Elena Arnoldovna Zaremba (Elena Zaremba) |
Elena Zaremba
Elena Zaremba was born in Moscow. She graduated from high school in Novosibirsk. Returning to Moscow, she entered the Gnessin Music College at the pop-jazz department. After graduation, she entered the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in the vocal department. As a student, in 1984 she won the competition for the trainee group of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater (SABT). As a trainee, she performed a number of mezzo-soprano/contralto roles in Russian and foreign operas. The theatrical debut took place in the role of Laura in the opera The Stone Guest by Dargomyzhsky, and the singer had a chance to perform the part of Vanya at the Bolshoi Theater even in two productions of Glinka’s opera: in the old one (Ivan Susanin) and the new one (Life for the Tsar). The premiere of A Life for the Tsar took place with triumph in 1989 in Milan at the opening of the tour of the Bolshoi Theater on the stage of the La Scala Theatre. And among the participants of that “historic” Milan premiere was Elena Zaremba. For the performance of the part of Vanya, she then received the highest rating from Italian critics and the public. The press wrote about her like that: a new star lit up.
From that moment begins her true world career. Continuing to work at the Bolshoi Theater, the singer receives many engagements in various theaters around the world. In 1990, she made her first independent debut at London’s Covent Garden: under Bernard Haitink in Borodin’s Prince Igor, she performed the part of Konchakovna in an ensemble with Sergei Leiferkus, Anna Tomova-Sintova and Paata Burchuladze. This performance was recorded by English television and later released on video cassette (VHS). After that, an invitation comes to sing Carmen from Carlos Kleiber himself, but later the maestro, known for his changeability in relation to his own plans, suddenly leaves the project he had conceived, so Elena Zaremba will have to sing her first Carmen a little later. The following year, the singer performs with the Bolshoi Theater in New York (on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera), in Washington, Tokyo, Seoul and at the Edinburgh Festival. 1991 was also the year of the debut in the role of Helen Bezukhova in Prokofiev’s opera War and Peace, which took place in San Francisco under the direction of Valery Gergiev. In the same year, Elena Zaremba made her debut at the Vienna State Opera in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera (Ulrica) and, together with Katya Ricciarelli and Paata Burchuladze, took part in a gala concert on the stage of the Vienna Philharmonic. Some time later, a recording of Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District took place in Paris, in which the singer performed the part of Sonetka. This recording with Maria Ewing in the title role conducted by Myung-Wun Chung was also nominated for an American Grammy Award, and Elena Zaremba was invited to Los Angeles for her presentation.
In 1992, thanks to the English video and sound recording company MC Arts, the opera A Life for the Tsar by Glinka staged by the Bolshoi Theater (directed by Alexander Lazarev and with the participation of Elena Zaremba) was immortalized for history with further remastering in digital format: the DVD release of this unique recording is now well known on the music production market all over the world . In the same year, the singer made her debut in Bizet’s opera Carmen at the festival in Bregenz, Austria (directed by Jerome Savary). Then there was Carmen in Munich on the stage of the Bavarian State Opera under the direction of Giuseppe Sinopoli. After a successful German debut, she sang this performance in Munich for a number of years.
Season 1993 – 1994. Debut in “Carmen” in “Arena di Verona” (Italy) with Nunzio Todisco (Jose). Debut in Paris at the Bastille Opera in Un ballo in maschera (Ulrika). New staging of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin by Willy Dekker, conducted by James Conlon (Olga). Invited to Cleveland to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Cleveland Orchestra led by Christoph von Donagny. Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov (Marina Mnishek) at the Salzburg Festival conducted by Claudio Abbado with Anatoly Kocherga and Samuel Remy. Performance and recording of the oratorio “Joshua” by Mussorgsky with Claudio Abbado in Berlin. Verdi’s Requiem conducted by Antonio Guadagno with Katya Ricciarelli, Johan Botha and Kurt Riedl in Frankfurt. Implementation of the project for a new production of Bizet’s opera Carmen at the Olympic Stadium in Munich (Carmen – Elena Zaremba, Don Jose – José Carreras). Verdi’s Requiem at the Berlin Staatsoper and in Switzerland with Michel Kreider, Peter Seifert and René Pape, conducted by Daniel Barenboim.
Season 1994 – 1995. Tour with the Vienna State Opera in Japan with the opera Boris Godunov. Recording of “Boris Godunov” (Innkeeper) with Claudio Abbado in Berlin. Carmen directed by Michel Plasson in Dresden. New production of Carmen at the Arena di Verona (directed by Franco Zeffirelli). Then again at Covent Garden in London: Carmen with Gino Quilico (Escamillo) directed by Jacques Delacote. Boris Godunov (Marina Mnishek) at the Vienna State Opera with Sergei Larin (The Pretender) conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev. Later at the Vienna State Opera – Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (Erd and Frikk). Verdi’s “Masquerade Ball” with Maria Guleghina and Peter Dvorsky in Munich. Verdi’s Masquerade Ball at the La Monnet Theater in Brussels and a concert dedicated to the 300th anniversary of this theater broadcast on television throughout Europe. Recording of Masquerade Ball at Swan Lake conducted by Carlo Rizzi with Vladimir Chernov, Michel Kreider and Richard Leach. Debut as Ratmir in Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmila conducted by Valery Gergiev with Vladimir Atlantov and Anna Netrebko in San Francisco. Carmen with Neil Schikoff in Munich. Carmen with Luis Lima at the Vienna State Opera (conducting debut by Plácido Domingo). “Carmen” under the direction of Garcia Navarro with Sergey Larin (Jose) in Bologna, Ferrara and Modena (Italy).
1996 – 1997 years. At the invitation of Luciano Pavarotti, he takes part in a New York concert called “Pavarotti Plus” (“Avery Fisher Hall” at Lincoln Center, 1996). Khovanshchina by Mussorgsky (Martha) at the Hamburg State Opera, then a new production of Khovanshchina in Brussels (directed by Stei Winge). Prince Igor by Borodin (Konchakovna) in a new production by Francesca Zambello in San Francisco. Nabucco by Verdi (Fenena) at London’s Covent Garden, then in Frankfurt (with Gena Dimitrova and Paata Burchuladze). New production of Carmen in Paris directed by Harry Bertini and featuring Neil Schicoff and Angela Georgiou. “Carmen” with Plácido Domingo (Jose) in Munich (Domingo’s anniversary performance at the summer festival at the Bavarian State Opera, broadcast on the big screen on the square in front of the theater for more than 17000 spectators). In the same season, she made her debut as Delilah in Saint-Saens’ opera Samson und Delilah in Tel Aviv, staged by the Vienna State Opera, and in parallel in Hamburg – Carmen. Rigoletto by Verdi (Maddalena) in San Francisco. Mahler’s Eighth Symphony at the opening of the new concert hall in San Pölten (Austria) conducted by Fabio Luisi.
1998 – 1999 years. Opening of the season at the Nice Opera with a performance of Berlioz’s Summer Nights. Anniversary of Placido Domingo at the Palais Garnier (Grand Opera) in Paris – a concert performance of the opera Samson and Delilah (Samson – Placido Domingo, Delilah – Elena Zaremba). Then the debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, which was a huge success (Azucena in Verdi’s Il trovatore). Nabucco by Verdi at Suntory Hall (Tokyo) conducted by Daniel Oren with Maria Guleghina, Renato Bruzon and Ferruccio Furlanetto (the performance was recorded on CD). Concert performance of the opera “Carmen” with Japanese singers in the new building of the Tokyo Opera House. Then “Eugene Onegin” (Olga) in Paris (at the Bastille Opera) with Thomas Hampson. New production of Verdi’s Falstaff in Florence directed by Antonio Pappano (with Barbara Frittoli, directed by Willy Dekker). “Carmen” in Bilbao (Spain) under the direction of Frederic Chaslan with Fabio Armigliato (Jose). Recital at the Hamburg Opera (piano part – Ivari Ilya).
Season 2000 – 2001. Masquerade Ball in San Francisco and Venice. Carmen in Hamburg. New production by Lev Dodin of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades (Polina) in Paris conducted by Vladimir Yurovsky (with Vladimir Galuzin and Karita Mattila). At the invitation of Krzysztof Penderecki, she took part in his festival in Krakow. New production of Un ballo in maschera with Neil Shicoff, Michelle Kreider and Renato Bruson at Suntory Hall (Tokyo). Beethoven’s Solemn Mass conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch at the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome (with Roberto Scandiuzzi). Then Un ballo in maschera at the Bregenz festival conducted by Marcello Viotti, and Verdi’s Requiem with the participation of the Minin Choir. Jerome Savary’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto with Ann Ruth Swenson, Juan Pons and Marcelo Alvarez in Paris, then Carmen in Lisbon (Portugal). Francesca Zambello’s new production of Verdi’s Luisa Miller (Federica) with Marcelo Giordani (Rudolf) in San Francisco. New production of “War and Peace” by Francesca Zambello at the Bastille Opera, conducted by Harry Bertini.
Season 2001 – 2002. Placido Domingo’s 60th birthday at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (with Domingo – Act 4 of Verdi’s Il trovatore). Then at the Metropolitan Opera – Un ballo in maschera by Verdi (Domingo’s conducting debut in this opera). New production of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades by David Alden in Munich (Polina). “Carmen” at the Dresden Philharmonic with Mario Malagnini (Jose). Recording of Beethoven’s Solemn Mass in Bonn, the composer’s homeland. Resumption of Francesca Zambello’s production of Prokofiev’s War and Peace (Helen Bezukhova) conducted by Vladimir Yurovsky with Olga Guryakova, Nathan Gunn and Anatoly Kocherga at the Bastille Opera (recorded on DVD). Falstaff in San Francisco (Mrs. Quickly) with Nancy Gustafson and Anna Netrebko. With the Berlin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Léor Shambadal, a solo audio CD “Elena Zaremba. Portrait”. A Masquerade Ball conducted by Plácido Domingo in Washington DC with Marcello Giordani (Count Richard). At the invitation of Luciano Pavarotti, she took part in his anniversary in Modena (the gala concert “40 Years at the Opera”).
*Season 2002 – 2003. Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. “Carmen” in Hamburg and Munich. Francesca Zambello’s new production of Berlioz’s Les Troyens (Anna) conducted by James Levine at the Metropolitan Opera (with Ben Hepner and Robert Lloyd). “Aida” in Brussels directed by Antonio Pappano directed by Robert Wilson (after going through the entire cycle of rehearsals, performances in performances did not take place due to illness – pneumonia). Francesca Zambello’s new production of Wagner’s Valkyrie in Washington DC with Plácido Domingo and conducted by Fritz Heinz. Rhine Gold by Wagner (Frick) conducted by Peter Schneider at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Recital at the Berlin Philharmonic with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Léor Chambadal. Participation in the concert “Luciano Pavarotti sings Giuseppe Verdi” in Monte Carlo. Carmen at Suntory Hall in Tokyo with Neil Shicoff and Ildar Abdrazakov.
Season 2003 – 2004. Andrey Shcherban’s new production of Mussorgsky’s opera Khovanshchina (Marfa) conducted by James Conlon in Florence (with Roberto Scandiuzzi and Vladimir Ognovenko). Revival of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades (Polina) at the New York Metropolitan Opera under Vladimir Yurovsky (with Plácido Domingo and Dmitri Hvorostovsky). After that, at the Metropolitan Opera – Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen conducted by James Levine with James Morris (Wotan): Rhine Gold (Erd and Frick), The Valkyrie (Frikka), Siegfried (Erda) and ” Death of the Gods” (Waltraut). Boris Godunov at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, conducted by Mikhail Yurovsky. New performances of Verdi’s Masquerade Ball in Nice and San Sebastian (Spain). Giancarlo del Monaco’s new production of the Carmen opera in Seoul (South Korea) at the Olympic Stadium with José Cura (the production attracted 40000 spectators, and the stadium was equipped with the world’s largest projection screen (100 m x 30 m). Audio CD ” Troubadour” by Verdi conducted by maestro Stephen Mercurio (with Andrea Bocelli and Carlo Guelfi).
2005 year. Mahler’s Third Symphony at the Wroclaw Festival (recorded on CD). Solo concert “Romances of Russian Composers” at the Palace of Arts in Brussels (piano – Ivari Ilya). A series of concerts at the Roman Academy “Santa Cecilia” conducted by Yuri Temirkanov. New production of Ponchielli’s La Gioconda (The Blind) at Barcelona’s Liceu Theater (with Deborah Voight in the title role). Concert “Russian Dreams” in Luxembourg (piano – Ivari Ilya). Revival in Paris of Prokofiev’s “War and Peace” (Helen Bezukhova) staged by Francesca Zambello. A series of concerts in Oviedo (Spain) – “Songs about dead children” by Mahler. New staging in Tel Aviv of Saint-Saens’ opera “Samson and Delilah” (Dalila) by Hollywood director Michael Friedkin. Carmen at the Las Ventas arena in Madrid, Spain’s largest bullfighting arena.
2006 – 2007 years. New production of “Trojans” in Paris with Deborah Polaski. Masquerade Ball in Hamburg. Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky (Olga) at the Metropolitan Opera under Valery Gergiev with Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Rene Fleming (recorded on DVD and broadcast live in 87 cinemas in America and Europe). Francesca Zambello’s new production of The Valkyrie in Washington DC with Plácido Domingo (also on DVD). Opera Khovanshchina by Mussorgsky at the Liceu Theater in Barcelona (recorded on DVD). Masquerade Ball at the Florentine Musical May Festival (Florence) with Ramon Vargas and Violeta Urmana.
2008 – 2010 years. Opera La Gioconda by Ponchielli (Blind) at the Teatro Real in Madrid with Violeta Urmana, Fabio Armigliato and Lado Ataneli. “Carmen” and “Masquerade Ball” in Graz (Austria). Verdi’s Requiem in Florence conducted by James Conlon. Masquerade Ball at the Real Madrid Theater with Violetta Urmana and Marcelo Alvarez (recorded on DVD and broadcast live in cinemas in Europe and America). Carmen at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin with Neil Schikoff. “Valkyrie” in La Coruña (Spain). Masquerade Ball in Hamburg. Carmen (Gala performance in Hannover. Rhein Gold (Frikka) in Seville (Spain) Samson and Delilah (concert performance at the Freiburg Philharmonic, Germany) Verdi’s Requiem in The Hague and Amsterdam (with Kurt Mol) ), in Montreal Canada (with Sondra Radvanovski, Franco Farina and James Morris) and in Sao Paulo (Brazil). Recitals at the Berlin Philharmonic, in Munich, at the Hamburg Opera, at the La Monnay Theater in Luxembourg. In their programs included performances of works by Mahler (Second, Third and Eighth Symphonies, “Songs about the Earth”, “Songs about Dead Children”), “Summer Nights” by Berlioz, “Songs and Dances of Death” by Mussorgsky, “Six Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva” by Shostakovich, “Poems about love and the sea” Chausson. December 1, 2010, after an 18-year absence in Russia, Elena Zaremba gave a solo concert on the stage of the hall of the House of Scientists in Moscow.
2011 On February 11, 2011, the singer’s solo concert took place at the Pavel Slobodkin Center: it was dedicated to the memory of the great Russian singer Irina Arkhipova. Elena Zaremba took part in the anniversary of Radio Orpheus at the State Kremlin Palace, in the anniversary concert of the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra at the House of Music conducted by Dmitry Yurovsky (cantata Alexander Nevsky). On September 26, she performed in a concert by Zurab Sotkilava in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and on October 21 she gave her first solo concert in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. In early November, in a new production of Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila (directed by Dmitry Chernyakov), the premiere of which opened the historical stage of the Bolshoi Theater after a long reconstruction, she performed the part of the sorceress Naina.
Based on materials from the singer’s own curriculum vitae.
