Benefit for Ukrainian Turandot

On Saturday, September 27, the National Opera celebrated prima donna Lydia Zabiliasta’s fiftieth birthday as she sang the title part in Puccini’s Turandot.

Eduard Sribnytsky was her partner as Calaf (the Kyiv public remembers him in the National Opera’s rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades). That night Turandot played to a full house and Lydia Zabiliasta was her best creative self, as befitted the occasion. Moreover, she demonstrated new vocal qualities as a dramatic soprano.

She often says that her greatest attainment was winning the Grand Prix and Gold Medal in the Tchaikovsky International Competition (she is still Ukraine’s only woman to have become an absolute winner of that most complicated competition). Turandot seems to be another summit she has conquered. After the performance her jubilee was ceremoniously greeted onstage. Numerous telegrams were read, including a message of greetings from President Leonid Kuchma. The star was presented the Badge of Honor “For [Meritorious] Contribution in the Development of Culture and the Arts.” Fellow countrymen from Kirovohrad oblast brought her Diploma as Laureate of the Volodymyr Vynnychenko Prize in Literature and the Arts. She heard many heartfelt words from colleagues at the National Opera.

Prior to the benefit performance, Lydia Zabiliasta presented the book Holos — yak struny dushi [My Voice: Strings of the Soul] of the Dialogs with Masters series. Written by Halyna Konkova, it is a series of interviews with the singer. It contains interesting stories and memories. Zabiliasta tells about her career, shares her views on the vocal art and her personal joys and sorrows. The book is very well illustrated and quotes her colleagues, friends, and reviews. Copies of the long-awaited books were brought to the presentation at the National Opera and the prima donna saw them for the first time. Interestingly, the Dialogs contain materials illustrating Zabiliasta’s recent attainments on the Kyiv stage, including a number of photos and reviews relating to her Turandot. Among other things, she was presented with a poster showing her as Turandot, done by artistic photographer Volodymyr Falin.

Every page has two columns of text, containing interviews, reviews, quotes, and the reader is constantly aware of the singer’s own eloquent account. The whole picture is made complete with excellent photo illustrations. The kaleidoscope of artistic life emerges in this book in its realistic entirety. One should admit that this literary structure in the book form is used for the first time, and that this approach is completely justified. Iryna Baliura did the artistic design. The book contains a full list of Zabiliasta’s operatic parts.

New editions of Zabiliasta recordings dating from 1981-86 were played during the presentation in the form of a CD titled U poloni muzyky [In the Captivity of Music] and the audio cassette Zacharovana pisnei [Bewitched by Music]. The disk illustrates various vocal aspects, including arias from Berezovsky and Bortninansky’s operas, Tchaikovsky’s romances, Italian classics, and chamber pieces by Shaporin, Minkov, and Tariverdiyev. Arias are recorded with orchestras directed by Anton Sharoyev and Fedir Hlushchenko. The audio cassette is mostly composed of Ukrainian folk songs with Ukrainian and Russian folk instrumental orchestras, as well as several Ukrainian arias.

Lidiya Zabiliasta is in constant creative motion. Lev Venedyktov, Chief Choirmaster of the National Opera, notes: “While performing lyrical parts, Lidiya may include dramatic ones in her repertoire; she has enough vocal and emotional capacity for both; she handles both equally well; this and her ample beautiful timbre allows her to lead every part to dramatic perfection.”

Dmytro Hnatiuk, Chief Director of the Opera: “I dream of Zabiliasta in Aїda. Here she will reveal her great vocal and dramatic talent to the full.”

Needless to say, the singer will not rest on her laurels. Two new performances are scheduled in October and a solo concert at the Concert Hall of the House of Scientists on October 22. The program will include Tchaikovsky’s romances. She will perform with her colleague and friend (ever since the Glinka contest), Prof. Natalia Bogelava of the Moscow Conservatory.