which already provided the music world with many great talents.
With the age of 10, Dmitry was already giving solo concerts with and without orchestra.
He became the pride of Russia therefore the president of the Russian Federation V. Putin invited him to participate during the private concert for the G8 leaders in the summer of 2006 in St Petersburg among such stars as Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Jury Bashmet, Jury Temerkanov and Maria Guleghina.
Dmitry participapted in many exclusive concerts and festivals in Russia and Europe, as well as in competitions and won numerous national and international prizes.
Yuri Gorodetskiy
The laureate of the International Competition of Vocalists in honour of L. P. Aleksandrovskaya (Minsk, Belarus, 2004). Laureate of 3 International Competition of Chamber vocal music “Three centuries of classical romance (Saint-Petersburg, Russia, 2006). Prize of the XLIV International Singing Contest Francisco Vinas (Barcelona, Spain, 2007).Graduated from Mogilew College of Music (specialization choral conducting). In 2002 he entered the Belarusian Academy of Music (class by People’s Artist of Republic Belarus, professor L. Ivashkov).
Holder of the Special Grant of the fund for talented young people of the President of the Republic of Belarus
He played the part of Nemorino in the opera “L’elisir d’amore” by G. Donizetti in the opera studio of Music Academy. Since September 2006 he has been the soloist of the Belarusian Opera.
