Golden voices: Boris Statsenko - “Singing is not a profession. This is a disease” (long interview with an outstanding baritone of our time). Boris Statsenko: In opera you need not only to sing well, but also to play a role! Boris Statsenko baritone family

The famous baritone Boris Statsenko celebrated his anniversary as a “twice excellent student” on the stage of the capital’s “New Opera” with a grandiose gala concert. A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, who began his career at the Boris Pokrovsky Chamber Musical Theater and the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, he later moved to Germany and worked extensively and successfully in the West. Today Statsenko is a recognized interpreter of classical baritone roles, whose career is still developing successfully in Europe, and again and again sings more and more often in Russia - in Moscow, Kazan, and other cities of our country.

– Boris, tell us about the idea and program of the anniversary concert at the Novaya Opera.

– I celebrated my fiftieth birthday with a big concert in Düsseldorf, on the stage of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, a theater with which I have been associated for many years, so something similar has already happened. For my 55th anniversary, I wanted to organize a similar celebration in Moscow, especially since my desire coincided with the aspirations of the leadership of the New Opera in the person of Dmitry Aleksandrovich Sibirtsev. He enthusiastically responded to this proposal, and a date was chosen at the beginning of the season, as close as possible in time to my birthday itself, which is in August. It so happened that on the chosen day (September 12) there was a real pandemonium of interesting musical events in Moscow - at the Philharmonic, Conservatory, House of Music, that is, our project had a lot of competition.

– All that remains is to be happy for Muscovites, who have a wide choice!

- Yes, definitely. As I recently read in an article by S. A. Kapkov, in Moscow there are 370 theaters for 14 million residents! This is something amazing, there is nothing like it anywhere in the world. This article was immediately followed by a comment from the Verona theatrical agent Franco Silvestri that in Rome, for example, the ratio with Moscow is one to seven and is not in favor of the Italian capital. As for the program of my concert, the first part consisted of arias from parts that were significant for my career (Escamillo, Wolfram, Renato and others - a kind of retrospective of creativity), and the second part consisted of the entire act from Tosca. The concert also featured a world premiere - the first performance of Vlad's Serenade from Andrei Tikhomirov's new opera "Dracula", which the New Opera will prepare this season (a concert performance of it with my participation is planned for June 2015).

– I wonder how the Novaya Opera musicians perceived this work and what is your attitude towards it?

– The orchestra and conductor Vasily Valitov perform it with great enthusiasm, they like this music. I’m simply in love with my part and with the whole opera, which I became familiar with in detail. In my opinion, this is precisely a modern opera, where the laws and requirements of the genre are observed, it has a modern musical language, various compositional techniques are used, but at the same time there is something to sing, and for a full set of voices, as is customary in full-fledged classical operas . I am sure that the concert performance in the summer will be a success and this opera should also find a stage destiny in the future. I hope it will arouse interest among professionals, and I have no doubt that the public will like it.

– A retrospective approach for an anniversary concert is very appropriate. Probably, among these and your other heroes there are especially dear ones?

“Unfortunately, my career has developed in such a way that I have sung little Russian opera: four baritone roles in Tchaikovsky’s operas, two roles in Prokofiev’s (Napoleon and Ruprecht) and Gryaznoy in The Tsar’s Bride.” If it had happened differently, I would gladly sing more in my native language and Russian music as such, but in the West, where I mainly worked and continue to work, Russian opera is still in little demand. My main specialization is the dramatic Italian repertoire, primarily Verdi and Puccini, as well as other verists (Giordano, Leoncavallo and others): I am perceived this way due to the characteristics of my voice and are most often invited to such repertoire. But, perhaps, the main place is still occupied by Verdi’s parts - they are also the most beloved.

– What about the German repertoire? You sang and sing a lot in Germany.

– I have only two German roles – Wolfram in Tannhäuser and Amfortas in Parsifal, both in the operas of the great Wagner. But I had to sing a lot of Italian and French opera in German, because in the early 1990s, when I moved to Germany, there was still no craze for performing operas in the original language, and many performances were staged in German. So I sang in German in “Force of Destiny”, “Carmen”, “Don Giovanni” and others.

– Do new parts often appear in your repertoire?

– I have more than eighty parts in my repertoire. There was a time when I learned a lot of new things for myself and my repertoire expanded rapidly. But now is a different stage in my career: my main repertoire has stabilized, now there are about ten roles in it. Something has fallen out and, apparently, is irrevocable, because for such operas as “The Marriage of Figaro” or “L'elisir d'amore” there are young people who can sing it well, but they are hardly yet able to perform the parts in which I I specialize in Nabucco, Rigoletto, Scarpia...

– Your first big stage is the Bolshoi Theater, where you started. Then there was a break when you did not appear in Russia, and in 2005 there was a meeting with Bolshoi again. Has much changed? How did you find the theater?

– Of course, a lot has changed, which is not surprising – Russia itself has changed radically, and the Bolshoi Theater has changed along with it. But I can’t say that I found the Bolshoi in bad condition. The Bolshoi is the Bolshoi, it has been and will always be a temple of art. Development is moving along a sine wave, and my feeling is that Bolshoi is now on the rise. And then, you know, an interesting thing: it has become common place to complain about current times and say that it was better before, but now everything is going towards decline. However, this has been said in all eras. If we follow this logic, degradation should have long ago destroyed everything around us, but in fact this is not at all the case, and development is ascending, which, of course, does not exclude temporary deterioration, problems, even crises and falls. But then the stage of revival inevitably comes, and the Bolshoi Theater is now at exactly this stage. I really like to read historical works and in general I really regret that in Russia history is not the main science: there is something to be gleaned and learned there. So, over the past millennia, in my opinion, humanity has not changed at all, it is still the same - with the same pros and cons. The same applies to the psychological atmosphere in today’s Bolshoi, human relations. There are simply different people, different interests, they collide, and the outcome of this collision will depend on their level of culture.

Now, as in the late 80s, when I started at the Bolshoi, there is competition, a struggle for roles, a desire to make a career, but these are normal theatrical phenomena. At the turn of the 80s and 90s, a very powerful young generation of singers came to the Bolshoi with me, about seven baritones alone, and, naturally, this caused discontent and fear among the elders. Decades have passed, and now we are the older generation who have established careers, and young people are breathing down our necks, who are no better or worse, they are the same, with their own ambitions, aspirations and aspirations. This is fine. In the Soviet years, the Bolshoi was the highest point in the career of any domestic singer, now the situation is different, the Bolshoi has to compete with other world theaters, and, in my opinion, it succeeds. The fact that the Bolshoi now has two stages and its main historical venue has been renovated and is functioning at full capacity is a big deal. The acoustics, in my opinion, are no worse than they were before, you just need to get used to them, like everything new.

– Our theatrical practice and European theatrical practice: is there a big difference between us?

– I believe that there are no fundamental differences. It all depends on specific people, who do not change with a change of job: if a person was a slob here, then he will work there too carelessly. If a persistent team has gathered for a production, it means it will be a success. If not, then the result will not inspire anyone. It seems to me that all the talk about mental and psychological differences between Russians and Europeans and Americans is very far-fetched: the differences do not go beyond some nuances, nothing more. Then the West is very different: Italians are more impulsive and often unnecessary, Germans are more neat and organized. It seems to me that there is a connection with the language that certain peoples speak and, accordingly, think. In German there must be an iron order of words, therefore there is order in their actions. And in Russian you can put words arbitrarily as you want - this is how we live, to a certain extent, more freely and, probably, with less responsibility.

– Germany is famous for the active role of direction in opera. What is your attitude to this phenomenon?

– Whether someone likes it or not, I think this is an objective process. There was once an era of dominance of vocals and opera singers, then they were replaced by conductors, then the time of record labels came, which dictated the conditions, compositions and the very names of the works, and now the time has come of directors. There is nothing you can do about it - this is a stage that will also pass over time. My feeling is that the director is often too dominant where the musical direction is not compelling, when the conductor can't really say his word, when he is not a charismatic leader - then the director takes control. But the directors are also very different. A director with his own vision and concept is a blessing for opera, because such a master can make an interesting performance, and the opera itself more understandable and relevant to the public. But, of course, there are also many random people who do not understand the essence of musical theater, do not understand the subject and are simply untalented, for whom there is only one way to declare themselves in this territory that is essentially alien to them - to shock. Lack of talent and illiteracy - unfortunately, this has become a lot now: directors stage an opera, but are completely unaware of the work, do not know or understand the music. Hence the productions, which cannot even be called modern or scandalous; they are simply bad and unprofessional. The explanation that is often resorted to to justify all kinds of updating of opera plots, that traditional productions are not interesting to young people, I consider untenable: classical performances are in demand among young people, because they are not yet familiar with the standards and they are interested in seeing it. And in Germany, for example, generations of people have already grown up who do not even know what traditional performances are, so how can one say that they do not like them? Encouraging directors to engage in all sorts of eccentricities is carried out by music critics, who are tired of opera as such; they just want something new all the time, something that tickles their nerves, something that they have not yet encountered.

– How did you negotiate with directors whose ideas were unacceptable to you?

– Of course, there’s no point in arguing and swearing – the director is no stupider than you, he has his own vision. But trying to offer something of your own, even within the framework of what he offers, is quite acceptable, and often this is the path that leads to cooperation between the singer and the director and to a good result. The singer is imbued with the director’s idea; in a number of cases, the director sees the inconsistency of one or another of his demands. This is a creative process, a search process. The main thing is not to slide into confrontation, to work in the name of creation, for results.

– You were one of the first who, in the early 1990s, left – as it seemed to many in Russia then, forever – to work in the West. How quickly did you adapt there?

– Quite quickly, and the main thing here was my ability to work and the desire to sing a lot and everywhere. This also helped me cope with the language problem. I came to Germany with two German words. And I learned the language there on my own - from tutorials, textbooks, television and radio, and communication with colleagues. Three months after arriving in Germany, I was already speaking German. By the way, I didn’t know any other foreign languages ​​either, including Italian, which is mandatory for a vocalist; it wasn’t necessary in the Soviet Union. Life made me make up for it all.

– After the anniversary concert at the Novaya Opera, how often will we have the pleasure of listening to you in Moscow?

– I am now in a period of close cooperation with the New Opera, which I am very happy about: I feel comfortable here, they understand me here, they meet my ideas and proposals halfway. In September I sing “Rigoletto” and “The Tsar’s Bride” here, in October - “Nabucco”. In December there will be a concert performance of Pagliacci with the wonderful Serbian tenor Zoran Todorovic as Canio, I will sing Tonio. In January there will be a concert performance of “Mazepa”, and in June the already mentioned “Dracula”. The New Opera has good opportunities for me, they have a rich repertoire, many roles for my type of voice.

– What are your plans for the new season outside of Moscow?

– I am awaiting 21 performances of “Aida” in Germany, “Rigoletto” in Norway, “Carmen” and “La Traviata” in Prague, “Fiery Angel” in Germany - the season is very busy, there is a lot of work.

– With such intense stage activity, do you still have time to work with young people?

– I taught at the conservatory in Düsseldorf for five years, but stopped this activity because there was less and less time left for my own career. But I work with young people privately and without false modesty I will say that those who come to me stay with me. One of my last students, Slovakian Richard Šveda, recently performed a wonderful Don Giovanni in Prague, and soon he has a concert in Bratislava with Edita Gruberova. This is a very promising young vocalist.

- Almost yes. Well, perhaps, I would refrain from working only with coloratura sopranos and very light lyric tenors of the Rossini type; after all, there is a lot of specificity there.

– Does it make young people happy or does it sometimes make them sad?

– Students are different – ​​I can’t say what’s worse or better than before. And in my generation, yes, there were probably always those who sought to take from the teacher everything that he could give, and there were those who passively accepted the process, were lazy, and in whom dependent moods prevailed. There are many talented guys, good voices and purposeful individuals. I would like to wish them all great success and that they understand well that no one will do anything for them - you need to achieve everything yourself, with your determination, hard work, desire to comprehend, active life position, and then everything will definitely work out!

Born in Korkino, Chelyabinsk region. In 1981-84. studied at the Chelyabinsk Music College (teacher G. Gavrilov). He continued his vocal education at the Moscow State Conservatory named after P.I. Tchaikovsky in the class of Hugo Tietz. He graduated from the conservatory in 1989, being a student of Pyotr Skusnichenko, with whom he also completed graduate school in 1991.

In the opera studio of the conservatory, he sang the roles of Germont, Eugene Onegin, Belcore (“Elisir of Love” by G. Donizetti), Count Almaviva in “The Marriage of Figaro” by V.A. Mozart, Lanciotto (“Francesca da Rimini” by S. Rachmaninov).

In 1987-1990 was a soloist at the Chamber Musical Theater under the direction of Boris Pokrovsky, where, in particular, he performed the title role in the opera “Don Juan” by V.A. Mozart.

In 1990 he was an intern at the opera troupe, in 1991-95. - soloist of the Bolshoi Theater.
Sang, including the following parts:
Silvio (Pagliacci by R. Leoncavallo)
Yeletsky (The Queen of Spades by P. Tchaikovsky)
Germont (La Traviata by G. Verdi)
Figaro (The Barber of Seville by G. Rossini)
Valentin (Faust by Charles Gounod)
Robert (Iolanta by P. Tchaikovsky)

Currently he is a guest soloist at the Bolshoi Theatre. In this capacity, he performed the role of Carlos in the opera “Force of Destiny” by G. Verdi (the performance was rented from the Neapolitan San Carlo Theater in 2002).

In 2006, at the premiere of the opera War and Peace by S. Prokofiev (second edition), he performed the role of Napoleon. He also performed the roles of Ruprecht (The Fiery Angel by S. Prokofiev), Tomsky (The Queen of Spades by P. Tchaikovsky), Nabucco (Nabucco by G. Verdi), Macbeth (Macbeth by G. Verdi).

Conducts a variety of concert activities. In 1993, he gave concerts in Japan, recorded a program on Japanese radio, and was repeatedly a participant in the Chaliapin Festival in Kazan, where he performed in concert (awarded the press prize for “Best Performer of the Festival,” 1993) and opera repertoire (the title role in “ Nabucco" and the part of Amonasro in "Aida" by G. Verdi, 2006).

Since 1994 he has performed mainly abroad. He has permanent engagements in opera houses in Germany: he sang Ford (Falstaff by G. Verdi) in Dresden and Hamburg, Germont in Frankfurt, Figaro and the title role in the opera Rigoletto by G. Verdi in Stuttgart, etc.

In 1993-99 was a guest soloist at the Chemnitz Theater (Germany), where he performed the roles of Robert in Iolanta (conductor Mikhail Yurovsky, director Peter Ustinov), Escamillo in Carmen by J. Bizet and others.

Since 1999, he has been constantly working in the troupe of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Dusseldorf-Duisburg), where his repertoire includes: Rigoletto, Scarpia (Tosca by G. Puccini), Horeb (The Fall of Troy by G. Berlioz), Lindorff, Coppelius, Miracle, Dapertutto (“The Tales of Hoffmann” by J. Offenbach), Macbeth (“Macbeth” by G. Verdi), Escamillo (“Carmen” by J. Bizet), Amonasro (“Aida” by G. Verdi), Tonio (“Pagliacci” by R. Leoncavallo), Amfortas (Parsifal by R. Wagner), Gelner (Valli by A. Catalani), Iago (Otello by G. Verdi), Renato (Un ballo in maschera by G. Verdi), Georges Germont (La Traviata "G. Verdi), Michele ("The Cloak" by G. Puccini), Nabucco ("Nabucco" by G. Verdi), Gerard ("Andre Chenier" by U. Giordano).

Since the late 1990s. repeatedly performed at the Ludwigsburg Festival (Germany) with Verdi's repertoire: Count Stankar (Stiffelio), Nabucco, Count di Luna (Il Trovatore), Ernani (Ernani), Renato (Un ballo in maschera).

He took part in the production of “The Barber of Seville” in many theaters in France.

He performed in theaters in Berlin, Essen, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Helsinki, Oslo, Amsterdam, Brussels, Liege (Belgium), Paris, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Marseille, Montpellier, Toulon, Copenhagen, Palermo, Trieste, Turin, Venice, Padua, Lucca, Rimini, Tokyo and other cities. On the stage of the Paris Opera Bastille he performed the role of Rigoletto.

In 2003 he sang Nabucco in Athens, Ford in Dresden, Iago in Graz, Count di Luna in Copenhagen, Georges Germont in Oslo, Scarpia and Figaro in Trieste.
In 2004-06 - Scarpia in Bordeaux, Germont in Oslo and Marseille (“La bohème” by G. Puccini) in Luxembourg and Tel Aviv, Rigoletto and Gerard (“André Chénier”) in Graz.
In 2007 he performed the role of Tomsky in Toulouse.
In 2008 he sang Rigoletto in Mexico City and Scarpia in Budapest.
In 2009 he performed the roles of Nabucco in Graz, Scarpia in Wiesbaden, Tomsky in Tokyo, Rigoletto in New Jersey and Bonn, Ford and Onegin in Prague.
In 2010, Scarpia sang in Limoges.

Our conversation with Boris Statsenko, a famous opera baritone, soloist of the New Opera, as well as a guest soloist of the Bolshoi Theater and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, took place via Skype, since the artist with whom we had seen in Moscow the day before was already in the promised land: performances were taking place in Israel with his participation.

Boris Statsenko graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1989, being a student of Pyotr Skusnichenko, with whom he also completed graduate school in 1991. In 1987-1990 was a soloist at the Chamber Musical Theater under the direction of Boris Pokrovsky, where, in particular, he performed the title role in the opera “Don Juan” by V.A. Mozart. In 1990 he was an intern at the opera troupe, in 1991-95. - soloist of the Bolshoi Theater. Sang, including the following roles: Silvio (Pagliacci by R. Leoncavallo), Yeletsky (The Queen of Spades by P. Tchaikovsky), Germont (La Traviata by G. Verdi), Figaro (The Barber of Seville by G. Rossini), Valentin (Faust by C. Gounod), Robert (Iolanta by P. Tchaikovsky).

Currently he is a guest soloist at the Bolshoi Theatre. In this capacity he performed the role of Carlos in the opera “Force of Destiny” by G. Verdi. In 2006, at the premiere of the opera War and Peace by S. Prokofiev (second edition), he performed the role of Napoleon. He also performed the roles of Ruprecht (The Fiery Angel by S. Prokofiev), Tomsky (The Queen of Spades by P. Tchaikovsky), Nabucco (Nabucco by G. Verdi), Macbeth (Macbeth by G. Verdi).

Since 1999 he has been constantly working in the troupe of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Dusseldorf-Duisburg). He performed in theaters in Berlin, Essen, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Helsinki, Oslo, Amsterdam, Brussels, Liege (Belgium), Paris, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Marseille, Montpellier, Toulon, Copenhagen, Palermo, Trieste, Turin, Venice, Padua, Lucca, Rimini, Tokyo and other cities. On the stage of the Paris Opera Bastille he performed the role of Rigoletto. Since 2007 he has been teaching at the Dusseldorf Conservatory.

- Boris, what, in your opinion, does opera give to people?

This is not the right question - you need to ask people. I'm an artist.

- But you are also a human being, and in this sense, nothing human is alien to you.

I can answer that she gives me personally everything I need. Basically, I don’t work, but do what I love. Singing is my hobby. Therefore, I have everything combined - both my hobby and my work.

How easy is your job or hobby for you? After all, learning the parts, your employment in many performances, constant tours require a lot of time and effort?

You lead a healthy lifestyle and pay great attention to physical activity. How do you manage to study while traveling?

I carry an expander with a load of 50 kg, and the rest - squats, push-ups, you can do anywhere. If possible, sometimes I go to a fitness studio. I study for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening.

Having attended performances with your participation, I have repeatedly communicated with your fans, who dearly love you as an artist. Are their feelings mutual?

I really feel the love of my fans, their energy that comes from the audience. She definitely fuels me. And this process is mutual. If an artist gives his energy, he will get it back. And if it’s closed and doesn’t spend anything, then it doesn’t receive anything. When you give, a void is formed, which is naturally filled with the emotions of the audience, the warm, pleasant words of my friends, and this helps to work further.

- Why do you love your profession?

I am interested in doing my favorite thing: learning new parts, working with new conductors, new partners, colleagues, finding myself in a new environment every time - everything that makes up the work of a professional opera singer. Unlike singers of popular music, who often sing along to a soundtrack, which I do not understand and do not welcome, I always perform different parts, and do not perform the same repertoire. In every performance I discover something new in my part: I don’t have memorized movements for certain phrases. Different directors and directors of the play interpret the work in their own way and identify interesting details in it. In general, I think it’s disrespectful to the public to sing along to a soundtrack. And there can be no love for the profession here when the next “jumper” runs onto the stage with his hand raised and shouts to the audience: “HOW I love you!” All our “stars” do this, including Philip Kirkorov, Nikolai Baskov, Boris Moiseev - this, in my opinion, is terribly vulgar. They exchanged living art and creativity for deception.

- Do you have a favorite hero, or character that you perform as an actor?

I don't have a favorite hero or character. Playing a negative character is much more attractive because it is easier to find colors for such a character. But, for example, I don’t know how to play a hero-lover.

Playing an emotion is not a problem, I will immediately find my bearings and play. It's more difficult in opera. For example, I never did well with Yeletsky as a character, who was not particularly close to me, although I successfully coped with his solo aria. But Tomsky, Figaro, Robert, Scarpia, Nabucco, Rigoletto, on the contrary, were easier to achieve. Once upon a time I realized that it was impossible to play everything, and I concentrated on a certain character of my characters and on finding my own approach to their stage embodiment. By the way, the baritone almost always plays villains and murderers. Even Onegin is a negative character.

- Do you try to find something positive even in negative characters?

There are negative characters written out in the libretto, but this does not mean that their character is completely negative. All the characters I perform - Scarpia, Rigoletto - are positive for me, I love them very much and as a performer I do not see and never show negative traits in them.

- What are you doing then?

I play a man. For example, Scarpia is a police chief, and a Sicilian baron. What are its negative features? The fact that he molested a woman? My God, this happened everywhere and at all times. A police chief who fights revolutionaries is also the norm. What is his fault? The fact that he lured Tosca and Cavaradossi into the net? So he has such a job and no deceit! Scarpia is a normal person, a man with power. So what?

- Tell me, please, how do you work on your roles?

There are many different professional techniques that you can get acquainted with at master classes. But in my own work on roles, I use proven methods - my secrets of mastery, acquired over many years. In my time, Stanislavsky’s acting system was considered popular. I also read books by Mikhail Chekhov. Now there is a lot of literature on how to work on roles, there is a huge amount of educational literature. But theoretical knowledge in itself does not provide real mastery: there are a lot of practical questions, the answers to which can only be obtained in classes with a teacher. I learned a lot for myself as a student at the Moscow Conservatory. In my third year, Boris Aleksandrovich Pokrovsky invited me to his theater to play the role of Don Juan. Watching other actors work with him and their reactions to his tasks, I quickly learned the principles of acting and further improved the skills I had acquired. I had the opportunity to work with many theater directors. It has always been difficult to cooperate with dictatorial conductors who demand unquestioning submission to their idea, which does not always coincide with the author’s intention, which requires relearning the text. But there are other directors who give the artist his role. And when the actor creates his role, and the director corrects his performance, the process of collaboration becomes intense and exciting, and the results are successful

- Do you have any difficulties working with other artists?

I always treat my partners with respect. It is only annoying if an artist comes to rehearsal with an unlearned part and unprepared, which happens very often. In my practice, there was a case when I stopped the rehearsal and said that I would come when my colleagues had learned their parts.

- What kind of resonance did this cause?

Three days later, all the games were learned.

- What qualities should an artist have?

I am convinced that talent makes up only 5 percent, the remaining 95 is efficiency. Since my student years, I have accustomed myself to coming to class with works memorized. Nowadays, most students learn the program in class with accompanists. It is also important to master acting skills, which can be learned from good film actors. I love watching old films from the 50s and 60s with naive acting, such as Come Tomorrow, which features theater actors. My favorite film artists are Innokenty Smoktunovsky and Jack Nicholson, from whom I learned a lot. I also studied with Basilashvili, Leonov, Mironov and our entire artistic galaxy. Unfortunately, you can’t learn anything from modern television series, not because all the actors are mediocre, but because the camera doesn’t stay long on the actor’s face and it’s impossible to feel his performance in a short time.

- What do you like most about opera?

Actor play. In my opinion, in opera you need not only to sing well, but also to play the role. However, there are some singers who just want to sing beautifully. Such artists also have success, and this is wonderful. Of course, this also depends on the repertoire. For example, in Bellini's bel canto opera arias, in which there is very little text, the artist has to express the emotions coming from the music itself, and first of all, he is required to have gorgeous singing and a completely different acting behavior. Although you need to sing well everywhere.

- Do you like listening to other artists sing?

There are a lot of singers - baritones, tenors, and basses - whom I listen to and admire.

- Did you have any idols?

I took lessons in Italy from Piero Cappuccili, one of the best baritones of the second half of the twentieth century, and for me he was always an example of vocal mastery. When I was young, I even aspired to sing the way he sings.

- How do you feel about criticism?

I believe that it is always subjective and depends on various factors. Critics write completely opposite reviews of the same premiere performance.

- Do you consider the opinion of the public objective?

She is also subjective in her assessments, and that is her right.

- Can an artist evaluate himself objectively?

No, not a single artist can give himself an objective assessment. Many people can do things that I can’t do. But I also know that many people don’t know how to do what I can do. This is quite natural. And you can learn a lot from other performers. Probably, for life and self-affirmation it is good to have high self-esteem. For me, the main thing has always been what happens on stage, where the best is actually determined.

Maral YAKSHIEVA

Now he is a soloist at the Opera House in Dusseldorf, performing on the best stages of Hamburg, Dresden, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels and other cultural capitals of the world, with a repertoire of more than fifty operas. Boris Statsenko is a regular participant in the festival in Lucca (Italy), sang in “La Traviata”, “Force of Destiny”, “Tosca”, “Rigoletto”, “La Boheme”, “Tannhäuser”, “Iolanta”, “The Queen of Spades” in the theaters of Venice , Turin, Padua, Lucca, Rimini.

Over the past five years, the singer has been actively participating in performances at the Ludwigsburg Festival under the direction of Professor Gennenwein, performing leading roles in the operas Stiffelio, Il Trovatore, Nabucco, Ernani, and Un ballo in maschera. For the next four years he has engagements in theaters in Verona, Trieste, Palermo, Parma, Rome, Toulouse, Lyon, Liege, Tel Aviv.

For the Moscow public, the return of Boris Statsenko was marked by a magnificent performance of the role of Napoleon in the new sensational project of the Bolshoi Theater - S. Prokofiev’s opera “War and Peace”. The Russian tour continued in his native Chelyabinsk, where he performed in Tosca, and at the Chaliapin festival in Kazan (Aida, Nabucco, gala concerts).

Back in November 2005, Boris Statsenko organized an opera festival in his homeland, Chelyabinsk, in which his friends and partners in performances at La Scala participated: the famous Italian basses Luigi Roni and Grazio Mori, conductor Stefano Rabaglia, as well as three young vocalist Stefan Kibalov, Irena Cerboncini and Alberto Gelmoni.

Now Boris Statsenko is presenting his new creative project in Russia, jointly with Luigi Roni. This is a concert agency focused on presenting to the Russian public the most famous Italian singers who have not yet performed in our country. Statsenko believes that in Russia they know the names of only a few stars, such as Luciano Pavarotti or Cecilia Bartoli, and have not yet heard the best Italian voices.

As a 22-year-old boy, Boris first went to the opera. They showed The Barber of Seville. “Back then I had no idea what it was. I naively thought that singers don’t learn to sing, but simply go on stage and sing,” says Statsenko. The impression was so strong that the former rural boy quit his job and began studying opera singing.

The colorful bass Stanislav Bogdanovich Suleymanov enters into a casual conversation:

Boris's life changed dramatically in 1993, when he received an invitation to the opera house in the city of Chemnitz (formerly East German Karl-Marx-Stadt - Ed.). It so happened that a production of Verdi’s rarely sung opera “Stiffelio” was planned and the performer fell ill. Boris learned this most difficult and enormous opera in a week, which is practically impossible. And his no less brilliant participation in the premiere of this opera served as an impetus for further promotion.

He arrived there without knowing the language. Today Boris speaks five languages: German, Italian, English, French... and has not forgotten his native Russian. Since then, Boris has been shining all over the world. 63 opera parts were learned and sung.

I can say that I had to go a long way to achieve the stylistic performance of German, French, Italian composers,” Statsenko continues the conversation. - This is difficult in Russia, because other students have more opportunities to hear good performers live. About 7 years ago, with my friend Luigi Roni (famous Italian bass - ed.), we went to Chelyabinsk for the first time. I begged him for a long time, and in the end he agreed.

Tickets were sold out six months before the festival took place. The most interesting thing is that 50% of the listeners are young people under 20 years old; students came from Yekaterinburg and Perm to listen to Italian opera singers. And then we came up with the idea of ​​organizing it so that all listeners who wanted could listen to the opera live.

You understand perfectly well that any recording does not give a complete picture of the singers; only by listening live can you understand this style, this taste. Of course, it’s hard for our students to sing in

Italian and any other language. It’s very difficult when you don’t understand the words and it’s very difficult to understand how you can sing like that if you don’t hear it live. I experienced this myself.

When I heard my favorite singers live, I perceived singing technique and performing art in a completely different way, which helped me very, very much. The idea was born to organize a production company so that Italian singers could be brought to the Russian stage.

It is clear that Moscow and St. Petersburg are one thing, but in provincial cities no one wants to do this. Foreigners themselves are simply afraid to go there. Of course, this is not a cheap pleasure, but without it it will be much more difficult for our singers to reach the world level.

Boris, how do you feel about the current situation with the production of “Rigoletto” at the Deutsche Oper?

It’s difficult for me to add anything else to what our intendant has already said (you can read about the reasons for canceling the premiere in the article “Bravo, Rigoletto!” - author’s note). The fact is that for 37 years in a row the classical production of “Rigoletto” was staged on the stage of the German Opera, and the public became accustomed to this version.

At the moment I can’t say that this was really a problem with the direction, that’s not the point, director David Hermann is a rather nice person and a competent director, he achieved what he wanted. It’s just, apparently, this is a complex of many reasons - costumes, scenery, everything together.

So what were the problems with the stage version of the opera?

It’s difficult for me to judge what the problems were, because we had the same lineup, and I couldn’t look at what was happening on stage from the outside. However, the decision of the opera's intendant, Christopher Mayer, was, in my opinion, a very courageous step.

This has never happened before on the stage of the Deutsche Oper, so that the stage version was canceled a week before the premiere?

There is a first time for everything. The fact is that I recently read an article about the production of the play “Rigoletto” in Bonn. The gist of the article was something like this: what is happening with productions of Rigoletto? And there the opinion was clearly expressed that it would be better to give the opera in concert performance in Bonn, as happened in Duisburg.

It seems to me that this concert production was really a success, and here my next question arises: in your opinion, who is in charge in opera: the director or the actor? Is it the music or the direction that matters?

In any case, we are placed within the framework of the composer. And the composer has already written all the “emotions” in his music. On the other hand, do you know how the profession of director was born? Now I’ll tell you: two singers stood on stage, one asked the other: “go into the hall and see what I’m doing,” the other went, looked and became a director...

Therefore, of course, we must add that the director is a very important component in any performance, and there is no escape from this. Another thing is the balance in which all this is located.

That is, you think that the director is still primary?

No, for me performers, singers-actors are primary in any case, because if you remove the singers, then nothing will happen. There will be no need for a theater, or an orchestra, or a conductor, and then there will be no need for a director. In the end, symphonic music will remain. In general, in opera, the composer and his music are primary. Then comes the interpretation of the artists, singers, and the director can help reveal the idea, or he may have a completely different idea, and he has the right to do so. How the director's idea and the singer's personality come together is another matter. If this comes together, then of course it can be a very successful production.

Have you ever had problems with directors?

I can’t say that I ever had problems with them; we always found good contact. And I always try to translate the director’s idea into a performance.

Even if you don't always like this idea?

Whether you like it or not is not the question. There is a familiar view of the interpretation, and an unusual one. And it’s very interesting for me when a director suddenly proposes to bring some unusual idea to life. Another thing is that I immediately say that I will try, and if it works, then we will leave it, and if it does not work, then we will try to find some other way out.

In my life I have sung more than a hundred “Rigoletto” - an enormous number of productions. It’s not always interesting for me to repeat the same thing. Therefore, going on an experiment is important for me as an artist. It's another matter when concepts don't add up. Well, we always found a way out of the situation with all the directors anyway.

Were there any directors who were very easy to work with?

For me, there was a director with a capital “D” in Russia - of course, Boris Aleksandrovich Pokrovsky. I started working for him at his Moscow Chamber Musical Theatre, he took me on from my third year at the Moscow Conservatory, and with him I immediately performed the part of Don Giovanni (in W. A. ​​Mozart’s opera of the same name - author’s note). Before that, I had already sung “La Traviata,” “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Elisir of Love” in the opera studio of the Moscow Conservatory in my first year, so I had some work experience. By the way, at the conservatory there was a wonderful director V.F. Zhdanov, he taught acting classes for us. But professionally I started performing at the Chamber Theater. B.A. Pokrovsky, and working with him was not easy, but interesting. Maybe now I would have a different view of everything, but then his ideas, acting tasks, and the acting devices that he offered helped me a lot in my future career. From him I learned not to adapt, but to adapt the director’s ideas to my character.

Which German directors are close to you in spirit?

First of all, I worked a lot with Christophe Loy. He is a wonderful director, during our collaboration he did not give me “geography” on stage, but gave me ideas and the basis for the role, and then all the gestures and everything else was born by itself.

There is also such a director as Roman Popelreiter, we found a very good contact with him. Or Dietrich Hilsdorf, for whom I sang the premiere of “Troubadour” in Essen, and then was introduced to his performances “Tosca” and “Cloak”. He makes very good decisions and is a very interesting director.

What do you think about adaptations of classical operas? Is this the right direction in opera?

You know, in principle, I haven’t thought about this, but I can tell you that, having sung all the classical operas in modern costumes over the past 16 years, I notice that a new generation of the public has arrived - young people who are about 20 years old. They never have seen classical productions... However, no matter what, “modern” is not just modern costumes, “modern” is something completely different. Therefore, it is impossible to say that modern productions are bad. But the curious thing is that for 16 years in Germany I almost always sing in the same thing in all my roles: it’s either a military suit with boots, or just a modern suit with a tie.

Does this only happen in Germany?

Yes, in other countries it was so that I did not sing in modern costumes, although modern productions are certainly staged there too.

What is the way out?

It seems to me that there should be both classical and modern productions.

Do you think it’s not another problem that young people who come to the opera see everything on stage the same as in life, maybe they simply become not interested?

There is probably some truth in this. After all, beautiful, ancient costumes fascinate. And in our time, people walk the streets in modern costumes, there is a crisis around, people feel bad everywhere, they come to the theater and see the same negativity. Perhaps this has some effect... Once in 2002, director Jerome Savary staged J. Bizet's Carmen in a fairly classic version at our opera house. And, characteristically, some critics recognized this production as the worst of the entire season... The problem is that music critics and reviewers watch about 150 performances a year in different theaters, and they have already seen classical productions more than one hundred times. They clearly want something new.

Here’s another example: in our theater there was a modern production of “Nabucco”, which had already been removed from the repertoire, despite the fact that the hall was always full. Honestly, it was very painful for me to hear laughter and whistling in the hall, when I (in the role of Nabucco - author's note) rode on a tractor onto the stage, and Zacharias came out of the refrigerator for the last aria, the audience simply laughed openly.

Of course, everyone has the right to their own opinion and vision, I also sang in classical performances and these productions were a great success. In my opinion, there is one correct way, this is to discover, develop and convey the emotions laid down by the composer as best as possible to the public, that’s our task, and in what costumes this happens no longer matters.

In your opinion, is there a line when it is necessary to tell the director that “I will not go out and sing from the refrigerator”? Or are artists a forced people?

Firstly, it is written in black and white in our contracts that we must fulfill the director’s assigned tasks...

That is, if I understand correctly, no matter what the director comes up with, everything must be performed?

The fact is that I always found some common ground and compromise with the director. But there is a line that cannot be crossed... Perhaps there was one case when one director told me that I should sing one scene naked. I replied that I wouldn’t sing naked, because I was simply afraid of catching a cold.

In my opinion, you have found a worthy solution to their situation! However, don’t you think that the presence of naked bodies on the stages of opera houses is already a kind of tradition?

I rarely participate in such productions, so I cannot judge whether this is a tradition or not. In any case, this is a certain presence of scandal, even our “pop stars” act this way. You see, when a scandal is created, everyone talks about it, and now the production and the singer are on everyone’s lips.

Tell me, how do you feel about the fact that Russian operas are not very popular on Western opera stages?

Yes, they place little money, but this is not only a problem in Western culture. Suppose, in Russian culture, you know many theaters that stage R. Wagner, or French operas, not counting “Carmen”? And then you, as a music critic, know that in the West everyone puts on “The Queen of Spades”, “Eugene Onegin” or “Boris Godunov”. Can you name me some more Russian operas?

For example, “Rusalka” by Dargomyzhsky, or operas by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Yes, that’s all true, but again, you can name a dozen operas that are on everyone’s lips, and yet there are a huge number of them. And they don’t stage much because they are afraid that the audience won’t come, and besides, they don’t know the Russian classical repertoire well.

What is the trend in this matter in your opinion? Will they bet even less?

No, they will stage more, look, they have started to stage D. Shostakovich and S. Prokofiev. I must say that a very similar thing is happening with French music. They mostly stage Carmen, although the French have many other wonderful operas. In general, this is all real commerce.

Do you think opera will still exist in, say, 40-50 years? Will he die, as many predict?

It's hard for me to say. After all, Arturo Toscanini himself said that radio will kill Classical Music. Yes, and I remember when during the years of perestroika they kept saying on television that the Russian Theater was dead. However, as B.A. Pokrovsky said, “love for opera is happiness,” and I agree with this...

But the audience is aging, who will go to the opera?

When I performed in my homeland in Chelyabinsk four years ago (La Traviata, Rigoletto and Eugene Onegin were staged there), seventy percent of the audience were young people under 30 years old. True, I must note that these were absolutely classic productions.

Boris, well, let's talk about when you yourself went to the opera for the first time. Were you really 22 years old? Tell us how it happened!

Yes this is true. Until that age, I didn’t even know that there was such a genre as opera. The fact is that I was born in the Urals in the small town of Korkino, not far from Chelyabinsk, then we lived in the village of Bagaryak in the north of the Chelyabinsk region. And, of course, I, like all young people, played the guitar, we even had our own ensemble, we sang newfangled songs, mostly Russian repertoire, rarely listened to The Beatles or Deep Purple.

That is, your childhood and youth passed without the influence of the opera theater on you. Or maybe you went to music school?

What are you saying, we didn’t have a music school there! Fortunately, I had an ear for music, and in the club we had a piano, I learned to play it in the following way: first I played chords on the guitar, and then looked for these same notes on the piano. That's how I learned to play. Everything is by ear.

In general, what profession did you see yourself in? Who did you study for?

I graduated from school at the age of 16, then entered the Novosibirsk Electrotechnical Institute of Communications, then went into the army, and when I returned I became the secretary of the Komsomol.

Weren't you going to study music?

What do you! I didn’t even know that I needed to study music. I thought it was easy to sing - I opened my mouth and started singing. After all, I sang all the songs, starting with Gradsky, ending with Boyarsky. I will hear, remember and sing.

How did you suddenly decide to enroll in a music school?

So this is the case. At the age of 22, I was sent to advanced training courses for Komsomol workers in Chelyabinsk, and after the next course, the guys and I walked past the Chelyabinsk Opera and Ballet Theater, where the poster said “The Barber of Seville.” Just out of curiosity I wanted to see what it was. The role of Figaro was performed that evening by A. Berkovich. The production made such an impression on me that the next day I decided to become a baritone. Then I didn’t know that there was also tenor and bass.

Surely this was a classic production?

Yes, of course, and what’s interesting is that 5 years ago it was in this Chelyabinsk theater that I participated in this very production. Only I sang Figaro in Italian, since I had forgotten this part in Russian.

And how did you end up at the school?

Having decided to become a baritone, I immediately ran to the Chelyabinsk Institute of Culture, since I did not know that there was a music school where they taught singing. When asked what I could do, I sat down at the piano and sang “This is the day of victory...”. They looked at me and said that I had nothing to do here and pointed to the music school. I ended up with teacher German Gavrilov. I sang him two folk songs, “Down the Volga River” and “The Reeds rustled,” and when asked what my favorite singer was, he honestly answered that Mikhail Boyarsky... Gavrilov smiled and said that he had a voice, but no education . When I was admitted I was given a C, but I was accepted. The first year was very difficult, because I had hearing and voice, but no musical education. Subjects such as solfeggio and harmony were difficult.

Did you want to quit?

Somewhere I understood that all around were literate people, they were talking about composers, singers, but I didn’t understand anything about it. And I decided to make up for everything myself. I had a record of “Rigoletto” with E. Bastianini and A. Kraus, and I listened to it 2 times a day. He also sat at the piano and learned notes, practiced solfeggio and harmony. Thanks to this work, after the first year of study, I made a sharp leap. And then I realized that I was doing something.

How did you get to Moscow?

After the third year I felt that the age was already approaching, I was 25 years old, and I went to the capital, and there they took me to the Moscow Conservatory. Tchaikovsky, where I studied with G. I. Tits and P. I. Skusnichenko.

And how difficult was it for you to make your way in Moscow?

Once upon a time, my agent here in Germany told me: “don’t think about money, think about work,” and so then in Moscow, I thought about work. For me, life as such did not exist, I got stuck and realized that I was not catching up with everyone else. And I needed to overtake them. And so I just worked and worked and worked some more. I left the hostel at 9 o’clock in the morning and returned back at 10 o’clock in the evening. I spent all my time at the conservatory: in the morning there were classes, then singing lessons and an opera studio.

What was the situation with such complex subjects as harmony or solfeggio?

I have a good harmonic ear. For example, when I recently made my debut in S. Prokofiev’s “Fiery Angel” in Covent Garden, it was easy for me to remember the music, since among all the sounds I clearly hear harmony. I never learn just one melody, I immediately remember the harmony. Moreover, in operas such as “Rigoletto” or “La Traviata”, I can also sing all the other parts, and not just my own, I know them all.

Do you also have a phenomenal memory?

Probably, because I remember parts that I haven’t sung for 10 years, one stage rehearsal is enough, and I go out and sing. By the way, musical memory can be trained, which is what I did. I realized this back in school. When my teacher gave me the vocalise of Gabt No. 17 to learn, I could not learn these 24 bars by heart for a whole month. And then I set myself the task of memorizing 4 bars of romances every day. So I learned all of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and other composers. He taught me in such a way that if they woke me up at night, I could sing right away. In the same way, I learned the entire “La Traviata” at school, although I didn’t sing it then. When I was hired as an intern at the Bolshoi Theater and had to sing Pagliacci in Italian, I already knew the whole opera (I learned everything in advance). Of course it helped me a lot. I have developed my memory so that now 10 minutes are enough for me to learn by heart some aria or romance. However, this does not mean that the work is “ready”; of course, you still need to work on it, get into the role.

Tell about your family.

My parents were not musicians, although my father always played the guitar and sang, and my mother had a loud voice and sang in groups. Dad was a war invalid, and my mother was a labor invalid, so we lived very poorly, what kind of music could we talk about? I just had such zeal...

How did you end up at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein?

If I tell you from the very beginning, then I have to start with the Chamber Theater of B. A Pokrovsky, then I became an intern at the Bolshoi Theater. Once I was invited to the Dresden Festival, where the theater of the city of Chemnitz staged a play. After that, I was invited to sing in “Carmen” - this was my first role in German, I suffered terribly with it, now when I listen to the recordings, I laugh myself. As a result, I was offered to stay on a permanent contract in Chemnitz. It was 1993, and a very difficult life in Russia had begun, but the main point of my move was the following problem: I would not have left the Bolshoi Theater at all. However, it so happened that I did not have a Moscow registration, I did not have an apartment. In addition, the Bolshoi Theater changed its opera director, and when I began to travel as an invited guest to Germany, they told me that people like me were being transferred to the contract system. I was asked to write two statements, one about dismissal, and the other about accepting a contract, and when I returned from Germany again, I learned that I had been fired from the theater, and the second application for transfer to a contract was “lost.” In Moscow, without registration, no one wanted to talk to me, they advised me to go to work at the place of registration, that is, in Bagaryak, and surprise everyone there with my voice and “twist the tails of cows.” Thus, I decided to stay in Chemnitz. Once I sang in Strasbourg in “The Barber of Seville”, and next to me Tobias Richter staged “The Marriage of Figaro” (at that time the intendant of the German Opera on the Rhine - author’s note). He heard me and invited me to sing at his place in Dusseldorf. And now I’m here for the eleventh season.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

Absolutely right. I should already erect a monument to the man who fired me from the Bolshoi Theater. And I’m glad that I live here, and at the moment I already speak 5 languages.

How did you manage to learn so many languages?

I just sat on a chair with textbooks and taught and taught and taught. You just have to learn, because this is the most difficult thing in life.

It's probably hard to force yourself to study.

You know that the verb “to study” exists only in Russian. In German there is only the verb “to study”. And learning means teaching yourself. This is a little different...

Tell me, where did you feel more comfortable, in which theater?

I am comfortable in any theater, and it is convenient for me to live in Düsseldof, because there is a large airport here and it is convenient to fly from here. Of course, the Bolshoi Theater, namely its old stage, is incomparable with anything, it is completely different. Although I sang a lot now at the Bolshoi Theater branch, and the premiere of “War and Peace”, then “Nabucco”, “Macbeth”, “Fiery Angel”, I still have a good relationship with the Bolshoi Theater.

I know that you have been teaching at the conservatory in Düsseldorf since 2007? How did you get into teaching?

I never dreamed of teaching, but it became interesting to me. I have teaching experience from Chemnitz, and the most important thing is that when you teach, you begin to delve into yourself and look for some opportunities to help a person. And when you help another, you help yourself.

Are you in a good class?

Very interesting guys, many show promise. Everyone has voices. Another thing is that singing is a coordination between what you hear and what you produce. If this coordination is good, then everything works out. But if there is only a voice, but no coordination, then it is already more difficult, and if there is also no musical coordination, then this is called: a person has no hearing. You must first hear and then make a sound, and if you first make a sound and then hear, then nothing good will come of it.

What happened to your opera festival?

I organized an opera festival with Italian singers in the Urals, but at the moment the situation has completely changed, the economic crisis, different directors, and then I didn’t have time for it.

Boris, do you have any free time?

There is no free time. In general, there is never enough of it. One of these days I have to sing “Falstaff” in Prague, I urgently need to remember the part. I will now watch the video from the performance, memorize it, move around the room...

And my last question is about your immediate plans in Russia?

I don’t have any tours in Russia in the near future, only on January 13th I will be at the Moscow Conservatory for the 60th birthday of my teacher P. I. Skusnichenko, all his students will sing there, and I will probably perform several works.

When can we hear you in Germany this season?

In the near future, on December 19, a restored version of "Pagliacci" and "Rural Honor" in Düsseldorf, (directed by Christopher Loy). A very successful production, I can only recommend it. On May 23, 2010 I perform the role of Scarpia in Tosca, on April 7, 2010 I make my debut in Salome by R. Strauss. As the action progresses, my character the prophet John sings almost all the time from the tank, so I perform my role from the orchestra pit. I’ve already sung the role of the prophet Jeremiah in Kurt Weill’s opera once, and now I’m doing it again. Well, a prophet is a prophet...