The Young Prima Donna
Opera devotees in Ukraine know about Kateryna Abdullina, currently doing an on-job-training at the National Opera, winner of the program “The New Names of Ukraine.” She graduated from the National Academy of Music this year after studying under the able guidance of Yevheniya Myroshnychenko, although her debut at the Kyiv stage had taken place a long time ago, in January 1999 when she had first appeared as Cerlina in a revived production of Mozart’s Don Juan, after rehearsing the part with Iryna Molostova. The following year Kateryna released the premiere of Cimarosa’s Secret Marriage, followed by Rosina in The Barber of Seville, a part that has bewitched the audiences for two seasons running, along with the Polovtsian girl in Prince Igor. Kateryna jokes that she is a “pensioner of the on-the-job-training team” ґ it is her fourth year with them. This season, however, had a very special beginning for her. She was invited to rejoin the opera and she is expected to sing the title part in La Traviata (she appeared in the opera twice, at the opera studio of the National Academy of Music, including a graduation examination performance). And yet another milestone on the creative road.
The 5th, jubilee, international contest-festival took place in the scenic Italian city of Fivizzano at the Apennines, gathering performers from 52 countries. Kateryna won the Grand Prix in the operatic singing nomination, beating 53 contestants. She was presented with a heavy Dolphin cut from local rock and silver-plated. The diploma described the singer’s performances, stressing her exceptional vocal technique, stage presence, and expressiveness. The Fivizzano opera-lovers are sure to hear Kateryna again; she will fly to Italy at the end of the next fall. She is brimming with impressions. The thing is that the Italian contest does not have the three traditional rounds. After the performances in every nomination the audience selects one who is invited to the gala concert in the evening. The best performer is then invited to the closing gala show. Kateryna passed muster at all stages, winning the exacting Italian spectators’ hearts, and appeared in the final concert together with the guest star Katja Ricarelli. The number she chose was a very pleasant surprise for the audience: Auditi’s extremely sophisticated waltz “A Kiss,” so very popular in Italy the audience joined her singing. The numbers prepared by Abdullina for the contest are evidence of her utmost professionalism: Mme. Silberklang in Mozart’s Director of the Theater, Violetta’s aria in the first act of La Traviata, Rachmaninoff’s romance “The Fountain,” and Ukrainian composer Stestiun’s Vyshyvanka (The Embroidered Shirt).
Remarkably, she was 6 when she appeared in a popular Soviet television program “The Merry Notes” broadcast all over the USSR. At 7, she took part in another program featuring gifted children. At the time it turned out a video clip of sorts (the tape is stored in the video library in Moscow). The number was filmed at the Shabolovka. One of the girls had to go through 26 takes but didn’t pass muster. Then it was Kateryna’s turn. After only two takes, the test and the final one, she was in. An episode of another popular Soviet television program Budilnik [The Alarm Clock] was being taped at a nearby studio, starring Aleksandr Abdulov and his daughter. He heard Kateryna and told his daughter, “That girl has a better voice than you do.” It was the first time Kateryna was publicly praised and by a Soviet movie star. Everybody was impressed, but later she would pay little attention to praise. Only one thing was important: her work on stage, her songs and music. She grew up in a musical family and started taking classic guitar lessons at 8. She even won a city contest of young professional musicians. It so happened that she had toured all of Europe by 14, with the Zarnitsa choir of what was then the Krupskaya Palace of Young Pioneers in Moscow. A lot of colleagues would envy her eventful musical childhood.
Apart from stage renditions, her repertoire includes Gilda (Rigoletto), title part in Lucia di Lammermoor, Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), and Marfa (The Tsar’s Bride), still to be performed. Her cherished dream is the title part in Delibes’ Lakme. In a word, Kateryna has a big future, a lot will be written about her. Even now she cuts a spectacular, even sparkling creative figure. The energy of youth and a singular vocal and musical talent will certainly help her show great progress on stage.
