Gergiev mezzo-soprano is named opera chief
mainThe new head of the Primorsky Opera and Ballet Theatre is to be Larissa Diadkova, a star of the Mariinsky and close associate of its director, Valery Gergiev.
Diadkova, 61, is being rushed to the east to replace Vitaly Ishutin, another Mariinsky singer who was tragically killed two weeks ago in Vladivostok while waiting to cross the road.
Gergiev and the Mariinsky have been authorised by President Putin to turn the Primorsky into a Pacific outlet for their productions.
The world is a small place. Yul Brynner (the famous star of “The King and I”) was born in Vladivostok. In 2012 the city named a park after him and put a statue of him in it. They’re proud of their fellow citizen who made it big in Hollywood.
Why ‘Gergiev Mezzo-Soprano’? If Helga Dernesch had been made chief of the Vienna Staatsoper would you have said ‘Karajan Soprano’? Diadkova is a magnificent artist in her own right and does not need your seedy innuendo.
While she later did far larger roles, her Prince Feodor in the Gergiev/Marinsky “Boris Godunov, 1872 version video is the best performance of that role in my opinion. Her acting was truly responsive to all that was going on, even when she was not singing. I’m not a big fan of having boys do the role as their voices just aren’t up to the ensemble demands. It’s a rather short role, but having a great singer such as her harkens to Chailiapin’s comment “there are no small roles, just small singers.”