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Sergei Godin

A graduate of the Gnesins Russian Academy of Music, Sergey Godin is the laureate of the International Competition as part of the Slavic Music Festival in Moscow (2006) and the ‘Onegin’ National Award (2024). From 2017 to 2018, he worked as a soloist at the Boris Pokrovsky Chamber Music Theatre (now the Chamber Stage of the Bolshoy Theatre). In 2018, he was invited to join the troupe of the Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre in Perm, where his long-term collaboration with Teodor Currentzis began. Since February 2023, he has been a soloist at the Pushkin State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre in Nizhny Novgorod (Artistic Director: Aleksey Trifonov; Chief Conductor: Dmitry Sinkovsky).
His repertoire includes roles such as Lensky (Eugene Onegin), Ferrando (Così Fan Tutte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Don Basilio (Le Nozze di Figaro), the titular roles in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito and Idomeneo, Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Ramiro (La Cenerentola), the Madwoman (Curlew River by Britten), Erast (Poor Liza by Desyatnikov), and many others.

Sergey is a regular participant in the Diaghilev Festival (Perm), including the production of the oratorio Joan of Arc at the Stake by Honegger (directed by Romeo Castellucci, conducted by Teodor Currentzis), as well as concert performances of Mozart’s Idomeneo (title role, conducted by Currentzis) and Charpentier’s oratorio In nativitatem Domini canticum (as the Angel, with the Parma Voices choir conducted by Evgeny Vorobyov).
At the Territory Festival, he performed in Close My Eyes by Anna Abalikhina, and at the Cantata Festival, he sang the tenor part in Handel’s Messiah (conducted by Philipp Chizhevsky). At the Chorus Without Borders festival of the Minin Choir, he performed the tenor part in Gavrilin’s symphony-action The Chimes. He is a regular participant in the Strelka Festival (Nizhny Novgorod), where he has repeatedly performed works by Leonid Desyatnikov with pianist Alexey Goribol.
He frequently performs at Zaryadye Hall, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and the Rachmaninoff Concert Hall (Moscow), as well as at the Pakgauz Concert Hall (Nizhny Novgorod), with ensembles such as Musica Viva, Questa Musica, Pratum Interum, La Voce Strumentale, and others.
Together with the musicAeterna Orchestra and Choir under the direction of Teodor Currentzis, he has performed solo parts in Mozart’s Requiem (Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory) and Stravinsky’s ballet Pulcinella (Zaryadye Hall, Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic).
He has collaborated with renowned musicians and directors, including Vladimir Minin, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Alexander Rudin, Philipp Chizhevsky, Vincent Dumestre, Robert Wilson, Romeo Castellucci, Peter Sellars, Konstantin Bogomolov, and others.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A MUSICIAN?

My family is not that musical: my father used to be a factory worker and my mother worked at a kindergarten. However, they always used to sing while at home, and I probably got my love towards music from them. According to my mother, I was once watching a cartoon where a grasshopper was playing the violin, and I said I wanted to play the violin too. I was 3 or 4 years old at the time. Without missing a beat, my parents went to Moscow and bought a violin for me. It wasn’t easy to do at the time but they managed it. So I started learning to play the violin, then the piano, and then I went to the choir capella and started growing as a singer.

DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST ON-STAGE PERFORMANCE?

Yes. Together with my sister, we sang at the city competition called “The Crystal Bells”. Our duo was quite popular in the city, and we performed quite a lot. But we were just 7 or 8 at the time, so we didn’t take those performances seriously; there was no fear or anxiety. Of course, things are different now: each performance is a responsibility, so I put my best effort into them. And each performance is also a great pleasure. I don’t think I could ever abandon the stage. Even if something drastic happens in my life, I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. Music and theatre are definitely my calling.

WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL SCHEDULE ON THE DAY OF A PERFORMANCE?

We tend to rehearse extensively before each concert or play, so I always try to give myself some time off when the day of the performance comes. I just relax and take my mind off everything. I take a walk in the park, lie down on my sofa, just spend some time with my family. I need all this in order to be in my best shape by the evening. As for the emotional preparation for my part, it’s a different matter and a gradual process. Over the course of all the rehearsals, together with the director I search for various clues and resonating features my character might possess, and I use those to get into character later.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?

I don’t think I can voice my dreams right now for fear of sounding too impudent. I do dream big though. I’m not an extremely ambitious or cocky person — I just believe it’s worth dreaming of something that is impossible to achieve right now. This can yield great benefits in the future.

ASIDE FROM MUSIC, WHAT ELSE GIVES YOU GREAT PLEASURE?

My children, of course. My wife. My parents. I don’t get to meet them all too often now — but those meetings energize me and keep me afloat.

Events

September 15, 20:00

St. Petersburg | Nevsky, 62

Dusapin: opera Passion

Opera

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September 16, 20:00

St. Petersburg | Nevsky, 62

Dusapin: opera Passion

Opera

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September 21, 20:00

Moscow | New Opera

Dusapin: opera Passion

Opera

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September 22, 20:00

Moscow | New Opera

Dusapin: opera Passion

Opera

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September 23, 20:00

Moscow | New Opera

Dusapin: opera Passion

Opera

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