Yulia Matochkina: “My inner state is raging. Yulia Matochkina from Mirny became the winner of the first prize of the competition. Tchaikovsky Opera singer yulia matochkina

To participate in the XV International Competition. P.I. Tchaikovsky, which is increasingly called the Music Olympiad (both because it takes place once every 4 years, and due to the highest level of skill of the participants), 623 applications from 45 countries of the world were submitted. After reviewing the recordings of the performances of all applicants, the jury selected 61 pianists, 48 ​​violinists, 48 ​​cellists and 79 vocalists for participation in the preliminary face-to-face auditions. As a result of the auditions, 30 pianists, 25 violinists, 25 cellists and 40 vocalists (20 men and 20 women) were allowed to participate in the 1st round of the competition. 20 vocalists have already made it to the 2nd round, and 8 (4 men and 4 women) have made it to the final.

Among them is Yulia Matochkina, a former pupil of the Mirny Children's Music School of Arts and once a soloist of the Kapriz girl group.

For the seventh year, Julia has been a soloist at the Mariinsky Academy of Young Opera Singers, directed by Larisa Gergieva. Julia is involved in 25 theater performances.

She herself said that the choice of the opera scene was random. In fact, she went to enter Arkhangelsk to become an economist, but, listening to her heart, she turned off the planned path to the conductor-choral department of the Arkhangelsk music school under the wing of Sergei Chubov.

“I studied vocal in Arkhangelsk with Nina Matveevna Demidova, a well-known teacher,” said Yulia, “but Chubov sent me to the Petrozavodsk Conservatory for vocals (in the class of VA Gladchenko - author). He said that there is a lot of temperament and potential - all this must be put somewhere, otherwise it will be lost ...

I came to the Mariinsky in 2008, while still studying at the Petrozavodsk Conservatory. I came to St. Petersburg for summer holidays, and my friend offered to go audition to the Mariinsky Academy for the company. At first I refused, after all, in the summer the voice form is not the same, and I have always had a small town complex. But fate was favorable - they took me, but my friend was not, I was ashamed later .... The last year I studied at the conservatory at random - I went from St. Petersburg to Petrozavodsk, because they were not allowed to go to correspondence course. And in the Mariinsky, I was immediately given the leading role in the Marriage of Figaro, the part of Cherubino, with which I made my debut in this theater. So I stayed to live in St. Petersburg ... "

Now Julia says that she adores the opera house, her profession and considers Valery Gergiev to be the best conductor.

It was Valery Gergiev, artistic director of the State Academic Mariinsky Theater, who stood on the bridge during both gala concerts, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where the winner in the vocal nomination among women, Yulia Matochkina, shone in all her glory. She was truly like a queen - both an article and her regal mezzo-soprano. Her great work on herself was crowned with the gold medal of the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, a prize of 30 thousand dollars and a lot of tempting offers, which, for sure, have already rained down on her.

Today in St. Petersburg maestro Gergiev will present the main prize of the competition to them. P.I. Tchaikvosky - Grand Prix. The name of the winner of the award is still unknown.

Yulia Matochkina (32 years old) - laureate of the All-Russian competition "Young talents of Russia" (Moscow, 2008), laureate of the IV International competition of young vocalists "Orpheus" (Volgograd, 2007, 2nd prize), laureate of the V All-Russian competition of young opera singers named after Nadezhda Obukhova (Lipetsk, 2010), Diploma-recipient of the International Mezzo-Soprano Competition in memory of Fedora Barbieri (St. Petersburg, 2012), laureate of the XXVI International Competition of V. L. Sobinova (Saratov, 1st prize, 2013), laureate of the IX International Competition for Young Opera Singers named after I. ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov (Tikhvin, 2015), laureate of the XV International Competition. P.I. Tchaikovsky (1st prize, 2015). With the Mariinsky Opera Company she took part in tours to Austria, Finland, Sweden, Great Britain, France and Japan.

The winner among the vocalists was the St. Petersburg woman, mezzo-soprano of the Mariinsky Theater Yulia Matochkina.

Boring natures?

Yulia, I heard the following response about your victory: "Matochkina stood up for the honor of Russia." Did you have similar ambitions yourself?

It's nice to hear such an assessment. But during the competition, of course, I didn't think about anything like that. I tried to protect myself from everything except music, I talked to very few people, I didn't listen to the speeches of my opponents. Therefore, I did not even know how she looked against the general background - worse, better?

I tried to combine my performances in all three rounds into a single whole, as if I were not participating in the competition, but playing the main role in the play. And as if my finest hour had come - I went out and sing about what worries, let them cry, let them laugh.

Now I remember and wonder: how could I bear it? Of course, I did not succeed in everything I planned, I am a Samoyed, I am never satisfied. And yet, when in the final we went up to the stage to listen to the results, I thought: no matter what place you took, you are already a winner, because you have reached the end and you are standing at the top. Such happiness is not given to everyone.

Well, when they announced that I had been awarded the first prize, I wanted to hug and kiss the whole world! Indeed, she hugged the jury members tightly (laughs).

- Now you are "at the top." And when did the ascent begin?

Probably still in kindergarten in my hometown Mirny. Mom sent me to learn to play the violin. By the way, I thought that I would come and start playing right away. But I was terribly disappointed when they first showed the instrument in disassembled form. I really wanted to play, so I was doing it seriously. And she decided to enter the music school not to study the violin, but to the conducting and choral faculty. I graduated with honors: I am meticulous, I need to do everything as best as possible and put a firm point on it.

I am very grateful to the conducting teacher Sergei Mikhailovich Chubov, he brought up a strong nature out of me, albeit with "demonic" methods. For example, I would close it in my office for three hours - sit and study the score. In such conditions, you can learn everything in the world. He told me that you have to enter the vocal department at the conservatory, they say, I have a voice and an overwhelming energy, I need to direct it in the right direction. I didn’t agree: “Oh, these vocals, something always hurts them, don’t open the window, no coffee. They are boring natures! " Well, I thought: I played the violin, conducted it, but I haven't sung yet.

- Now you are reconciled with the word "vocalist"? Although Shalyapin's language will not turn so called, only - a singer.

It seems to me that the vocalist is a student's word, but I consider myself a singer-actress. I don't impose any restrictions because of my voice, I'm not afraid of open vents, it's not for nothing that my mother tempered me in childhood, poured cold water over me. And yet I have become more circumspect, because the voice is my only tool through which I earn money. Every morning, when I wake up, I check to see if there is a voice. Even on vacation.

Not a timid dozen!

- Did the Mariinsky Theater make you a real singer?

Yes, I've been singing here for eight years, but I entered it by accident. I came to see friends in St. Petersburg after the fourth year of the Petrozavodsk Conservatory. I wanted to rest and have fun, but a friend offered to audition for the Academy of Young Singers. To this, of course, I replied that I had not lost my mind yet. She convinced me to go, and everything turned out happily for me. For her, unfortunately, no.

I was faced with the question of how to stay in St. Petersburg, because from the last year of the conservatory they are not allowed to go to correspondence courses. I had to quarrel, and in the end they let me go. And in the theater, everything developed rapidly, six months later she already sang the part of Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, then Hanna in May Night. Happy and proud, with the disks I went to the conservatory for the exam. I put them on the table, now - I can do everything!

- By nature, you are not timid. Also an optimist?

I'm not timid, although it all depends on the situation. And as for my attitude to life, sometimes I hear: "I'm already tired of you with your optimism" (laughs). And what about grieving about something in advance? When it comes, then we will think.

- Do you dream of fame?

How can you dream about it? You can dream about parts, trips, about stages where you haven’t sang yet, about working with conductors and pianists. And health is also important to me. If all this happens, then the glory will come. Or - it will not come ... Yes, it is not so important, because I serve in the best theater in the world, and there is enough work. I used to underestimate chamber music, now I am anxious. Singing romances, vocal cycles is interesting and difficult, and I love difficulties, because when you overcome it, it seems that you have grown up and you feel satisfaction. Well, I will probably study until old age.

- When will Petersburgers be able to hear you?

In September I will perform at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theater. This concert is associated with winning the competition. Then I will fly to Vladivostok. Well, now, at the end of August, to France, where I will sing Tchaikovsky. Abroad, he is the most popular Russian composer. Once we performed in Rome, so the audience just stood on their ears. Although they do not understand the language, they perfectly feel everything that you want to convey.

After the competition, I began to receive offers from abroad - they mostly ask for Tchaikovsky. It is always pleasant to perform Russian music abroad: you feel pride in your country.

In October and November of this year, the rising mezzo-soprano star Yulia Matochkina will become a real gem of opera performances on the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theater. In 2015, the singer won a landslide victory at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition. Yulia has already visited Vladivostok several times, for example, in August she took part in the 1st International Far East Festival "Mariinsky". During her autumn tour of the Asia-Pacific region, the singer again conquered the audience with her work: in Japan and China, fans take autographs from Yulia, and in the Primorsky Territory, tickets for her performances are sold out long before the concerts.

PRIMPRESS talked with Yulia Matochkina about her career, her favorite operatic roles and stresses.

- Julia, you started your musical career as a violinist. How did you come to the art of opera?

I began my musical education at the conductor-choral department of the music school. After graduation, the teacher advised me to continue on to the vocal department. Otherwise, he said, my artistic temperament will not unfold properly.

- Did you immediately decide to change your activity?

There was no opportunity to think long. I made my decision a week before entering the conservatory. I entered two departments at once - conductor-choral and vocal. There were vocal exams before, and they took me right away. The second education was paid, and I chose vocals.

- What roles do you dream of playing?

Until she sang Lyubasha in the opera The Tsar's Bride by Rimsky-Korsakov. I really want to play this role. And also the part of Martha from "Khovanshchina" by Mussorgsky. This is one of the main roles that I have been rehearsing for 2-3 years, but I haven’t had a chance to sing on stage yet. I hope that I will perform it in the near future.

- On the stage of which theater would you like to perform?

I had a dream to sing at the Mariinsky Theater, and it came true. It would be great to sing at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

- What emotions are the most difficult for you to convey from the stage - anger or love?

It all depends on the partners and the presentation with which everything goes. I don’t think that anger is more difficult to convey, because the music itself and the situation provoke such emotions. As a rule, there are no difficulties with the transmission of strong feelings, which are violently expressed. There are times when the director asks to make an annoyance or insult and not show it, but at the same time the viewer must see that a person's soul is turning out. You don't do anything, you just stand, but everyone should know that you feel very bad. Such an emotion is difficult to convey.

- Have you ever felt the urge to quit singing?

No, I'm just starting to sing.

- What did you want to become as a child?

I, like most musicians, wanted to be Nadezhda Kadysheva or Alla Pugacheva. My neighbors suffered greatly from this. Like many children, I sang in front of the mirror in my mother's shoes with hair spray and makeup. This was the early period. Then I intended to enter the Mozhaisky Academy and be a military man. There were servicemen in my family, and I wanted to follow in their footsteps.

- Were there musicians in the family? Or did one of your family friends inspire you?

There were no musicians in the family. I remember very well that my grandfather had an accordion, which he liked to play on during the holidays. He was a Mari and sang songs with floats, flops. However, he was not a professional musician.

- What kind of music do you listen to now?

I don’t listen to anything outside of office hours. I try to be in complete silence. I don't turn on the TV or the radio. Even when I'm in a taxi, I ask you to turn off everything.

- In one of your interviews you said that you consider yourself a singer-actress. How do you enter the image?

I read a lot about the role. I do not want to play a character, I want to be the person who needs to be reincarnated, to really live some period of his life on stage. I also watch old films with our actors, borrow something from them. And literature, of course, helps a lot.

- How do you get out of character, how do you relax after performances?

It is very difficult to switch right away, adrenaline lasts a very long time. Sometimes you can't fall asleep all night, you all think what else you could do in this role. In general, every appearance on the stage is a new experience in the artistic baggage. And when the show ends, you open this baggage and look at what you put there, you start digging. You can't just leave the stage and immediately switch: "Thank you everyone, I'm home." You walk along the road and think: "I made this new thing today, but I didn't." You gain something, but you even lose something.

- What is your favorite role?

I really like Dulcinea from Don Quixote by Massenet. And Dido in Berlioz's Troyens.

At the upcoming gala concert at the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theater, you will perform your beloved Dido. How do you feel about Carmen, who is also to be sung?

My inner state is raging. There are many things I disagree with musically. But I'm not a composer, I can disagree as much as I want. Maybe I still don't feel free in this difficult game. In general, I have heard and seen very little singers who are 100% capable of this role. The performers of the old school were good. Among the modern ones, I have not yet found such a performance that would inspire me to play as well or even better.

Many opera singers say that the high humidity of the seaside climate makes the voice sound worse. Can you feel it?

Humidity does not harm the voice. Perhaps due to the fact that I am constantly moving, the body adjusts, and you simply do not notice the changes. In any case, the artist must go out and sing. Perhaps the artists who live here or feel their bodies differently notice something. In general, the matter is not in the climate, in St. Petersburg, too, the climate is not the most favorable for the voice. One day a week you wake up - sounds good, the other six - bad. And sometimes, you come to some warm region, and there it seems as if something is not right. Although, it would seem, what else is needed: Italy, the sun is shining, everything is fine (neither hot nor cold), but something is getting in the way.

- Who of the opera singers is a role model for you now?

I looked and look a lot at Elena Vasilievna Obraztsova. I also like Anna Netrebko: she is beautiful and always gives all the best, not even one hundred, but two hundred percent. And it transforms great! From foreign countries I like the American singer Joyce DiDonato.

You said earlier that the most important thing is health. Do you have any unique recipes for maintaining your well-being?

I drink all kinds of vitamins. Frankly, I don't have time to go in for sports. Or is it such an excuse on my part, because there are people who have time to do everything.

Is there a special diet for opera singers? Are there any foods that should not be consumed in any way, or, conversely, are good for the voice? Do I need to drink eggs every day?

About eggs - a myth. As for the diet, it is there, but I do not adhere to it. A lot of products are prohibited: spicy, coffee, alcohol, seeds, something else. But, for example, I don’t eat seeds because I don’t like them, and not because their opera singers cannot.

What is the most difficult thing in the career of an opera singer: working on the technique of performance, organizing performances, or, perhaps, difficulties in relations with the troupe?

You cannot answer unequivocally, anything can happen. There have never been any problems with the theater collectives. In general, I consider myself an easy person. I accept remarks adequately, even those with which I do not agree. The main difficulty lies in connecting everything into a common complex that will work. This is health, communication skills, and musicality.

- Is this tour of the Asia-Pacific region different from the rest?

They are very intense. After the performances in Vladivostok, I go to Harbin and Taipei, after which we will return. We always have a tight schedule, but this time I participate in all operas and in all concert performances.

- Excited before performances?

Always, before every performance. Once my teacher, who taught conducting at the school, said: “When you stop worrying, you can go to sell tomatoes. So it’s not yours anymore. ”

On November 1, the opera "Rhine Gold" will be performed on the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theater. The leading roles will be performed by the leading artists of the Mariinsky Theater: Yuri Vorobyov, Mikhail Vekua, Zhanna Dombrovskaya and the young, but already loved by the seaside audience, mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina. The symphony orchestra will be directed by Valery Gergiev.

On November 2, a gala concert of soloists and the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev will take place in the Great Hall of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theater. The program “Through the Pages of the Great French Operas” includes arias from the operas “Carmen” by Georges Bizet, “Faust” by Charles Gounod, “Samson and Delilah” by Camille Saint-Saens, as well as the fifth act of the opera “The Trojans” by Hector Berlioz.

On the same day, November 2, the outstanding ballerina Diana Vishneva will perform in the main part of the ballet "Carmen Suite". The role of Jose will be performed by the soloist of the Mariinsky Theater Ivan Oskorbin. The conductor will be maestro Valery Gergiev.

Mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina never doubted that she would sing only on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, although she had no idea how to get there.

Julia Matochkina was born in the small town of Mirny near the Plesetsk cosmodrome. Either this “closeness to the stars”, or natural luck played a role, but with cosmic speed - already in her fourth year at the conservatory - Yulia found herself employed at the Mariinsky Theater, where she serves to this day.

- Have you dreamed of singing on this stage?

Yes! When I studied at the vocal department of the Petrozavodsk State Conservatory, I worked in parallel at the local city theater. Well, how I worked ... I was listed as a singer there, but to my shame I was not at any rehearsal. I remember that I was given a small role in a children's play, and I - I don't know why - said: "I won't sing here!" And our head of the department asks me: "Where are you going to work?" "Where? At the Mariinsky Theater! " - I answered, and, of course, everyone laughed at me, but I was not joking at all.

- Where such confidence?

I spoke like girls dreaming of a prince on a white horse. I did not have a single definite thought about how I would at least end up in St. Petersburg: there are no relatives or acquaintances here ... I just had a dream, and that was all.

- And yet they turned out ...

I came to St. Petersburg for the summer holidays after the fourth year to relax, walk and have fun. And my friends invited me to audition at the Academy of Young Singers of the Mariinsky Theater. "You are crazy? - I answered them. - Where are we, and where is the Mariinsky Theater? We can only walk around and sigh. ” But I was convinced that there was nothing wrong: you just need to sign up by phone, come on the appointed day and sing. So that's simple and completely free. And when they told me that they were taking me, I could not believe it. Because of the shock, I began to say that I hadn’t even graduated from the conservatory, that I needed to finish my studies.

- Did you want to refuse ?!

No, but I just could not imagine that such happiness is possible. Then everything was settled, in Petrozavodsk they went to meet me. I went there and back, eventually graduated and stayed to work here.

And you know, a lot of people, especially in small towns like mine, say: “Oh, well, this cannot be. She sang, and immediately took it! You need a lot of money and connections. " But in my case, it was exactly like that. I came, I saw, I won.

- You once said that you don't feel like a vocalist, that you are a singer-actress. Right?

The opera house is a whole collection of arts. It is clear that any person entering the opera stage must be able to sing, but charisma is also needed, appearance and costume are important. Everything should be in unity, only then the viewer will be interested. I don’t like the word “vocalist” at all, it’s some kind of student’s, or something ... I never apply it to myself. A singer-actress is more correct for me.

- Do you remember the first time you appeared on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater?

My first big role was Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. It was very scary and exciting.

- Is it true what the singers do if they forget the lyrics?

Compose!

- But if the opera is in Italian or in German ...

So we compose in Italian or German. But I'll tell you the secrets now, and then the viewer will think that we are fooling him half of the performance! Of course, this is all rare.

As for the excitement: when you find yourself in a separate state called the Mariinsky Theater, everything is exciting for you. It has its own special life. We spend a lot of time here, from morning to night. Especially before premiere performances, when everything needs to be rehearsed and a huge number of people are involved at the same time. When you get to a theater of this magnitude, and they pin their hopes on you, it is simply impossible not to worry, but this is an incredibly interesting life for me.

- What do you have in the near future?

I am preparing Eboli from large works in Don Carlos. I will go on tour to Japan with this part. I plan to go on stage as Carmen, but I can’t name a specific date yet.

- Prepare yourself for the role?

Yes, of course, I read a lot of relevant literature, watch a lot of feature films and films-operas in order to collect different images in my head and compare the singers of different eras.

- Who is Carmen better?

I am now thinking about this question. I liked several options. But, of course, the incomparable Elena Obraztsova is an ideal.

- Does your image change after several performances or does it remain the same as at the premiere?

Changes constantly. The role matures over time. Also, all games are very different. Sometimes the role is tiny, but each time it causes such awe that you think: it would be better if I sang on stage for five hours. The party is gradually acquiring something. For example, Dulcinea in Don Quixote is different every time. I don't know if this is good or not, but I find something for myself and think: I have to remember, I didn't do that last time. Also, a lot depends on the state as a whole. I try to go on stage with Dulcinea, not Yulia Matochkina, otherwise the viewer will not be interested.

- Tell me, have you ever thought that you are envied?

I try not to think about it. There are certainly manifestations of envy, I'm not even talking about myself now, but in general. It has always been and will be. But it seems to me that there is no need to pay attention to this. Envy is a bad feeling, it destroys.

- But what about the theater, especially the classical one? There are so many rumors that this world consists of gossip and intrigue ...

When I was a student, my teacher told me that the theater (not the Mariinsky, but the theater in general) is a special environment where you need to be ready for everything, that everyone is eating and chewing everyone. But you know ... It happens when people have nothing to do. This is my seventh season at the Mariinsky Theater and I cannot say that I have ever faced an unfavorable environment. We have a very friendly team, and then everyone here has so much work to do that there is simply no time to collect gossip.

Interviewed by Daria Sokolova

"SAKVOYAZH SV - SAPSAN", No. 02 (63)