How did you manage to break out of Moscow for “closed” border?
Bogdan Volkov: Very hard. Tests for coronavirus, which must be presented upon arrival in Austria, I had to take often. Direct flights were looking for the route with transfers, three flights canceled. Visa helped the Salzburg festival – the question was discussed at the level of the Austrian government.
Salzburg is famous for the fact that gathers the best artists who have distinguished themselves in recent seasons. All your openings, including the main – in the party of the Guidon in “the Tale of Tsar Saltan” by Rimsky-Korsakov, staged by Dmitry Chernyakov at the theatre La Monnaie, became bright events in the Opera house.
Bogdan Volkov: I do a lot of work to ensure that everything was right, but to succeed, must meet a lot of different factors. When the situation is 99 percent impossible, you need to manage to get to the one hundredth, then things will happen. We with Director Christophe Laem discussed how lucky we are that we are in Austria, where the epidemiological situation is most favorable in comparison with other countries. Everything here is divided into several risk groups. We – Opera soloists and orchestra musicians are the most important risk red, when people work without masks, without a race on the stage. We test regularly. Given special diaries where we record who they contact out of the theater, in the event that the chain is immediately monitored. Give out the masks, there are sanitizer.
what’s in Salzburg, the situation outside the theatre, on the streets?
Bogdan Volkov: We musicians work as before, but after rehearsals, put on masks and go out to a safe distance. On the streets crowds of people at restaurants, stores, and I wonder why the theater was in the most unfavorable conditions? After all, in the subway, and the planes are already full of people. And the audience wants to return to the theaters. I think that it is necessary to meet the actors and spectators and to understand that we all need theatre. People who go to musical theater, most responsible.
How did you get in the productions of così fan tutte?
Bogdan Volkov: Is the agent, and the organizers of the festival, there are professional connections with those with whom they cooperated earlier. In my case converged a lot of factors. A few months ago, I worked with Director Christoph Forefront in Oslo on the production of “Eugene Onegin”. And at the Salzburg festival he was supposed to put “Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky, and I can sing a party of a Fool. But the performance was canceled.
to Sing Mozart in Salzburg is incredibly responsible. You especially preparing for his party Ferrando?
Bogdan Volkov: Ferrando was my first party of the Mozart that I played on the festival at Glyndebourne, getting there a memorable experience in 17 plays. Then sang the party and at the Bolshoi theatre. My Mozart experience also includes the role of Ottavio in “don Giovanni”, which I sang in the Stanislavsky Theater, and Tamino in the Opera of Los Angeles.
About the method of working with Director Christophe at the Forefront today talk a lot. He is also impressed you?
Bogdan Volkov:, I noticed that he, like Dmitri Tcherniakov, comes to rehearsals not with the libretto and score, preferring to see the entire fabric of the orchestra, every voice. Christophe is a very knowledgeable specialist, thoroughly studying everything connected with this or that Opera is working. He exudes a noble and good energy. Generally, the best result for when going to a good team, when the conductor and Director – two of the main man in the creation of performance – find a contact with each other, working together at all rehearsals. Then the artists don’t feel the “resistance of material”. Should all be on the same wavelength.
the Salzburg festival will present 10 instead of the planned two productions: “So tutte” by Mozart and “ELEKTRA” by Strauss. Moreover, così fan tutte will take place on the stage of the festival hall six times.
