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Musical masterpieces. Divine Opera Arias. World opera statistics The most famous opera compositions

Classical music lovers can argue for hours about which operas are the best. Every music critic has its own list, not to mention musicians, conductors or singers. The Operabase website, which collects data on performances in more than 700 countries around the world, compiled its own, based on statistics. The editors found out which operas are most often performed all over the world, and they declared them the best.

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"La Traviata"

Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata is most often found in the posters of the world's opera houses. It was first staged in Venice on March 6, 1853. The story of a beautiful courtesan, unfolding against the backdrop of Parisian social life, full of love, deception, self-sacrifice, late remorse and ending with the tragic death of the main character from consumption in the finale, was doomed to success. The best aria is considered the duet of Violetta and Alfredo "Semper Libera".

In modern opera, the duet of the Russian diva Anna Netrebko and Mexican opera singer Rolando Villazon is recognized as one of the best duets performing "Semper Libera"

"Carmen"

Opera "Carmen" has become a whole phenomenon in world culture. Recognizable melodies and whole arias from it sound in countless films, TV series and even cartoons. The opera was first performed on the Paris stage on March 3, 1875. Her libretto is based on the famous novel of the same name by Prosper Mérimée. The famous ballet Carmen Suite uses Bizet's music orchestrated by Rodion Shchedrin. The most famous aria from this opera is "Habanera".

In Russian, the words "Habanera" (one of the most popular translations) sound like this: "Love, like a bird, has wings - it cannot be caught in any way."

"Bohemia"

Giacomo Puccini's opera is not only one of the most frequently performed in the world, arias from it are necessarily included in the concert program of the best opera singers in the world. Thus, "Che gelida manina" is one of those arias, without which not a single performance of the famous Luciano Pavarotti can do. For the first time, the tragic love story of the poet Rudolph and the little seamstress Mimi, unfolding against the backdrop of the life of Parisian bohemia, was published in Turin in 1896.

"Magical flute"

No list of famous operas will be complete without the works of the genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. One of his most frequently performed operas is The Magic Flute. It was staged for the first time in Vienna, the orchestra was conducted by the composer himself. This opera is a rare exception among the tragic stories presented by famous composers, The Magic Flute is truly the creation of the "sunny" Amadeus. The main character - Prince Tamino - passes all the tests of the wizard Sarastro and receives his love as a reward - the daughter of the Queen of the Night, Pamino. The most famous aria in this opera, Der Holle Rache, is performed by the Queen herself.

"Yearning"

The lists of the most popular classical operas often include different works by the same composer. Tosca was also written by Giacomo Puccini. The opera libretto is based on a piece created especially for the great Sarah Bernhardt. The action of both plays and operas takes place against the backdrop of real historical events that took place in Rome in the summer of 1800. The insidious Scarpia, the jealous and beautiful Tosca, her beloved artist Cavaradossi - these are the characters of the tragedy unfolding before the audience. The famous aria "Vissi d" Arte "is especially popular performed by the magnificent soprano Maria Callas.

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The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro

The Barber of Seville is a comic opera by Gioachino Rossini. This story of the cunning barber Figaro, who helped Count Almaviva to obtain the hand of the beautiful Rosina, is full of confusion, slyness, misunderstanding and disguise. Mozart's opera Le Nozze di Figaro tells us about what happened to the heroes of this story a few years later. Here Almaviva is no longer a young man in love, but a bored bon vivant, trying to win the love of the pretty maid Susanna, the beloved of Figaro, who became his chamberlain. Mozart's opera is also comic, light and with a happy ending. The most famous aria is “Largo al factotum della citta”.

Ebben? Ne Andro Lontana (The Valley, Alfredo Catalani)

Aria Valley “Well? I am going far away ”from the first act of the opera“ The Valley ”by Alfredo Catalani is full of the anguish and drama characteristic of tragic operas. Wally sings that she is leaving her father's house and going to the Alps, experiencing disappointment and pain. just not to marry the unloved. Pain and determination are heard in every note of the aria, even if you do not know what they are singing about.

Casta Diva ("Norma", Vincenzo Bellini)

"The Most Pure Maiden" is considered one of the most complex arias. Only a few opera singers in the 20th century were able to cope with it - among them Maria Callas, Montserrat Caballe, Galina Vishnevskaya. Callas, who splendidly hitting every note in Casta Diva, loved to repeat that Bellini had written the part of Norma for her. Caballe is much more modest, but her Norma admires and conquers. By the end of the first "verse" you run the risk of thoroughly freezing from goose bumps.

Nessun Dorma (Turandot, Giacomo Puccini)

Of course, the most famous male opera aria is worth listening to performed by the great Luciano Pavarotti, for whom this magnificent lyric aria with a mind-blowing crescendo was a kind of visiting card. Giacomo Puccini's “No One Will Sleep” from the opera Turandot has also appeared in a huge number of films from “Roman Adventures” to “Play Like Beckham”.

La Donna e Mobile (Rigoletto, Giuseppe Verdi)

Cheerful and cheerful (which, in all honesty, is not so common in operatic art), the aria of the Duke of Mantua is well known to everyone who has watched the film "Operation Y". The student hummed the Russian version of "La Donna e Mobile", checking the connection before the exam.

Habanera ("Carmen", Georges Bizet)

Seductive Carmen performs her Habanera with a sense of her own superiority and confidence in her beauty. She is playful but strong. Her singing goes from flirting to irrepressible pressure. One of the most famous arias has been performed by almost all opera singers, as it demonstrates the capabilities of the voice and the ability to control it.

Vesti La Guibba ("Pagliacci", Ruggiero Leoncavallo)

“Put on a suit” is the translation of the name of one of the most popular arias in the world. It is performed by Canio, the hero of the opera "Pagliacci", at the moment when he learns about his wife's infidelity, but show must go on - the performance must take place anyway. Tormented by the pangs of jealousy and the injustice of his fate, he prepares to go on stage. And if you don't feel anything during the climax of the aria (1:54 - 2:36), then you don't have a heart.

La Mamma Morta (Andre Chénier, Umberto Giordano)

The aria "They killed my mother" from the little-known opera "André Chénier" gained popularity thanks to the appearance in the film "Philadelphia", where the AIDS-sick hero Tom Hanks listened to her super-emotionally in front of his lawyer, making an indelible impression on both the lawyer and film academics who presented Hanks with an Oscar.

The most popular operas in the world

Over the past five seasons 2005/06 - 2009/10, more than 100,000 opera performances have taken place, 2,156 different operas have been staged, more than 300 (every seventh) have been premiered.

The leaders, The Magic Flute and La Traviata, were performed almost the same number of times.

In the first hundred of the most popular operas, there are only two works created by composers of the 20th century, "Lady Macbeth" by D. D. Shostakovich and "Turn of the Screw" by B. Britten.

The 200 most popular operas include two works by living composers - "Anne Frank's Diary" by G. Fried and "Dead Man Walking" by J. Heggie.

The most popular (performed) operas in the last 5 years.

*Accurate statistics are relevant for Europe and North America, for other countries the figures may be approximate.

Montserrat Caballe (full name: Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepcion Caballe i Folch) is a Spanish Catalan opera singer, soprano. She is famous for her bel canto technique and her interpretation of the performance of roles in classical Italian operas by Rossini, Belle and Donizetti. Montserrat Caballe was born in Barcelona on April 12, 1933. She studied for 12 years at the Higher Conservatory of Music of the Barcelona Lyceum and graduated with a gold medal in 1954. In 1957 she made her opera debut as Mimi in La Bohème. From 1960-1961 she sang at the Bremen Opera, where she greatly expanded her repertoire.In 1962 she returned to Barcelona and made her debut in "Arabella" by Richard Strauss.In 1964 she married Bernab Marty. in New York at Carnegie Hall, when she was forced to replace the sick Marilyn Horn and perform the part in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia. I had a role for less than a month. Her performance became a sensation in the world of opera, the audience applauded for 25 minutes. The next day, the New York Times came out with the headline Callas + Tebaldi = Caballe. In the same year, Caballe made her stage debut in Glyndebourne in The Knight of the Rose and shortly thereafter at the Metropolitan Opera as Margaret in Faust. Since that time, her fame has never faded away - the best operatic stages in the world were open to her - New York, London, Milan, Berlin, Moscow, Rome, Paris. In September 1974, she underwent major surgery for stomach cancer. She recovered and returned to the stage in early 1975. Her 99th performance and the last at the Metropolitan Opera she performed on January 22, 1988 as Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme, with Luciano Pavarotti (Rodolfo) as her partner. In 1988, together with the vocalist of the group "Queen" Freddie Mercury, she recorded the album "Barcelona", the main song of which with the same name became a super-hit of the early 90s and took first places in the European pop charts. This single became the anthem of the 1992 Summer Olympics. After the death of Freddie Mercury, his voice sounds on the recording, and Montserrat Caballe refuses to sing this song in a duet with other singers. Until recently, she leads an active lifestyle, and there are no signs of fatigue, both creatively and socially. Caballe is dedicated to charitable work, she is a goodwill ambassador for UNESCO and has created a fund to help children.

Kiri Janette Te Kanawa is an opera singer from New Zealand, lyric soprano. One of the leading opera singers of our time with a warm, beautiful voice and a very wide repertoire of opera roles in various languages. Kiri Te Kanawa (born Claire Mary Teresa Rostron) on March 6, 1944 in Gisborne, New Zealand, to an Irish mother and a Maori father, but little is known about her parents. She was adopted as a baby by the Te Kanawa family, and her adoptive parents were also Maori and Irish. She received her general and musical education in Auckland and was already a popular singer in New Zealand clubs in her teens and youth. At the same time, she collected all the significant music prizes in Australia and New Zealand in 1963, she was second in the "Mobil (Lexus) Song Quest", the first place was taken by another famous opera singer from New Zealand Malvina Major. In 1965, Kiri Te Kanava herself with the aria "Vissi d" arte "from Puccini's opera" Tosca "became the winner of the same competition. In 1966 she won the Australian competition" Sun-Aria "and as the winner she received a grant to study in London. the same year, without audition, she entered the Center for Opera Singing in London, teachers noted both her talent and her initial lack of vocal technique.Debut on the opera stage took place in 1968 as the second lady in Mozart's "Magic Flute" at the London Theater. Sadler Wells, followed immediately by roles in Dido and Aeneas by Purcell and the lead role in Anne Boleyn by Donizetti. In 1969 auditioning for the role of Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, chief conductor Colin Davis said, “I couldn't believe my ears, I did a thousand auditions and it was a fantastically beautiful voice. "The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, signed a three-year contract with Kiri Te Kanawa and her first performances on the stage of this theater were as Xenia in Boris Godun ove "and the flower girl in" Parsifal "in 1970. Te Kanawa continued to carefully prepare for the role of the Countess, which was scheduled to premiere at Covet Garden in December 1971, but before that there was a performance at the Santa Fe Opera Festival (New Mexico, USA), where she tried out the role, along with her at the same festival, a singer from the USA Frederika von Stade performed, later the press noted their performance: "... there were two newcomers who dazzled the audience ... each immediately realized that these were two finds and history confirmed their performance." The two singers became friends for years. On December 1, 1971, Kiri Te Kanawa repeated her performance in Santa Fe at Covent Garden and created an international sensation. On this day, she received the status of the undisputed opera star and became one of the most famous sopranos in the world, performing at the leading opera houses of the world - Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera (debut 1974), Paris Opera (1975), Sydney Opera House (1978) , Vienna State Opera (1980), La Scala (1978), Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco, Bavarian and many others. Her heroines include a huge repertoire for soprano, among them - three main roles of Richard Strauss - Arabella from "Arabella", Marshalsha, Princess Maria Teresa von Werdenberg from "Der Rosenkavalier" and Countess from "Capriccio"; Mozart's Fjordiligi from "All Women Do", Donna Elvira from "Don Giovanni", Pamina from "The Magic Flute", and of course, Countess Almaviva from "Figaro's Wedding"; Verdi's Violetta from Triaviatta, Amelia Boccanegra from Simon Boccanegra, Desdemona from Ottelo; from Puccini - Tosca, Mimi and Manon Lescaut; Carmen Bizet, Tatiana Tchaikovsky, Rosalind Johann Strauss and many others. On the concert stage, her vocal beauty and clarity merged with the world's leading symphony orchestras from London, Chicago, Los Angeles, conducted by such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Georg Solti and others. She has become a regular participant in international opera festivals in Glidebourne, Salzburg, Verona. During her long creative career, Kiri Te Kanava has released about eighty discs of both operatic repertoire and concert music - concert arias by Mozart, Four Last Songs of Strauss, German Requiem by Brahms, Messiah of Handel and others, as well as albums with popular music and songs of the Maori people like a tribute to your people. Some of her discs have won a Grammy award. The last album "Kiri Sings Karl" was released in 2006. There were two significant events in her career, which are almost impossible for any opera singer to repeat. In 1981, she was the soloist at the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana at St Paul's Cathedral in London. The live television broadcast of the event attracted over 600 million viewers. The second record - in 1990, she gave an open concert in Auckland, 140 thousand spectators came to her solo performance. Now her activities outside the stage are associated with the foundation she created for the support and financial assistance to young singers and musicians. Kiri Te Kanawa has been awarded many awards and prizes for her services in the development of art, the highest of which are the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1982), Companion to the Order of Australia (1990), and the Order of New Zealand (1995). She also received honorary degrees from Cambridge, Oxford, Chicago, Nottingham and other universities. In recent years, Kiri Te Kanawa's performances on the opera stage and concert venues have become rare, but she has not yet announced her retirement, although it was believed that her last performance would be in April 2010, but she continues to perform.

Angela Gheorghiu (Romanian Angela Gheorghiu) is a Romanian opera singer, soprano. One of the most famous opera singers of our time. Angela Gheorghiu (Burlacu) was born on September 7, 1965 in the small town of Adjud, Romania. From early childhood it was obvious that she would become a singer, her destiny was music. She studied at the Music School in Bucharest and graduated from the National University of Music of Bucharest. Her professional operatic debut took place in 1990 as Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme in Cluj, in the same year she won the Hans Gabor International Vocal Competition Belvedere in Vienna. The surname Georgiou remained with her from her first husband. Angela Georgiu's international debut took place in 1992 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in La Boheme. In the same year, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and at the Vienna State Opera. In 1994, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, she first performed the role of Violetta in La Traviata, at which point the "birth of a star" took place, Angela Georgiu began to enjoy constant success in opera houses and concert halls around the world: in New York, London, Paris, Salzburg, Berlin, Tokyo, Rome, Seoul, Venice, Athens, Monte Carlo, Chicago, Philadelphia, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Lisbon, Valencia, Palermo, Amsterdam, Kuala Lumpur, Zurich, Vienna, Salzburg, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Prague, Montreal, Moscow, Taipei, San Juan, Ljubljana. In 1994, she met tenor Roberto Alagna, whom she married in 1996. The wedding ceremony took place at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. For a long time, the Alanya-Georgiu couple was the most striking creative family union on the opera stage, now they are divorced. Her first exclusive contract with a record company was signed in 1995 with Decca, after which she released several albums a year, now she has about 50 albums, both staged operas and solo concerts. All of her CDs received good reviews from critics and were awarded many international prizes, including awards from the Gramophone magazine, the German Echo award, the French Diapason d'Or and Choc du Monde de la Musique, and many others. Twice in 2001 and 2010 she was named "Best Female Singer of the Year" by the British "Classical BRIT Awards". The range of roles of Angela Gheorghiu is very wide, especially her favorite operas by Verdi and Puccini. The Italian repertoire, perhaps due to the relative similarity of the Romanian and Italian languages, she does well, some critics note that French, German, Russian and English operas are performed weaker. The most important roles of Angela Gheorghiu: Bellini "Somnambula" - Amina Bizet "Carmen" - Michaela, Carmen Chilea "Adriana Lecouvreur" - Adriana Lecouvreur Donizetti "Lucia di Lammermoor" - Lucia Donizetti "Lucrezia Borgia" - Don Lucrezia Borgia drink Adina Gounod "Faust" - Margarita Gounod "Romeo and Juliet" - Juliet Massenet "Manon" - Manon Massenet "Werther" - Charlotte Mozart "Don Juan" - Zerlina Leoncavallo "Pagliacci" - Nedda Puccini "Swallow" - Magda Puccini "Bohemia" - Mimi Puccini "Gianni Schicchi" - Loretta Puccini "Tosca" - Tosca Puccini "Turandot" - Liu Verdi Troubadour - Leonor Verdi "La Traviata" - Violetta Verdi "Louise Miller" - Luisa Verdi "Simon Boccanegra" - Maria Angela Gheorghiu continues to perform actively and is located at the top of the opera Olympus. Future commitments include various concerts in Europe, America and Asia, Tosca and Faust at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Natalie Dessay (born Nathalie Dessaix) is a French opera singer, coloratura soprano. One of the leading singers of our time, at the beginning of her career she was known for her very high and transparent voice, now she sings in a lower range. Loved by the audience for excellent dramatic performance and a lively sense of humor. Natalie Dessay was born on April 19, 1965 in Lyon, raised in Bordeaux. While still at school, she dropped the "h" from her name, in honor of the actress Natalie Wood, and later simplified the spelling of the fimilia. In her youth, Dessay dreamed of becoming a ballerina or an actress and took acting lessons, but once, playing with fellow students in a little-known play of the 18th century, she had to sing, she sang Pamina's aria from The Magic Flute, everyone was amazed, she was advised to switch her attention to music. Natalie entered the State Conservatory in Bordeaux, completed a five-year study in just one year and graduated with honors in 1985. After the conservatory she worked with the Orchestra National de Toulouse Capitol. In 1989, she took second place in the New Voices competition held by France-Telecom, which allowed her to study for a year at the Lyric Arts School of the Paris Opera and play the role of Eliza in Mozart's The Shepherd Tsar. In the spring of 1992 she sang a short part of Olympia from Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffmann" at the Opera Bastille, her partner was Jose van Dam, the production disappointed critics and audiences, but the young singer received a standing ovation and was noticed. This role will become a landmark for her, until 2001 she will play Olympia in eight different productions, including during her debut at La Scala. In 1993 Natalie Dessay won the Vienna Opera's International Mozart Competition and stayed to study and perform at the Vienna Opera. Here she sang the role of Blonda from Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio", which has become another most famous and most frequently performed role. In December 1993, Natalie was offered to replace Cheryl Studer in the well-known role of Olympia at the Vienna Opera. Her performance received recognition from the audience in Vienna and the praise of Placido Domingo, in the same year she performed this role at the Lyon Opera. Natalie Dessay's international career began with performances at the Vienna Opera. In the 1990s, her recognition was constantly growing and her repertoire of roles was constantly expanding, there were many offers, she performed in all the leading opera houses of the world - the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Bavarian Opera, Covent Garden, Vienna Opera and others. A distinctive feature of the actress Dessay is that she believes that an opera singer should consist of 70% of the theater and 30% of music and strive not only to sing her roles, but also to play them dramatically, so each of her characters is a new discovery. never like the others. In the 2001/2002 season, Dessay began to experience vocal difficulties and had to cancel her performances and recitals. She left the stage and in July 2002 underwent surgery to remove polyps on her vocal cords, in February 2003 she returned with a solo concert in Paris and actively continued her career. In the 2004/2005 season, Natalie Dessay had to undergo a second operation. A new public appearance took place in May 2005 in Montreal. The return of Natalie Dessay was accompanied by a reorientation in her lyric repertoire. She gives up on "light", without depth roles (like Gilda in "Rigoletto") or from roles that she no longer wants to play (Queen of the Night or Olympia) in favor of more "tragic" characters. This position at first brought serious disagreements with some directors and colleagues. Today Natalie Dessay is at the pinnacle of her career and is the leading soprano of our time. Lives and performs mainly in the USA, but constantly tours in Europe. Russian fans could see her in St. Petersburg in 2010 and in Moscow in 2011. In early 2011, she sang (for the first time) the role of Cleopatra in Handel's Julia Caesar at the Opera Garnier, returned to the Metropolitan Opera with her traditional " Lucia di Lammermoor ", then returned to Europe again with a concert version of" Pelléas et Mélisande "in Paris and London and a concert in Moscow. The singer's immediate plans include many projects: La Traviata in Vienna in 2011 and at the Metropolitan Opera in 2012, Cleopatra in Julia Caesar at the Metropolitan Opera in 2013, Manon at the Paris Opera and La Scala in 2012, Marie ("The Daughter of the Regiment") in Paris in 2013, and Elvira in the Metropolitan in 2014. Natalie Dessay is married to bass-baritone Laurent Nauri and they have two children. On the opera stage, they can be seen together very rarely, in contrast to star couple Alanya-Gheorghiu, the fact is that there is much less repertoire for the soprano baritone than for the soprano tenor. For the sake of her husband, Dessay adopted his religion - Judaism.

Irina Konstantinovna Arkhipova - Soviet and Russian opera singer, mezzo-soprano, soloist of the Bolshoi Theater (1956-1988), People's Artist of the USSR (1966), Knight of the Order of Lenin (1971, 1976, 1985), Lenin Prize laureate (1978), Hero of the Socialist Labor (1984), laureate of the State Prize of Russia (1996). Irina Konstantinovna Arkhipova was born on January 2, 1925 in Moscow. Already at the age of eight she entered the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory, but due to a sudden illness she could not study there. Later, Irina entered the Gnessin School. During the Great Patriotic War, she was evacuated with her family to Tashkent, where she entered the Moscow Architectural Institute, which was also evacuated there. After graduation, work on the design and construction of a number of facilities in the capital, including a new complex of buildings at Moscow State University on Vorobyovy Gory, parallel vocal lessons with N.M. Malysheva, and later studied at the Moscow Conservatory in the singing class of L.F. Savransky. In 1953 she graduated from the conservatory. In 1954-1956 she was a soloist of the Sverdlovsk Opera and Ballet Theater. In 1956-1988 she was a soloist of the Bolshoi Theater. The performance of the part of Carmen in the opera of the same name by Georges Bizet has received worldwide recognition. She was characterized by a deep inner disclosure of the image and thoughtfulness of interpretation. She had the gift of stage transformation. Since 1955 he has toured abroad (Austria, Poland, East Germany, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, USA, Japan, France, Canada). In 1967 and 1971 she sang at the Teatro alla Scala (the part of Martha and the part of Marina Mnishek). Since 1975 he has been teaching at the Moscow Conservatory, since 1984 - professor. In the 1980s she gave a series of concerts "Anthology of Russian Romance". In 1966 she was invited to the jury of the Tchaikovsky Competition, and since 1967 she has been the permanent chairman of the jury of the Glinka Competition. Since that time she has been a member of the jury of many prestigious competitions in the world, including the "Verdi voice" and the name of Mario del Monaco in Italy, the Queen Elizabeth competition in Belgium, the Maria Callas competition in Greece, the Francisco Vinyas competition in Spain, the vocal competition in Paris, vocal competition in Munich. Since 1974 (with the exception of 1994) she was the permanent chairman of the jury of the Tchaikovsky Competition in the "solo singing" section. In 1997, at the invitation of the President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev and the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan, Pallada Bul-Bul Ogly, Irina Arkhipova headed the jury of the Bul-Bul Competition, organized on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth. Since 1986 IK Arkhipova is the chairman of the All-Union Musical Society, at the end of 1990 transformed into the International Union of Musical Figures. Since 1983 - Chairman of the Irina Arkhipova Foundation. Honorary Doctor of the National Academy of Music named after Musical of the Republic of Moldova (1998), President of the Russia-Uzbekistan Friendship Society. She was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 6th convocation. People's Deputy of the USSR (1989-1991). Author of the books: "My Muses" (1992), "Music of Life" (1997), "A Brand Named" I "(2005). The singer's husband is People's Artist of the USSR Vladislav Piavko. The son is Andrey. Great-granddaughter - Irina. On January 19, 2010, Irina Konstantinovna Arkhipova was hospitalized with cardiac pathology at the Botkin City Clinical Hospital. The singer passed away on February 11, 2010. She was buried on February 13, 2010 at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova is a Russian opera singer (soprano) and dancer, one of the most famous singers of pre-revolutionary Russia. Leading soloist of the Mariinsky Theater, participant of Sergei Diaghilev's Russian Seasons. She worked with N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, Richard Strauss, Jules Massenet, sang in tandem with Fyodor Chaliapin and Leonid Sobinov. After leaving Russia after 1917, she continued to perform successfully abroad. Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova was born in 1880 in Odessa. Maria grew up in a creative and intellectual atmosphere, her father Nikolai Kuznetsov was an artist, and her mother came from the Mechnikov family, Maria's uncles were the Nobel laureate biologist Ilya Mechnikov and sociologist Lev Mechnikov. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky visited the Kuznetsovs' house, who drew attention to the talent of the future singer and composed children's songs for her, since childhood Maria dreamed of becoming an actress. Her parents sent her to a gymnasium in Switzerland, returning to Russia, she studied ballet in St. Petersburg, but gave up dancing and began to study vocal with the Italian teacher Marty, and later with the baritone and her stage partner I.V. Tartakov. Everyone noted her clean, beautiful lyric soprano, the noticeable talent of the actress and female beauty. Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky described her as "... a dramatic soprano that could be seen and listened to with the same appetite." In 1904, Maria Kuznetsova made her debut on the stage of the St. Petersburg Conservatory as Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, and at the Mariinsky Theater in 1905 as Margarita in Charles Gounod's Faust. Soloist of the Mariinsky Theater, with a short break, Kuznetsova remained until the 1917 revolution. In 1905, two gramophone records with a recording of her performances were released in St. Petersburg, and in total, during her creative career, she made 36 records. Once, in 1905, shortly after Kuznetsova's debut at the Mariinsky, during her performance in the theater, a quarrel broke out between students and officers, the situation in the country was revolutionary and panic began in the theater. Maria Kuznetsova interrupted Elsa's aria from R. Wagner's "Lohengrin" and calmly sang the Russian anthem "God Save the Tsar", the busters were forced to stop the quarrel and the audience calmed down, the performance continued. The first husband of Maria Kuznetsova was Albert Albertovich Benois, from the famous dynasty of Russian architects, artists, historians Benois. In the prime of her career, Maria was known under the double surname Kuznetsov-Benoit. In the second marriage, Maria Kuznetsova was married to the manufacturer Bogdanov, in the third, to the banker and industrialist Alfred Massenet, the nephew of the famous composer Jules Massenet. Throughout her career, Kuznetsova-Benoit has participated in many European opera premieres, including the part of Fevronia in The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia by N. Rimsky-Korsakov and Cleopatra from the opera of the same name by J. Massenet, which the composer wrote specially for her. And also on the Russian stage she presented for the first time the roles of Vogdolina in "The Rhine Gold" by R. Wagner, Cio-Cio-san in "Madame Butterfly" by G. Puccini and many others. Has toured with the Mariinsky Opera Company to cities in Russia, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, the USA and other countries. Among her best roles: Antonida ("A Life for the Tsar" by M. Glinka), Lyudmila ("Ruslan and Lyudmila" by M. Glinka), Olga ("Rusalka" by A. Dargomyzhsky), Masha ("Dubrovsky" by E. Napravnik), Oksana ("Cherevichki" by P. Tchaikovsky), Tatiana ("Eugene Onegin" by P. Tchaikovsky), Kupava ("The Snow Maiden" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov), Juliet ("Romeo and Juliet" by C. Gounod), Carmen ("Carmen" Bizet), Manon Lescaut (Manon by J. Massenet), Violetta (La Traviata by G. Verdi), Elsa (Lohengrin by R. Wagner), etc. In 1914, Kuznetsova temporarily left the Mariinsky Theater and together with the Russian ballet "Sergei Diaghilev performed in Paris and London as a ballerina, and also partially sponsored their performance. She danced in the ballet "The Legend of Joseph" by Richard Strauss, the ballet was prepared by the stars of her time - composer and conductor Richard Strauss, stage director Sergei Diaghilev, choreographer Mikhail Fokin, costumes and sets Lev Bakst, leading dancer Leonid Myasin. It was an important role and good company, but from the very beginning the production ran into some difficulties: there was not much time for rehearsals, Strauss was in a bad mood, since the invited ballerinas Ida Rubinstein and Lydia Sokolova refused to participate, and Strauss also did not like to work with French musicians and constantly quarreled with the orchestra, and Diaghilev was still worried about the departure of the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky from the troupe. Despite the problems behind the scenes, the ballet successfully debuted in London and Paris. In addition to trying her hand at ballet, Kuznetsova made several opera performances, including in Borodin's production of Prince Igor in London. After the revolution in 1918, Maria Kuznetsova left Russia, as befits an actress, she did it dramatically beautifully - in the clothes of a cabin boy she hid on the lower deck of a ship sailing to Sweden. She became an opera singer at the Stockholm Opera, then at Copenhagen, and then at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. All this time she constantly came to Paris, and in 1921 she finally settled in Paris, which became her second creative home. In the 1920s, Kuznetsova staged private concerts where she sang Russian, French, Spanish and Gypsy songs, romances and operas. At these concerts, she often danced Spanish folk dances and flamenco. Some of her concerts were charitable to help the needy Russian emigration. She became the star of the Parisian opera, and it was considered a great honor to be received in her salon. The "flower of society", ministers and industrialists crowded in her front. In addition to private concerts, she has often worked as a soloist at many opera houses in Europe, including Covent Garden and the Paris Opera and the Opéra Comic. In 1927, Maria Kuznetsova with Prince Alexei Tsereteli and baritone Mikhail Karakash organized a private company "Russian Opera" in Paris, where they invited many Russian opera singers who had left Russia. The Russian Opera staged Sadko, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia, Sorochinskaya Fair and other operas and ballets by Russian composers and performed in London, Paris, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Milan and in distant Buenos Aires. "Russian Opera" lasted until 1933, after which Maria Kuznetsova began to give fewer performances. Maria Kuznetsova died on April 25, 1966 in Paris, France.

Annette Dasch is a German opera singer, soprano. One of the leading contemporary German opera singers. Annette Dash was born on March 24, 1976 in Berlin. Annette's parents, father, judge, and mother studied medicine, loved music and instilled this love in their four children. At home, traditionally, all family members played music and sang together, growing up, all the children became professional musicians: the eldest daughter - a concert pianist, the younger brothers - one - a singer, bass-baritone, a member of the classical pop quintet "Adoro", the second - a music teacher ... Since childhood, Annette performed in the school vocal ensemble and dreamed of becoming a rock singer. She was also an active scout and still loves hiking and tourism. In 1996, Annette moved to Munich to study vocal academically at the Munich Higher School of Music and Theater. In 1998/99 she also took music and drama courses at the University of Music and Theater in Graz (Austria). International success came in 2000 when she won three major international vocal competitions - the Maria Callas Competition in Barcelona, ​​the Schumann Song Competition in Zwickau and the Geneva Competition. Since then, she has performed at the best opera houses in Germany and the world - at the Bavarian, Berlin, Dresden State Operas, at the Paris Opera and at the Champs Elysees, La Scala, Covent Garden, Tokyo Opera, the Metropolitan Opera and many others. In 2006, 2007, 2008 she performed at the Salzburg Festival, in 2010, 2011 at the Wagner Festival in Bayorot. The range of roles of Annette Dash is quite wide, including the roles of Armida ("Armida", Haydn) Gretel ("Hansel and Gretel", Humperdinck), Girls-Goose ("Royal Children", Humperdinck), Fjordiligi ("Everybody does this" , Mozart), Elvira (Don Giovanni, Mozart), Electra (Idomeneo, Mozart), Countess (The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart), Pamina (The Magic Flute, Mozart), Antonia (Hoffmann's Tales, Offenbach), Liu (Turandot, Puccini), Rosalinda (The Bat, Strauss), Freya (Rhine Gold, Wagner), Elsa (Lohengrin, Wagner) and others. Annette Dash is not only an opera singer, she also sings oratorios and gives concerts. Her repertoire includes songs by Beethoven, Britten, Haydn, Gluck, Handel, Schumann, Mahler, Mendelssohn and others. The singer held her last concerts in all major European cities (for example, in Berlin, Barcelona, ​​Vienna, Paris, London, Parma, Florence, Amsterdam, Brussels), performed at the Schubertiada festivals in Schwarzenberg, early music festivals in Innsbruck and Nantes, and other prestigious festivals. Since 2008, Annette Dash has been conducting her very popular television entertainment music show "Dash-Salon", the name of which in German is consonant with the word "laundry" (Waschsalon). For the 2011/2012 season, Annette Dash kicked off a European solo tour, her upcoming operatic commitments include the role of Elvira from Don Giovanni in the spring of 2012 at the Metropolitan Opera, then the role of Madame Pompadour in Vienna, a tour with the Vienna Opera in Japan with a role in The Merry Widow ", also another performance at the Bayorot Festival.

Renata Tebaldi is an Italian opera singer, lyric soprano. One of the most beloved and popular singers of the post-war period. She performed all her roles exclusively in Italian. Often, opera lovers are compared with their rival and opposite - Maria Callas. Renata Ersila Clotilde Tebaldi was born on February 1, 1922 in Pesaro, Italy, in the family of cellist Theobaldo Tebaldi and Giusepina Barbieri. Soon after the birth of their daughter, the parents divorced and Renata and her mother moved to her hometown of Langirano in the province of Parma. Giusepina Barbieri, Renata's mother, was a gifted singer with a beautiful voice and dreamed of a singing career, however, her dreams did not come true and she eventually became a nurse. At the age of three, Renata became seriously ill with polio, it took five years to heal, given the level of medical capabilities, it was almost a miracle. At the age of eight, her mother encouraged Renata to study music, then she sang in the church choir, and at the age of thirteen she entered the Parma Conservatory in piano. Renata worked with boundless diligence, playing music for five hours a day and, like her whole family, dreamed of a career as a pianist. However, over time, she realized that she was leaning more towards vocals. She sang everything she heard, the main source of inspiration was the radio. She began to take vocal lessons, for three years Renata Tebaldi studied with maestro Ettore Campogalliani. Once, during the Christmas holidays, she was staying in Pesaro with her uncle Valentino, her father's brother. He was the owner of a small cafe where the famous opera diva Carmen Melis bought pastries, who at that time left the stage and was a teacher at the Gioachino Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro. Valentino told Melis about his niece and the diva agreed to audition for the young singer. The next day and for the rest of the vacation, Tebaldi studied with Melis, and when she returned to Parma, the improvement was so dramatic that no one believed it was the same voice. After that, Renata Tebaldi decided to move to Pesaro, where she began to live in her father's family and entered the conservatory. Carmen Melis became Tebaldi's main teacher, she taught her both at the conservatory and privately. Melis arranged a scholarship for her and gave her her first public concert performance. Renata Tebaldi made her operatic debut in 1944, as Elena in the opera "Mephistopheles" by Arrigo Boito, in the city of Rovigo, followed by several performances in Parma and Trieste. In Parma, Tebaldi performed the role of Mimi in Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme, then she performed it dozens of times over several decades. The Second World War was going on and opera life was in decline, many theaters were closed and there were few performances. The major breakthrough came in 1946 when she auditioned for Arturo Toscanini, who was recruiting performers for his concert. Tebaldi made a favorable impression on the maestro and he called her "angelic voice". In the same year, she made her debut at La Scala at a concert that marked the opening of the theater after the war. Toscanini secured Tebaldi a permanent place in one of the finest opera houses in the world. At La Scala she was given the operatic roles of Margarita and Elena in Mephistopheles and Elsa in Lohengrin in 1946. The following year she appeared in La Boheme and as Eve in Wagner's Meistersingers of Nuremberg. Soon, Toscanini invited her to the role of Aida and Tebaldi made her debut in this role at La Scala in 1950, paired with Mario Del Monaco, the creative union of Renata Tebaldi and Mario del Monaco on stage and in recording studios will be long and fruitful. In the same year, Tebaldi's international career began, with the La Scala troupe she performed at the Edinburgh Festival, then in London, at Covent Garden at the opera "Othello" and Verdi's Requiem, in the USA at the San Francisco Opera as Aida. Then there were all the largest theaters in the world. Tebaldi did not have time to become the leading singer of La Scala when a new star appeared on the stage of the theater - Maria Callas, who took her place. When La Scala preferred Callas, Tebaldi was invited by many other theaters, especially the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, where she was very loved and appreciated above Callas. In the mid-1950s, Tebaldi left La Scala in order to become the prima donna of the Metropolitan Opera, which debuted in 1955 as Desdemona. When she returned to La Scala on tour in 1958, the audience gave her a forty-minute standing ovation. The rivalry between Tebaldi and Callas was more fueled by the audience and the press than the singers themselves, although they perfectly understood the fruitfulness of this hype for their careers. On September 16, 1968, the long rivalry between Tebaldi and Callas came to an end, when Maria congratulated Renata behind the scenes on her good performance in Francesco Chilea's opera Adriana Lecouvreur, the two sopranos embraced and never met again, but spoke kind words about each other. On March 4, 1960 Tebaldi appeared in an unforgettable performance of Verdi's opera The Force of Destiny. This performance remained in the history of the opera because in the middle of the second act, its partner, the famous baritone Leonard Warren, fell to the floor and died on stage from a stroke in front of the audience. In the early 1960s, Tebaldi's voice began to show signs of fatigue and lost its plasticity; she did not appear on the stage for more than a year, returning to rest in 1964. From that moment, a kind of second career of Renata Tebaldi began, focused more on the dramatic repertoire. For almost twenty years, Tebaldi performed regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, participating in more than 270 productions, in such operas as La Bohème, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Manon Lescaut, Othello, Simon Boccanegra, Falstaff "and many others, and completed work in it on January 8, 1973 in the same role with which she made her debut. In 1976 she gave her farewell concert at La Scala. By the time of leaving the stage, Tebaldi's artistic heritage was 1262 performances - 1048 complete operas in 48 roles and 214 concerts, as well as 134 audio and video recordings with her participation. Renata Tebaldi died on February 1, 2004 at her home in San Marino.

Inva Mula is an Albanian opera singer, soprano. She occupies a significant place in the opera world, however, outside the opera stage, she is best known for her performance of an aria in the film "The Fifth Element". Inva Mula was born on June 27, 1963 in Tirana, Albania, her father Avni Mula is a famous Albanian singer and composer, her daughter's name - Inva is the reverse reading of her father's name. She studied vocals and piano in her hometown, first at a music school, then at a conservatory under the guidance of her mother, Nina Mula. In 1987, Inva won the "Singer of Albania" competition in Tirana, in 1988 - at the George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest. His debut on the operatic stage took place in 1990 at the Theater of Opera and Ballet in Tirana with the role of Leila in The Pearl Seekers by J. Bizet. Soon, Inva Mula left Albania and got a job as a singer in the choir of the Paris National Opera (Opera Bastille and Opera Garnier). In 1992, Inva Mula won first prize at the Butterfly competition in Barcelona. The main success, after which she became famous, was the prize at the first Placido Domingo's "Operalia" competition in Paris in 1993. The final gala concert of this competition was held at the Opera Garnier, a disc and tenor Placido Domingo was released with the winners of the competition, including with Inva Mula repeated this program at the Opera Bastille, as well as in Brussels, Munich and Oslo. This tour attracted attention to her and the singer began to be invited to perform in various opera houses of the world. The range of roles of Inva Mula is wide enough, she sings Verdi's Gilda in Rigoletto, Nanette in Falstaff and Violetta in La Traviata. Her other roles are Michaela in Carmen, Antonia in Hoffmann's Tales, Musetta and Mimi in La Boheme, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Nedda in Pagliacci, Magda and Lisette in Swallow and many others. Inva Mula's career continues successfully, she regularly performs in European and world opera houses, including La Scala in Milan, Vienna State Opera, Arena di Verona, Lyric Opera Chicago, Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, as well as theaters in Tokyo, Barcelona, ​​Toronto , Bilbao and others. Inva Mula chose Paris as her home, and is now considered more of a French singer than an Albanian one. She regularly appears in French theaters in Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon and, of course, in Paris. In 2009/10. Inva Mula opened the Paris Opera season with Opéra Bastille, starring in the rarely performed opera Mireille by Charles Gounod. Inva Mula has released several albums, television and video recordings of her performances on DVD, including the operas La Boheme, Falstaff and Rigoletto. The recording of the opera "The Swallow" with conductor Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra in 1997 won the Gramaphone award for "Best Recording of the Year". Until the mid-1990s, Inva Mula was married to the Albanian singer and composer Pirro Tchako and at the beginning of her career she used either her husband's surname or the double surname Mula-Tchako, after the divorce she began to use only her first name - Inva Mula. Inva Mula, outside of the operatic stage, made a name for herself by voicing the role of Diva Plavalaguna (a tall, blue-skinned alien with eight tentacles) in Jean-Luc Besson's fantasy film The Fifth Element, starring Bruce Williss and Mila Jovovich. The singer performed the aria "Oh, fair sky! .. Sweet sound" (Oh, giusto cielo! .. Il dolce suono) from the opera "Lucia di Lammermoor" by Gaetano Donizetti and the song "Dance of the Diva", in which, most likely, the voice underwent electronic processing to achieve a height that is impossible for a person to sound, although the filmmakers claim the opposite. Director Luc Besson wanted the film to have the voice of his beloved singer Maria Callas, but the quality of the available recordings was not good enough to be used on the film's soundtrack and Inva Mula was hired for the soundtrack.

Maria Callas (English Maria Callas; name in the birth certificate - Sophia Cecelia Kalos, English Sophia Cecelia Kalos, baptized as Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulos - Greek Μαρ? Α Καλογεροπο? Λου; December 2 (4), 1923, New York - September 16, 1977, Paris) - American opera singer (soprano). Maria Callas ranks among such opera reformers as Richard Wagner and Arturo Toscanini. The culture of the second half of the 20th century is inextricably linked with her name. In the early 1950s, on the eve of postmodernism, when 19th century opera became an aesthetic anachronism, Maria Callas brought operatic art back to the top of the stage Olympus. Having revived the era of bel canto, Maria Callas did not limit herself to virtuoso coloratura in operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti, but turned her voice into the main means of expression. She has become a versatile singer with a repertoire ranging from classic opera series such as Spontini's Vestal, to Verdi's latest operas, Puccini's verist operas and Wagner's musical dramas. The rise of Callas' career in the middle of the 20th century was accompanied by the appearance of the LP in the recording and friendship with the prominent figure of the EMI record company Walter Legge. The arrival on the stage of opera houses of a new generation of conductors such as Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein and filmmakers such as Luchino Visconti and Franco Zeffirelli made every performance with Maria Callas an event. She turned opera into a real drama theater, forcing even "trills and scales to express joy, anxiety or longing." Maria Callas was born in New York to a family of Greek immigrants. In 1936, Mary's mother, Gospel, returned to Athens to continue her daughter's musical education. The mother wanted to embody her failed talents in her daughter and began to take her to the New York Library on Fifth Avenue. Maria began listening to classical music at the age of three, at five she began to take piano lessons, and by the age of eight, vocal lessons. At the age of 14, Maria began her studies at the Athens Conservatory under the guidance of the former Spanish singer Elvira de Hidalgo. In July 1941, in German-occupied Athens, Maria Callas made her debut at the Athens Opera as Tosca. In 1945 Maria Callas returned to New York. A series of failures followed: she was not introduced to Toscanini, she refused to sing the part of Cio-Cio-San at the Metropolitan Opera because of her heavy weight, hopes for a revival of the Lyric Opera in Chicago, where she hoped to sing, collapsed. In 1947, Callas made her debut on the stage of the Arena di Verona in Ponchielli's La Gioconda under the baton of Tullio Serafin. The meeting with Seraphin was, in the words of Callas herself: "The true beginning of a career and the greatest success of my life." Tullio Seraphin introduces Callas to the world of great opera. She sings the first parts in Verdi's Aida and Bellini's Norma at the end of 1948. In early 1949, within one week, the vocal incompatible roles of Brunhilde in Wagner's Valkyrie and Elvira in Bellini's The Puritans created the creative phenomenon of the singer Maria Callas. She sang lyrical, dramatic, and coloratura parts, which was a singing miracle - “four voices in one throat”. In 1949, Callas went on tour to South America. In 1950, she sings for the first time at La Scala and becomes the “Queen of Italian prima donnas”. In 1953, EMI released complete recordings of operas with Maria Callas for the first time. In the same year, she loses weight by 30 kilograms. The transformed Callas captivates audiences on opera stages in Europe and America in the operas Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti, Norma by Bellini, Medea by Cherubini, Verdi's Troubadour and Macbeth, and Tosca by Puccini. In September 1957, Maria Callas first met Aristotle Onassis at a ball in honor of the birthday of journalist Elsa Maxwell in Venice. In the spring of 1959 in Venice, they met again at a ball. After that, Onassis went to London for a Callas concert. After this concert, he invited her and her husband to his yacht. At the end of November 1959, Onassis's wife Tina filed for divorce, and Callas and Onassis at this time openly appeared in society together. The couple quarreled almost constantly, and in 1968 Maria Callas learned from the newspapers that Aristotle Onassis had married the widow of the President of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy. In 1959, there was a turning point in successful career ... This was facilitated by a loss of voice, a series of scandals, a divorce, a break with the Metropolitan Opera, a forced departure from La Scala, an unhappy love for Aristotle Onassis, and the loss of a child. An attempt to return to the stage in 1964 ends with another failure. In Verona, Maria Callas met the local industrialist Giovanni Batista Meneghini. He was twice her age and had a passion for opera. Soon, Giovanni confessed his love to Maria, completely sold his business and devoted himself to Callas. In 1949 Maria Callas and Giovanni Meneghini got married. He became everything for Maria: both a faithful spouse, and a loving father, and a devoted manager, and a generous producer. In 1969, Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini invited Maria Callas to star in the role of Medea in the film of the same name. Although the film was not a commercial success, it is of great cinematic interest, like all of Pasolini's other works. The role of Medea was for Maria Callas the only role outside of the opera. The last years of her life, Maria Callas lived in Paris, practically without leaving the apartment, where she died in 1977. She was cremated and buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery. Later, her ashes were scattered over the Aegean Sea. Italian phoniatrists (doctors specializing in diseases of the vocal cords) Franco Fussi and Nico Paolillo have established the most probable cause of death of the opera diva Maria Callas, writes the Italian La Stampa (translation of the article into English published by Parterre Box). According to their research, Callas died of dermatomyositis, a rare disorder of connective tissue and smooth muscle. Fussi and Paolillo came to this conclusion after studying Callas' recordings made in different years and analyzing the gradual deterioration of her voice. Spectrographic analysis of studio recordings and live performances showed that by the end of the 1960s, when her vocal deterioration became apparent, Callas's voice range had actually changed from soprano to mezzo-soprano, which explained the change in the sound of high notes in her performance.In addition, careful study Video recordings of her later concerts revealed that the singer's muscles were significantly weakened: her chest practically did not rise when breathing, and when inhaling, the singer lifted her shoulders and strained her deltoid muscles, that is, in fact, she made the most common mistake with the support of the vocal muscle. The cause of Maria Callas' death is not known for certain, but it is believed that the singer died of cardiac arrest. According to Fussi and Paolillo, the results of their work directly indicate that the resulting myocardial infarction was a complication as a result of dermatomyositis. It is noteworthy that this diagnosis (dermatomyositis) by Callas was made shortly before her death by her doctor, Mario Jacovazzo (this became known only in 2002). Opera roles of Maria Callas Santuzza - Rural Honor by Mascagni (1938, Athens) Tosca - Tosca by Puccini (1941, Athens Opera) Gioconda - La Gioconda by Ponchielli (1947, Arena di Verona) Turandot - Turandot by Puccini ( 1948, Carlo Felice (Genoa) Aida - Aida by Verdi (1948, Metropolitan Opera, New York) Norm - Norma Bellini (1948, 1956, Metropolitan Opera; 1952, Covent Garden London; 1954, Lyric Opera, Chicago) Brunhilde - Wagner's Valkyrie (1949-1950, Metropolitan Opera) Elvira - Bellini's Puritans (1949-1950, Metropolitan Opera) Elena - Sicilian Vespers "Verdi (1951, La Scala", Milan) Kundri - "Parsifal" by Wagner ("La Scala") Violetta - "La Scala" by Verdi ("La Scala") Medea - "Medea" Cherubini (1953, "La Scala") Julia - "Vestal" Spontini (1954, "La Scala") Gilda - "Rigoletto" Verdi (1955, "La Scala") Madame Butterfly (Cio-Cio-san) - "Madame Butterfly" Puccini ("La Scala") Lady Macbeth - "Macbeth" Verdi Fedor - "Fedora" Giordano Anna Boleyn - "Anna Boleyn "Donizetti Lucia -" Lucia di Lammermoor "Donizetti Amina -" Somnambula "Bellini Carmen -" Carmen "Bizet

Joyce DiDonato is a famous American opera singer, mezzo-soprano. He is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of our time and the best interpreter of the works of Gioacchino Rossini. Joyce DiDonato (née Joyce Flaherty) was born on February 13, 1969 in Pryre Village, Kansas, USA to a family with Irish roots, the sixth of seven children. Her father was the leader of the local church choir, Joyce sang in it and dreamed of becoming a Broadway star. In 1988 she entered Wichita State University, where she studied vocals. After university Joyce DiDonato decided to continue her musical education and in 1992 entered the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. After the academy, for several years she participated in the training programs "Young Artist" in various opera companies: in 1995 - in the "Santa Fe Opera", where she received musical practice and made her opera debut on the big stage, but so far in minor roles in operas "The Marriage of Figaro" by W.A. Mozart, "Salome" by R. Strauss, "Countess Maritza" by I. Kalman; from 1996 to 1998 - at the Houston Grand Opera and was recognized as the best "emerging artist"; in the summer of 1997 - at the San Francisco Opera in the Merola Opera training program. During her studies and initial practice, Joyce DiDonato took part in several well-known vocal competitions. In 1996, she came second in the Eleanor McCollum Competition in Houston and won the District Audition for the Metropolitan Opera Competition. In 1997 she won the William Sullivan Award. In 1998 she took second place in the Placido Domingo's Operalia competition in Hamburg and first place in the George London competition. In subsequent years, she received many more various awards and prizes. Joyce DiDonato began her professional career in 1998 with performances in several regional opera companies in the United States, primarily at the Houston Grand Opera. And she became known to a wide audience thanks to the appearance in the television world premiere of the opera "Little Woman" by Mark Adamo. In the 2000-2001 season. DiDonato made her European debut, starting right away with La Scala as Angelina in Rossini's Cinderella. In the following season, she expanded her acquaintance with European audiences, appearing at the Netherlands Opera as Handel's Sesta Julius Caesar, at the Paris Opera as Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville and at the Bavarian State Opera as Cherubino in Mazart's Marriage of Figaro. and in the concert programs "Glory" by Vivaldi with Ricardo Muti and La Scala Orchestra and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by F. Mendelssohn in Paris. In the same season in the United States, she made her debut at the Washington State Opera as Dorabella in Mozart's "This Is What All Women Do". At this time, Joyce DiDonato had already become a real opera star with world fame, loved by the audience and praised by the press. Further career only expanded her touring geography and opened the doors of new opera houses and festivals - Covent Garden (2002), Metropolitan Opera (2005), Opera Bastille (2002), Royal Theater in Madrid, New National Theater in Tokyo, Vienna State Opera et al. Joyce DiDonato has amassed a rich collection of various musical awards and prizes. As critics point out, this is perhaps one of the most successful and smooth careers in the modern opera world. And even the accident that occurred on the stage of Covent Garden on July 7, 2009 during the performance of "The Barber of Seville", when Joyce DiDonato slipped on stage and broke her leg, did not interrupt this performance, which she ended on crutches, nor the subsequent scheduled performances. which she led out of the wheelchair, much to the delight of the audience. This "legendary" event is captured on DVD. Joyce DiDonato started the past 2010-2011 season with the Salzburg Festival and debuted as Adalgiz in Norma Belinni with Edita Gruberova as Norma, then with a concert program at the Edinburgh Festival. In the autumn in Berlin, she performed the role of Rosina in The Barber of Seville and in Madrid in the role of Octavian in The Der Rosenkavalier. The year ended with more awards, the first from the German Academy of Recordings "Echo Klassik", which named Joyce DiDonato "Best Female Singer 2010". The next two awards at once from the English classical music magazine "Gramophone", which named her "Best Artist of the Year" and chose her CD with Rossini's arias as the best "Recital of the Year". Continuing the season in the United States, she performed in Houston, and then a recital at Carnegie Hall. The Metropolitan Opera welcomed her in two roles - the page Isolier in "Count Ori" by Rossini and the composer in "Ariadne auf Naxos" by R. Strauss. Finished the season in Europe with tours in Baden-Baden, Paris, London and Valencia. The singer's website contains a busy schedule of her future performances, in this list only for the first half of 2012 there are about forty performances in Europe and America. Joyce DiDonato is now married to Italian conductor Leonardo Vordoni, with whom they live in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Joyce continues to use the last name of her first husband, whom she married right out of college.

Yulia Novikova is a Russian opera singer, soprano. Julia Novikova was born in St. Petersburg in 1983. She began to study music at the age of 4. Graduated with honors from a music school (piano and flute). For nine years she was a member and soloist of the Children's Choir of Television and Radio of St. Petersburg under the direction of S.F. Gribkov. In 2006 she graduated with honors from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov, vocal class (teacher O.D. Kondina). During her studies at the Conservatory she sang the roles of Suzanne (The Marriage of Figaro), Serpina (The Maid-Lady), Martha (The Tsar's Bride) and Violetta (La Traviata) at the opera studio. Yulia Novikova made her professional debut in 2006 at the Mariinsky Theater as Flora in B. Britten's The Turn of the Screw (conducted by V. Gergiev and P. Smelkov). Julia received her first permanent contract at the Dortmund theater when she was still a student at the conservatory. In 2006-2008. Julia performed at the Dortmund Theater the roles of Olympia (The Tales of Hoffmann), Rosina (The Barber of Seville), the Shemakhan Queen (The Golden Cockerel) and Gilda (Rigoletto), as well as the role of the Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute) in opera in Frankfurt. In the 2008-2009 season. Julia returned with the part of the Queen of the Night to the Frankfurt Opera, and also performed this part in Bonn. Also this season were performed Oscar ("Masquerade Ball"), Medoro ("Furious Orlando" by Vivaldi), Blondchen ("Abduction from the Seraglio") at the Bonn Opera, Gilda - in Lübeck, Olympia - at the Komische Oper (Berlin). Season 2009-2010 began with a successful performance as Gilda in the premiere production of Rigoletto at the Berliner Komische Opera. This was followed by the Queen of the Night at the Hamburg and Vienna State Operas, at the Berlin Staatsoper, Gilda and Adina ("Love Potion") at the Bonn Opera, Zerbinetta ("Ariadne auf Naxos") at the Strasbourg Opera, Olympia at the Komische operas, and Rosina in Stuttgart ... On September 4 and 5, 2010, Julia performed the part of Gilda in the live TV broadcast of Rigoletto from Mantua to 138 countries (producer A. Andermann, conductor Z. Meta, director M. Belokchio, Rigoletto P. Domingo, etc.). In the 2010-2011 season. Julia will perform with the pariah of Amina (Somnambula) in Bonn, Norina (Don Pasquale) in Washington, Gilda at the Comische Berlin, Olympia at the Frankfurt and Oscar operas, Queen of the Night, Zerbinetta and Adina at the Vienna State Opera. Yulia Novikova also appears in concerts. Julia has performed with the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra (conductor J. Darlington), with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Orchestra (director Ch. Poppen), as well as in Bordeaux, Nancy, Paris (Champs Elysees Theater), Carnegie Hall (New York). There were recitals at the Grachten Festival in Amsterdam and the Muziekdriedaagse Festival in The Hague, a gala concert at the Budapest Opera. The nearest plans include a concert with the Bernese Chamber Orchestra and a New Year's concert in Vienna. Yulia Novikova - winner and laureate of several international music competitions: - Operalia (Budapest, 2009) - first prize and audience award; - Musical debut (Landau, 2008) - winner, winner of the Emmerich Smola Prize; - New Voices (Gutersloh, 2007) - Audience Award; - International Competition in Geneva (2007) - Audience Award; - International Competition. Wilhelm Stenhammar (Norrköpping, 2006) - third prize and prize for the best performance of contemporary Swedish music. Information from the official website of the singer Yulia Novikova http://www.julianovikova.com/

Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater is one of the oldest opera houses in Ukraine. The opening of the first theater building took place in 1810. The modern building was built in 1887 by architects F. Fellner and G. Helmer (Bureau Fellner & Helmer) in the Viennese Baroque style. The complete restoration of the theater building was completed in 2007. Stage area - 500 sq. meters, the number of seats - 1636. The theater was conducted by P.I. Tchaikovsky, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, S.V. Rachmaninov, great Enrico Caruso, Fyodor Chaliapin, Solomeya Krushelnitskaya, Antonina Nezhdanova, Leonid Sobinov sang, Anna danced Pavlova and Isadora Duncan. Among the outstanding soloists of the theater is A. Azrikan. The number of successful productions of the theater troupe included: "Carmen", "Traviata", "Troubadour", "Rigoletto", "Zaporozhets beyond the Danube", "Cio-Cio-San", "Natalka-Poltavka", "Giselle", "The Nutcracker" , "Sleeping Beauty". Alexander Pushkin mentioned the Odessa theater in the novel "Eugene Onegin". For the 120th anniversary of the theater, the National Bank of Ukraine issued commemorative coins. The Opera and Ballet Theater can be called the elder among the cultural institutions of the city. Odessa received the right to build a theater in 1804, and in 1809 it was already built. The author of this project is the famous French architect Thomas de Thomon, who at that time built a number of buildings in St. Petersburg. The grand opening took place on February 10, 1810. The first performance was the one-act opera by Fröhlich “The New Family” and the vaudeville “The Comforted Widow” by the Russian troupe P.V. Fortunatov. In 1873, the old theater burned down completely. Fortunately, none of the people were hurt. The Viennese architects F. Fellner and G. Helmer proposed to create a project for a new city theater, according to whose designs theaters were built in many European cities (Vienna, Budapest, Dresden, Zagreb, etc.). It took almost 11 years from the moment of the fire to the laying of the first stone in the foundation of the new theater. The theater was opened on October 1, 1887. In March 1925, as a result of a new fire, the stage completely burned down and the hall was damaged. In a short time, the theater was rebuilt, and a year later the performances were resumed. The stage received new technical equipment, two reinforced concrete curtains were installed, cutting off, if necessary, the stage from the audience hall and office premises. As evidenced by the inscription on the memorial plate, on the balcony of the theater on April 10, 1944, they raised the banner of the liberation of the city from the Nazi invaders (by the way, the Germans planned to blow up the theater during the retreat). The Odessa Opera House is famous, first of all, for its architecture, and in terms of its layout and technical data it rivals the best theaters in Europe. In the plan, the building consists of a horseshoe-shaped audience hall, surrounded by galleries, a foyer and a rectangular stage with ancillary rooms. Along the longitudinal axis of the building there is a two-tiered portal of the main entrance with a high attic, along the transverse one there are three-arcade galleries of the side entrances. The layout is radial - passages to the exit are laid from the center along the radii in different directions. The stairs leading directly to the theater exit also have tiers. The building is covered with a system of metal trusses, zinc coating. The covering of the audience hall resembles the surface of a part of an ellipsoid cut off by planes along the horizontal and vertical axes of symmetry; it is crowned with a round lantern with a dome, completed with a low spire. The theater building is made in the style of the Viennese Baroque. Externally, structurally consists of 3 floors. 1st (basement) and 2nd, decorated only with columns of the Tuscan order in the loggias, form a single whole, look cumbersome and fundamental, giving the building static. The third floor, lighter, more delicate, with refined detailing, with arched loggias, columns and pilasters of the Ionic order, conceals the heaviness of the lower floors and creates the illusion of lightness. The graceful portico and domed roof add additional effects. The building seems to "hover" above the ground. Above the facade there is a sculptural group depicting the muse of theatrical tragedy Melpomene in a chariot drawn by 4 panthers she conquered. Below there are also two mythological sculptural groups: on the left, Orpheus plays the centaur's cithara, on the right, the muse of Terpsichore's dance is dancing with a girl. On the pediment of the portico, several dates are indicated in Roman numerals: the first line - the dates of the beginning and end of the construction of the theater (1884 - 1887), the second line - the phrase "the theater burned" and the year 1925, then the year 1967 and the word "reconstruction". Along the central entrance there are sculptural groups representing Comedy and Tragedy: on the left - a fragment of Euripides' tragedy "Hippolytus", on the right - an episode from the comedy "Birds" by Aristophanes. Busts of Russian writers and composers are installed along the pediment in the round niches of the upper floor: A. Pushkin, M. Glinka, A. Griboyedov, N. Gogol (sculptors - F. Netali and F. Friedl, stucco - L. Striccius under the direction of F. Etel ). The most beautiful part of the building is the interior, first of all, the audience hall, created in the style of late French Rococo and decorated with stucco gilded ornaments. The composition that adorns the ceiling is based on 4 paintings-medallions by Leffler based on Shakespeare's plots (Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Winter's Tale, As You Like It). A large chandelier in the center of the ceiling strikes with the grace of openwork details. The graceful stucco molding in the tiers, side vestibules and along the stairs leading to the boxes, original lamps, candelabra and ornaments of bronze inlays attract attention. The curtain created according to the sketch by A. Golovin amazes with its taste. Stage area - 500 sq. meters. The unique acoustics of the room allows you to convey even a whisper from the stage to every corner of the hall. In the hall, seats for spectators are located in the stalls, benoir, mezzanine, 1st and 2nd tiers and in the gallery. Among the boxes, the "royal" box stands out - in the center of the mezzanine, directly opposite the stage. In the 1st row, it has 12 seats. In order to stop the settlement of the building and the formation of cracks in its supporting structures, in 1951-1956, work was carried out to strengthen the foundation of the theater by silicating it with liquid glass (about 6 million liters of molten glass were poured through pits into the foundation). In 1965 -1967 - a complete restoration of the theater, both outside and inside. The USSR government spent 4 million rubles and 9 kg of pure gold leaf. However, these measures did not help for long - the theater was built on sedimentary rocks, so the process of its destruction continued. By the mid-1990s, the building was in a disastrous state, and in 1996 the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers allocated funds for a new major restoration. The completion of the work was initially planned for 1999, and then repeatedly postponed due to lack of funds. The foundation was strengthened by pouring reinforced concrete piles. The complete restoration of the building was completed in 2007. The theater has made great contributions to the development of musical culture in the South of Ukraine. Here P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, S.V. Rachmaninov, Eugene Isaye, Pablo Sarasate and others performed their works, Enrico Caruso, Fyodor Chaliapin, Solomeya Krushelnitskaya, Antonina Nezhdanova, Leonid Sobinov, J. Anselmi, Titta Ruffo, Mattia Battistini, L. Geraldoni, danced Anna Pavlova, Isadora Duncan, E.V. Geltser. The conductors of performances and symphony concerts were A.G. Rubinstein, E.F.Napravnik, A.S. Arensky, A.K. Glazunov and others. In 1926 the theater was awarded the title of "academic", in 2007 - the status of "national". The theater hosts symphony concerts, in particular, organ concerts, because the theater has the best acoustic data in the city and a built-in organ. A children's ballet school has been operating at the theater for several decades - a unique creative institution in the city and a “forge of personnel” for the ballet troupe of the theater. The theater has a large opera troupe, among which one can note: People's Artist of Ukraine Anatoly Boyko (bass), People's Artist of Ukraine Valentina Vasilyeva (mezzo-soprano), People's Artist of Ukraine Anatoly Kapustin (tenor), People's Artist of Ukraine Lyudmila Shirina (soprano). The ballet troupe of the theater consists of 50 people. Honored artists of Ukraine Andrey Musorin and Elena Kamenskikh - participants of Rudolf Nureyev's Farewell tour stand out among them. The chief conductor of the Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater is Professor, People's Artist of Ukraine Yarema Antonovich Skibinsky. Ballet dancers have toured Canada, Japan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, China, Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, South Korea, Italy, Spain, Portugal - with Maya Plisetskaya, Indonesia, Switzerland, Sweden and other countries. Among the most famous and successful productions of modern theater are the following performances: "Carmen", "Traviata", "Troubadour", "Rigoletto", "Zaporozhets beyond the Danube", "Cio-Cio-San", "Natalka-Poltavka", " Giselle, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty. At these performances, the hall is usually full. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin "Eugene Onegin" (section "Excerpts from Onegin's journey"). But the blue evening is getting dark, It's time for us to go to the opera as soon as possible: There is a delightful Rossini, Europe's darling - Orpheus ... ... But are there only charms? And the exploratory lorgnette? And the backstage dates? A prima donna? and ballet?

La Scala (Italian Teatro alla Scala or La Scala) is a world famous opera house in Milan (Italy). All leading opera stars over the past two and a half centuries have considered it an honor to perform at La Scala. The Teatro alla Scala is home to the opera troupe, choir, ballet and symphony orchestra of the same name. It is also associated with the Teatro alla Scala Academy, which offers professional training in music, dance and stage management. In the foyer of the theater there is a museum, which displays paintings, sculptures, costumes and other documents related to the history of opera and theater. The building of the theater was built by the order of the Empress of Austria Maria Teresa according to the project of the architect Giuseppe Piermarini in 1776-1778. on the site of the Church of Santa Maria della Scala, where the name of the theater itself comes from. The church, in turn, received its name in 1381 from the patroness - a representative of the family of the rulers of Verona by the name of Scala (Scaliger) - Beatrice della Scala (Regina della Scala). The theater was opened on August 3, 1778 with a production of the opera "Recognized Europe" by Antonio Salieri. In the late 18th - early 19th centuries, operas by Italian composers P. Anfossi, P. Guglielmi, D. Cimarosa, L. Cherubini, G. Paisiello, S. Mayra appeared in the theater's repertoire. On the stage of the theater, premieres of the operas by G. Rossini "Touchstone" (1812), "Aurelian in Palmyra" (1813), "A Turk in Italy" (1814), "The Thief Magpie" (1817) and others (in one of them debuted in Italy by Caroline Unger), as well as operas by J. Meyerbeer "Margaret of Anjou" (1820), "The Exile from Grenada" (1822) and a number of works by Saverio Mercadante. Since the 1830s, works by G. Donizetti, V. Bellini, G. Verdi, G. Puccini have appeared in the theater's repertoire, and for the first time “Pirate” (1827) and “Norma” (1831) by Bellini, “Lucretius Borgia” (1833) Donizetti, Oberto (1839), Nabucco (1842), Othello (1887) and Falstaff (1893) by Verdi, Madame Butterfly (1904) and Turandot by Puccini. During the Second World War, the theater was destroyed. After the restoration of its original appearance by engineer L. Secchi, the theater was reopened in 1946. The theater building has been restored more than once. The last restoration lasted three years, and more than 61 million euros were spent on it. The first piece of music performed on the renewed stage on December 7, 2004 was Antonio Salieri's opera "Recognized Europe". The number of seats is 2030, which is much less than before the last restoration, the number of seats has been reduced for the purpose of fire safety and increased comfort. Traditionally, the new season at La Scala begins in winter - December 7 (which is unusual compared to other theaters in the world) on the Day of St. Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan, and ends in November. And each performance must end before midnight, if the opera is very long, then it starts early.

Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous and easily recognizable buildings in the world, which is a symbol of Australia's largest city, Sydney, and one of the main attractions of Australia - the sail-shaped shells that form the roof make this building unlike any other in the world. The Opera House is recognized as one of the outstanding buildings of modern architecture and since 1973, along with the Harbor Bridge, has been the hallmark of Sydney. Sydney Opera House was opened on October 20, 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II of England. The Sydney Opera House is located in Sydney Harbor, at Bennelong Point. This place was named after an Australian aborigine friend of the first governor of the colony. It is hard to imagine Sydney without the Opera, but until 1958 there was an ordinary tram depot in its place (before the opera building, there was a fort, and then a tram depot). The architect of the Opera House is the Danish Jorn Utzon. Despite the success of the concept of spherical shells, which solved all the problems of construction, well suited for mass production, precise manufacturing and ease of installation, construction was delayed, mainly due to the interior decoration of the premises. It was planned that the construction of the Opera will take 4 years and will cost 7 million Australian dollars. Instead, the opera took 14 years to build and cost $ 102 million! The Sydney Opera House is an Expressionist building with a radical and innovative design. The building covers an area of ​​2.2 hectares. Its height is 185 meters and its maximum width is 120 meters. The building weighs 161,000 tons and rests on 580 piles, which are lowered into the water at a depth of almost 25 meters from sea level. Its power supply is equivalent to the electricity consumption of one city with a population of 25,000. Electricity is distributed over 645 kilometers of cable. The roof of the opera house consists of 2,194 prefabricated sections, its height is 67 meters, and its weight is more than 27 tons, the entire structure is held by steel cables 350 kilometers long. The roof of the theater is formed by a series of "shells" of a non-existent concrete sphere 492 feet in diameter, commonly referred to as "shells" or "sails", although this is incorrect from an architectural definition of such a structure. These shells are constructed from precast, triangle-shaped concrete panels supported by 32 pre-fabricated ribs of the same material. All ribs are part of one large circle, which allowed the outlines of the roofs to have the same shape, and the whole building a complete and harmonious look. The entire roof is covered with 1,056,006 azulejo tiles in white and matt cream colors. Although from a distance the structure appears to be made entirely of white tiles, the tiles create different color schemes under different lighting conditions. Thanks to the mechanical method of laying the tiles, the entire surface of the roof is perfectly smooth, which was impossible with manual covering. All the tiles were produced by the Swedish factory Höganäs AB with self-cleaning technology, but despite this, work is regularly carried out to clean and replace some of the tiles. The two largest shell vaults form the ceiling of the Concert Hall and the Opera Theater. In other rooms, the ceilings form groups of smaller vaults. The stepped roof structure was very beautiful, but created height problems inside the building, as the resulting height did not provide adequate acoustics in the halls. To solve this problem, separate sound-reflecting ceilings were made. In the smallest sink, away from the main entrance and the main staircase, is the Bennelong restaurant. The interior of the building is decorated with pink granite brought from the Tarana region (New South Wales), wood and plywood. For this project, Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, the highest award in architecture, in 2003. The awarding ceremony was accompanied by the words: "There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of extraordinary beauty that has become known all over the world - a symbol not only of the city, but of the entire country and continent. . " The Sydney Opera House houses four key companies in the art of Australia - Australian Opera, Australian Ballet, Sydney Theater Company and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, in addition to which there are many other companies and theaters based in the Sydney Opera House. This theater is one of the liveliest centers for the performing arts, with approximately 1,500 performances annually, with a total attendance of over 1.2 million. It is also one of Australia's most popular attractions, with over seven million tourists visiting it every year. The Opera House has three main performance halls: - The Concert Hall, 2679 seats, is the home of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, It contains the world's largest functioning mechanical organ, with over 10,000 pipes. - The Opera House, seating 1507, is the home of the Sydney Opera House and the Australian Ballet. - Drama Theater, 544 seats, used by the Sydney Theater Company and other dance and theater groups. In addition to these three halls, the Sydney Opera House contains several smaller halls and studios.

The Grand Teatro La Fenice ("Phoenix") (Gran Teatro La Fenice) - an opera house in Venice, repeatedly destroyed by fire and rebuilt. The theater is the venue for the International Festival of Contemporary Music. Teatro La Fenice was built in 1790-1792. The name "Phoenix" reflects the fact that the theater was "reborn from the ashes" twice. In 1774, the leading Venetian opera house of the time, San Benedetto, burned to the ground. The management company restored it, but lost the dispute with its owner in court and lost the theater again. As a result, the company decided to build its own new opera house. Construction began in June 1790 and was completed in May 1792. The theater was named "La Fenice", testifying to the renaissance. It was opened on May 16, 1792 with Paisiello's opera Agrigente Games. On December 13, 1836, the theater was destroyed by fire, but was quickly restored to its original model, under the direction of architects Tommaso and Giambattista Medun. A year later, in 1837, the theater reopened its doors. In the nineteenth century, La Fenice became the site of premieres of many operas by prominent Italian authors, in particular Gioacchino Rossini (Tancred, 1813, Semiramis, 1823), Vincenzo Bellini (Capulet and Montague, 1830, Beatrice di Tendi, 1833 ) and Giuseppe Verdi (Ernani, 1843, Attila, 1846, Rigoletto, 1851, La Traviata, 1853, Simon Boccanegra, 1857). La Traviata's premiere was originally booed by audiences in Phoenix. In 1930, the Venice Biennale initiated the first international festival of contemporary music. In 1937 the theater was reconstructed according to the project of Eugenio Miozzo. Outstanding premieres of the 20th century were productions of the opera The Rake's Progress by I. Stravinsky (1951) and The Turn of the Screw by B. Britten. On January 29, 1996, the theater building was again destroyed by fire, the arson was committed by the electrician Enrico Carella, who was trying to avoid contractual fines for delays in work. With state support, the theater was restored and inaugurated on December 14, 2003. The La Scala choir and orchestra under the baton of Muti performed at the opening. The best orchestras of the world took part in the program of celebrations on the occasion of the revival of Fenice, including the orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic under the baton of Yuri Temirkanov, who performed works by Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky.

Teatro Massimo (Italian Il Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele) is an opera house in Palermo, Italy. The theater is named after King Victor Emmanuel II. Translated from Italian, Massimo means the largest, the greatest - the architectural complex of the theater is the largest among the buildings of opera houses in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. In Palermo, the second largest city in southern Italy, there has long been talk of the need for an opera house in the city. In 1864, an international competition was announced by the Mayor of Palermo, Antonio Rudini, for a project to build a major opera house that was supposed to beautify the city's appearance and raise the city's image in light of Italy's recent national unity. In 1968, as a result of a competition, the famous Sicilian architect Giovanni Battista Filippo Basile was selected. For the new theater, a place was determined, where the church and monastery of San Giuliano were located, they were demolished, despite the protests of the Franciscan nuns. According to legend, "The last abbess of the monastery" still wanders the theater halls, and those who do not believe in her always stumble on one step ("nun's step") at the entrance to the theater. Construction began with a solemn ceremony of laying the first stone on January 12, 1875, but it progressed slowly, with a constant lack of funding and scandals, in 1882 it was frozen for eight years and resumed only in 1890. In 1891, the architect Giovanni Basile died before the opening of his project, the work was continued by his son Ernesto Basile. On May 16, 1897, 22 years after the start of construction, the theater opened its doors to opera lovers, the first opera staged on its stage was Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff under the direction of Leopoldo Munone. Giovani Basile was inspired by ancient Sicilian architecture and thus the theater was built in a neoclassical austere style with elements of ancient Greek temples. The monumental staircase leading to the theater is decorated with bronze lions carrying statues of women on their backs - the allegorical Opera and Tragedy. The building is crowned with a large semicircular dome. Rocco Lentini, Ettore de Maria Begler, Michele Cortejani, Luigi di Giovanni worked on the interior decoration of the theater, which is sustained in the style of the late Renaissance. A spacious lobby leads to the auditorium, the hall itself is in the shape of a horseshoe, previously it was 7-tiered and designed for more than 3,000 spectators, now with five tiers of boxes and a gallery it can accommodate 1,381 seats. The first seasons were very successful. Thanks to the great businessman and Senator Ignazio Florio, who sponsored the theater and sought to make Palermo the opera capital, the city attracted many guests, including the crowned heads, who regularly visited the theater. Leading conductors and singers have performed at the theater, starting with Enrico Caruso, Giacomo Puccini, Renata Tebaldi, and many others. In 1974, the Massimo Theater was closed for a complete restoration, but due to corruption scandals and political instability, the restoration was delayed for 23 years. On May 12, 1997, four days before its centenary, the theater reopened with a performance of G. Mahler's Second Symphony, but the restoration was not yet fully completed and the first opera production took place in 1998 - Verdi's Aida, and the regular opera season began in 1999 year.

The Metropolitan Opera is a musical theater at Lincoln Center in New York, New York, USA. The largest opera house in the world. It is often called "Met" in abbreviated form. The theater belongs to the most famous opera stages in the world. The artistic director of the theater is James Levine. CEO - Peter Gelb. Created with funds from the Metropolitan Opera House Company. Subsidized by wealthy firms, individuals. The Metropolitan Opera opened with a performance of Charles Gounod's Faust on October 22, 1883, with Swedish soprano Christina Nilsson as the female lead. The theater is open seven months a year: from September to April. About 27 operas are staged per season. The performances are held daily, about 220 performances in total. The theater goes on tour from May to June. In addition, in July, the theater gives free performances in the parks of New York, attracting a huge audience. There are regular radio and TV broadcasts. The orchestra and choir of the theater work on a permanent basis, and soloists and conductors are invited on a contract basis for a season or for certain performances. Operas are traditionally performed in the original language. The repertoire is based on world classics, including those of Russian composers. The first Metropolitan Opera, designed by J. Cleveland Cady, was located on Broadway, between 39 and 40 streets. In 1966, the theater moved to the new Lincoln Center in Manhattan and has one main stage and three auxiliary stages. The main auditorium seats 3,800 and despite its size is renowned for its excellent acoustics.

The Bolshoi Theater of Bordeaux (Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, France) was opened on April 17, 1780 with the premiere of Racine's Afalia. The theater building was built on the Comedy Square. It was in this theater that young Marius Petipa staged some of his first ballets. The theater was designed by the architect Victor Louis (1731-1800), who won the famous Grand Prix of Rome. Louis also designed the galleries surrounding the gardens of the Palais Royal and the Comédie-Française Theater in Paris. The construction of the building of the Bolshoi Theater of Bordeaux with a hall for 1000 seats took place from 1773 to 1780. The Grand Theater of Bordeaux was conceived as a temple of arts and light, with a neoclassical façade endowed with a portico of 12 colossal Corinthian-style columns supporting an entablature containing 12 statues representing nine muses and three goddesses (Juno, Venus and Minerva). The height of the building is 88 meters. In 1871, the theater was briefly the seat of the French parliament. The interior of the theater was restored in 1991, the auditorium was largely altered, the original colors of its interior are blue, white and gold. The facades of the building have been restored and equipped with lighting. Today, the theater is home to the National Opera of Bordeaux as well as the National Ballet of Bordeaux. It also often hosts symphony concerts performed by the National Orchestra of Bordeaux and Aquitaine. The Gran Teatro de Bordeaux is considered one of the most beautiful French theaters.

Opera Garnier (Paris Opera, Grand Opera) (Opera Garnier, Opera de Paris, Opera Garnier, Grand Opera) is an opera house in Paris, one of the most famous world opera houses. Since 1989 (after the opening of the new opera house "Opera Bastille" in Paris) it has been named after the architect "Palais Garnier" or "Opera Garnier", however, the old names are still in use. The building was built in 1875 in the neo-baroque style (Second Empire), is a historical monument and a masterpiece of architecture. The number of seats is 1900. Today, both institutions (Opera Garnier and Opera Bastille) are united in the public-commercial enterprise "State Paris Opera". The Palais Garnier was designed as part of the great restructuring of Paris during the "Second Empire", initiated by the emperor Napoleon III, and was directed by Baron Georges Haussmann (Haussmann). The immediate reason for the construction of the new theater was the assassination attempt on the emperor, which took place on January 14, 1858. Napoleon III was going to visit the opera house of Rue Le Peletier, Italian revolutionaries led by Felice Orsini threw three bombs into the imperial carriage and the procession accompanying the emperor as he approached the theater. Eight people were killed and about 150 were injured; by accident, Napoleon III himself and his family were not injured, since then the emperor refused to visit the old theater and ordered to build a new one. At the end of 1860, an architectural competition was announced for the project of the "Imperial Academy of Music and Dance", in 1861 the unknown 35-year-old architect Charles Garnier (1825-1898) was declared the winner. The project itself did not cause much controversy and was accepted by the majority, however, disagreements arose between Garnier and Haussmann over the surroundings of the palace - Garnier proposed making a park, and Haussmann was a square and high-rise buildings. The first foundation stone was laid in 1861, and construction began in 1862. The construction of the opera house took almost 15 years and was accompanied by numerous problems. One of the first and main problems was the swampy soil and underground lake, which took almost a year to drain. In 1867, the preliminary opening of the theater took place, for the World Exhibition in Paris, the emperor ordered at least the main facade to be completed and in great haste, long before the completion of all work, the construction of the facade was completed. Legend has it that after the removal of the scaffolding, the emperor's wife, Empress Eugenia, commented: “What is this, what is this style? This is not a style! ... he is neither Greek, nor Roman, nor Louis XV, not even Louis XVI ", to which Charles Garnier replied:" These styles are a thing of the past ... This is the style of Napoleon III, madame. " construction continued, during the Franco-Prussian War, when military warehouses were located in the unfinished building, the subsequent fall of the Second French Empire and the Paris Commune.During this time, construction from time to time stopped, then continued and there were rumors that the construction of an opera house could A new incentive for the continuation of the construction was the fire in the Le Peletier theater. The Le Plettier theater was the main venue for the Paris Opera and Ballet since 1821, on October 29, 1873 there was a fire, the fire raged for 27 hours and completely destroyed the building. the new opera house, it was a matter of prestige. The new government again called Charles Garnier to continue the work and allocated large forces and funds for this. At the end of 1874 construction was completed. The Garnier Palace was inaugurated on January 5, 1875. The opening was attended by more than 2000 guests from all over the world, the festive concert included several scenes from various works: "The Mute from Portici" by Daniel Aubert, "The Jew" by Fromantal Halevy, "Wilhelm Tell" by Gioachino Rossini, "Huguenots" by Giacomo Meyerbeer and the ballet "Brook" Leo Delibes. At the opening there was an incident - the organizers of the event forced Charles Garnier to buy a ticket, this incident caused ridicule by the press: "the government is forcing the architect to pay money to see the opening of his creation", thus underlining the attitude of the new authorities towards the respected people who worked with the old emperor. The entire construction of the palace resulted in a total cost of 36 million francs in gold, instead of the planned 20. Remained unfinished places, for example, the Mirror Rotunda and the smoking gallery. The latter was never finished. Opera Garnier is a building of exceptional luxury both outside and inside. The main staircase lobby is one of the most famous places of the Opéra Garnier. Lined with marble different colors, it accommodates a double flight of stairs leading to the theater foyer and theater hall floors. The main staircase is also a theater, the stage where a select audience defiled in the days of crinolines. Various musical allegories are depicted on four parts of the painted ceiling. The foyer - a place for spectators to walk during the intermission - are spacious and richly decorated. The vault of the first foyer is covered with a lovely mosaic with a gold background. A beautiful view of the entire space of the main staircase opens up from here. The large foyer was designed by Garnier on the model of the ceremonial galleries of old castles. The play of mirrors and windows visually gives the gallery even more space. On the magnificent ceiling painted by Paul Baudry, there are scenes from a musical story, and the main decorative element is the lyre. She is everywhere in this decorative kingdom - from arches to heating grates and doorknobs. In the center of the foyer, near one of those windows overlooking the Avenue of Opera all the way to the Louvre, there is a copy of the bust of Charles Garnier by the sculptor Carpo. At the end of the gallery with the bar is the Mirror Salon - a clean and bright rotunda with a round dance of bacchantes and fauns on the ceiling painted by Clairin, with images on the walls of various drinks (tea, coffee, orangeade, champagne ...), as well as scenes of fishing and hunting. Completed after the opening of the Opera, the salon continues to preserve the spirit of 1900. The red and gold auditorium in the Italian style is made in the shape of a horseshoe. It is lit by a huge crystal chandelier, weighing six tons, and the ceiling was painted in 1964 by Marc Chagall. The armchairs are finished with velvet. A magnificent curtain made of painted fabric imitates a red drapery with gold laces and tassels. The Opera Garnier has become an inspiring architectural example in the construction of many other theaters. The architects used elements of this style in whole or in part. In Poland, several buildings are based on Garnier's design - the theater in Krakow (1893) and the Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw (1901, destroyed by the bombing in 1939 and restored in a different style), in the Ukraine - the Lviv Opera House (1901) and the Kiev Opera House (1901), in Brazil - the Amazon Theater in Manaus (1896) and the City Opera in Rio de Janeiro (1909), in the USA - the Jefferson Building (1897) and the Library of Congress in Washington, in Vietnam - the Hanoi Opera (1911) and the Opera House in Ho Chi Minh City (1897), built during the colonization of Vietnam (Vietnam was a French colony), all of them are miniature copies of the Opera Garnier.

Opera Bastille (opera de la Bastille) is a modern opera house in Paris, France. Built in 1989. Together with the Opera Garnier, they form the public-commercial enterprise "State Paris Opera". It is the largest opera house in Europe with a total of 2,703 seats in a large hall. The proposal to build a new opera house in Paris, in addition to the existing ones, was put forward back in 1968 by an initiative group headed by the composer Pierre Boulez, choreographer Maurice Béjart and director Jean Vilar. In 1982, President François Mitterrand decided to build a new opera in Paris, "modern and popular", bringing classical music to the masses, with which the Opera Garnier could no longer cope. In 1983, an international competition was organized, for which 756 projects from over 1,700 architects were submitted. The winner of the competition was a little-known architect originally from Uruguay and living in Canada, Carlos Ott. For the construction of a new opera house, a site was chosen near the Place de la Bastille, which housed an inoperative railway station that served the city from 1859 to 1969, which at the time of demolition housed several exhibitions. The dismantling of the Bastille station began in 1984. The grand opening of the theater took place on July 13, 1989 - on the two hundredth anniversary of the taking of the Bastille in the presence of many heads of other states. The Bastille Theater opened with Bob Wilson's The Night Before Morning and a gala concert featuring Teresa Berganza, Placido Domingo, Barbara Hendrix and other opera stars. However, the theater started working regularly only on March 17, 1990 with the production of Hector Berlioz's opera "The Trojans". The theater building is made mainly of gray-blue glass and is especially beautiful at night, when it shines from the inside. The Great Hall has a rectangular shape, rather than a horseshoe-shaped one for opera houses, and the audience is seated in front of the stage. The new theater has a complex system of mobile platforms with automated control - nine stages can be prepared at the same time, if necessary, they can quickly change each other and switch from one show to another during the day, alternating performances. There are four halls inside the theater: a large hall with 2,703 seats, an amphitheater with 450 seats, a studio hall with 237 seats, and Gounod's hall for orchestra rehearsals. Criticism and lack of: Even before the start of construction, this project caused a lot of criticism and scandals. Some found the building too large and bulky, not fitting in with the surrounding architecture, and called it a "hippopotamus". The first years of the theater's operation were accompanied by frequent failures in the automated control of stage mechanisms, later they were debugged. The hall itself is too large and the seats are far from the stage, the stairs are too long, the sound is "cold". Due to the very rapid deterioration of the facade of the building, since 1996, the outer coating began to fall off from it, which was dangerous for passers-by, and for a long time the theater was forced to be covered with a protective mesh. The state started a lawsuit against the contractors, accusing them of poor quality work. The state won this process only in 2007, and began to renovate the decaying cladding of the building.

The State Chamber Musical Theater "St. Petersburg Opera" is an opera house in St. Petersburg, Russia. The theater is located in a small but very cozy mansion of Baron von Derviz. The Chamber Musical Theater was founded in 1987 in Leningrad by the leading musical director of Russia, who gained fame as an innovator of opera art, Honored Artist of Russia, laureate of the National Theater Prize "Golden Mask", "Golden Spotlight", People's Artist of Russia YURI ALEXANDROV. The creative laboratory "St. Petersburg Opera", as originally conceived by the director, over time was reorganized into a professional State Theater, well known not only in our country, but also far beyond the borders of the Russian opera space. Despite its youth, the theater already has a rich creative biography. For twenty-three seasons, the Chamber Theater has formed as a single creative organism with a unique, original program. The troupe of the theater includes talented soloists, musicians, many of whom are honored artists of Russia, laureates and diploma winners of International, All-Russian competitions. The repertoire of the St. Petersburg Opera presents the entire palette of genres of operatic art - from comic opera, opera-buff to musical dramas, including operas by contemporary authors: The Game of Robin and Marion by Adam de la Alya, Bortniansky's Falcon, Belaya rose "Zimmerman", "I Believe" Piguzov, "Pied Dog Running by the Edge of the Sea", "The Fifth Journey of Christopher Columbus" Smelkov, "Bell", "Rita" Donizetti, "Eugene Onegin" by Tchaikovsky, "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky (1996 nominated for the National Theater Award "Golden Mask"), "Players - 1942" by Shostakovich (in 1997 he was awarded the Highest Theater Award of St. Petersburg "Golden Soffit" in the nomination "Best Director's Work in a Musical Theater", in 1998 he was nominated for the National Theater Prize "Golden Mask"), "Rigoletto" by Verdi (in 1998, nominated for the National Theater Award "Golden Mask"), "Song of the Love and Death of the Cornet Christoph Rilke" by Mattus (in 1999 he was awarded the National Theater Prize "Gold mask "in the nomination" Best Opera Performance ")," The Queen of Spades "by Tchaikovsky (in 2000, nominated for the National Theater Award" Golden Mask ")," Beautiful Elena "Offenbach," Antiformalist Paradise "by Shostakovich," Adrienne Lecouvreur "by Chilea, Don Pasquale, Peter the Great - Tsar of All Russia, or a Carpenter from Livonia by Donizetti, Gianni Schicchi by Puccini and others. The St. Petersburg Opera Theater has staged operas that are staged in St. Petersburg only on the stage of the Chamber Theater - Rita, Bell, Donizetti, Bortnyansky's Falcon, Chimarosa's Secret Marriage, The Players - 1942, Antiformalist Paradise "Shostakovich," Adrienne Lecouvreur "Chilea," Peter the Great - Tsar of All Russia, or the Carpenter from Livonia "by Donizetti. Almost all of these operas were staged for the first time in Russia. The theater toured in Finland, Switzerland, Germany, USA, Moscow, many cities of Russia In 1997, the theater organized and held the Gaetano Donizetti music festival, at which the Italian composer's "Requiem" was performed for the first time in Russia. in the center of old Petersburg on Galernaya street, 33. The opening of the restored building took place on the day of the anniversary of St. Petersburg - May 27, 2003. And the first premiere, which began a new round in the history of the "St. Petersburg Opera" st ala a European musical sensation - Gaetano Donizetti's humorous melodrama "Peter the Great - Tsar of All Russia, or a Carpenter from Livonia". A small cozy mansion on Galernaya street, which belonged to turn of XIX- XX centuries to Baron S.P. von Dervis has a rich musical and theatrical history. At the end of the 19th century, there were performances of the House of Interludes, which were staged by Vsevolod Meyerhold, who worked at that time under the pseudonym "Doctor Dapertutto". They were attended by the poet and musician M. Kuzmin, artists N. Sapunov and S. Sudeikin, artists N. Petrov, B. Kazarova-Volkova. K. Stanislavsky, Vl.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, E. Vakhtangov, A. Chekhov and many other artists. Since 1915, the house became known as the "Concert and Theater Hall", where concerts were held with the participation of F. Chaliapin, L. Sobinov, A. Duncan. Concerts and performances were held in the large White Hall with a specially equipped stage. Here, by a miracle (after the club events organized in Soviet times), the interior has been preserved: baroque stucco walls with sculptures symbolizing art forms, the soaring Genius with a lyre in his hands over the richly decorated stage portal, the von Derviz coat of arms on the glass of the front doors. Other interiors of the mansion have also been preserved: the luxurious Moorish living room, covered with gilded ornaments, decorated with a picturesque panel Maple living room, made in the form of a whimsical Winter Garden grotto. The first owner of the mansion was the famous statesman the first half of the 18th century, the cabinet minister under Anna Ioannovna A.P. Volynsky, executed in 1740 for participating in a conspiracy against the Duke of Biron. Then the house was owned by his daughter, who married Count I.I. Vorontsov. At one time the house belonged to merchants Schneider, Balabin, then to Prince Repin. In 1870 the architect F.L. Miller is redesigning the façade and adding another building. In 1883 the house was bought by Baron S.P. von Dervies. Architect P.P. Schreiber rebuilds houses on the side of the Promenade des Anglais and Galernaya Street, uniting them with a common facade. Sergei Pavlovich von Derviz (1863 - 1918) is a descendant of the old Wiese family, originating from Germany. In the middle of the 18th century, Johann-Adolph Wiese, who served in Sweden, entered the Russian service as a justic-counselor and was elevated to the dignity of the Holy Roman Empire, with the addition of "von der". Son Sergei had the rank of a real privy councilor and the rank of chamberlain of the highest court. He owned mines and estates in the Kiev, Ryazan and Orienburg provinces. He, like his mother, became famous for his charity work. The main attention was paid to the interiors of the house, which, according to the fashion of that time, were made in different styles. In 1902, the house from the side of the embankment was built on two floors, thus losing the appearance of a mansion. In 1909 S.P. von Dervies sold the house, dividing it into three parts. The first was bought by the wife of Lieutenant General A.A. Ignatieva, left (including the mansion on Galernaya) - N.N. Shebeko. The mansion has undergone reconstruction according to the project of the architect A.P. Maksimov and in this form has survived to this day. In 1911-1913, the House of Interludes by V. Meyerhold was located here - an innovative, bohemian theater-restaurant with a peculiar repertoire. Since 1913 - the theater hall of N. Shebeko. After the revolution - the district committee of the RKPb, the Metalworkers' Union, the Estonian House of Education. From 1946 to 1991 - the Mayak club. On May 27, 2003, on the day of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, after a long restoration, the mansion again became a theater house. Opera and symphonic music sounds here, new productions of the St. Petersburg Opera Theater, which was founded and headed by Yuri Alexandrov, are born. Information from the official website of the theater: http://www.spbopera.ru

Donetsk National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. A.B. Solovyanenko is an opera house in Donetsk, Ukraine. It was created in 1932 in the city of Lugansk on the basis of the Mobile Opera House of the Right-Bank Ukraine. In the documents of the People's Commissariat for Education of Ukraine, from March 15, 1932, it is proposed to transfer the Mobile Opera to the disposal of the Donetsk Theater Trust for permanent service of the population of Donbass. The first theatrical season was opened with A. Borodin's opera "Prince Igor" on September 1, 1932. The artistic director and director of the theater was the Honored Artist of the Republic Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolyubov, the Musical Director and Chief Conductor of the theater was the Honored Artist of the Republic Alexander Gavrilovich Erofeev. conductor Max Cooper, director Alexander Zdikhovsky, choreographer Mark Zeitlin, artists - Oles Vlasyuk, Eduard Lyakhovich In the 1935 theater repertoire: "The Queen of Spades", "Eugene Onegin" by P. Tchaikovsky, "Carmen" J. Bizet, "Faust" Sh Gounod, "Rigoletto", "La Traviata", "Aida" by G. Verdi, "Madame Butterfly" by G. Puccini, "Pagliacci" by R. Leoncavallo, "The Barber of Seville" by G. Rossini, "Zaporozhets beyond the Danube" by S. Gulak- Artemovsky, "Tales of Hoffmann" by J. Offenbach; ballets: "Raymonda", "Red Poppy" by R. Glier, "Ferengi" by B. Yanovsky. The theater consisted of 40 choir dancers, 45 ballet dancers, 45 orchestra artists, 3 soloists. A total of 225 people worked in the theater. By 1940, a group of talented masters of the opera scene had been formed: conductors E.M. Shekhtman, A.F. Kowalski; director A.A. Zdikhovsky, artist E.I. Lyakhovich, P.I. Zlochevsky. The first performers who brought fame to the theater were Yuri Sabinin, Nadezhda Lototskaya, Alexander Martynenko, Pavel Nikitenko, Tamara Sobetskaya, Tamara Podolskaya and others. In 1936, the construction of the theater began in Donetsk. The chief architect of the construction was Ludwig Ivanovich Kotovsky, the chief engineer was Solomon Davidovich Krol. On April 12, 1941, the Donetsk Musical Theater opens its season in a new theater building, designed by the architect Ludwig Ivanovich Kotovsky, with the premiere of the opera by M.I. Glinka "Ivan Susanin" (directors: directors IM Lapitsky, YS Presman, conductor AF Kovalsky, artist EI Lyakhovich). Today the theater building is an architectural monument. The first director and artistic director of the theater was an outstanding opera director, a follower of the Stanislavsky system in musical theater, Honored Artist of the RSFSR Yosif Lapitsky The first artists arrived at the Donetsk theater from Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Lugansk and Vinnitsa. The orchestra consisted of the best musicians of the Lugansk and Vinnitsa Opera and Ballet Theaters, the Stalin Regional Philharmonic Society. From the first days of organizing the collective, work was carried out with the audience: visiting performances, conversations, concerts. New productions of opera and ballet performances were carried out. The repertoire poster for 1941 included: the opera Faust by Charles Gounod, premiered on May 4, 1941, R. Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci, premiere on May 22, G. Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville, premiere in June ... On August 7, 1941, the premiere of the first ballet performance "Laurencia" by A. Kerin took place. The part of Laurencia was danced by Nina Goncharova, later Honored Artist of Ukraine. During the Great Patriotic War, the theater staff was evacuated to the Kyrgyz Republic (Sazanovka village), and in June 1942 year he moved to Przhevalsk, where he continued to work on the creation of new performances and conducted concert activities in military units and hospitals. In April 1944 the theater returned from evacuation. And already in September 1944 the theater hosted the premiere of A. Borodin's opera "Prince Igor "." Polovtsian Dances "in the opera was staged by the choreographer of the Bolshoi Theater, Honored Artist of the Republic Kasyan Goleizovsky. The theater is becoming the center of the musical culture of the Donetsk region, a stage for Ukrainian and foreign, classical and modern, opera and ballet art, classical operetta, musical performances for children. In 1946, a choreographic studio was organized at the theater, which was headed by Avila Klavdiya Vasina (soloist of the ballet of the National Opera of Ukraine). Thanks to this studio, the Donetsk troupe was replenished with young artists, which contributed to the staging of ballet performances. The ballet troupe of the theater under the direction of the chief choreographer of the theater A.P. Girman. In 1947, the first ballet performances took place - B. Asafiev's ballet "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai", which was in the theater's repertoire for 38 years, and "Lilya" by K. Dankevich. In 1948, the premiere of P. Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" took place. In September 1947, the Donetsk Russian Musical Theater was renamed into the Stalin State Russian Opera and Ballet Theater. In 1961, it was renamed into the Donetsk State Russian Opera and Ballet Theater. In the former USSR, the Donetsk theater was called “the laboratory of modern opera.” Great credit goes to the chief director of the theater, People's Artist of Ukraine Oleksandr Afanasyevich Zdikhovsky, who has staged more than 70 opera and musical performances during his years at the theater. For the first time in Ukraine, it was on the stage of the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater that operas were staged: "Betrothal in a Monastery", "Semyon Kotko" by S. Prokofiev, "Don Juan" by V. A. Mozart, "André Chenier" by U. Giordano, "Yaroslav the Wise ”Y. Meitus and others. Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater was one of the first in Ukraine to turn to the works of contemporary Ukrainian composers, staging the performances“ Sorochinskaya Fair ”,“ Oksana ”based on the poem by T. Shevchenko,“ Slip ”,“ Naymichka ”V Homolyaki, "Marusia Boguslavka" by A. Sveshnikov, "Lisova song" by N. Skorulskaya, "Nezrazhena love" by L. Koloduba, "Katerina" by N. Arkas, "Lileya" by K. Dankevich, "Zaporozhets beyond the Danube" by S. Gulak Artemovsky, "Natalka Poltavka" N. Lysenko. Performances of composers were staged on the stage of the Donetsk theater national republics : "Shurale" F. Yarullin, "Keto and Kote" V. Dumbadze, "Spartak" A. Khachaturian, "A Thousand and One Nights" F. Amirov and others. The glory and pride of the theater in different years were renowned artists: Y. Sabinin , E. Gorchakova, T. Podolskaya, A. Kolobov, A. Galenkin, Yu. Gulyaev, A. Korobeichenko, N. Momot, V. Zemlyansky, G. Kalikin, R. Kolesnik, M. Vedeneva, A. Boytsov, director - A. Zdikhovsky, artists - V. Moskovchenko, B. Kupenko, V. Spevyakin; conductor - T. Mikitka, and on the stage of the Donetsk theater in different years such luminaries and stage masters as People's Artists of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozlovsky, Sergey Lemeshev, Maria Bieshu, Olga Lepeshinskaya, Marina Semenova, K. Shulzhenko, A. Solovyanenko danced and sang and many others. others. On November 2, 1977 the theater was awarded the title of "academic". In 1992, the school of choreographic skills of Vadim Pisarev was established at the theater. By the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated December 9, 1999, the theater was named after A. B. Solovyanenko. Since 1993, the theater has hosted the international festival "Stars of the World Ballet", the founder and artistic director of which is Vadim Pisarev, People's Artist of Ukraine, laureate of international ballet competitions in Moscow, Helsinki, Paris, Jackson. Now Vadim Pisarev is the artistic director of the theater and focuses on the traditions and productions of classical ballet. Over the years, about 300 of the strongest dancers from 25 countries of the world took part in the festival. In November 2009, the XVI International Festival "Stars of the World Ballet" took place. In 2009, the theater hosted the VI International Festival of Children's Ballet Performances "Grand Pa" - the youngest and only one in Ukraine. Created by the efforts of the directorate of the theater, "Grand Pa" already has its own history and its fans. Pupils of different choreographic schools from Ukraine, countries of near and far abroad take part in the festival. Today, the ballet troupe of the theater employs already recognized masters and talented young people who have won recognition at international ballet competitions. Talented and experienced teachers-tutors work with the collective of artists: the chief choreographer of the theater, People's Artist of Ukraine E. Khasyanova, People's Artist of Ukraine G. Kirillina, Honored Artist of Ukraine E. Ogurtsova. The audience of many cities and republics of the former Soviet Union, as well as abroad: Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Sweden, Austria, Norway, is familiar with the opera and ballet art of the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater. The ballet troupe of the theater is invited to tour the USA, England, Japan, China, Korea; an opera troupe, a symphony orchestra and a choir - to Italy, Spain, Switzerland. The choir of the theater under the direction of the chief choirmaster of the theater, People's Artist of Ukraine Lyudmila Streltsova, in addition to participating in the theater tours, has repeatedly toured with a large concert program, including works of world choral classics, in Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, France, etc. Today the theater's choir is recognized as one of the best on Ukraine. The theater's repertoire includes performances that are not in any other opera house in Ukraine: "Bogdan Khmelnitsky" by K. Dankevich, "Falstaff", "Love Potion" by G. Donizetti. In 2009 the theater was awarded the status of "national". Theater building. Theater was built according to the project of the architect L. Kotovsky, who strove to achieve the solemn monumentality of forms, convincing expressiveness and new planning solutions. Having reworked the Renaissance techniques of the composition, built on the calm grandeur and harmonious proportions of volumes, the theater building is crowned with bas-reliefs and volumetric sculptures that emphasize and complete the main architectural The building of the theater was initially designed for dramatic performances. After the decree on the creation of a musical theater, it was necessary to make a number of adjustments in the process of construction in individual planning decisions. The architecture of the theater is solved in the classical style. The main facade with a loggia faces the theater square. The height of the facade is 100 rones area of ​​about 30 meters. The building is located along the axis of Teatralniy Avenue, between Artem Street and Pushkin Boulevard. The square and the staircase provide a convenient approach to the theater from three sides. The auditorium, foyer, ceilings and walls of the theater are lavishly decorated with molding and corresponding light gilding. Sculptural busts of composers, writers and decorative vases are installed in separate niches of the foyer. The auditorium is designed as a parterre for 650 seats and a mezzanine for 320 seats, with small balconies. Busts of outstanding composers and poets are installed in niches above the mezzanine and balconies of the auditorium. The form of building rows of seats in the stalls and on the mezzanine is such that it provides good visibility. There is a large crystal chandelier in the center of the ceiling of the hall. The theater has a mechanized stage, the area of ​​the main stage is 560 sq. m. in 1989-1994. the theater was undergoing reconstruction and selective overhaul.

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An exciting grand spectacle! Intricate sets and intricate costumes. Dramatic plot (libretto or literary source) and talented performers. Solo performances that take heart - some of them are heard even by people far from art. All this is the great genre born at the end of the 16th century - opera.

The best operas in the world

Broken love

Even an amateur will immediately name the most popular operas. It is worth trying to "run" through some of them - the diamond droplets of a huge stormy stream. And you need to start with the Italians - it was in this sunny country that opera was once born.

"Laugh, clown, over broken love! ". This is the aria of the desperate jealous Canio, who cruelly dealt with his wife and rival. The theme of unhappy love is one of the most common in this genre. So Ruggiero Leoncavallo talks about her in the opera "Pagliacci". Her heroine, an artist of the wandering theater Nedda, wanted a settled life and peace in the arms of the young peasant Silvio, only her husband did not allow. Canio's part was written for tenors, it was chosen for the repertoire of Caruso and Pavarotti, del Monaco and Domingo.

The sad story of his relationship with the courtesan Duplessis, who died of tuberculosis, was described in his novel by Dumas Jr. He was separated from his beloved by an authoritarian father. The plot was used by Giuseppe Verdi. The main character of La Traviata, Violetta, is also languishing, and their romance with Alfredo is doomed.

Revenge and betrayal

Another Verdi's opera Rigoletto is named after the central character, the jester. His daughter was seduced by a rake duke (the one who sang: "The heart of a beauty is prone to treason ..."). The old man thirsted for revenge, but the victim was young Gilda.

Giacomo Puccini entered the history of music with no less famous works. Is it possible to hold back tears when you hear Cavaradossi's aria, performed by him before his execution? Tosca is in great demand in theatrical repertoires. This sad tale ends with the suicide of the main character, just like the one that is told in "Madame Butterfly". Having become the wife of an American officer, and then betrayed by her beloved, the former geisha Chio-Chio-san could not live. The tragedy of Puccini's opera was remarkably well conveyed in the title role of the great Maria Callas.

In the world of fairy tales and legends

Long before passionate Italians, the genius Mozart worked. Light and romantic, The Magic Flute is still a tidbit for many singers. Anna Netrebko shone in the image of Pamina. The Austrian also wrote the part of the Queen of the Night for soprano. But it is performed so well by one of the soloists of the Turetsky Choir, who has a very rare tenor-altino Mikhail Kuznetsov - listen and see!

A frequently cited (especially in movies) melody is the so-called "Flight of the Valkyries". This is just a fraction of the huge work of Richard Wagner "Ring of the Nibelungen". Based on Germanic and Icelandic mythology, it consists of 4 operas. The composer has been working on this epic creation for over a quarter of a century, and the total time for its performance is 15 hours. Heroes and wizards, gods and evil dwarfs are involved in the plot, and its basis is the search for the damned gold.

Great compatriots

The brainchild of Alexander Borodin is dedicated to historical events (he did not have time to finish it, his composer comrades completed the opera) "Prince Igor". Different variations of "Polovtsian Dances" can often be heard at figure skating competitions, they are very fond of this music. And the girls' choir "Fly away on the wings of the wind" was included in the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

One of the tragic pages of our past is described in "Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgsky. In the title role, Fyodor Chaliapin was very good, and the episodic, but such a memorable image of the Holy Fool was created, each in its own time, by Sergei Lemeshev and Ivan Kozlovsky.

The works of Alexander Pushkin formed the basis for two immortal works of Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The peak of the 2013 season at the Vienna Opera was graced by the production of Eugene Onegin with the inimitable Netrebko and Dmitry Hvorostovsky in the roles of Tatiana and Onegin. Tickets for the show were ordered a year in advance!

And who has not heard Herman's famous aria from The Queen of Spades! For many years in a row, she has opened television battles in the elite club “What? Where? When?".

A new word in the classic genre

The twentieth century gave Russian and world operatic art Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, created by Shostakovich based on a gloomy story by Nikolai Leskov. She was full of unbridled passion, which destroyed the main character... In the film adaptation of the opera (as well as on stage), Galina Vishnevskaya was delightful.

In 1970, a rock opera appeared - a revolutionary new word in the classical genre - "Jesus Christ Superstar". Experimenter Andrew Lloyd Weber put on the gospel story, and the part of Christ was performed by Deep Purple soloist Ian Gillan.

... The fiery habanera from "Carmen" by the Frenchman Bizet and the intricate melodies of "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini, the juicy bass of the colorful Mephistopheles (how can you forget "Faust" by Gounod!) And the lyric song of Lel from "The Snow Maiden" by our compatriot Rimsky-Korsakov. Listen to the best operas and enjoy!

True, art is not only the domain of the spirit, but also commerce. And if we are talking about opera, then you can often hear the following phrase from theater managers and the management of opera houses: “This, of course, is a wonderful thing, but the mass audience will not go to it - we will not stage it”. So the moods of society powerfully invade the fragile world of beauty!

All these are global issues and it is not easy to understand them. Nevertheless, today we decided to offer our readers several statistical calculations from the world of opera. Without pretending to be exhaustive answers, they provide interesting information - which national schools, authors and works are the most popular in the world today? In preparing the article, the website Operabase.com was used. The information summarizes the indicators of 5 seasons from 2007/08 to 2011/12. The updated data that has recently appeared on this resource, including the indicators of the last season, does not differ much from the results of previous years.

I. Ten most popular opera composers

Note: the table shows the number of performances, in brackets - the number of works, including various versions of operas, adaptations (including children's), as well as large-scale vocal and instrumental opuses (oratorios, requiems, stage cantatas, masses, etc.).

1. Verdi - 3020 (29)
2. Mozart - 2410 (25)
3. Puccini - 2294 (13)
4. Wagner - 1292 (14)
5. Rossini - 1045 (42)
6. Donizetti - 853 (29)
7. R. Strauss - 655 (15)
8. Bizet - 654 (7)
9. Handel - 598 (60)
10. Tchaikovsky - 432 (7)

The top twenty also includes Britten (13th), Gounod (16), Leoncavallo (17), Janacek (18), Mascagni (19) and Bellini (20). The group of Russian composers - Stravinsky, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Prokofiev - is surprisingly dense and occupies 28-31 places, respectively.

II. Ten living composers

Note: the table lists the names of our living contemporaries, whose works are most often staged in musical theaters. The 1st place F. Glass in the overall rating of all authors is listed on the 42nd place. G.Fried and H.W. Henze, mentioned in the list, were still alive during the analyzed period - both died in autumn 2012.

1. Glass - 69 (19)
2. Henze - 53 (16)
3. Adams - 33 (6)
4. Maxwell Davis - 32 (8)
5. Heggy - 30 (6)
6. Rome - 29 (8)
7. Dusapin - 29 (6)
8. Freed - 27 (2)
9. Eotvos - 24 (9)
10. Glanert - 24 (10)

Other famous names in the list below include Floyd (11th), Burtwistle (14), Saariaho (15), Benjamin (17), Ryman (18), Previn (29), Penderetsky (35). Our R. Shchedrin takes 34th place.

By the way, references to the names of almost all composers from this list can be found on the pages of our magazine using the search system. With varying degrees of detail, we informed our readers about their work.

III. Ten most performed operas

1. Verdi's La Traviata - 629 performances
2. Puccini's Bohemia - 580
3. Carmen Bizet - 573
4. The Magic Flute by Mozart - 571
5. Puccini's Tosca - 504
6. The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart - 494
7. "Madame Butterfly" Puccini - 469
8. Rossini's Barber of Seville - 465
9. Rigoletto by Verdi - 434
10. Don Giovanni by Mozart - 433

In total, the list of leaders includes three opuses by Puccini and Mozart, two by Verdi and one by Bizet and one by Rossini.

In the second ten - two more operas by Verdi ("Aida" and "Nabucco"), two works by Donizetti ("Love drink" and "Lucia di Lammermoor"), "Everybody does this" by Mozart, "Turandot" by Puccini, "Pagliacci" by Leoncavallo and the most popular Russian opera - Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky (17th place).

The most famous operetta - "The Bat" by I. Strauss - takes 15th place.

Thus, everything in this top twenty is quite logical and predictable, with the exception of Humperdinck's opera Hansel and Gretel, which occupies a very high 12th place (!). This, in general, pretty (but no more than that) work of the Wagnerian epigone, has surpassed many opera masterpieces that are significantly superior in quality, most likely due to its Christmas and conditionally childish orientation.

The following indicators are also curious: among Wagner's operas, “The Flying Dutchman” (25th place) is ahead, of the works of R. Strauss, “Salome” (31) is in the lead, Bellini's “Norma” (44), Massenet's “Werther” (59), for Handel - “Julius Caesar (69).

One of the most popular works of the late 19th - early 20th century "Faust" by Gounod now occupies only 33rd place, "Tales of Hoffmann" Offenbach - 32nd. Mascagni's Rural Honor is in 28th place, while Rossini's second most popular opera Cinderella is in 29th place.

The leading position among operas of the 17th century belongs to "Dido and Aeneas" by Purcell (61st place), and among the opuses of the 18th century (except Mozart) to "Orpheus and Eurydice" by Gluck (47th place).

From the avant-garde in the first place "Wozzeck" Berg (74). Next to it is Britten's most popular opus, The Turn of the Screw (73).

The first opera among the works of Eastern European composers is Dvořák's Mermaid (40th place), of the works of Janáček, which is so popular today, Jenufa is ahead (65).

Among Russian operas, as already noted, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin is the most popular (17th place / 247 performances). In the further table of ranks "The Queen of Spades" by Tchaikovsky (54/105), "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky (60/95), "The Adventures of a Rake" by Stravinsky (77/62), "The Love for Three Oranges" by Prokofiev (81/57) , Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Shostakovich (82/56), Iolanta by Tchaikovsky (94/44) and The Tsar's Bride by Rimsky-Korsakov (107/35).

To give the reader an idea of ​​the scale of the numbers, we point out that in the world during this period, at least once, 2588 operas were staged, of which 1250 more than once, 820 more than 2 and 625 more than 3 times.

About national schools

If we try to make some generalizations of the national character, taking as a basis the 100 best operas, then the conclusions are as follows:

The leader, of course, is the Italian school - 38 operas, starting with the 1st place in the Vedian La Traviata. Next comes the German-language opera (composers of Germany and Austria) - 29 opuses (excluding 3 works by Handel, listed in the table for England), headed by Mozart's The Magic Flute, which occupies the 4th position. These are absolute favorites.

The next French school, headed by "Carmen" Bizet, is represented by only 10 works. Further, the British with 8 operas, ahead of Russia by only 1 opus (thanks to the same “privatized” Handel) by them (7). And, finally, the Czech Republic closes this peculiar table with 4 operas. Except for Hungary with its authors of great operettas Lehar and Kalman (4 opuses in the list), there is no other national school in the first hundred masterpieces!

Let's summarize in between: In general, if you do not take into account England's overestimated place, the picture is quite objective. Moreover, if you increase the number of analyzed operas, it becomes more and more fair.

Now let's take a quick look at the list of 200 opuses. The Italians have 62 operas, the Austro-German composers 54, the French and the British 24 each, Russia - 18. However, if Handel is "returned" to his German origin, then everything looks different - the Italians will cede leadership to their northern neighbors, who will have to add 13 operas by Handel (67 in total), and the British will remain far behind Russia with their 11 operas.

We must be aware that all these statistical "games" are very arbitrary. This also applies to the Anglo-German "dispute" about Handel, and the unobvious association of Austrian and German composers into one group. The frequency of performance also depends on the number of opera houses and the intensity of their activity in a particular country - here Germany reigns supreme.

And most importantly: the momentary tastes of the public, taken outside the historical retrospective, are a very, very unreliable criterion. Just one vivid example - we will not find Meyerbeer, who had phenomenal popularity in the 19th century, even in a list of 500 works.

There are many questions about the Russian school - Glinka is not included in the top 200! However, the Russian topic deserves a separate discussion, in which one cannot do without historical, cultural and socio-political analysis.

It would be wrong not to mention one more factor. These statistics do not cover all musical theaters in the world without exception. There are certain information gaps here. This can be judged at least by the Russian Operabase list, which is incomplete - among the 32 Russian scenes included in it, there is no B. Pokrovsky Chamber Musical Theater, the Zazerkalye Theater from St. Petersburg, and the Chelyabinsk Opera House. There are gaps of this kind in other countries as well. So, for example, I could not find the New York theater Grattaciello, which specializes in the verist repertoire, the Dutch Osse oper and a number of other groups.

However, this circumstance is unlikely to significantly affect the overall result - after all, the vast majority of opera houses are taken into account in the statistics.

This is the picture. We will not comment on it further. Let the readers make their own conclusions and sociocultural generalizations.

The material was prepared by E. Tsodokov