19.07.2012
“Be a Musician, not an Egoist”
Boris Pinkhasovich, the Mikhailovsky Theatre opera company’s young baritone soloist, has won first prize at the 4th Galina Vishnevskaya International Opera Singers Competition.
“I am not a competitive person: I am always so nervous that I feel implausibly exhausted, regardless of the result. That week of competition was a real ordeal for me. In competitions I feel that I am mainly competing with myself. I can sense how I change inwardly every time I go on stage: a great deal is going on inside me. On the day before the final round I asked one of my fellow competitors: ‘How do you feel?’ He replied: ‘I’m ready for action! I’ll beat you all!’ I can’t be like that – I have a completely different attitude to performing. What is important for me is not beating anyone else, but rather relating correctly to the music I am performing.
I decided to take part in the Galina Vishnevskaya Competition two years ago, but at the time I was just finishing my course in the Choral Conducting Faculty at the Conservatory, and I realized that I could not combine two such weighty tasks. This time there was nothing to prevent me entering, and I compiled a programme that was guided by own favourite pieces. In the second round I sang Mazeppa’s aria from Tchaikovsky’s opera, which surprised one of the members of the jury – he asked: ‘Why do you choose such mature roles? At your age you should be singing lovers’ roles’. I don’t see it like that at all. I don’t aim to understand an entire role from the beginning to the end, but choose arias in which I can capture the spirit and convey the mood. I sing a lot of chamber music as well as opera, and I was flattered when professionals compared my singing to that of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
The Galina Vishnevskaya Competition was very demanding and imposing. The jury selected 41 participants from 200 entries. Only eight singers progressed to the final round and they were all very strong opponents. We sang to the accompaniment of an orchestra conducted by Mikhail Yurovsky. The maestro then changed his clothes and joined the members of the jury in their discussion. I couldn’t contain myself and told Yurovsky how very nervous I was. His reply helped me: ‘Stop worrying only about yourself. Think of the musicians – they are nervous too! You have already performed very well, and this round will not change anything for you. So just go on stage and be a musician – and don’t be an egoist’. In the final I sang Valentin’s aria from Faust and Robert’s aria from Iolanta, a role I had rehearsed not long before at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. When they announced the names of the prize-winners, I felt an inexpressible joy. Not just because I had won, but from the realization that I had been lucky enough to perform with such outstanding musicians and chat to Galina Vishnevskaya, a person of truly global stature. I regard my participation in the competition as an important stage in my life, both professionally and personally”.
“I am not a competitive person: I am always so nervous that I feel implausibly exhausted, regardless of the result. That week of competition was a real ordeal for me. In competitions I feel that I am mainly competing with myself. I can sense how I change inwardly every time I go on stage: a great deal is going on inside me. On the day before the final round I asked one of my fellow competitors: ‘How do you feel?’ He replied: ‘I’m ready for action! I’ll beat you all!’ I can’t be like that – I have a completely different attitude to performing. What is important for me is not beating anyone else, but rather relating correctly to the music I am performing.
I decided to take part in the Galina Vishnevskaya Competition two years ago, but at the time I was just finishing my course in the Choral Conducting Faculty at the Conservatory, and I realized that I could not combine two such weighty tasks. This time there was nothing to prevent me entering, and I compiled a programme that was guided by own favourite pieces. In the second round I sang Mazeppa’s aria from Tchaikovsky’s opera, which surprised one of the members of the jury – he asked: ‘Why do you choose such mature roles? At your age you should be singing lovers’ roles’. I don’t see it like that at all. I don’t aim to understand an entire role from the beginning to the end, but choose arias in which I can capture the spirit and convey the mood. I sing a lot of chamber music as well as opera, and I was flattered when professionals compared my singing to that of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
The Galina Vishnevskaya Competition was very demanding and imposing. The jury selected 41 participants from 200 entries. Only eight singers progressed to the final round and they were all very strong opponents. We sang to the accompaniment of an orchestra conducted by Mikhail Yurovsky. The maestro then changed his clothes and joined the members of the jury in their discussion. I couldn’t contain myself and told Yurovsky how very nervous I was. His reply helped me: ‘Stop worrying only about yourself. Think of the musicians – they are nervous too! You have already performed very well, and this round will not change anything for you. So just go on stage and be a musician – and don’t be an egoist’. In the final I sang Valentin’s aria from Faust and Robert’s aria from Iolanta, a role I had rehearsed not long before at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. When they announced the names of the prize-winners, I felt an inexpressible joy. Not just because I had won, but from the realization that I had been lucky enough to perform with such outstanding musicians and chat to Galina Vishnevskaya, a person of truly global stature. I regard my participation in the competition as an important stage in my life, both professionally and personally”.
