Sopranos

Elizaveta Sveshnikova

In the choir since 2012

Elizaveta Sveshnikova graduated from the Conducting and Choral Faculty of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory in 2011 (the class of associate professor Vladimir Maksimkov), Vocal and Directing Faculty of the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory (the class of Professor Svetlana Gorenkova) in 2014. She is performing with the musicAeterna choir since 2012.

She is a laureate of the Grand Prix of the I All-Russian Vocal Competition Italian Nightingale in St. Petersburg, finalist of the International Opera Singers Competition Competizione Dell’Opera (Linz, 2013), winner of the first prize of the Alion Baltic International Competition (Tallinn, 2016), finalist and winner of the special prize of the International Opera Competition Le Grand Prix del’Opera (Bucharest, 2016).

Her repertoire includes works by such composers as Lully, Rameau, Charpentier, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Galuppi, Purcell, Dowland, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Puccini, Verdi, Schumann, Schubert, Strauss, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Schnittke, Berg, Poulenc, Chausson.

In the early 2010s, she performed solo parts in Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Handel’s oratorios and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She performed on the stage of the Milan Conservatory in the Verdi Hall in a production of Respighi’s opera La Bella Dormenta nell Bosco. In 2014, she made her debut as Galatea in Rameau’s opera Pygmalion on the stage of the St. Petersburg State Philharmonia. She performed the part of Madame Hertz in Mozart’s opera “The Director of the Theatre” (Yusupov Theatre, St. Petersburg). She took part in the I International Harp Festival Northern Lyre at the Mariinsky Theatre. She participated in the concert programme of the Vladimir Spivakov International Charitable Foundation.

In 2016, she became a regular participant of the St. Petersburg International Earlymusic Festival, having performed the main role of Cephalus in Francesco Araya’s opera “Cephalus and Procris” (Hermitage Theatre, St. Petersburg) together with the ensemble of early music The Soloists of Catherine the Great (artistic director – Andrey Reshetin). In December 2017, she became the first performer of the leading part in Francesco Araya’s opera “Cephalus and Procris” on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

In June 2017, on the stage of the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (Moscow) she performed the soprano solo part in Mozart’s Requiem together with the orchestra and choir of musicAeterna conducted by Teodor Currentzis. In the summer of the same year, she became a participant in the Salzburg Festival as a member of the musicAeterna choir, participating in the production of Mozart’s opera “The Mercy of Titus” (directed by Peter Sellars). In September 2017, on the stage of the Vienna Konzerthaus she performed the soprano solo part in Beethoven’s Symphony № 9 conducted by Teodor Currentzis. In March, she made her debut on the stage of the Perm State Opera and Ballet Theatre as Astrea in Jean-Baptiste Lully’s opera “Phaeton” with the ensemble of early music Le Poème Harmonique (France) and the musicAeterna orchestra and choir conducted by Vincent Dumestre. In June of the same year, she performed the same part on the stage of the Royal Opera of Versailles (France).

She took part in master classes by Elena Obraztsova, Natalie Dessay, Giuseppe Sabbatini, Angelo Gabrieli and Ildar Abdrazakov. From 2015 to 2017, she taught academic vocals at the Elena Obraztsova International Academy of Music.

She is a soloist of the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia.

WHAT DOES MUSICAETERNA MEAN TO YOU?

MusicAeterna is not a job, it's a lifestyle. You are always on the move: performing on tour, spending many hours rehearsing at Dom Radio. It is quite difficult to combine this with a measured family life. On the other hand, the child gets used to watching such a real active life associated with lofty artistic goals.

WHAT IS YOUR PERFECT DAY OFF LIKE?

For me, it's a walk with my family somewhere out of town. Physical labour also helps to detach emotionally: lately I have taken up floristry, I like to go to the country and tinker with plants in the garden.

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO IN YOUR FREE TIME?

In my free time I can listen to very different music depending on my mood. The Byzantine liturgy helps me to get into emotional balance, and when I want to add dynamics and rhythm, I can catch deep house or Eminem on the radio. While driving, I also often turn on early music, for example pieces for harpsichord solo, or — when driving with a child — classics adapted for children. The only thing I don't like is catchy pop music.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PERIOD IN THE HISTORY OF CULTURE?

In my opinion, the Renaissance is the pinnacle in the history of world art. I really love Tintoretto's painting and Bernini's sculpture. The Italian Renaissance is especially close to me in spirit, and having visited Rome and Florence for the first time, having seen these masterpieces with my own eyes, I was convinced that this art is from God.

musicAeterna choir events

June 1, 21:00

St. Petersburg | Hermitage Museum

The musicAeterna Orchestra and Choir. Ars Vivendi

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764)
The thunderstorm scene from Act II of the opera-ballet Platée ou Junon jalouse (1745)
Act IV, Scene 4: Entry of the muse Polyhymnia from the lyrical tragedy Abaris ou les Boreades (1763)
Tambourines I, II from the prologue to the lyrical tragedy Dardanus (1739)

Antonio Lotti (1667–1740)
Crucifixus a 8 voci from Credo in F Major (before 1717)

Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
Concerto for Cello and Strings in C Minor, RV 401 (late 1720s)

Allegro non molto
Adagio
Allegro ma non molto

The soloist Rabbani Aldangor

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
Ombra mai fu (There was never a shadow), aria of Xerxes from Act I of the opera Xerxes, HWV 40 (1738)
The soloist Andrey Nemzer, countertenor
Furie terribili! (Terrible Furies!), aria of Armida from Act I of the opera Rinaldo, HWV 7a (1711/1731)
The soloist Elizaveta Sveshnikova, soprano
Piangerò la sorte mia (I will mourn my fate), aria of Cleopatra from Act III of the opera Julius Caesar, HWV 17, (1724)
The soloist Elizaveta Sveshnikova, soprano
Venti, turbini (Winds, whirlwinds), aria of Rinaldo from Act I of the opera Rinaldo, HWV 7a (1711/1731)
The soloist Andrey Nemzer, countertenor

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Komm, Jesu, komm (Come, Jesus, come), motet for double choir in G minor, BWV 229 (before 1731–1732)
Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden (Praise the Lord, all ye nations), motet for four-voice choir, dubbing instruments and basso continuo in C major, BWV 230 (n.d.)
Erbarme dich, mein Gott (Have mercy, my God), aria of the alto No. 39 (47) from the sacred oratorio St Matthew Passion, BWV 244 (1727–1729/1736)
Soloists:
Andrey Nemzer, countertenor
Vladislav Pesin, violin

George Frideric Handel
Lascia la spina, cogli la rosa (Leave the thorn, pluck the rose), aria of Pleasure from Act II of the oratorio The Triumph of Time and Disillusion, HWV 46a (1707)
Soloists:
Elizaveta Sveshnikova, soprano
Andrey Nemzer, countertenor

Jean-Philippe Rameau
Les Sauvages/Forêts paisibles (The Savages/Peaceful Forests) from Act IV of the opera-ballet The Gallant Indies, (1725/1736)

Duration: 60 minutes

Sold out

June 2, 19:00