JOIN USRecreating masterpieces by Russian musicians
Silence reined, although the auditorium at Russian Centre of Science and Culture (RCSC) was packed to capacity with guests. Each one was eagerly waiting to get a taste of international music to be tendered by musicians who had come all the way from Russia to celebrate the 140th birth anniversary of the opera singer Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin, one of the world’s best known opera singers.
The waiting got over when the track From Russia with Love kick-started the evening. It was a performance by Vladimir Gerts on the poem Doubt. The soloist of the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre and philharmonic society and a well-known opera singer, Vladimir sang a popular romantic song Amidst the noisy balls and I don’t know if I love you but I think I do.
It was followed by an epic piece composed by Tchaikovsky I bless you wood, based on the biblical plot when St John Damaski blesses everything on his way.
The opera singer treated the audience to Poputnaya - a travel song which was dedicated to the building of the first railroad from Saint Petersburg in 1837.
It was definitely rare for the audience present to hear masterpieces of Russian musicians P Tchaikovskiy, S Rakhmaninov, M Glinka, A Dargomyzhsky and A Gurilev which were performed with meticulous precision by Margarita Bryndine on the piano.
Adding spirit to the musical performance, Vladimir’s students Evgeniy Sobolev, Yana Naumkina, Viktoria Arbuzova and Konstantin Formin also recited a few pieces. Interestingly, all these students are professionals in different fields but have remained attached to music down the years.
Yana, a successful photographer presented an Aria from the famous opera Rinaldo Hendel.