The name of Olga Borodina is heard by everyone, an admirer of opera music. The mass viewer may remember her as a judge on the popular One-to-One show, shown on Channel One.
Childhood and youth
The biography of the famous singer is calm and measured, like her very character.
Olga Vladimirovna Borodina was born in Leningrad on July 29, 1963 in a creative musical family. Her mother was fond of singing, and her father knew how to play several musical instruments. Most likely, this was the impetus for the fact that little Olga, at the age of three, voiced her desire to become a singer.
However, the girl most of all wanted to perform with the choir, although there was a place in her life for dances, which she really liked as a form of creativity.
Her first mentor was Valentina Nikolaevna Gauguin, head of the children's choir of the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers, where, after much persuasion, Olga was recorded by her mother. As the teacher noted, the result was beyond praise.
Carier start
After leaving school, the future star of the opera stage enters the Leningrad Conservatory in the class of Irina Bogacheva, who becomes her new mentor. During her studies, the girl willingly takes part in various competitions in almost all countries. She once shared her first award with Dmitry Hvorostovsky.
At the age of 23, Olga Borodina took first place in the All-Russian Singing Competition, and a little later she won an award in the V. Glinka, which took place throughout the country. Not without patronage - thanks to the assistance of the opera prima Irina Arkhipova, Borodina went to New York, where she won first place in the international competition. R. Ponsel.
After such large and wide steps, Olga became famous in the opera world.
Work in the theater
In 1987, the opera singer began working at the Mariinsky Theater (then the Kirov Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater). She recalls the following about her first steps - “I worked a lot, and the salary left much to be desired”. Her first work in the theater was Siebel's role in the production of Faust. Then - Martha in the opera "Khovanshchina". Moreover, this part was performed by many artists, while Olga was present at the rehearsals all the time. Just a week before the premiere, she was entrusted with this role, with which the singer coped brilliantly. The viewer also noted this after watching the production.
At the end of the 80s, the prima received the Grand Prix and the prize for the best performance of mezzo-soprano, performing at the international competition. Francisco Vinyasa, which took place in Barcelona, Spain. Olga Vladimirovna's unique vocal abilities were then noted by the eminent Mirella Freni and Placido Domingo. After that, her career in the theater began to go only uphill. She worked in such productions as Eugene Onegin, War and Peace, Boris Godunov, etc.
Since the nineties, Olga Borodina has been actively touring Europe. Moreover, her repertoire includes not only Russian works, but also Spanish compositions, operas by Rossini and many others.
The singer says the following about her work abroad: “When I first visited Europe, I discovered a lot of new things. This was facilitated by the fact that I was surrounded by luminaries of opera singing. I often talked with Placido Domingo, and he revealed to me some of the secrets of his success. Together we have worked on productions such as Adrienne Lecouvreur and Samson and Delilah.
In addition to live performances, Olga Borodina can also be found on discs, of which she recorded about twenty in her time. These include duets with famous opera masters - Bernard Haiting, Valery Gergiev, Colin Davies, solo compositions (Tchaikovsky's Romances, Bolero, etc.), collections with symphony orchestras (the National Opera Orchestra of Wales) and much more.
During her career, Olga became a laureate of eight prizes, in 1995 she became an Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, and in 2002 she received the title of People's. Despite such a long track record and a large number of awards, the singer says that she is by nature a lazy person. And she does not need fame, she just got used to competently and correctly doing her favorite job.
Personal life
The artist does not talk about her personal life and does not like to raise this topic. At one time, journalists wrote a lot about her romance with the young singer Ildar Abrazakov, to whom she gave birth to a son. In addition to him, Olga has two more sons and a daughter. She calls herself an absolutely happy woman. The opera prima most of all values loyalty and honesty in people, and hates lies and betrayal.
The singer's repertoire
Siebel ("Faust", C. Gounod)
Laura (The Stone Guest, A. Dargomyzhsky)
Olga (Eugene Onegin, P. Tchaikovsky)
Polina, Milovzor (The Queen of Spades, P. Tchaikovsky)
Konchakovna ("Prince Igor", A. Borodin)
Martha (Khovanshchina, M. Mussorgsky)
Marina Mnishek (Boris Godunov, M. Mussorgsky)
Salammbo ("Salammbo", M. Mussorgsky)
Lyubasha (The Tsar's Bride, N. Rimsky-Korsakov)
Helen Bezukhova ("War and Peace", S. Prokofiev)
Angelina (Cinderella, G. Rossini)
Isabella (Italian in Algeria, G. Rossini)
Amneris (Aida, G. Verdi)
Princess Eboli (Don Carlos, G. Verdi)
Preciosilla ("The Force of Destiny", G. Verdi)
Laura Adorno (La Gioconda, A. Ponchielli)
Princess de Bouillon (Adriana Lecouvreur, F. Chilea)
Delilah (Samson and Delilah, C. Saint-Saens)
Margarita ("Condemnation of Faust", G. Berlioz)
Carmen (Carmen, J. Bizet)
