01.04.2019
Olesya Petrova: “Only my feelings are left…”
April is shaping up to be a busy month for Mikhailovsky Theatre mezzo-soprano opera soloist Olesya Petrova, who will be making a number of appearances. On 5 April, she is singing in The Queen of Spades; on 26 April, she will be performing in Un ballo in maschera; 28 April will see her take part in a chamber concert in the foyer of the dress circle; and on 3 April, the singer will be giving a solo concert in the Philharmonic Chamber Hall. Olesya tells us what sort of programme her audience can expect and how a solo concert differs from a role in an opera.
„I love the stage, whether that’s a big stage in a theatre or a chamber concert stage, but there’s a big difference between the two formats. On stage in a chamber concert, I’m more exposed: I can’t hide behind my partners, my costume, my makeup, the stage lighting, or the role itself, at the end of the day. There’s just me. Only my feelings are left, along with my interpretation of and relationship to the music, which I convey to the audience. It’s light in the hall, so I can see people’s eyes; there’s a heart-to-heart dialogue.“
„Music brings people together. No matter what city or country you’re singing in, music is a type of beauty that everyone can understand and which needs no translation. I’ve given solo concerts abroad. I went on a whole tour with my pianist: Leipzig, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna. I wouldn’t say there’s anything fundamentally different about performing to foreign audiences, particularly if you’re singing Mahler or Schumann. It’s a bit scarier singing Russian music like the romances by Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff. You have to turn on your inner actress a little so that people don’t just hear the beauty of the music and your voice, but also understand the meaning. That’s not a problem you have with Russian audiences, of course.“
„My upcoming concert in the Philharmonic Chamber Hall will be with the State Russian Concert Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Popov. We’ve been friends for many years, drawn together by our fondness for each other and the many creative projects we’ve collaborated on. I was overjoyed that my schedule allowed me to agree to this concert. As well as some much-loved romances by Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Dargomyzhsky, I’ll be singing a few new pieces which we haven’t sung before, such as Varvara’s rhyming verses from Rodion Shchedrin’s opera Not Love Alone. There will be some Russian folk songs too, of course, and the orchestra also has some wonderful arrangements of Lyubasha’s aria from The Tsar’s Bride and Joan of Arc’s aria from The Maid of Orleans. And I’ll most definitely be singing the habanera from Carmen.“
„I love the stage, whether that’s a big stage in a theatre or a chamber concert stage, but there’s a big difference between the two formats. On stage in a chamber concert, I’m more exposed: I can’t hide behind my partners, my costume, my makeup, the stage lighting, or the role itself, at the end of the day. There’s just me. Only my feelings are left, along with my interpretation of and relationship to the music, which I convey to the audience. It’s light in the hall, so I can see people’s eyes; there’s a heart-to-heart dialogue.“
„Music brings people together. No matter what city or country you’re singing in, music is a type of beauty that everyone can understand and which needs no translation. I’ve given solo concerts abroad. I went on a whole tour with my pianist: Leipzig, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna. I wouldn’t say there’s anything fundamentally different about performing to foreign audiences, particularly if you’re singing Mahler or Schumann. It’s a bit scarier singing Russian music like the romances by Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff. You have to turn on your inner actress a little so that people don’t just hear the beauty of the music and your voice, but also understand the meaning. That’s not a problem you have with Russian audiences, of course.“
„My upcoming concert in the Philharmonic Chamber Hall will be with the State Russian Concert Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Popov. We’ve been friends for many years, drawn together by our fondness for each other and the many creative projects we’ve collaborated on. I was overjoyed that my schedule allowed me to agree to this concert. As well as some much-loved romances by Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Dargomyzhsky, I’ll be singing a few new pieces which we haven’t sung before, such as Varvara’s rhyming verses from Rodion Shchedrin’s opera Not Love Alone. There will be some Russian folk songs too, of course, and the orchestra also has some wonderful arrangements of Lyubasha’s aria from The Tsar’s Bride and Joan of Arc’s aria from The Maid of Orleans. And I’ll most definitely be singing the habanera from Carmen.“
