Vasily Slipak. LIFE ON A HIGH NOTE
This opera singer considered Mephistopheles’s part in the opera “Faust” by Charles Gounod to be his most beloved, therefore, his nickname appeared consonant – Myth. But the life of Vasily Slipak lived, though short, but as heroic as the mythological characters. He gave the audience the rarest and most exceptional singing art. He was considered a real vocal miracle, and many teachers simply dreamed of working with Vasily in their class.
Dream teachers
Vasily Slipak was an extremely gifted opera singer, he had a subtle and boundless vocal vibrato that drove the audience crazy. It was impossible to understand how such a powerful voice fits in such a slender and young performer. Eminent teachers did not even want to classify his voice, calling it unique. At forty with a little Vasily Slipak was an opera singer known throughout Europe, performed leading roles in many productions, had tremendous prospects, but when war broke out in his homeland, he could not stay away …
Lviv talent
Vasily Slipak was born in Lviv on December 20, 1974. Parents instilled in him respect and love for his native land, for him the words “honor” and “dignity” were not empty. Singer Vasily Slipak He grew up responsible, fair, purposeful and not at all hooligan youths. In the family, no one was professionally engaged in music, but the grandfather had vocals of amazing purity and power. Therefore, Vasily’s talent was from whom to inherit. Older brother Orest influenced his creative development. It was he who took the nine-year-old Basil to the famous Lviv academic choir “Dudarik”. The founder and leader of the team, Nikolay Katsal, became a significant figure in the work of a novice singer. The repertoire works of the choir have shaped the taste and worldview of Vasily Slipak. He performed works by Ukrainian composers of the golden era of the a-capella choir concert genre. Also in the composition of “Dudarik” Vasily participated in the recordings of records and joint concerts with famous Ukrainian performers. The guys visited with performances even in the famous New York “Carnegie Hall”.
Not all and not immediately
Surprisingly, with a rather rare voice (countertenor), Vasiliy failed to enter the Lviv Music Institute from the first time (now it is the Lviv National Music Academy). singer Vasily Slipak Slipak did not lose faith in himself, he performed a lot, began touring, met many musicians, composers and conductors. In 1992, a stubborn young man proved his right to be among the students of the institute and entered the course of professor Maria Baiko. Under her leadership, Vasily expanded his repertoire with works by Ukrainian and European composers. He always participated in student concerts, showed his chic voice, thanks to which the teachers predicted him a dizzying career.
French chance of Vasily Slipak
Soon the creative fate of Vasily Slipak made a sharp turn. This time, again, not without the help of older brother Orestes. In 1994, he went to France for a congress of cardiology. In Paris, he was fortunate enough to meet with the staff of the Ukrainian Word editorial board. He headed the weekly doctor of medicine, Professor Yaroslav Musyanovich. He introduced Orestes to the composer Marian Cusan and insistently recommended leaving the tape for the youngest Vassily Slipak brother. A month later, Vasily Slipak was invited to one of the largest music festivals in the city of Clermont-Ferrand.
In addition to his program, the singer also prepared the cantatas of Handel, “Matthew Passion” and “John Passion” by Bach. The young man performed French, German songs and Italian arias in the original language and was awarded the Grand Prix of the competition and the Grand Prix of the audience. In addition, he was the only contestant who performed songs in their native language. His debut in France was a real sensation. Critics wrote rave reviews about Ukrainian opera talent in newspapers, his vocal data fascinated the audience, and famous teachers of the Paris Academy organized an audition for him. Everyone unanimously recognized the originality of Vasily’s voice, which put an end to the argument about whether it was worth singing with a baritone and countertenor at the same time. This is how one contest became a milestone in Slipack’s creative life.
Test contests
After that, he had the opportunity to present his program to the Paris public. In 1994, a young singer gave a solo concert in the French Vichy Opera. That evening, works of Ukrainian folk music sounded on the stage.
At the international music festival “Kiev Music Fest” in the same year, Vasily Slipak, accompanied by a chamber orchestra, performed the cantata of Alexander Kozarenko “Pierrot the Deadlifting”. The audience was a singer Vasily Slipak delighted and called Basil for an encore. At the concert of modern chamber music, this happened for the first time. A few months later, within the framework of the International Festival of Contemporary Art in Odessa, Slipak again performed this chamber cantata.