Singer Dmitry Ulyanov. Opera stars: Dmitry Ulyanov Dmitry Ulyanov opera singer

Dmitry Ulyanov graduated from the Ural Conservatory under Professor V. Yu. Pisarev and in the same year received the Grand Prix at the I International Vocal Competition under the auspices of UNESCO in Kazakhstan (2000).

In 1997 he became a soloist with the Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theatre, and a year later with the Moscow Novaya Opera Theater named after E. V. Kolobov. Since 2000 he has been a soloist of the Moscow Academic Musical Theater named after K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, on the stage of which he performs leading roles: Don Giovanni in the opera of the same name, Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville, Ramfis in Aida , Collen in "La Boheme", Herman in "Tannhäuser", Gremin in "Eugene Onegin", Gudal in "Demon", Head in "May Night", Ivan Khovansky in "Khovanshchina", Kutuzov in "War and Peace" and other roles . As part of the theater troupe, he toured in many cities of Russia, as well as in Germany, Italy, Latvia, Estonia, China, South Korea, USA, Cyprus.

Since 2009 Dmitry Ulyanov has been a guest soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre, where he made his debut as the Doctor in the opera Wozzeck (director D. Chernyakov, conductor T. Currentzis). In 2014, he performed here the parts of Escamillo in Carmen and Philip II in Don Carlos, in 2016 - Boris Timofeevich in Katerina Izmailova. The artist also collaborates with theaters in St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Perm, Cheboksary.

The international career of the singer is actively developing: the Bastille Opera, the National Rhine Opera, the Capitol Theater of Toulouse, the Flemish Opera, the National Opera of the Netherlands, the Royal Theater in Madrid and the Maestrans in Seville, the Liceo Grand Theater in Barcelona, the Israeli Opera, the New National Theater Tokyo, opera theaters of Lyon, Basel, Monte Carlo, Bilbao, Cagliari, Marseille - the list of leading opera houses is growing every year. He performs at festivals in A Coruña and Aix-en-Provence; collaborates with conductors Ivor Bolton, Martin Brabbins, Juraj Valchukha, Laurent Campellone, Kirill Karabits, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Cornelius Meister, Tomas Netopil, Daniel Oren, Renato Palumbo, Ainars Rubikis, Giacomo Sagripanti, Mikhail Tatarnikov, Giuseppe Finzi, Pedro Halfter, Tomas Hanus , Simone Young, Maris Jansons; with directors Vasily Barkhatov, Jean-Louis Grinda, Carolina Grubber, José Antonio Gutiérrez, Tatiana Gurbacha, Peter Konwitschny, Andreas Krigenburg, Eridan Noble, David Pountney, Laurent Peli, Emilio Sagi, Peter Sellars.

The artist's repertoire includes the main parts in Verdi's operas (Macbeth, Don Carlos, Rigoletto, Sicilian Vespers); Wagner ("Valkyrie", "Tannhäuser", "Flying Dutchman"); in French big operas(The Jew by Halévy, The Huguenots by Meyerbeer), in operas by Russian composers (Boris Godunov, Iolanta, The Golden Cockerel, The Gambler).

Dmitry Ulyanov actively gives concerts, collaborates with the State Capella - the choir named after A. Yurlov and the symphony under the direction of V. Polyansky.

In the 2017/18 season, the singer made his debut as Boris Godunov at the Bolshoi; he performed Attila for the first time at the Opera Live festival in the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow and the Verdi festival in the Concert Hall of Lyon. There were also debuts at the Salzburg Festival, on the stages of the Neapolitan San Carlo Theater and the Vienna Opera.

In 2018/19 D. Ulyanov performs in new productions of the operas Lady Macbeth Mtsensk district" at the Paris National Opera and Opera Bastille (conductor - Ingo Metzmacher, director - Krzysztof Warlikovsky), "The Barber of Seville" at the Bolshoi Theater (conductor - Pier Giorgio Morandi, director - Evgeny Pisarev); on the stage of the Amsterdam Konsergebouw he performs Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death, and at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing he sings in the opera Tales of Hoffmann.

The artist was twice nominated for the Golden Mask Award in the Best Actor in Opera category. In 2016, he was awarded the Casta Diva Russian Opera Prize for his performance of the part of Ivan Khovansky.

– Dmitry, your character Banquo is a commander equal to Macbeth, but, according to the plot, is doomed to die already in the second act. The drama of the relationship and the hidden rivalry of the main characters are felt from the very first notes, and it is clear how you are trying to “replay” Macbeth in a good way ...

– Dmitri Chernyakov's productions always have a deep psychological subtext, the dramaturgy is very accurately built in the relationships of all the characters. The difficulty is that many of the emphasis is shifted to a completely different area, in contrast to the traditional reading. Initially, Banquo and Macbeth are bosom friends, and the witches’ prophecy (here it is a “conspiracy” of the townspeople) is perceived by them as a kind of farce, but gradually my hero sees how Macbeth involuntarily thinks about it, and Banquo tries to bring him back to earth. But a black shadow has already laid between them, and already in the duet, Banquo begins to doubt the sincerity of their friendship ... Later, King Duncan is murdered, and although Macbeth and his wife deny their involvement in this, Banquo feels threatened by a once close friend . And when later the people assure him that Macbeth's order to kill his son is just a prank, Banquo laughs along with everyone at the absurdity of the situation, but the sudden appearance of his son makes him shudder ... At some point, he clearly realizes that the joke is actually a terrible reality. . He only manages to shout to his son to save himself, and the dispersed crowd reveals to the audience the already lifeless body of Banquo...

– The Madrid premiere of Boris Godunov coincided with the premiere of the Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theatre, where you could sing Boris. How did it happen that you exchanged Boris for Pimen?

- The proposal of director Alexander Titel, who staged "Boris Godunov" in Yekaterinburg, came later. The contract with the Royal Theater was signed four years ago, and with Alexander Borisovich we started talking about his project two years ago. And when they began to discuss the details, it turned out that our deadlines coincide. Of course, it’s a pity, I would love to sing Boris, especially since Yekaterinburg is my hometown, with Alexander Titel we have been working fruitfully for a long time in the same theater. But Pimen is an equally significant role, he has long wanted to play it, a very powerful character. For me, he is a chronicler, a kind of god Chronos. Pushkin, when he began work on his tragedy Boris Godunov, was the first to paint a scene in the cell where Pimen and the monk Grishka Otrepiev, the future Pretender, are. It was it that he read to his friends and admirers, and it was received with enthusiasm, from which I conclude that for him, as well as for Mussorgsky, Pimen was very important.

– You work a lot in Spain…

- Yes, in February 2011 there was the part of Marseille in the concert version of Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera Les Huguenots, in January 2012 - King Rene in Iolanthe, now here are Boris Godunov and Macbeth. In general, he sang a lot in Spain: in the same "Iolanthe" in Valencia, the Grand Inquisitor in "Don Carlos" by Verdi and Hunding in "The Valkyrie" by Richard Wagner in Seville, participated in the opera festival in La Coruña - sang Sparafucile in "Rigoletto" by Verdi along with the amazing Leo Nucci. Now I am preparing the part of Procida for the premiere production of Verdi's Sicilian Vespers...

- It turns out that Spain is the main place of work today?

- It turns out that in last years I speak here a lot on contracts, but it’s impossible to say so categorically. My main place of work is still in Moscow - at the Stanislavsky Musical Theatre. There I sing Kutuzov in our recent production of Prokofiev's War and Peace, in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann, and in other performances of my native theater.

- You have already worked with the staged duet of Currentzis-Chernyakov - you sang in Alban Berg's Wozzeck at the Bolshoi Theater. Was this your first experience of participating in an opera of the 20th century?

- Yes, and very unexpected: they offered it at the last moment, there were two months left before the premiere. When I saw the music for the first time, I thought: “How can this be sung and learned in two months?” The first listening to "Wozzeck" led me to a dead end. I came with these thoughts and doubts to Theodore, who said: “You will definitely learn this, you will succeed.” And we started to work. It was important to understand the structure of this music, which, as it turned out, is very strictly organized and obeys a certain harmony and mathematics, I would call it a matrix scheme. As soon as I found some kind of system in Wozzeck, in some ways even jazzy, things started to work. And when Theodore stood at the console, everything somehow immediately lined up, so was the lace orchestra, woven by various instruments into an incredible voluminous canvas, and immediately everything sounded clear and understandable. It was a very interesting work with an unexpectedly good result for me and for everyone.

- Is it difficult to combine work under contracts with a repertory theater? Many refuse, choosing a career in the West ...

– It’s not easy, but so far I’ve been able to do it, thanks to the theater management, which supports and goes forward. Working in Europe makes it possible to concentrate on a specific performance, image, think it over, work it out vocally. In the repertory theater today you must sing Tchaikovsky, tomorrow Mozart, and three days later Verdi. It's very difficult, but you can develop a repertoire, try yourself in different musical styles, show different facets of your profession. And here in the West, singers have a clear specialization - a Verdi, Rossini singer or a typical “Russian bass”, and if a certain label has already been attached to you, it is difficult to get rid of it. In my native theater, I am now singing in The Tales of Hoffmann, it is not a fact that I will sing it in the West. Kutuzov in "War and Peace" is a very interesting work and, judging by the reviews of the audience and theater critics, quite successful. At the present time, hardly anyone in Europe would dare to make such a grandiose production. There will still be many interesting performances at the Stanislavsky Theater, where I hope to prove myself. From what the theater has already announced, I can name a new production by the brilliant Peter Stein of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, where I hope to sing Ramfis, as well as Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser, where I will sing the King. This will be the second Wagner part in my repertoire, I would very much like to perform the music of the great German composer.

– And what other composers and characters are on your list of vocal priorities?

- More Verdi parties - Philip II from Don Carlos, Attila from the opera of the same name, Zachary from Nabucco. It would be interesting to sing Scarpius, Mephistopheles, and, of course, Mozart's Don Giovanni. Mussorgsky is one of the most important and main Russian composers for me. I would very much like to perform Boris Godunov, and Dosifey, and Khovansky (Mussorgsky's opera Khovanshchina. - "NI"), the composer's vocal cycles "Songs and Dances of Death", "Without the Sun".

– Which of the conductors and directors with whom I had a chance to work on different scenes, do you remember his manner of working with singers, energy?

– I remember the work on Fromental Halévy's The Jewess at the Tel Aviv Opera in 2010 – staged by conductor Daniel Oren and director David Pountney. I worked with both for the first time, and it was quite an interesting experience. Pountney has a very philosophical approach to musical material, and a clear work with the actor, laconic, but very bright and accurate. As for the directors, it was amazing to work with Peter Sellars, for whom the sensuality of Tchaikovsky's music is important. Of the conductors, I remember with great respect Gennady Rozhdestvensky, with whom I had the very first contract, but, perhaps, the most extraordinary and bright for me is Teodor Currentzis, a great musician, with whom it is always very interesting and joyful for me to work. This year there have already been Iolanta in Madrid and the vocal part in Igor Stravinsky's Les Noces, staged by Jiri Kilian at the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre, now Verdi's Macbeth.

- And how does Currentzis work with singers?

– He is very responsible, scrupulous and meticulous in his work, literally in every note. On the one hand, it’s quite difficult with him, because he sets the bar very high, but on the other hand, when you finish rehearsals, it becomes easy for you to understand why it was all done. As a result, when you go on a big stage, you just bathe in music and do not experience any difficulties. Such cooperation helps to grow creatively and professionally. I really like how Theodore says: "Let's try to make music today." In my opinion, it is important for him to be in some kind of co-creation with the singers, so that we not only sing, but he simply conducts, but that it is a full-fledged musical tandem. When the conductor supports you, it's great, and Theodore helps a lot, when you sing on stage, he helps you, breathes with you, charges you with his crazy energy. I can't think of another conductor with whom I could work so easily and freely.

- And in front of whom it is easy to perform, what kind of audience in different countries?

– In Spain and Italy, people are very sincere and friendly, open and responsive. Spaniards and Italians, perhaps, can argue about which of them is more emotional, but still, I had the warmest welcome in Italy. In France, the public is reserved, especially in Paris, very strict, the audience may not forgive some things. If the singer is not liked, the Parisians will not clap, and the people of Madrid, on the contrary, will express their admiration for the fact that the person went on stage and sang well. Although if there is a completely bad performance, then they will arrange an obstruction here.

- And the Russian audience?

– Very warm and loving, I can’t say that they are very demanding. The public in Russia is gracious and grateful, always waiting for its artist and idolizing him. Therefore, singing on the home stage is always a pleasure, but at the same time it is more exciting and responsible.

Years of activity A country

USSR→Russia

Professions

Opera singer

singing voice Genres Collectives dmitryulyan.com

Ulyanov, Dmitry Borisovich(born June 2, 1977 in Chelyabinsk) - Russian opera singer, bass, soloist of the Moscow Academic Musical Theater. K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko

Biography

Carier start

In 1997, after completing his first year at the conservatory, he was heard by the chief conductor of the Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theater E.V. Puccini "Tosca") December 6, 1997. However, already in 1998 he became a soloist of the Novaya Opera Theater (Moscow) at the invitation of the chief conductor of the theater E. Kolobov, where he sang many parts, including Loredano (G. Verdi's "Two Foscari"), Varlaam (M. Mussorgsky "Boris Godunov ") and others. He toured with the theater troupe to many cities in Russia and Europe.

MAMT them. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko

In August 2000, Dmitry moved to the troupe of the Moscow Academic Musical Theater. K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, and soon becomes one of the leading soloists of the theater. Among the main roles he performs are such as Don Alfonso (W. A. Mozart “So do all women”), Raimondo (G. Donizetti “Lucia Di Lammermoor”), Don Basilio (G. Rossini “The Barber of Seville”), Gremin ( P. I. Tchaikovsky "Eugene Onegin"), Pan Head (N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov "May Night") and many others. In the past few years, Dmitry has been participating in all important premieres on the stage of his native theater. For example, he played the role of Padre Guardiano in G. Verdi's opera "The Power of Destiny" (dir. F. Korobov, dir. G. Isahakyan) in October 2010, and also on May 8 and 10, 2011 brilliantly played the roles of Lindorff, Coppelius, Dapertutto and Doctor Miracle in one performance in the new premiere of J. Offenbach's opera The Tales of Hoffmann (directed by E. Brazhnik, directed by A. Titel). Toured as part of the theater troupe in Italy (Gremin - "Eugene Onegin" by P. Tchaikovsky, Trieste, 2009), Germany (Don Alfonso - "Cosi Fan Tutte" by W. Mozart, 2006), in Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus, in USA (“La Boheme” by G. Puccini, 2002; “Tosca” by G. Puccini, “La Traviata” by G. Verdi, 2004), in South Korea (2003), in many cities of Russia (St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Saratov, Kirov, Rostov-on-Don, Cheboksary, etc.) For example, on March 13, 2005, as part of the theater’s tour in Yekanterinburg, a concert performance of L. Beethoven’s opera Fidelio (Rocco’s part) took place on German under the direction of dir. Thomas Sanderling

Career in Russia

Dmitry actively cooperates with many Russian theaters. In October 2011, he made his debut on the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theater, St. Petersburg, in the role of Cardinal De Brogni (F. Halevi "The Jewess"), where the famous American tenor Neil Shikoff played the role of Eleazar. In November 2010, Dmitry made his debut on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, where he brilliantly performed the part of the Doctor in the premiere of A. Berg's opera Wozzeck directed by Dmitry Chernyakov and Teodor Currentzis and became a guest soloist of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia. December 6-10, 2006 took part in the XVI International Opera Festival. M. D. Mikhailov in Cheboksary. Dmitry brilliantly performed the part of Don Basilio (Rossini's The Barber of Seville), and also took part in the final Gala concert of the festival. Leads an active concert activity, collaborates with the State Academic Choir. A. Yurlov under the arms. G. Dmitryak, with the State Academic Symphony Chapel under the arm. V. Polyansky,; within international days Russia toured with a concert program in China (Beijing, Shanghai) in August 2006. In December 2003, he sang the title role in a concert performance of Grechaninov's Dobrynya Nikitich at the Moscow Philharmonic with the National Academic Orchestra Folk Instruments under the direction of N. Kalinin; in the same year he participated in the opening ceremony of the Krasnodar Conservatory.

Foreign career

In parallel with the Russian, Dmitry's foreign career is also developing very successfully. For example, in February 2011, Dmitry successfully made his debut on the stage of the Royal Opera of Madrid as Marseille in a concert production of J. Meyerbeer's opera "Huguenots" under the direction of Renato Palumbo, and in January 2012 on the same stage for the first time he will perform the role of King René in P. Tchaikovsky's opera "Iolanta" (conductor - T. Currentzis, director - Peter Sellars). In June 2011, Dmitry amazingly played the role of the Grand Inquisitor in the production of G. Verdi's opera "Don Carlos" (director - Giancarlo Del Monaco) on the stage of the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Spain, and already in October 2011 in the same theater sang the role of Hunding in R. Wagner's opera "Valkyrie". In April 2010, he also made his debut on the stage of the Tel Aviv Opera, Israel in the opera The Jewess by F. Halevi, where he performed the role of Cardinal De Brogny under the direction of conductor Daniel Oren in a production by David Pountney. In July 2010, he took part in the International Festival of Forbidden Music on the stage of the Municipal Opera in Marseille, where he performed the title role in a concert performance of the opera "Shylock" by A. Finzi.

In the 2008-2009 season, Dmitry made his debut as Tomsky on the stage of the Monte-Carlo Opera (conductor - D. Yurovsky), and also took part in a joint project of the Novosibirsk Opera Theater and Opera Bastille, Paris - a grandiose production of G. Verdi's opera "Macbeth" , where he performed the part of Banquo at the premiere in Novosibirsk and later at the Opéra Bastille (Paris). Stage director - Dmitry Chernyakov, conductor - Teodor Currentzis.

In February 2010, he sang the part of Don Marco in G. C. Menotti's The Saint of Bleecker Street (conducted by Jonathan Webb, dir. Stefan Medcalf), in December 2008 - the part of the Tsar (Aida) , and in December 2007 the role of Don Basilio (The Barber of Seville) on the stage of the Municipal Opera in Marseille, France.

In January 2006, he performed the part of Varlaam (Boris Godunov by M. Mussorgsky, staged by A. Tarkovsky, conducted by V. Polyanichko) at the Monte Carlo Opera.

In September 2005, he performed the role of Prince Gremin (Eugene Onegin by P. Tchaikovsky, dir. - M. Morelli, conductor - K. Karabitz) at the National Rhine Opera (Strasbourg, France); in April 2005 - the part of Varlaam (Boris Godunov by M. Mussorgsky, dir. - N. Joel, dir. - B. Kontarsky) at the Teatre Du Capitole (Toulouse, France), as well as solo concert on the stage of this theater (concertmaster - E. Ulyanova) ..

In December 2002 - January 2003, he participated in the production of P. I. Tchaikovsky's opera Oprichnik in Cagliari (Italy). The performance was recorded on video and CD, dir. - G. Rozhdestvensky, dir. - Graham Wick.

Engagements and performed parts

Titles and awards

Discography

Notes

Links

Information about the singer on the official website of MAMT them. K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko
Singer's channel YouTube
Official site dmitryulyan.com

Categories:

Personalities in alphabetical order
Musicians alphabetically
June 2
Born in 1977
Born in Chelyabinsk
Opera singers and singers of Russia
Persons: Moscow Musical Theatre. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

In 2000 he graduated from the Ural State Conservatory (class of V. Pisarev), in the same year he received the Grand Prix of the I International Vocal Competition "Shabyt" in Astana (Kazakhstan), held under the auspices of UNESCO.

In 1997 he was a soloist with the Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theatre.
In 1998-2000, he was a soloist at the Novaya Opera Theater in Moscow, where he performed the parts of Loredano (The Two Foscari by G. Verdi), Varlaam (Boris Godunov by M. Mussorgsky) and Stromminger (Valli by A. Catalani). He toured with the theater in Russia and Europe.

Since 2000 - soloist of the Moscow Academic Musical Theater. K.S. Stanislavsky and Vl.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, where he performed the following parts: Ivan Khovansky ("Khovanshchina" by M. Mussorgsky), Kutuzov ("War and Peace" by S. Prokofiev), Raimondo ("Lucia di Lammermoor" by G. Donizetti), Lindorf-Coppelius-Dapertutto- Miracle (“The Tales of Hoffmann” by J. Offenbach), Father Superior (“Force of Destiny” by G. Verdi), Head (“May Night” by N. Rimsky-Korsakov), Don Basilio (“The Barber of Seville” by G. Rossini), Don Alfonso (“All Women Do It” by W.A. Mozart), Gremin (“Eugene Onegin” by P. Tchaikovsky), Rocco (“Fidelio” by L. van Beethoven), Collen (“La Boheme” by G. Puccini), Goodal (“ Demon" by A. Rubinstein), Herman ("Tannhäuser" by R. Wagner), Ramfis ("Aida" by G. Verdi), the title role in "Don Giovanni" by V.A. Mozart.
He has toured with the theater troupe in the USA, South Korea, Germany, Cyprus, Latvia, Estonia, and also in many cities of Russia.

In 2008-09 he performed the part of Banquo (Macbeth by G. Verdi) in a joint production of the Novosibirsk state theater opera and ballet and the Paris National Opera (conductor T. Currentzis, director D. Chernyakov).

In 2010 he sang the part of Cardinal De Brogni in F. Halévy's The Jewess at the Israel Opera, Tel Aviv (director D. Pountney, conductor D. Oren). Participated in productions of the Municipal Opera of Marseille, Monte Carlo Opera, National Rhine Opera (Strasbourg), Capitol Theater (Toulouse), Cagliari Theater (Italy).

After making his debut in February 2011 at the Teatro Real in Madrid (Spain) as Marseille in a concert performance of G. Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots conducted by Renato, Palumbo began to work closely with the Teatro Real and other Spanish theaters, such as the Teatro Maestranza in Seville. (The Grand Inquisitor in G. Verdi's Don Carlos, Hunding in R. Wagner's The Valkyrie), La Coruña Festival (Sparafuccile in Verdi's Rigoletto with Leo Nucci in the title role). In 2012, he played the role of King René (Iolanthe by P. Tchaikovsky) in a new production directed by P. Sellars and conductor T. Currentzis on the stage of the Teatro Real. The performance was broadcast on the MEZZO TV channel and released on DVD. His repertoire at this theater includes the roles of Pimen in the play Boris Godunov by M. Mussorgsky (conductor Harmut Henchen, director Johan Simons), Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville by G. Rossini, Banquo in Macbeth by G. Verdi. In 2013, she made her debut on the stage of the Bilbao Opera as Procida in Verdi's Sicilian Vespers. He also performed the part of Sparafuccile at the Maestranza Theater in Seville (conductor Pedro Halfter, Leo Nucci in the title role).

Leads an active concert activity, collaborates with the State Academic Choir. A. Yurlov, State Academic Symphony Chapel under the direction of V. Polyansky. Collaborates with several Russian opera theaters (St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Perm, Cheboksary).

In 2009 he made his debut in Bolshoi Theater as Doctor (A. Berg's Wozzeck, director D. Chernyakov, conductor T. Currentzis). In 2014 he sang the roles of Escamillo (Carmen by G. Bizet) and Philip II (Don Carlos by G. Verdi). In 2016 - the part of Boris Timofeevich ("Katerina Izmailova" by D. Shostakovich), in 2017 - the title role in "Boris Godunov" by M. Mussorgsky.

In the 2014-15 season, he performed the part of Escamillo in Carmen by G. Bizet (New National Theater in Tokyo), Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville (Liceo Theater in Barcelona), De Brogni in F. Halévy's Judea (Flemish opera in Antwerp), Dositheus in M. Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina (Basel Opera).

In 2015, he made his first appearance at the Aix-en-Provence Festival as King René in Tchaikovsky's Iolanthe (conductor Teodor Currentzis, director Peter Sellars). He sang the part of the General (The Gambler by S. Prokofiev) at the Monte Carlo Opera (conductor Mikhail Tatarnikov, director Jean-Louis Grinda).

In the 2016/17 season, he performed the roles of Daland (The Flying Dutchman by R. Wagner) at the Flemish Opera, Konchak and Vladimir Galitsky in the production of Prince Igor by the National Opera of the Netherlands (conductor Stanislav Kochanovsky, director Dmitry Chernyakov), Tsar Dodon (The Golden Cockerel ”) at the Teatro Real in Madrid (conductor Ivor Bolton, director Laurent Pelli).

In the 2017/18 season he made his debut at the Salzburg Festival as Boris Timofeevich (Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by D. Shostakovich) and at the Vienna State Opera as the General (The Gambler by S. Prokofiev). IV Music Festival Opera Live sang the title role for the first time in Verdi's Attila (concert performance). He sang the same part on the stage of the Auditorium concert hall in Lyon as part of the Verdi Festival. In April 2018, he made his debut on the stage of the Neapolitan San Carlo Theater, performing the part of Boris Timofeevich in the opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District.

In 2018 on the stage of the Musical Theater. K.S. Stanislavsky and Vl.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko held a solo concert dedicated to the 20th anniversary of artistic activity.

May 23 at the Moscow Academic musical theater them. K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko will be a solo evening of Dmitry Ulyanov.

The program with the participation of the famous bass includes fragments from the opera "Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgsky, the vocal-symphonic poem "The Execution of Stepan Razin" and the First Symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich.

On the eve of the concert, the singer met with Svetlana Naborshchikova.

For a solo evening, you have chosen a serious program. Usually at such concerts they prefer to sing popular arias.

It was our idea with Felix Pavlovich Korobov ( chief conductor of MAMT. - "Izvestia"). We decided to give the program theatricality, seriousness and educational message.

Of course, the easiest option is to make a potpourri, but it was more interesting to show things that are important to us - Mussorgsky and Shostakovich, and Mussorgsky orchestrated by Shostakovich, so that we get a themed evening: from Boris to Stepan Razin.

- Who is Boris for you? Hero, victim, villain?

Human. In any character, I am primarily interested in his human qualities. I always try to delve into psychology, ask questions: who was my hero, what did he do, why?

For me, "Boris Godunov" is a tragedy of a man invested with power, overwhelmed by passions. He walks along a thin line and at some point slips off it ... Working on this way is always a search inside the hero. What kind of country would he like to see, what does he want, why does he fail?

It is important to play not a portrait, not a statue. We must try to find the human side of the hero, to show what was good in him. Bad and so it will be clear from the context. Here is Stepan Razin. Who was he? For whom - a villain, for whom - a hero. People got up, followed him, which means that he lifted them up with something, attracted them with some idea. He hung the boyars not because he wanted to hang them, but because he saw no other way out - he thought that this was the only way to change something ...

- If the composer does not give the character an excuse, will you still look for him?

Will. Of course, following the composer, he gives a characterization. But we always have the right to search. We can, even following a given track, find some unexpected facets.

You sing on the leading opera stages of the world, but nevertheless you return to your native harbor. What gives an artist belonging to one theater?

Maybe the feeling that they are waiting for you here will be glad to see you. Hard to tell. For me, our theater is a place where there is freedom, relaxation, a spectator who always loves and waits for you. It is important to have a base where you can sing such a concert, try to express something of your own.

We are forced people, in the West we sign contracts. Sometimes there are things that you would not like to sing, but for some reason you agree. You understand that if the Paris Opera offered you a contract, it makes no sense to refuse, then they will not call you. We have a short age, the competition is high. Here, in the theater, there is an opportunity to sing whatever you want, to feel calm, to work.

Sometimes the thought arises: “Maybe go away, become a freelancer?” But something is holding me back. Perhaps the feeling of a long journey, wonderful friends, partners. You go on stage and rejoice that there are such colleagues, such a team-house, theater-house. No matter how much I travel, I always want to go home. Home is a place where you can exhale, relax.

- Do you have the right to make mistakes in your own theater?

I don't have anywhere. On the contrary, it becomes more difficult, every year more and more is expected of you. You have already jumped 6 meters, like Bubka, and you have no right to lower the bar lower. When you appear in your native theater once every six months, it attracts the audience, there is additional interest, and even more so you cannot be mistaken.

Most people see you for the first time. There are regulars, but this is a rather small percentage. But everyone knows that it's yours home theater, your surname becomes the guarantor of quality. You must provide this quality.

- Does the burden of responsibility, the creative race affect artistic well-being?

They don’t influence in any way, you must always be ready to go on stage. A day or two to recover a little, and forward. I also have longer breaks where I can exhale, learn something new. But I'm always ready to fight, I like it.

- Is there such a thing as a Russian vocal school, and how can it be characterized?

It seems to me that this is a kind of mixture of the Italian school and the Russian soul. I'm from Ekaterinburg. My teacher, God rest his soul, Valery Yurievich Pisarev, was a student of an Italian. He taught, already adding purely Russian moments, but the base was still bel canto, the basis of Italian vocals.

Russian school - in a certain compilation of the Italian base and Russian literature. You need to be able to sing in Russian. Few people in our country are able to do this, however paradoxical it may sound, they do not pay attention to the word. They move on to the correct vocalization, but sometimes the meaning is lost behind it. Not every singer can make out what he sings.

It seems to me that the Russian vocal school should be based on a good word, good presentation, good articulation. I always work to ensure that the presentation of the word is clear, does not turn into a mess, especially if it is Mussorgsky and Shostakovich. The word, speech intonation, semantic text accents are very important there, they cannot be skipped.

Another problem with today's opera is the director. Your colleague Yusif Eyvazov told Izvestia that he does not approve of classical operas in their modern version, because the audience goes for the classics, and not for directorial delights.

The audience is different everywhere. There are those who want beautiful costumes, give them the opera as it is written. There are modern youth who like all these new trends. As for me, I am open to experiment. In the event that the new version is justified, logical, interesting, if the story touches me and draws me in, if I work with the director in the same vein.

With Alexander Titel we have an old creative history great friendship and understanding. His style is always closer to the classical reading. At the same time, I collaborated a lot with Dmitry Chernyakov. The last work was in Amsterdam, "Prince Igor" by Borodin. His idea was that I sang Galitsky and Konchak in one performance. I gladly agreed.

We worked well with Tima Kulyabin. He is a progressive young director with interesting ideas, in particular, in the same notorious Tannhäuser. I participated in this production. For me, it was an absolutely clear story. All his predictions inside her came true, so he turned out to be a perspicacious artist. The style of all the directors is completely different, and that's great, it just enriches.

It can be difficult when the director himself does not know what he wants. Then it is not very clear what to do. But even in such cases, you try to offer something of your own. Maybe there are completely catastrophic productions, but so far I have not been able to participate in them. I didn’t seem to go out naked, and I won’t go out anyway.

- Are there directors with whom you would like to work, but have not yet been able to?

It would be interesting for me to work with Tarkovsky, he staged Boris Godunov at one time, but this is no longer possible. Maybe it will be interesting with Konchalovsky. He should bet with us. If Mikhalkov took up opera, it would also be interesting, I think.

- How do you imagine an opera staged by Nikita Sergeevich?

I don't know, but the fact itself would be interesting.

- You have a huge repertoire, in my opinion, they covered everything. Is there anything left?

No, it's not all there yet! You can say that I'm just entering some layer of operas. The age has come when you can take on big parties. Attila sang, but so far only in a concert version. Verdi's parties are gradually coming to the fore. Wagner is very much unsung. An unplowed field, everything is just beginning.

Maybe in the Russian repertoire there are more roles sung than not sung. I sing Boris, Pimen, Khovansky, Dosifey, Dodon and so on. But there are still things that you can and should touch. For example, Melnik in "Mermaid", or Kochubey in "Mazepa".

Usually the bass lines belong to the heroes, endowed with power, authoritarian leaders. Does it leave an imprint on your character?

I don’t know, I need to ask my relatives if I’m strong there: “Chur, child!” (laughs). I don't think so. I have enough in my life easy man, communicative. Of course, you need to have leadership qualities in order to constantly play leaders, but I think I had them from my youth.

I was active, mobile, always engaged in ten parallel projects. I can’t say that I am powerful, although they say that many are afraid of me. Maybe in connection with my roles. Maybe I'm rather closed with people I don't know very well, like all of us.

After the performance, I am usually tired, devastated, before the performance I am always focused. Perhaps people perceive this as if I am strict and gloomy. It's actually specific. On the day of the performance, my relatives already know that they don’t need to touch me - if I have Boris in the evening, I’m already Boris in the morning. I put on the image as a suit, try on how I will be in the evening. This is my way of immersion. When I don’t have a performance, I am quite a cheerful, positive person.

You had great predecessors as Boris. When creating an image, do you focus on previous achievements, or entirely on yourself?

It is impossible not to navigate, these things are well known. But on initial stage you need to be alone with the composer, with the notes. This is my principle, the fixed idea. It seems to me that if we first start listening, we will involuntarily try to repeat something, automatically these hooks will start to work somewhere. It is important at the first stage to go from the source, from the text, to find out for yourself what and how the composer wants to say, what and how I want to say.

Preparing "Boris Godunov", I can review films, performances. Questions to ask yourself, something to read. If I put on my headphones and start listening, Pirogov, Khristov or Nesterenko will suggest some things and do all the work for you. It's history, class, craftsmanship, but I try it myself first. Only at the last stage I can listen to something and then very carefully so as not to knock myself down. When I learn a part, I already sing myself, I can check some things especially for myself and say: “This is great! There is still something for me to think about.”

But all the same, to sing a performance is not the end, but the beginning of the process. When you eat for the first time, it's shock and awe. All on the nerve, on the adrenaline. Attention stratifies on the conductor's baton, on the director's notes, on one's own feelings. Then the performance train starts to move along its rails, you gradually accelerate, get into a rut. There is freedom, you start adding colors, subtracting, inventing something. It's a very lively process. No wonder the first 10 performances are considered premieres - this is how they gradually take shape.

There comes a time when opera artists, including the great ones, Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya, for example, want to go to another genre: to the drama theater, to the cinema. Have you had such a desire?

Basically possible variant, why not? But opera is more complex genre. It's easier for a dramatic artist. He has such a concept as time at his disposal, but we do not have it - we are always under the score, under the control of the conductor and the direction of the composer. In this regard, it is much more difficult and interesting for us. But if they offer a role in the theater or cinema, I will not refuse, I think.

I remember my youth, when I was an ardent admirer of the drama theater, I studied with teachers from the Sverdlovsk drama who came to our student theater. There, the main roles, and all sorts of replayed, we took part in local theater festivals, took places at the regional rally of theaters. 20 years of opera activity, and if you still remember what I did there, you can add another five years.

- In total, it turns out a quarter of a century of continuous creativity. What would you wish for yourself for the next 25 years?