Olga Borodina
Encyclopedia
Olga Vladimirovna Borodina (born 29 July 1963 in Saint Petersburg
) is a leading dramatic mezzo-soprano
, known for her roles in Russian opera
s at her home company, the Mariinsky Theatre
, and for her international performing and recording career in a varied repertoire.
Borodina made her debut in Samson and Delilah
at the Royal Opera House
Covent Garden with Plácido Domingo
. She performs frequently at the Metropolitan Opera
and the San Francisco Opera
and many other opera house
s in roles including La Cenerentola
, Marguérite in La damnation de Faust, Eboli in Don Carlos
, Principessa in Adriana Lecouvreur
, Carmen
, Marfa in Khovanshchina
and Amneris in Aida
. Borodina is known for her "plush" voice.
She has received recognition as a People's Artist of Russia
in 2002, the first prize gold medal of the 1998 Rosa Ponselle Vocal Competition, and also won the Barcelona competition in 1989. She was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation
(2006).
She was one of the winners of the 2007 Opera News
Awards for distinguished achievement.
Borodina is featured in many Russian opera recordings on Philips conducted by Valery Gergiyev with the Mariinsky company. Her Russia
n heritage is very important to her:
She once pulled out of a production of Carmen at La Scala
because the recitatives were spoken instead of sung, and left rehearsals at the Royal Opera House for Aida, directed by Robert Wilson
, because she found the conductor's (Antonio Pappano
) "approach too alien to the opera". In 2006, the management of the Vienna State Opera
"decided to distance itself from an engagement [with Borodina], not just for this production but also for all others" on the night of the première of L'italiana in Algeri
.
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
) is a leading dramatic mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
, known for her roles in Russian opera
Russian opera
Russian opera is the art of opera in Russia. Operas by composers of Russian origin, written or staged outside of Russia, also belong to this category, as well as the operas of foreign composers written or intended for the Russian scene. These are not only Russian-language operas...
s at her home company, the Mariinsky Theatre
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
, and for her international performing and recording career in a varied repertoire.
Borodina made her debut in Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah (opera)
Samson and Delilah , Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire...
at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
Covent Garden with Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
. She performs frequently at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
and the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
and many other opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
s in roles including La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
, Marguérite in La damnation de Faust, Eboli in Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
, Principessa in Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé...
, Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, Marfa in Khovanshchina
Khovanshchina
Khovanshchina is an opera in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was written between 1872 and 1880 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The composer wrote the libretto based on historical sources...
and Amneris in Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
. Borodina is known for her "plush" voice.
She has received recognition as a People's Artist of Russia
People's Artist of Russia
People's Artist of Russia, also sometimes translated as National Artist of Russia, is an honorary title granted to citizens of Russia.It succeeded both the all-Soviet union award People's Artist of the USSR , and more directly the local republic award, People's Artist of the RSFSR , after the...
in 2002, the first prize gold medal of the 1998 Rosa Ponselle Vocal Competition, and also won the Barcelona competition in 1989. She was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation
State Prize of the Russian Federation
State Prize of the Russian Federation is a state honorary prize established in 1992 as the substitute for the USSR State Prize. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates and the status of the award was significantly changed making them closer to such awards as Nobel Prize or the Soviet Lenin...
(2006).
She was one of the winners of the 2007 Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
Awards for distinguished achievement.
Borodina is featured in many Russian opera recordings on Philips conducted by Valery Gergiyev with the Mariinsky company. Her Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n heritage is very important to her:
"I'm one of the mad people who need their roots. I take nourishment from my native land, my motherland. I want my children to study in Russia, because they are Russian. I think this is tremendously important. But life in St Petersburg is becoming tougher by the day and the Russian spirit, the spirituality that was part and parcel of Russian culture, is almost not there any more.
She once pulled out of a production of Carmen at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
because the recitatives were spoken instead of sung, and left rehearsals at the Royal Opera House for Aida, directed by Robert Wilson
Robert Wilson (director)
Robert Wilson is an American avant-garde stage director and playwright who has been called "[America]'s — or even the world's — foremost vanguard 'theater artist'". Over the course of his wide-ranging career, he has also worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video...
, because she found the conductor's (Antonio Pappano
Antonio Pappano
Antonio Pappano is a British conductor and pianist of Italian parentage.Pappano's family relocated to England from Castelfranco in Miscano near Benevento, Italy in 1958 and at the time of his birth his parents worked in the restaurant business, but Pasquale Pappano, his father, was by vocation a...
) "approach too alien to the opera". In 2006, the management of the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
"decided to distance itself from an engagement [with Borodina], not just for this production but also for all others" on the night of the première of L'italiana in Algeri
L'italiana in Algeri
L'italiana in Algeri is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca...
.