WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THE WORLD OF MUSIC?
My musical life started with a video ad. I was walking down the street and humming some tune from the TV that was playing in my head. Mom noticed that it was pitch-perfect, and at that moment my fate was decided.
DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST ENTRANCE ON STAGE?
My brother and I were lucky: at the choral school we appeared on stage in Andrei Konchalovsky's production of War and Peace at the Mariinsky Theatre. Valery Gergiev was at the conductor's stand, and Anna Netrebko was among the performers. We went on tour and performed in Covent Garden, La Scala. A funny moment comes to mind: in the performance I had to make a practical joke of Pierre Bezukhov and knock off his hat. Once, the actor playing this role turned around at the wrong time, and I accidentally hit him so hard on stage that his hat jetted off into the orchestra pit. But no one seemed offended.
WHAT MAKES MUSICAETERNA DIFFER FROM OTHER ENSEMBLES?
Sometimes, when you open a new score, it seems complicated and incomprehensible. Yet one of my teachers used to say, ‘You should never give up a piece of music. Any music piece needs to be studied, picked to pieces and loved.’ At musicAeterna, very in-depth and meticulous work takes place before each performance: we take classes with a vocal coach, rehearse with a choirmaster, work on the text and merging voices in the section. Thanks to this careful approach, it is possible to immerse oneself in the material at various levels and convey to the listener the full depth and intent of the composer.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU IN YOUR WORK?
It was quite late when I met a mentor who taught me how to really sing. At first, it was confusing that I was praised in every lesson. I even asked not to compliment me, I was afraid that I would be jinxed. But she told me that it's important to do everything with love. If an artist doesn't enjoy himself, doesn't feel love, what can he convey to the audience? I have kept this approach for the rest of my life and apply it not only to my students in vocal lessons, but also, of course, when I am teaching my daughter. I try to make sure that love always comes first.
IF YOU DIDN'T BECOME A MUSICIAN, WHO WOULD YOU BE?
As a child, I really wanted to play football, loved doing it, and even wanted to become a football player for a while. But I didn't have enough time left for training: choral college requires a serious approach and a lot of work. However, later this sport came back into my life. I even played in the Bolshoi Theatre team when I sang in the choir there. Observing the guys from our team (the choir plays volleyball, the orchestra plays football), I returned to my hobby and to an active lifestyle.
DO YOU HAVE ANY LIFE CREDO?
I realized that happy people are those who appreciate what they have. It sounds pretty simple, but we don't always really think about how much we're given. For example, I have a blind friend. It would seem that it must be very difficult for him: he is deprived of many opportunities, he has to cope with a lot of limitations. Yet I realize that he lives a happy life: he spends time with us, talks, one day he even played billiards with us. I'm also trying to appreciate everything that I have in my life, and not forget about it.
