2nd February 2018 an outstanding opera singer, talented, shining, unmatched Zinaida Didenko has left this life in her 80th year after a long-term disease.
National Artist of RSFSR, professor, head of the solo singing department in M. I. Glinka Novosibirsk State Conservatory, for more than 20 years she had been a lead soloist with the opera company of the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.
While working with the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet theatre, Zinaida Zakharovna had performed several dozens of opera parts and made a significant contribution to the development of the Siberian theatre arts.
She graduated the vocal department of the Gorkov State Conservatory n. a. M. I. Glinka, class of prof. E. G. Krestinsky (1965). She had been working with the theatre from 1965 to 1988 and had performed more than 35 leading opera parts: Kupava (Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Snow Maiden”), Yaroslavna (Borodin’s “Prince Igor”), Dunyasha (Prokofiev’s “War and Peace”), Liza (“The Queen of Spades” by Tchaikovsky), Aida (“Aida” by Verdi), Desdemona (“Othello” by Verdi), Natasha (Dargomyzhsky’s “Rusalka”), Donna Elvira (“Don Giovanni” by Mozart), Madame Peronskaya ("War and Peace" by Prokofiev), Anna (Khrennikov’s “Frol Skobeyev”/”The Rootless Son-in-Law”), Elizabeth (“Don Carlos” by Verdi), Hélène (“Sicilian Vespers” by Verdi), Leonora ("Il Trovatore" by Verdi), Tatiana (Tchaikovsky’s "Eugene Onegin"), Emma ("Khovanshchina" by Mussorgsky), Tamara ("The Demon" by A. Rubinstein), Manon Lescaut (Puccini’s "Manon Lescaut") , Tosca (Puccini’s "Tosca"). These are some of her very best works: Kuma ("The Enchantress" by Tchaikovsky), Leonore (Beethoven’s "Fidelio"), Maria ("Mazeppa" by Tchaikovsky), Santuzza (Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana”).
She went touring to Moscow with the theatre’s opera company (1967, 1975, 1982).
Zinaida Zakharovna Didenko had been giving classes for more than 30 years. She started her teaching activity in 1967 at the Novosibirsk theatre college. Since 1974 she had been working at the solo singing department of the M. I. Glinka Novosibirsk State Conservatory. She became head of the department in 1992. Since 1980 she had been an associate professor, since 1990 – professor of the conservatory. In 2000 she took charge of the Novosibirsk department of all-Russian music community, managed all its artistic tasks, competitions, festivals, workshops and conferences.
She was a member of the Vocal Art Council at the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. She gave master classes in Russia and abroad. Zinaida Zakharovna’s students are known artists working at music theatres and philharmonics of Russia, Germany, Korea and other countries; also, laureates of prestigious Russian and foreign competitions, performing at opera houses of Russia and around the world. These are some of her students: soloist with the Novosibirsk Theatre of Musical Comedy A. Vyskribentsev, soloists with NOVAT T. Gorbunova, O. Babkina, M. Efanova, O. Videman, L. Ustyuzhanina, I. Churilova, I. Novikova, O. Egudina, V. Ditenbir, professor of Pusan National University and Hanoi University Jo Hye Ryun, professor of Seoul National University Yoon Ji, laureates of all-Russian and international competitions T. Bogdanchikova (Spain), Y. Polishchuk and other.
The theatre company grieves over the death of Zinaida Zakharovna Didenko and extends sincere condolence to all her friends and family.
Lobby of the great hall of the Novosibirsk Conservatory is open for visitation on 4th February from 11:00 to 13:00.