For the most part, Russian singer and actor Alexander Marakulin plays in musicals. For ensemble work in the musical "Godspell" he was awarded a diploma of the festival in memory of Vysotsky. For the best debut in a musical theater he received the prize of the Moscow Debuts festival. The winner of the "Favorite Artist of the Audience" award for the role of Frollo in the musical "Notre Dame de Paris" was nominated for the "Golden Mask".
It is a big mistake to measure success in terms of monetary rewards. In addition to the material criterion and relative concept, there is the recognition of the audience. It is he who is called the main source of everything.
Finding a way
In a commercial sense, Alexander Leonidovich Marakulin can hardly be considered such a successful person. He is deprived of the attention of the yellow press, does not receive exorbitant fees, there is no glamorous hype around his life.
The artist's biography began in 1973. The child was born on March 24 in Kuibyshev (Samara). Parents, Leonid Kirillovich and Elena Stepanovna, assigned the gifted son to the violin class of the music school. The boy successfully graduated from it and decided to continue his education at the faculty of directing at the Institute of Arts and Culture of his hometown.
Sasha dreamed of an artistic career in childhood. However, even with the passage of time, he was unable to determine the role and genre. Therefore, I decided to first become a student of the directing department in order to get a complete picture of the future direction of creativity. Alexander studied there for two courses. In 1992 the student went to the capital.
He entered a theater university, but unsuccessfully. In the fall, an additional recruitment was announced at GITIS. Sasha was informed about this by his girlfriend, who had already studied in the capital. Applicants were selected for the acting department of the musical theater. The young man passed the selection, it was in 1992.
Alexander studied until 1997. In his second year, Marakulin took part in the English-language production of "Godpell". During his last year at RATI, he took part in the play "The Marriage of Figaro" in the role of Count Almaviva. The work of a novice actor was awarded the prize for the best debut on the music scene.
Career in theater
Since 1997 the graduate became a member of the Gurvich cabaret theater "The Bat". The master quickly noted the talent of the novice and in every possible way contributed to the disclosure of his talent. Gradually, Gurvich led the inconspicuous boy to Broadway show musicals from the usual music theaters.
Alexander got the most famous aria of the Phantom of the Opera in the play-medley "The Great Illusion". After the premiere, the performer realized that he had fallen in love with the amazing music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the new genre. By the time of closing, the young artist took part in all productions of the collective. The final performance took place at the end of 2001.
At the same time, the actor became a lead vocalist. He worked in the Aliens group. The musicians released the album "Underground". In the domestic production of the famous musical Notre Dame Cathedral, Maraculin got the role of Frollo in 2002. Alexander got into the first line-up.
The performer has recorded the parts for the official audio CD of the musical. The selection of a young performer was held on a general basis. I also had to go through exhausting tours. However, Metro-Entertainment initially offered only a second line-up. The exhausting rehearsals began again in a rather shaky status of "understudy". The decision to transfer to the main, first, line-up came literally on the eve of the premiere.
Significant works
The artist worked a lot on the image. As a result, the performer decided that the hero, the music, and the production itself are equally important. After that, in an interview, Marakulin admits that it is difficult for him to call himself either a singer or a singing actor. The hit was perfect.
The audience remembered the timbre of the rare dramatic baritone. The actor was nominated for the Golden Mask for Best Actor. The first television broadcasts went on, a solo career began to develop, a repertoire was selected.
Since 2004, Marakulin has been playing the role of Count Capulet in the Russian version of Romeo and Juliet. In the tour, the artist also got the performance of the Prince of Verona. The selection for "Romeo and Juliet" was carried out, as before, on a general basis. And again, after exhausting preparation, the audience applauded the actor for the brightness of the character and its authenticity.
The actor took part in the recording of the 2007 rock opera Crime and Punishment by Eduard Artemiev based on the libretto by Rozov and Ryashentsev, and performed the part of Svidrigailov. Since October 1, 2008, Marakulin has been playing in the musical “Monte Cristo” by the Crown Attorney Noirtier de Villefort. He also performed the same character in the demo version of the production.
Further perspectives
In 2009 Marakulin headed the Musical Trade Company as artistic director. The artist played Ernst Ludwig in the national version of "Cabaret", as well as the tour version of Dunaevsky's musical "The Three Musketeers" in the images of Athos and Richelieu, and also acted as a stage director.
In the Russian musical "Count Orlov" the artist got the role of Prince Radziwill. And since March 2016, he has been playing in Crime and Punishment at the Moscow Musical Theater. Previously, the actor took part in recording it on disk.
In the musical version of Anna Karenina, the performer has been Alexei Karenin since October 2016. 2018 took part in the production of the musical Death Note by the Pentagram Production Center
So far, there is no national school of musical artists. Alexander is one of those few who are proficient in both voice and dramatic skills.
The artist does not want to talk about his personal life. It is known that he is a happy husband and father. His wife gave him a daughter, Maria.
