Concertmaster Larisa Gergieva accepts congratulations. Musical novel Larisa Gergieva's husband

The best accompanist in the world, a unique vocal teacher, an outstanding pianist - all this is about Larisa Gergieva. This week she accepted congratulations on the 50th anniversary of her creative activity, and the other day she will celebrate her own anniversary. Gergieva performs on world stages and is trusted by the stars of the classical stage. And aspiring performers from different countries dream of learning from her - the People’s Artist of Russia’s method of working with young talents is considered unique.

The most mysterious profession in the world of music. But it seems that Larisa Gergieva solved this mystery 50 years ago, when she gave her first concert on stage with a vocalist. She was 15, and she already felt the voice like no one else, predicted everything, right down to the singer’s desire to catch his breath.

Today the BBC calls her the best accompanist in the world, and Larisa Abisalovna just smiles silently. What does she care about big titles when she has students waiting and working 18 hours every day. For almost 20 years now she has been directing the Academy of Young Opera Singers at the Mariinsky Theater. She developed her own unique system, Gergieva’s system. Delicately, almost in a whisper, she gives advice.

Each artist receives a special approach. It is not surprising that the professionals of her students immediately recognize, as they say, the culture of singing. And she continues to look for new talents, organizing several prestigious international and Russian vocal competitions.

There are always flowers in her office - students bring them to her for no reason, and the first gifts for her anniversary. A portrait from photographs of people dear to her. Here is the idol of her youth, Alain Delon, whom she met on tour in Paris, and Elena Obraztsova, with whom she traveled all over the world, performing with virtually no rehearsal, because the great Obraztsova sang in a new way every time, and Gergieva felt her, here is her brother - the maestro Valery Gergiev.

By the way, she is one of the few who not only teaches, but also stages opera performances on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. One of her last premieres was the mono-opera “Notes of a Madman.”

“It’s such a great pleasure, such happiness when the singer with whom you prepared something comes on stage, already in costume, in makeup, sings the part accompanied by an orchestra, creates an image, and you took a very direct part in this, and you stand in the wings and are terribly worried,” says Larisa Gergieva.

On the day of the anniversary, you still have to come out of the scenes and accept congratulations. Her students will perform here - and this is probably the main gift. A few minutes before their performance. Every note, every sound, of course, is honed to perfection, all that remains is to correct the bowtie, because performing without her parting words is a bad omen.

“Now I really want my students to show themselves as brightly as possible, to become successful, and so that I still have time to teach as much as possible,” says Larisa Gergieva.

What does a famous conductor earn besides performing at concerts and leading the Mariinsky Theater?

Valery Gergiev is a unique example of how art can become business, and business can become art. On Russia Day, the maestro received the third State Prize from the hands of the President - for outstanding achievements in the field of humanitarian work. Gergiev immediately, without leaving Putin, stated that he did not connect the award with the “liberation” concert (joint with cellist Roldugin) in Palmyra.

It's really not about Syria. And not in the “bonus” 5 million rubles (a drop in the ocean of the conductor’s capital, who earned 130 million rubles in 2015, as follows from his declaration). Gergiev is one of those few people close to Putin who are sincerely welcomed all over the world. Gergiev is a genius conducting an ordinary toothpick. He is also wise and cunning in an oriental way. And he knows how to capitalize on his own talent.

Employed the whole family

For 20 years now, Valery Abisalovich has been the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. Since then, the conductor has employed almost all of his Ossetian relatives, acquired high-ranking friends, children (three were born in the current marriage. - Author) and everyday chores. As the musician himself noted, “I had to learn to negotiate – with sponsors and the state.”

Gergiev’s biggest headache was the construction of the Mariinsky Theater concert hall (its director is the husband of maestro Svetlana Gergieva’s younger sister, Tamerlan Gugkaev. The older sister, Larisa Gergieva, runs the Academy of Young Singers of the Mariinsky Theater) and the long-suffering Second Stage. Mariinsky-2, born with incredible difficulty (architects and contractors were changed more than once), cost the budget 22 billion rubles. The Auditors of the Accounts Chamber only gasped at the double increase in the original estimate. Following them, St. Petersburg residents gasped, including the expert Piotrovsky: how could they spend so much money on such an “ugliness”?! To which Alexey Kudrin, without blinking an eye, announced the allocation of an additional 25 million dollars for the maintenance of the theater: “Even after I left the Ministry of Finance, it continued to support the Mariinsky Theater.”

Hermitage, don't be jealous! There are things more valuable than money. For example, friendship. The newly approached Kudrin is a great friend of Gergiev. Just like German Gref. They are co-chairs of the Mariinsky Board of Trustees and always, regardless of their positions, support the Valery Gergiev Charitable Foundation. The same one from which, in 2009–2010, its director Igor Zotov and his accomplice Kazbek Lakuti, according to investigators, stole 245 million rubles. Zotov claimed that he transferred the money to Gergiev’s account at the request of his boss (he denied everything), and was imprisoned for 8 years. “This is your time, Kazbek!” – Zotov shouted after the verdict was announced. Lakuti received a suspended sentence. There are things more important than evidence. For example, gratitude. Kazbek is the cousin of Valery Gergiev. His father Boris Lakuti took care of the Gergiev family after Valery (at the age of 13) lost his father.

Black bathhouse with cello

Needless to say, for 20 years Gergiev, thanks to the Mariinsky Theater, has been successfully using endless budget funds. But he also makes money. In 2015, the theater’s net profit amounted to 800 million rubles. Against this background, a fresh, May, government contract with another relative of the maestro, 30-year-old nephew-conductor Zaurbek Gugkaev, for 585,000 rubles - pennies.

The state supports Gergiev's Stars of the White Nights festival. And also the “Moscow Easter Festival”, which appeared on the initiative of the maestro. The Mariinsky Orchestra with its main star, the conductor, travels around Russia on a special train every year, and the regions regularly conclude government contracts with the only performer (the Gergiev Foundation). In 2016, the Udmurt Philharmonic forked out 5,000,000 rubles, Sverdlovsk – 2,547,500 rubles, Nizhny Novgorod – 4,500,000 rubles, Tomsk – 7,000,000 rubles, Kemerovo – 3,000,000 rubles, Tatarstan – 6,000. 000 rubles, Perm - for 4,000,000 rubles, the Ministry of Culture is not alien to Gergiev of North Ossetia - Alania - for only 2,100,000 “wooden”.

In 2015, the conductor headed the Munich Philharmonic orchestra (the contract was signed until 2020). But the maestro’s main source of income is his performances, mainly abroad - he receives fees for them in euros. Sobesednik.ru got acquainted with Gergiev’s tour schedule until the end of this year and couldn’t believe his eyes: he conducts every day! Moreover, he often gives two or even three (!) concerts in a day.

However, we did find one window for Gergiev: in mid-August he performs in Finland, followed by a two-week break. Then another concert in Sweden - and again a free week. According to Finnish media reports, Valery Abisalovich has long chosen a resort town on the lake shore - the Härkäniemen Tuvat cottage complex (Bull Cape) and brings his family here every summer. And also friends. This is what the maestro said on air at Posner: “I am the president of the Finnish Black Sauna Society... We accept one, maximum two per year as knights of the Black Sauna... from those people who have proven that they are worthy, at the piano or on the stage, with the violin or with cello in hand."

Turkey business

Gergiev also has a completely unexpected business - the Eurodon company, the largest producer and processor of turkey meat in Russia. The musician received 15% of the shares, one might say, for a good service. At one time, he introduced entrepreneur Vadim Vaneev, a native of South Ossetia, to the right person - Andrei Kostin, chairman of the board of VTB Bank. Things took off right away. Over the course of 6 years, Eurodon, thanks to loans, grew into a giant; in 2014, its net revenue amounted, according to SPARK, 333 million rubles. The whole raspberry was almost spoiled last year by the third shareholder - a member of the board of directors of Gazprom, former Minister of Property Relations of Russia Farit Gazizullin. He transferred his share to an offshore company, which sued Vaneev and almost took away the business. He, they say, again turned to the maestro, who allegedly reached the president himself. Did you get there or didn't you get there? Who knows. But the conflict resolved. Suspects of attempts to take over Eurodon through fraudulent means have been detained. There are things stronger than any mafia. For example, common interests.

Imperial Spirit

And back in 2013, Gergiev proposed to the president to revive the All-Russian Choral Society (before the revolution, the Imperial Russian Musical Society). And he himself headed the non-profit partnership. As follows from the protocols published on the website of the Ministry of Culture, NP “VHO” regularly wins competitions for subsidies. Thus, in 2013, Gergiev’s applications for holding an All-Russian review of choral groups to form a combined children’s choir of Russia (9 million rubles) and preparation and support for the performance of a combined children’s choir of Russia at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi (150 million rubles) were successful. . In 2014, the All-Russian Cultural Organization allocated another 8.4 million rubles for the performance of the Russian Children's Choir in the Republic of Crimea. And 26.6 million rubles for holding the All-Russian Choir Festival. another profitable idea from Gergiev, put at the service of art, worked. And now Vladimir Medinsky promises to think “about transforming the All-Russian Choral Society into a public-state organization, which will allow us to take it to a qualitatively new level.” Simply put, open the way to the feeding trough.

The only enterprise in which Gergiev failed was the creation of the National Arts Center in St. Petersburg. The musician proposed to unite the Mariinsky Theater, the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, the St. Petersburg State Conservatory and the Russian Institute of Art History. The conductor emphasized the need to revive the Directorate of Imperial Theaters. However, the expert community killed the “imperial” idea. The former director of the Russian Institute of Art History, Tatyana Kalyavina, saw to the root: “It is impossible to recreate the directorate without recreating the empire and the imperial leadership.”

Therefore, it’s a small matter.

Olga Saburova

The famous accompanist, artistic director of the Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers and the National State Opera and Ballet Theater of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania Larisa Gergieva is celebrating a double anniversary - 65 years and half a century of creative activity. A Culture correspondent spoke with Larisa Abisalovna.

Gergieva: First of all, I celebrate a creative and, to a lesser extent, personal anniversary. 50 years in the profession, in art - for me this is the most important milestone. On those same spring days, I took part in a solo concert of a professional bass for the first time. I was still just a college student, a first-year student. It was then that my interest in vocals began. Of course, I have performed before - in an ensemble with instrumentalists, and with good ones, but I have never felt such joy. It was a real shock. I experienced no less pleasure when, after classes with the singers, I came into the hall and for the first time heard a ready-made opera, which I had learned with them from beginning to end.

culture: Perhaps at first you dreamed of becoming a pianist?
Gergieva: No, I immediately focused on acting as an accompanist. It seemed to me much more interesting than solo performances. I was in love with the voice, and I just wanted an ensemble with a singer. Of course, I heard all sorts of things: that the profession is thankless, not very noticeable. But, as it turned out half a century later, it is not so inconspicuous. I do my job and have fun. The difficulty of the work of an opera accompanist and vocal teacher is that no one teaches this. You have to figure it all out yourself. And I want to tell my young colleagues: you can’t become an accompanist just because your solo career hasn’t worked out - you’ll suffer all your life. You need to love singers, voices, music. Then it's yours. You are a nanny, a teacher, a psychologist, and most importantly, a friend.

Already in my youth, at school in Vladikavkaz, I had a desire to study new works and composers' names. The desire to understand the profession and self-education means a lot. I sat by the radio and listened to the concerts of Dolukhanova, Arkhipova, Obraztsova. My ideal was the legendary Gerald Moore - I was guided by his art and ability to interact with the singer. On stage, an accompanist experiences no less emotions than a solo pianist. I remember my feelings when I received applause at La Scala after our concert with Olga Borodina.

culture: It’s not easy with singers, they’re all different...
Gergieva: Naturally. With Obraztsova, for example, we never rehearsed for a long time, we’ll try something, and the rest was born spontaneously, already on stage. Arkhipova was completely different: in the most insignificant miniature everything was polished to shine, to perfection. Communication with any vocalist, even an inept one, provides a lot for professional growth. And there is considerable joy when something starts to work out and you see the result of your work.

culture: Falling in love with the voice came immediately. Did the theater captivate you just as quickly?
Gergieva: I came across the stage when Valery and I were doing an internship in Vladikavkaz, at the local musical theater. It was there that I realized: I need to prepare the game in such a way that everything is learned more than one hundred percent. A singer has so many tasks on stage that the musical material must be brought to the point of automaticity. Plus I liked the new challenge. Many years later, I came to this theater as artistic director: the company was on the verge of closure, and I managed to revive it to life. We created such complex and rare operas for Russia as “Manon Lescaut”, “Fedora” by Giordano, “Agrippina” by Handel. It was there that I had my first directorial experience - I directed “Troubadour”. Now we are becoming a branch of the Mariinsky Theater. I think this will benefit the musical culture of Ossetia and the Caucasus region. All these years, young Mariinsky students have been singing on the stage of the Vladikavkaz Theater, but now cooperation will reach a fundamentally different level.

culture: How does your main brainchild, the Mariinsky Theater Academy, live?
Gergieva: This season we have 36 new titles, they are performed at the Mariinsky Theater for the first time. As part of our subscriptions, we have the opportunity to introduce St. Petersburg music lovers to the rarest works: “Lucrezia Borgia” by Donizetti, “Cinderella” and “Werther” by Massenet, “Capulets and the Montagues” by Bellini, “The Thieving Magpie” by Rossini, “The Swallow” by Puccini, “Siberia” Giordano. Chamber works include Butsko's "Notes of a Madman" and his "White Nights", "Van Gogh's Letters" and Grigory Fried's "Anne Frank's Diary". We actively recall completely forgotten operas - “Grigory Melekhov” by Dzerzhinsky, “Not Only Love” by Shchedrin.

They staged a whole series of children's works, not only classics, but also completely new opuses, written especially for us. Children's subscriptions are especially important - this is a concern for the formation of a new public, the education of true music lovers and theatergoers who will come to our theater. At such performances there is often interactivity, a small spectator can communicate with the artists, touch the scenery, and touch the amazing and beautiful world of the backstage. Behind all this is the enormous work of young, talented, truly daring soloists.

We now have a whole scattering of star voices, they are involved and in demand. I personally am very attracted to large ensemble operas, because this is an excellent opportunity for young people to express themselves and grow in a very diverse repertoire. In general, life at the Mariinsky Theater is very rich - hardly any other theater in the world is in full swing with the same intensity. We trust the young, give them a lot to do, immediately and actively include them in the creative process, and the result is colossal qualitative growth, voices and artistic personalities blossom. With such a busy schedule, however, we never interfere with their tours at other venues. This enriches both the artist and the theater.

I see my purpose in raising children. In addition to vocals and opera, I teach them about life. You need to have great patience and treat them like a mother, hear them, develop the best. There are different characters, different psychotypes - you need to find an approach to each. In 2018, the Academy will be 20 years old, and I can say without false modesty that a lot has been done, we have launched many real, interesting careers, this is an absolutely successful experiment.

culture: What problems do modern youth have, and what do you struggle with first?
Gergieva: The main problem is that they are in a hurry. Nothing comes instantly. There are, of course, miracles: bright talents emerge and progress quickly, but this is rather an exception. A singer must have time to mature, to gain experience. But our guys need everything at once. I would like to wish them more patience and understanding regarding their capabilities. Listen to the advice of experienced and senior people, teachers and coaches. Do not take on the dramatic repertoire too early, work on styles, and competently build a development strategy. Accumulate - not only in vocal-technological terms, but also in general cultural terms.

Photo at the announcement: Alexander Nikolaev/Interpress/TASS

Creative evenings with Larisa Gergieva are held throughout the week in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Her last name is familiar to everyone: Valery Gergiev, artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater - Larisa Abisalovna’s brother. But people familiar with the world of music know: Larisa Gergieva herself is a phenomenon, a unique talent.

On February 27, the founder and permanent director of the Academy of Young Opera Singers of the Mariinsky Theater, People's Artist of Russia, celebrates her 65th anniversary and 50 years of creative activity Larisa Gergieva. The best accompanist in the world according to the BBC, the organizer of several prestigious international vocal competitions, Larisa Abisalovna is widely known as a world-famous teacher who has raised a whole galaxy of stars of the opera stage. She developed her own unique system, Gergieva’s system, which allowed her to train almost 100, and to be precise, 96 laureates of All-Union, All-Russian and international competitions.

Larisa Gergieva did not have a musical romance the first time. However, like the famous brother. Dad was a military man and the family traveled a lot around the world before settling in Vladikavkaz. When it was time to go to first grade, the musician neighbors, who noted the abilities of Larisa and Valery, advised their mother: “They sing with you, and very clearly, enroll them in a music school!”

At that time there was the only music school in Vladikavkaz, it was incredibly popular, there was a boom in the city: everyone wanted to teach children music. The brother and sister passed the entrance exams and both failed miserably. Both Valery and Larisa.

At the insistence of the neighbors, the children were auditioned again and Valery was accepted, but Larisa was not. She cried bitterly, but when classes began, she and her brother, holding hands, went to this school. She listened to everything that was taught in class and wrote down his homework. Apparently, appreciating such zeal, Larisa was soon also enrolled in school.

We studied at the best school in Vladikavkaz. At one time, Evgeny Vakhtangov and Pavel Lisitsian, the great baritone of the Bolshoi Theater, the first Soviet singer to perform on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, studied there, Larisa Abisalovna recalls today.

Years will pass and she will personally meet Lisitsian and promise him to organize a vocal competition in his name in his homeland in Vladikavkaz. And he will keep his word.

To keep the desire to do what you love, a person must be lucky twice: with parents and teachers.

She always carries a photo of her first teacher, Zarema Andreevna Lolaeva, in her purse. It was she who first realized that the piano was too small for Valery and brought him to conductor Anatoly Arkadyevich Briskin.

Zarema Andreevna understood everything about Larisa, and at the age of 15 she led her by the hand to the soloist of the opera house and said: “I want you to try yourself as an accompanist.”

Read also

An accompanist is the most mysterious profession in the world of music. But it seems that Larisa Gergieva solved this mystery back then, 50 years ago, when she gave her first concert on stage with a vocalist. She was only 15, but even then she felt the voice like no one else, predicted everything, right down to the singer’s desire to catch his breath.

Larisa Gergieva. Photo – Andrey Pronin/ITAR-TASS/Interpress

The famous accompanist, artistic director of the Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers and the National State Opera and Ballet Theater of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania Larisa Gergieva is celebrating a double anniversary - 65 years and half a century of creative activity.

A Culture correspondent spoke with Larisa Abisalovna.

— First of all, I celebrate a creative and, to a lesser extent, personal anniversary. 50 years in the profession, in art - for me this is the most important milestone.

On those same spring days, I took part in a solo concert of a professional bass for the first time. I was still just a college student, a first-year student. It was then that my interest in vocals began. Of course, I have performed before - in an ensemble with instrumentalists, and with good ones, but I have never felt such joy. It was a real shock.

I experienced no less pleasure when, after classes with the singers, I came into the hall and for the first time heard a ready-made opera, which I had learned with them from beginning to end.

— Probably, at first you dreamed of becoming a pianist?

— No, I immediately focused on acting as an accompanist. It seemed to me much more interesting than solo performances.

I was in love with the voice, and I just wanted an ensemble with a singer. Of course, I heard all sorts of things: that the profession is thankless, not very noticeable. But, as it turned out half a century later, it is not so inconspicuous. I do my job and have fun.

The difficulty of the work of an opera accompanist and vocal teacher is that no one teaches this. You have to figure it all out yourself. And I want to tell my young colleagues: you can’t become an accompanist just because your solo career hasn’t worked out - you’ll suffer all your life. You need to love singers, voices, music. Then it's yours. You are a nanny, a teacher, a psychologist, and most importantly, a friend.

My ideal was the legendary Gerald Moore - I was guided by his art and ability to interact with the singer. On stage, an accompanist experiences no less emotions than a solo pianist. I remember my feelings when I received applause at La Scala after our concert with Olga Borodina.

— It’s not easy with singers, they’re all different...

- Naturally. With Obraztsova, for example, we never rehearsed for a long time, we’ll try something, and the rest was born spontaneously, already on stage. Arkhipova was completely different: in the most insignificant miniature everything was polished to shine, to perfection.

Communication with any vocalist, even an inept one, provides a lot for professional growth. And there is considerable joy when something starts to work out and you see the result of your work.

— I came across the stage when Valery and I were doing an internship in Vladikavkaz, at the local musical theater. It was there that I realized: I need to prepare the game in such a way that everything is learned more than one hundred percent. A singer has so many tasks on stage that the musical material must be brought to the point of automaticity. Plus I liked the new challenge.

Many years later, I came to this theater as artistic director: the company was on the verge of closure, and I managed to revive it to life. We created such complex and rare operas for Russia as “Manon Lescaut”, “Fedora” by Giordano, “Agrippina” by Handel. It was there that I had my first directorial experience - I directed “Troubadour”.

Now we are becoming a branch of the Mariinsky Theater. I think this will benefit the musical culture of Ossetia and the Caucasus region. All these years, young Mariinsky students have been singing on the stage of the Vladikavkaz Theater, but now cooperation will reach a fundamentally different level.

— How does your main brainchild, the Mariinsky Theater Academy, live?

— This season we have 36 new titles, they are performed at the Mariinsky Theater for the first time. As part of our subscriptions, we have the opportunity to introduce St. Petersburg music lovers to the rarest works: “Lucrezia Borgia” by Donizetti, “Cinderella” and “Werther” by Massenet, “Capulets and the Montagues” by Bellini, “The Thieving Magpie” by Rossini, “The Swallow” by Puccini, “Siberia” Giordano.

Chamber works include Butsko's "Notes of a Madman" and his "White Nights", "Van Gogh's Letters" and Grigory Fried's "Anne Frank's Diary". We actively recall completely forgotten operas - “Grigory Melekhov” by Dzerzhinsky, “Not Only Love” by Shchedrin.

At such performances there is often interactivity, a small spectator can communicate with the artists, touch the scenery, and touch the amazing and beautiful world of the backstage. Behind all this is the enormous work of young, talented, truly daring soloists.

In general, life at the Mariinsky Theater is very rich - hardly any other theater in the world is in full swing with the same intensity. We trust the young, give them a lot to do, immediately and actively include them in the creative process, and the result is colossal qualitative growth, voices and artistic personalities blossom. With such a busy schedule, however, we never interfere with their tours at other venues. This enriches both the artist and the theater.

In 2018, the Academy will be 20 years old, and I can say without false modesty that a lot has been done, we have launched many real, interesting careers, this is an absolutely successful experiment.

— What problems do modern youth have, and what do you struggle with first?

— The main problem is that they are in a hurry. Nothing comes instantly. There are, of course, miracles: bright talents emerge and progress quickly, but this is rather an exception. A singer must have time to mature, to gain experience. But our guys need everything at once.

I would like to wish them more patience and understanding regarding their capabilities. Listen to the advice of experienced and senior people, teachers and coaches. Do not take on the dramatic repertoire too early, work on styles, and competently build a development strategy.

Accumulate - not only in vocal-technological terms, but also in general cultural terms.