Elena Obraztsova: biography. Opera singer Elena Obraztsova. Personal life, photo

A great Russian opera singer, loved not only by our listeners. Her work is well known far beyond its native country.

Childhood, family

Obraztsova Elena Vasilievna was born in Leningrad on July 7, 1939. Papa - Vasily Alekseevich, mother - Natalia Ivanovna. Elena Obraztsova, whose biography is associated with the harsh years of war, has experienced all the horrors of this time. She associates all her childhood memories with the blockade. In the first days of that terrible war, his father went off to fight at the front. Until the end of 1942, a small Lena with her mother and grandmother remained in the besieged city. Only in the spring they were evacuated to the Vologda region, to the city of Ustyuzhna, where they lived until the summer of 1945.

After the war, the father returned from the front only a year later. It was very hard to live. Mom got a job, and Lena gave to the kindergarten. The music director turned the first attention to the unusual and strong voice of the girl and immediately told Mama about this, but she was so busy with everyday problems that she did not attach importance to her words.

Lena started to sing very early. Already in five years, parents, neighbors listened to "concerts" performed by the girl. She had a very thin, mosquito voice. She sang everything she could hear on the radio. Basically, it was Strauss waltzes. When Lena grew up and began to study at school, she always did lessons with music. During opera broadcasts, she sat by the loudspeaker for hours. Music for the future opera diva was not an addition to life, but its main part.

She always remembered family musical evenings. His father had an unusually beautiful baritone and played the violin well. At work, he often went abroad and once from Italy brought a few records, according to which Lena studied the voices of great singers - Caruso, Gigli, Galli-Curci.

Children's choir

In 1948, Mama recorded Lena in a children's choir at the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers. Supervised by this team, Maria Zarinskaya - an outstanding teacher and an extraordinary person. She managed to instill in the girl the love of music and gave her a dream about the singer's career.

In 1954 the first solo performance of the young singer took place at the concert concert of the choir.

Taganrog

In 1954, Elena's father was transferred to work in Taganrog. This city gave the beginning actress a meeting with the wonderful teacher A. T. Kulikova. At her Lena was engaged in vocal two years. With pleasure she took part in school concerts - she sang famous romances and popular songs from the repertoire of the famous Lolita Torres. On the stage of the theater. Chekhov arranged a concert concerts. Once on one of them the girl was noticed by the director of the music school from Rostov-on-Don Mankovskaya. She advised her to continue her education.

In 1957, Elena was admitted to the school immediately for the second year. In August 1958, E. Obraztsova was auditioned and was admitted to the preparatory department of the Leningrad Conservatory. To apply for more than a hundred people, of which only three applicants took part, among whom was Elena Obraztsova.

She was on the course to Professor Antonina Grigorieva, a wise and very patient specialist. As recalls Obraztsova, whose photo you see in this article, she always wanted to sing big arias, complicated and unusually beautiful romances at once, but Antonina Andreevna tried to convince herself that she could not sing without singing the basics of the vocal.

First awards

Elena Obraztsova, whose biography was already inextricably linked with the theater, in 1962, won two gold medals at a youth festival in Helsinki and at the Vocalists' Competition. Glinka in Moscow. Since that moment the career of the beginning artist has started to develop rapidly. Opera singer Elena Obraztsova was invited to the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater. Her debut on the stage of the legendary theater took place on December 17, 1963 in the opera Boris Godunov. It was at this time that the decision was made to graduate from the conservatory with an external degree.

May 11, 1964 in the hall named after Glazunov Elena Obraztsova passed the final examination, at which S.P. Preobrazhenskaya gave Elena an assessment of "five plus", which was not received by the Leningrad Conservatory for the last forty years.

Elena Obraztsova: biography, career start

In the same year, the singer went to the first in her life touring in Japan as part of the Bolshoi Theater troupe, and in the autumn to Italy. She performed at the famous stage of the theater "La Scala". Her parties were small - the Princesses of Mary ("War and Peace") and the governess in the "Queen of Spades." In the first year of work at the theater, Obraztsova Elena Vasilyevna performed eight (!) Parties, thereby forcing the talk of herself to the whole musical Moscow. In a very short time, the name of the rising star began to shine on the world opera sky. Particularly significant for the young opera singer were tours in Paris in 1969. The resounding success in the party of Marina Mnishek changed her creative destiny cardinally.

In 1970 she received gold medals at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and in Barcelona at the Tchaikovsky Competition. F. Vinyasa. In 1971, in Paris, in the concert hall "Pleyel", fans of opera art were presented with her first solo concert, which French journalists called "historical." Following Paris, the largest cities and capitals of the world recognized that Elena Obraztsova is a singer who is one of the most brilliant opera stars in the world. Her performances at the famous stages entered the history of opera. She managed to raise the Russian vocal school to an unprecedented height.

Concert activity

Elena is on tour with concerts all over the world and, of course, in Russia. The repertoire of her concerts consists of the music of one hundred Russian and foreign composers. In her performance, unforgettable old romances and Russian songs are heard. In recent years, admirers of the singer's talent have got acquainted with her programs - "Songs of my youth", "Baroque music", "Songs of war". In the period from 2009 to 2013 Obraztsova performed solo in eighty concerts in our country and abroad.

Elena Vasilyevna - director

In 1986, Obraztsova surprised admirers of her talent, presenting them in a new capacity. On the stage of her native theater, she staged the opera "Werther" J. Masne.

Obraztsova is a teacher

From 1973 to 1994, the famous singer taught at the Moscow Conservatory. Tchaikovsky in Moscow. Since 1992, he teaches at the Musashino Academy in Tokyo, gives unique master classes in Russia, Europe and Japan. Quite often, today the famous singer is invited to the jury of international contests of vocalists - Tchaikovsky's name in Moscow (1994), vocalists in Marseille (1997), Rimsky-Korsakov in St. Petersburg (1998). In 1996 Elena Obraztsova, a world-famous singer, created the Cultural Center in St. Petersburg.

Charitable Foundation

In 2011, our beloved singer founded the Elena Obraztsova Foundation, a charitable organization whose main goal is educational projects, the creation of the International Music Academy, the search for and training of talented youth, and assistance to veterans of the scene. The Foundation has already held several charity concerts, which were dedicated to the veterans of the scene.

Musical films

Many directors were happy to make music films with the participation of a great singer. This is "My Carmen" (1977), "Happy Commonwealth" (1980), "Merry Widow" (1984), "Higher than Love" (1991) and others. Its partners were Fyodor Barbieri, Placido Domingo, Renato Bruson.

Sound recording

Elena Vasilievna recorded at the largest studios more than fifty discs. In recent years, records have appeared from the concerts and performances of the singer in honor of the bicentennial of the theater "La Scala". Obraztsova was awarded the "Golden Verdi" prize for them.

Artistic director

In 2008, Obraztsova headed the opera group of the Theater of Opera and Ballet. Mussorgsky. Two premieres were presented - the operas Rural Honor and The Loving Drink.

Natural talent or hard work?

Undoubtedly, nature generously endowed the singer: her voice has a timbre of unusual beauty, bright, memorable appearance, a rare gift of a dramatic actress. All these data miraculously united in the artist, selflessly devoted to music, art. For Elena Vasilievna, singing is not just a profession, but the ultimate meaning of her life.

Elena Obraztsova: personal life

VP Makarov - known in scientific circles theoretical physicist. Little is known about him. A scientist of this level serves science, not people. This is the first husband of Obraztsova. Their marriage lasted 17 years. All this time the spouse kept track of the house, engaged in the daughter of Lena, who was born in this marriage, and waited for her husband after a long tour. Elena Vasilievna remembers him with respect and warmth, but she does not regret that she fell in love with another person. During the divorce from the experience she lost her voice, and she could not sing at all.

With the second husband Obraztsova met on stage. This is the famous Lithuanian and Russian conductor Algis Marcelovich Juraitis. He never complained of health. A terrible, insidious illness burned him suddenly and cruelly. At first, Elena Yakovlevna did not understand what had happened. She rushed about the countries and cities, carefully avoiding the house, where everything was reminiscent of her beloved. Elena Obraztsova, whose biography until now was developing happily, suffered a severe blow. She drove her dark thoughts from her, but she did not have the strength to continue living. In addition, during this difficult time, Elena's daughter and her family went to Spain, for vocal training, took her grandson with her. The desperate woman is stout, her voice has lost its unique beauty. Elena Vasilevna fell into the deepest depression, to get out of which her friends helped her.

Today Elena Obraztsova's family is daughter Elena (also an opera singer), grandson Alexander and granddaughter Anastasia.

It will not be old

Once in Hungary Elena saw a woman of amazing beauty, whose age was given only by her old-old hands. Then she told herself that when this terrible age comes, she will certainly turn to plastic surgeons - no one will ever see her old. Obraztsova does not hide that she has already done several operations. She believes that it is necessary for entertainers on the stage.