Khibla Gerzmava, Vasily Ladyuk

Hibla Gerzmava graduated from the vocal department of the Moscow conservatory in 1994, and finished her postgraduate course there in 1996. Since 1995 she has been the soloist of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko musical theatre in Moscow. Her name has been famous since 1994, when she won the Grand Prix at the Tchaikovsky International Competition, the first and only time in the competition’s history that the highest prize has been awarded to a women vocalist. 

She is highly sought-after guest soloist at leading opera houses worldwide, including the Mariinsky Theatre, Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Teatro La Scala and opera houses in Vienna, Paris and Rome, Zürich, Madrid etc. She has performed with such outstanding musicians and conductors as Lorin Maazel, Antonio Pappano, Marco Armiliato, Adam Fischer, Jiří Belohlávek, Fabio Luisi,Vladimir Spivakov, Valery Gergiev, Alexander Rudin, Vladimir Fedoseyev, and many others.

In 2010, her performance of Lucia in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor brought her the highest Russian theatrical award – the Golden Mask, as well as Casta Diva Critics Award and the Moscow Government Award for achievement and contribution to the world of arts and culture. In 2016, her performance of Cherubini’s Medea brought her the second award of Golden Mask. In 2021, Hibla Gerzmava was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation in literature and arts. 

Hibla Gerzmava has appeared with recitals in Sweden, France, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Greece, the USA, Japan and Turkey. In 2002 and 2003, she took part in the Ludwigsburg Festival in Germany where she sang Eva in Die Schöpfung by Haydn and the Angel in the Rappresentatione di anima e di corpo by Emilio de Cavalieri. Hibla Gerzmava is often invited to take part in oratorio concerts. She has sung soprano parts in Mozart’s Requiem, Great Mass in C minor, Coronation Mass, Vesperae solennes de confessore, in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Verdi’s Requiem. 

In March 2008, Hibla Gerzmava made her Covent Garden debut as Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and appeared there again in 2009 as Mimi in Puccini’s La bohème, coming back to the Royal Opera House in January 2012 as Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. She sung the part of Mimi for her debuts at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in Rome in 2011. In 2010, Hibla made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the parts of Stella and Antonia in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann, and in 2011 she went back there to sing Mimi in Franco Zeffirelli’s production of La bohème. 

She made her triumphal debut on the stage of Palais Garnier at the Opéra National de Paris as Vitellia in Willy Decker’s production of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito in September-October 2011. She also sung at the BBC Proms Opening Night in July 2011 in Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek and took part in the Mariinsky Theatre’s tour to Japan in February 2011, performing the part of Liù in Puccini’s Turandot at the NHK Hall in Tokyo. 

In the season 2019/20 Hibla made her world tour with the recital program include masterworks for voice and piano Russian romances and famous classical Italian Arias. She performed in St.Petersburg, Moscow, Paris, London, New York, Toronto, Tel-Aviv. In 2020 Hibla Gerzmava performed in Vienna State Opera as Amelia Grimaldi alongside Placido Domingo as Simon Boccanegra in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra. In 2021 she made her debut as Norma at Madrid Royal Theater, and also debuted at Arena di Verona in Verdi’s Requiem. 

Besides a busy operatic career, Hibla developed a unique project of her own – a crossover concert program Opera & Jazz where she brings together classical singing styles with jazz improvisation, performing original and highly distinctive interpretations of music by a wide range of composers including Handel, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Donizetti and Gershwin. A national artist of both the Russian Federation and the Republic of Abkhazia, Hibla is a unique phenomenon on the Russian opera stage.

«To “Masters of Choral Singing”: You are real Masters and it is pleasure to work with a chorus of such quality!» — Christoph Eschenbach, conductor.

Grand choir was founded in 1928, its founder and first artistic director was a master of choral art A.V.Sveshnikov. At various times, he was guided by such great musicians as N.S.Golovanov, I.M.Kuvykin, K.B.Ptitsa, L.V.Ermakova.

In 2005, the Grand Choir (known as the «Masters of Choral Singing») for the post of artistic director was invited by the People’s Artist of Russia, Professor Lev Kontorovich. Under his leadership, the updated composition of the choir successfully continues the traditions established by their predecessors. The name itself — «Masters of Choral Singing» — determined the professionalism, high level of performance, exceptional speed and versatility of the team, where each artist can act as a member of the choir and as a soloist.

For 85 years, the choir performed more than 5,000 works — operas, oratorios, cantatas Russian and foreign composers, works a’cappella, folk songs and sacred music. Many of them were the «golden fund» of the national record, gained recognition abroad (Grand Prix competition of recordings in Paris, the «Gold Medal» in Valencia). In the performance of a large choir were first heard many choral works by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Shchedrin, Aram Khachaturian, O.Taktakishvili, V.Agafonnikova, Yu.Evgrafova etc.

With a large choir at various times such outstanding conductors as E.Svetlanov, M.Rostropovich, V.Spivakov, D.Kitaenko, V.Fedoseev, H.Rilling, G.Rozhdestvensky, A.Dzedda, E.Morrikone, V.Jurowski, M.Pletnev, K.Eshenbah; singers E. Obraztsova, I.Arkhipov, N.Gedda, D.Hvorostovsky, A.Netrebko, Z.Sotkilava, E.Nesterenko, R.Alanya, A.Georgiu, V.Ladyuk and many others.

In 2008 and 2012 the Grand choir took part in the inauguration ceremony of President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin.

Grand choir clapped their hands in the major concert halls of Russia, Italy, France, Germany, Israel, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Indonesia and others held touring Grand choir for major cities of the Urals and Siberia (Dmitri Hvorostovsky) and the Far East.

People’s Artist of Russia, Professor Lev Kontorovich (b. 1947, Moscow).

After graduating with honors in 1969 from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied choral conducting with K.B.Ptitsy, symphony conducting and orchestration at L.M.Ginzburga A.G.Shnitke, L.Kontorovich the first steps his artistic career as a conductor and teacher, said of himself as a bright, talented musician with a wide musical outlook.

For 30 years, continued active work of Lev Kontorovich in the Moscow Choral School named A.V.Sveshnikova and then created on the basis of the school of the Academy of Choral Art after VS Popov. Since 1996 — professor, and since 2012 — Head of the Department of Contemporary Choir of the Moscow Conservatory of the Performing Arts. His students are working successfully in choirs, musical theaters and educational institutions of Russia and abroad.

L.Kontorovich produced many concert programs, which include choral works large and small forms of different eras and styles, spiritual music.

L.Kontorovich participated in international festivals of music by JS Bach in Germany, the International Festival of boys’ choirs in Grasse (France), Poznan (Poland), the European Festival of Orthodox Music, dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia (Moscow, Germany, France, Luxembourg), European Symposium on Choral Music in Ljubljana (Slovenia).

In 1997 he founded the chamber choir «spiritual revival» of the Moscow State Institute of Music named after Alfred Schnittke.

In 2005 he was invited Kontorovich, artistic director of the Grand Choir «Masters of Choral Singing» Music of the Russian State Television and Radio. The name itself — «Masters of Choral Singing» — determined the professionalism, high level of performance, exceptional speed and versatility of the team, where each artist can act as a member of the choir and as a soloist.

Unconditional find Grand chorus is a virtuoso performance of works of world classics in the original transcriptions for chorus Lev Kontorovich a`cappella.

Lev Kontorovich in different years successfully worked such distinguished conductors as Mstislav Rostropovich, E.Svetlanov, Vladimir Spivakov, H.Rilling, A.Dzedda, V.Fedossev, V.Yurovsky, S.Odzava, K.Nagano, M. Pletnev, V.Polyansky and many others.

Accompanied by a choir, led by Lev Kontorovich, performed their concerts famous singers: Ivan Kozlovsky, Nicolai Gedda, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Roberto Alagna, Demis Roussos, Basil Ladyuk, Love Kazarnovsky, Vladimir Matorin, Vladislav Piavko.