The Superbass from Yasenivka

Despite his young age, this singer’s talent, beautiful and powerful voice, and stage presence are admired by many. He is a leading soloist with the National Opera of Ukraine, and well known in a number of other countries. With his skill Mahera has raised the prestige of both his company and his country.

“THERE IS SOMETHING WITCH-LIKE ABOUT MONTSERRAT CABALLE”

Serhiy, you’ve taken part in various prestigious international vocal competitions and festivals, and won important awards. You also won the Grand Prix at the Montserrat Caballe International Singing Competition. Would you tell us about it?

Mahera: As a rule, competitions are held in commemoration of outstanding creative personalities long since dead. Such events may be described as musical monuments to legendary masters. The Caballe competition is run by the famous Spanish singer who is still very active, often goes on concert tours, and is idolized in many countries. The competition is held in Andorra, a small mountainous republic in the eastern Pyrenees between France and Spain. Senora Montserrat has a villa there, if I’m not mistaken. I came there with a certain amount of experience, as the Montserrat Caballe International Singing Competition was my ninth, so I wasn’t as nervous as other contestants. I was determined to perform well and win an award (the prize money ranges from three to ten thousand dollars). I had also thoroughly prepared myself. I paid for the trip with my own money and told no one at the National Opera where I was heading. Why should I? If I lost, my colleagues would say ‘you shouldn’t have even tried.’ I know that every singer’s appearance at an international forum is a matter of politics, because it involves his home country’s prestige. The Caballe competition is oriented toward opera and chamber music. There is a compulsory program. It is divided according to style: old music, chamber pieces, operatic arias (the contestant’s repertoire must be in three languages). The competition had three rounds, with a finale concert and awards ceremony during the finals. Before that concert, in early May 2000, I took part in an international competition in Alcamo (60 km from Palermo in Sicily), and the Caballe competition was coming up in a day, in Andorra. Lady Fortune smiled on me twice. I won in Alcamo and in Andorra. A press review stated that the winner was a Ukrainian from a remote and mysterious country. I came to Andorra in an uplifted mood. I performed well and won first prize. Montserrat Caballe was absent from the jury and appeared only before the third and decisive round. Her brother Carlos filled in for her during the auditions. The jury was made up of famous impresarios and managers of the world’s leading opera houses, and only two singers: Montserrat Caballe and Iliana Cotrubas. I was happy to receive the award and words of praise from both of these celebrated prima donnas.

Montserrat Caballe performed in Kyiv this year. Her partners were two tenors, Nikolay Baskov (Russia) and Volodymyr Hryshko (Ukraine). Did you attend this concert and meet Senora Montserrat?

Mahera: We met at the National Hotel the day before her concert at the Ukrayina Palace. I was touched by her cordial welcome. She remembered my first performance and said that her brother Carlos had given her daily reports on the competition. After the first round he said excitedly, ‘There’s a superbass among the contestants. A real gem! Wait till you come and hear him.’ She admitted that the jury was unanimous in naming me the winner. Senora Montserrat believes that I have great potential and that there are many victories ahead. She wanted to know about my progress. I attended her concert and enjoyed her performance. By the way, our tenor Volodymyr Hryshko was a good partner.

Serhiy, we hear that Caballe’s voice is not as beautiful as it once was. What do you think?

Mahera: I only wish all singers her age had such a voice (Caballe celebrated her 70th birthday last year — Author) and performed the way she does. She sings on the world’s most prestigious stages and always to packed houses. I think that Senora Montserrat Caballe is a model prima donna. She has refined taste in putting together concert programs. Her stage presence is remarkable, and she is a brilliant partner onstage. There is something witch-like about her. Critics also speak of her vocal magnetism. Once she starts singing, everyone forgets her age and stout figure. Indeed, a voice tends to depreciate with age, but this singer makes up for this with her virtuoso technique and phenomenal artistry. She no longer sings in operas, because moving on stage is difficult, but her concert appearances are superb. Caballe is a very strong-willed woman. Before the Kyiv tour she fell and injured herself, but she refused to cancel the tour and flew to the Ukrainian capital, and got off the plane on crutches. During the concert she appeared on stage arm-in- arm with Baskov or Hryshko and no one in the audience could guess that walking gave her pain. She mustered her will and sang beautifully. That’s what makes Montserrat Caballe a legendary and consummate prima donna.

“I LEARNED THE PART OF BASILIO ALL OVER AGAIN IN UKRAINIAN”

How long have you been with the Kyiv Opera?

Mahera: It’s my seventh season. I graduated from the Lviv Conservatory in 1997 (it used to be called the Mykola Lysenko Higher Institute of Music; now it’s the Academy of Music). Then for half a year I was on the Lviv Opera’s payroll, but didn’t sing much. I’ve been with the National Opera of Ukraine since 1998 and made my debut as Basilio in The Barber of Seville. It was staged in Ukrainian and I knew my part in Italian, because operas are performed in the language of the original all over the world. The Kyiv Opera administration forced me to learn the part in Ukrainian. Today, I have twenty leading and supporting parts in my repertoire. I also do concert numbers.

Serhiy, your company staged Ponchielli’s La Gioconda toward the end of last season. You sang the role of Alvise. How was it working with the Italian stage director Corradi?

Mahera: I thought that Signor Mario was not a typical Italian. Italians are so explosively emotional. Corradi was a very calm person. He worked and made corrections during rehearsals. He would say that the choir should be positioned here and the soloists there. He never departed from the score, and consulted it every now and then. To me it looked as though he was thinking like a computer. Corradi didn’t bring any sketches or notes; he kept everything in his head. The main thing is that La Gioconda has been added to the company repertoire. There are several generations of theatergoers who haven’t heard this wonderful opera (it was last staged in Kyiv more than eighty years ago — Author). Another thing is that thanks to this opera, we now have an electronic billboard with simultaneous translation. After the premiere some opera buffs came and asked who was responsible for the kind of nonsense they had read during the performance. I think the reason is that it was a literal rather than a literary, adapted translation. Well, the first step is always the hardest, but the necessary improvements will be eventually made, I’m sure.