Verdi’s “La Traviata” will start the operatic spring at NOVAT. Russian opera stars will perform lead part in productions of the Novosibirsk theatre during the beginning of spring. Akmed Agadi, soloist of the Mariinsky theatre, Honored Artist of Russia successfully touring across Russian and European venues will be the first star to perform at the Novosibirsk theatre; he will present Alfredo Germont in Rēzija Kalniņa’s production. Critics remark his profound singing skill, his voice of rare beauty and versatility, and a high dramatic quality of his stage acts.
Akhmed Agadi has been cooperating with the Novosibirsk theatre for a long time and it is a productive cooperation – he already performed Rodolfo from Puccini’s “La bohème”, Jose from Bizet’s. “Carmen”. This will be the first time he performs Alfredo from “La Traviata” on Siberian stage.
“Alfredo is one of my first parts, I was preparing it while I was still at the opera school. A young, passionate, fiery person is close to me, I find features of his character in me. When I start mastering the role, I am no longer Akhmed Agadi, I am Lensky, Alfredo or Calaf, otherwise one shouldn’t come to the stage, because it’s not about the voice only. People need to trust the artist. It takes a lot of powers, sometimes you feel exhausted like a squeezed orange, but the emotional response from the audience helps recover, even after the most intense performance”.
The Novosibirsk opera and ballet theatre holds a special place in the artist’s life – Akhmed Agadi did his military service in Novosibirsk and right after that he applied for the Novosibirsk conservatory, but he failed due to absence of both musical and vocal education. It was a tutor of the Novosibirsk music college Nina Leonidovna Dynkina who decided to take care of the unpolished voice, and due to her efforts Akhmed Agadi managed to enter the Moscow conservatory. Akhmed Agadi recalls the time he studied in Novosibirsk: “I dreamt of singing at the Novosibirsk opera and ballet theatre. Almost every night I would run to the theatre to listen to Valery Egudin, Galina Yakovleva, Zinaida Didenko and other amazing soloists with my mouth literally open. I dreamt that one day I would sing on this amazing stage and so my dream came true”.