Russia (bbabo.net), - The outstanding mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina performed as Martha in Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina in a historic production at the Mariinsky Theater and performed for the first time as the Countess in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades at the Vienna Opera. The performance was staged by director Vera Nemirova, musical director - Valery Gergiev.
Recently, you again appeared on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in your crowning role - the schismatic Martha in Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina. Valery Gergiev rarely puts this opera on the poster, and this more than once coincides with turning points in the history of the country and the world. What do you feel in this opera?
Olga Borodina: I have a lot of different moments connected with this opera. When there was a coup, a really serious moment in the history of Russia, I sang "Khovanshchina" in Hamburg, directed by the German director Harry Kupfer. There was a tank on the stage at that time, and something turned over in my mind. I always thought something like that was wild, but in Kupfer's interpretation it was genius. Still, you need to live, gain vitality in order to understand how great Mussorgsky's music is and how modern it remains in our century.
Was there a standard for you among the performers of the part of Marfa?
Olga Borodina: I have never had idols, standards. The only singer evoked incredible emotions from school - Placido Domingo. Then I could not even imagine that I would work with him for so many years together. I loved Irina Arkhipova very much, her reading of Martha was close to me. I was attracted by the wisdom and insanely strong female energy of Arkhipova, besides, she loved to help talented youth. Elena Obraztsova - yes, she had incredible charisma. Irina Bogacheva had a natural voice of genius, she sang well, competently, but her majestic manner seemed a little cold to me.
Mussorgsky's Marfa is perhaps the strongest player in the male world that has lost control. Today much is written about the advent of the era of women. Don't you think so?
Olga Borodina: I take this calmly, I think that in some ways women are wiser, in some ways - men. But men have become much weaker, for many reasons. More chemistry appeared in food, and the male hormone is more vulnerable, subject to various influences. Women's more hardy by nature.
Didn't the woman herself try to weaken the role of the man?
Olga Borodina: It's hard to say. No matter how I tried to be weak, my men did not let me, I had to decide everything myself. My father wanted a son and raised me like a boy. We went on winter fishing, he taught me carpentry, which I just didn’t do, for which I am very grateful to him. By and large, I can do everything myself - nail, drill, fix, I can do everything and I think it's very cool when you don't depend on anyone.
My father wanted a son and raised me as a boy, for which I am very grateful to him
Last summer you performed for the first time at the Mariinsky Theater the part of another independent Russian woman - the Countess in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, and most recently you sang it on the stage of the Vienna Opera. Who is she - your Countess?
Olga Borodina: When I am the same age as the Countess - 87 years old, I will probably understand her to the end, I still have ahead of me. She was tired of balls and men, whom she had in her youth had a myriad. She wants to raise her pupil, marry her. According to the author, she was not evil. She is rude, because she is tired of everything, she lives in memories. Today I can also, to be honest, speak like a Countess.
Can your creative plans?
Olga Borodina: I don't have any special plans yet. I would like more forces that the covid reduced. There are enough things to do, including teaching at the university. Two toy terriers are always waiting at home - Bruli and Kusya. No time to suffer. I told myself that no suffering, that's enough.
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Olga Borodina - People's Artist of Russia, winner of the Grammy Award (2011), gold medalist of the Rosa Poncelle Competition. Since 1987 she has been a soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre. In 1992, she made her debut on the stage of Covent Garden in the opera "Samson and Delilah" by Saint-Saens, where Placido Domingo acted as her partner. Among her parts, performed in those years at the Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco, are the opera Cinderella by Rossini, Eboli in Don Carlos and Amneris in Verdi's Aida, the Princess of Bouillon in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur and many others. Her crowning roles today are Martha in Khovanshchina and Marina Mnishek in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.
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