"Leiferkus the Magnificent"

“It’s one for the Guinness Book of Records”, said People’s Artist of Russia Sergei Leiferkus, referring to the upcoming triptych of Rachmaninoff operas. “This will be the first time a baritone has sung all three of these operas in one evening.” On 6 April, the renowned singer, who will also be celebrating his birthday, will perform the leading roles in three one-act operas by Rachmaninoff: Aleko, The Miserly Knight, and Francesca da Rimini.

After completing his fourth year of secondary school, following the family tradition, Leiferkus set off to enrol at the Nakhimov Naval School. He was turned down due to poor vision, but at around the same time the future People’s Artist received his first ever violin, as a gift. Thus began the musical career of this great baritone, who has now achieved worldwide fame.

In 1972, Leiferkus, then a student in his fifth year at the Leningrad Conservatory, was invited to the Maly Opera and Ballet Theatre, as it was known at the time. He first performed on stage in a production of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, going on to sing more than 20 roles over the next five seasons, including Gianni Schicchi, Don Juan, Robert in Iolanta, and Ferdinand in Ferdinand the Magnificent.

“I have enjoyed a long-lasting and cherished friendship with the Mikhailovsky Theatre”, the singer said. “I have had many interesting roles here, but the most important thing for me is in fact the tremendous atmosphere of creativity in the theatre. I arrived at the Mikhailovsky at a time when director’s theatre was just beginning to gain currency. The talented main director Emil Pasynkov staged a production of Porgy and Bess, in which I was given the part of Robbins. Audiences were thrilled — even the Americans from the consulate. The Americans then invited the artists and theatre management to a dinner at the consulate, where they showed us the film adaptation of Porgy and Bess. They all said that they could never have imagined that we would be able to put on a show like that. And now I’m going to be performing on the same stage with this Rachmaninoff triptych, which, in terms of the vocal performance at least, it is fair to describe as a world première.”

“Last year, Sergei Leiferkus performed on our stage as Boris Godunov in Mussorgsky’s opera of the same name”, said Vladimir Kekhman, Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre. “It was a unique event, with Leiferkus showing how experience and mature craftsmanship can be combined with up-to-the-minute artistic thinking and a willingness to experiment. I am confident that the one-act Rachmaninoff operas will provide us with another chance to witness his outstanding acting abilities and vocal work.”