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Sopranos

Tamara Konstantinova

In the choir since 2025

Tamara Konstantinova was born in Chișinău, Moldova. She graduated from the vocal department of Novosibirsk Murov Music College and Moscow Popov Academy of Choral Art. She is the laureate of numerous festivals and competitions, including the XII Dargomyzhsky All-Russian Competition (I Prize, 2018), IV Prima Voce International Festival-Competition (III Prize, 2021), and Lemeshev International Vocal Competition (I Prize, 2021). Also, she is a Diploma winner of the VIII Shtokolov International Vocal Competition (2024).

Tamara Konstantinova is the soloist of the Palestrina Show vocal project of Moscow Popov Academy of Choral Art? As well as the soloist of the Lumisfera project.

WHAT BROUGHT YOU INTO THE WORLD OF MUSIC?
I've been involved in music since I was a child — I started singing at a music school when I was six. In kindergarten I was supposed to recite a poem for Santa Claus. My mom and I practiced it for two weeks. But when Santa asked if I wanted to say a poem or sing a song, I got scared and chose to sing instead. It was a complete improvisation, but after that, people started asking my mom where I was taking singing lessons and why I sang so well. That happy accident brought me into music.
HOW DID YOUR COLLABORATION WITH MUSICAETERNA BEGIN?
Last year, I applied to join the Youth Choir of the Diaghilev Festival but couldn’t make it in the end. Right before the festival, I wrote to Vitaly Anatolyevich Polonsky, and then I flew from Moscow to St. Petersburg for one day just for the audition. I sang the soprano part from the fugue in Verdi’s Requiem and the romance Rusalka by Glière. In January this year, I joined the choir.

MusicAeterna is the best ensemble in the country. I really love that even as a choir member, you have the chance to sing solo. I wasn’t expecting to do that so soon — I thought I’d grow into it gradually. But it happened that just a few days after joining, I performed a solo in mandorla by Alexey Retinsky.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC?
I don’t divide music into “high” and “low” — I just go with what fits my mood. Sometimes I’ll listen to indie music on repeat, and other times I’ll dive into Shostakovich and listen to his symphonies all week. I’ve really enjoyed working with contemporary music. It’s so free from stereotypes and rules — you want electronics? Go for it. You want to prepare a piano? Sure. That kind of freedom lets it express so much.
HOW DO YOU LIKE TO SPEND YOUR FREE TIME?
In Saint Petersburg, I have a favorite spot. There’s a pastry shop called Sever at the “Gostiny Dvor” metro station that’s been around since 1905. My great-great-grandmother took my great-grandmother there, then my grandmother went with my great-grandmother, and later she took me when I first visited the city. It’s a special place for me. Of course, it has changed a lot over the years, but it’s amazing that I can still go to the exact same place as generations of my family.
WHERE DO YOU FIND YOUR ENERGY?
I don’t like how TV series and reels mess with my focus. I prefer other kinds of entertainment — mostly lectures, especially about history and art. Lately, I’ve been exercising a lot — the long-lasting dopamine really helps. Once it warms up a bit, I’ll start running again, but for now I’m doing yoga and strength training. I also love to travel. I’ve been to Spain, Portugal, and Italy. I dream of going to Iceland, New Zealand, and the North Pole.

musicAeterna choir events

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Hildegardof Bingen (1098–1179)
O virga ac diadema | O branch and diadem
sequence

Teodor Currentzis
Alleluia

Φῶς ἱλαρὸν | O Gladsome Radiance
the entrance chant of Great Vespers, the Byzantine tradition

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)
 Voskres iz groba |Christ is risen from the grave
Troparion No. 14 from the All-Night Vigil for mixed choir, Op. 37 (1915) 

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933–2010)
Amen for mixed choir, Op. 35 (1975)

Ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῷ Κυρίῳ | Confess to the Lord
antiphon of the Byzantine tradition

Sub tuum praesidium | Under Your mercy we take refuge
hymn to the Virgin (3rd-4th century)

Alexander Knaifel (1943–2024)
Uteshityelyu | To thee, Comforter
Prayer to the Holy Spirit for mixed choir (1995)

Ave rex gentis anglorum | Hail, King of the English people
hymn to King Edward the Martyr (England, 11th century)

Francis Poulenc (1899–1963)
Ave verum corpus (1952)

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
A Hymn to the Virgin for double choir (1930)

Teodor Currentzis
Εωθινόν | Morning Chant (2022)

Improvisation on Bikapo sound sculptures

The programme is subject to change.

Musical Director and Conductor Teodor Currentzis
Stage Director Anna Guseva
Choirmaster Vitaly Polonsky
Choreographer Aisylu Mirhafizkhan
Lighting Designer Natalia Tuzova

Performers:

musicAeterna Choir
musicAeterna Dance
musicAeterna Orchestra soloists and guest artists:
Alexander Shirunov, accordion
Sasha Listova, piano
Andrey Baranenko, organ
Alexey Amosov, Andrey Volosovsky, Maxim Sanin, percussion
Yiorgos Kaloudis, classical Cretan lyra
Maria Zorkina, lever harp
Olga Komok, organetto

Bikapo improvisation performers:
Lada Raskolnikova
Alexey Sulin
Mikhail Myasoyedov
Eleonora Myasoyedova

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Hildegardof Bingen (1098–1179)
O virga ac diadema | O branch and diadem
sequence

Teodor Currentzis
Alleluia

Φῶς ἱλαρὸν | O Gladsome Radiance
the entrance chant of Great Vespers, the Byzantine tradition

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)
 Voskres iz groba |Christ is risen from the grave
Troparion No. 14 from the All-Night Vigil for mixed choir, Op. 37 (1915) 

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933–2010)
Amen for mixed choir, Op. 35 (1975)

Ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῷ Κυρίῳ | Confess to the Lord
antiphon of the Byzantine tradition

Sub tuum praesidium | Under Your mercy we take refuge
hymn to the Virgin (3rd-4th century)

Alexander Knaifel (1943–2024)
Uteshityelyu | To thee, Comforter
Prayer to the Holy Spirit for mixed choir (1995)

Ave rex gentis anglorum | Hail, King of the English people
hymn to King Edward the Martyr (England, 11th century)

Francis Poulenc (1899–1963)
Ave verum corpus (1952)

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
A Hymn to the Virgin for double choir (1930)

Teodor Currentzis
Εωθινόν | Morning Chant (2022)

Improvisation on Bikapo sound sculptures

The programme is subject to change.

Musical Director and Conductor Teodor Currentzis
Stage Director Anna Guseva
Choirmaster Vitaly Polonsky
Choreographer Aisylu Mirhafizkhan
Lighting Designer Natalia Tuzova

Performers:

musicAeterna Choir
musicAeterna Dance
musicAeterna Orchestra soloists and guest artists:
Alexander Shirunov, accordion
Sasha Listova, piano
Andrey Baranenko, organ
Alexey Amosov, Andrey Volosovsky, Maxim Sanin, percussion
Yiorgos Kaloudis, classical Cretan lyra
Maria Zorkina, lever harp
Olga Komok, organetto

Bikapo improvisation performers:
Lada Raskolnikova
Alexey Sulin
Mikhail Myasoyedov
Eleonora Myasoyedova

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György Kurtág (b. 1926)
Songs of Despair and Sorrow for mixed choir with instrumental accompaniment, Op. 18 (1980–1994)

So weary, so wretched to the words of Mikhail Lermontov (1840)
Night, an empty street, a lamp, a drug-store to the words of Alexander Blok (1912)
Blue Evening to the words of Sergei Yesenin (1925)
Where can I go to in this January? to the words of Osip Mandelstam (1937)
The Crucifixion to the words of Anna Akhmatova (1939)
It’s time to the words of Marina Tsvetaeva (1941)

Grabstein für Stephan | Gravestone for Stephan for guitar and instrumental ensemble, Op. 15c
(1989)

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Ein deutsches Requiem | A German Requiem for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra, Op. 45 (1865–1869)

Selig sind, die da Leid tragen | Blessed are those who weep, for they will be comforted
Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras | For all flesh is like grass
Herr, lehre doch mich, dass ein Ende mit mir haben muss | Lord, teach me that I must have an end
Wie lieblich sind Deine Wohnungen, Herr Zebaoth! | How lovely is Thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit | Ye now therefore have sorrow
Denn wir haben hier keine bleibende Statt | For here we have no continuing city
Selig sind die Toten, die in dem Herrn sterben | Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord

The programme is subject to change.

Performers:

Iveta Simonyan — soprano
Vladislav Chizhov — baritone

The musicAeterna Choir and Orchestra
Conductor — Teodor Currentzis 

 

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György Kurtág (b. 1926)
Songs of Despair and Sorrow for mixed choir with instrumental accompaniment, Op. 18 (1980–1994)

So weary, so wretched to the words of Mikhail Lermontov (1840)
Night, an empty street, a lamp, a drug-store to the words of Alexander Blok (1912)
Blue Evening to the words of Sergei Yesenin (1925)
Where can I go to in this January? to the words of Osip Mandelstam (1937)
The Crucifixion to the words of Anna Akhmatova (1939)
It’s time to the words of Marina Tsvetaeva (1941)

Grabstein für Stephan | Gravestone for Stephan for guitar and instrumental ensemble, Op. 15c
(1989)

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Ein deutsches Requiem | A German Requiem for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra, Op. 45 (1865–1869)

Selig sind, die da Leid tragen | Blessed are those who weep, for they will be comforted
Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras | For all flesh is like grass
Herr, lehre doch mich, dass ein Ende mit mir haben muss | Lord, teach me that I must have an end
Wie lieblich sind Deine Wohnungen, Herr Zebaoth! | How lovely is Thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit | Ye now therefore have sorrow
Denn wir haben hier keine bleibende Statt | For here we have no continuing city
Selig sind die Toten, die in dem Herrn sterben | Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord

The programme is subject to change.

Performers:

Iveta Simonyan — soprano
Vladislav Chizhov — baritone

The musicAeterna Choir and Orchestra
Conductor — Teodor Currentzis