Seductive Sedov

Acclaimed Russian-born opera singer Denis Sedov is at home on the concert stage and the light music circuit.

By MAXIM REIDER
Denis Sedov 370 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Denis Sedov 370
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Denis Sedov, an accomplished bass singer, will perform two vocal recitals next week. Sedov, who lives in St. Petersburg, considers himself an Israeli. “I’m currently residing in the city of my birth,” he says, “but my mother lives in Israel, and I always try to combine family visits with performances.”
Says Sedov, who made aliya in 1991, “I planned to study conducting but missed the exams. But as a graduate of the Leningrad Choral College with honors, I was admitted to the vocal faculty of the Music Academy without exams.”
We will never know what the world of conducting has lost, but the world of singing has undoubtedly gained a lot.
“I begin counting my operatic career from 1994,” says Sedov, “when I was fortunate to be on the stage of the Israeli Opera production of Nabucco with conductor Daniel Oren. I shared the stage with such stars as Leo Nucci and Gena Dimitrova. Later I sang in The Barber of Seville with the Israeli Opera.”
In 1995 Sedov became one of only four non-American singers ever invited to join the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Young Artist Development Program and has since performed throughout the world: “Opera theaters of Santiago, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, Metropolitan, Chicago, Covent Garden, Opera Paris, Lyon, Munich – you name it,” recounts Sedov, switching from language to language – he is fluent in six.
“The role in Puccini’s La Boheme is my favorite because this opera is both dramatic and musically rich. I have also participated in eight different productions of this opera and will sing in the ninth in April in California. I also love Rossini’s operas, and as I am getting older and more mature, I would like to approach the more serious Verdian repertoire,” says the bass.
His other dream is to sing in Boris Godunov “if the opera world survives, of course,” he adds. “The opera world is going through the hard times,” he elaborates. “Opera theaters are being closed, the seasons are shortened, the budgets are cut, and many singers are unemployed. The other problem is that there are quite a few people who became singers because they have not had anything better to do with their lives. They have a certain knack for it, they are trained, but when problems start, they leave the profession and only those who were born to sing stay. But again, there are many and they are strong competition.”
Unwilling to be dependent on music institutions, especially in times of crisis, Sedov has developed an independent career in another musical field. In addition to his operatic and liturgical repertoire, he sings lighter music, accompanying himself on the guitar. “I perform a repertoire of Russian songs and other programs with a small ensemble. We travel everywhere. So we take off to Latin America and Canada.
Our program includes Argentinean tango, Brazilian samba, Neapolitan songs, French chansons, as well as hits by Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, and I enjoy it a lot. In my other project, I perform with my college friend and we play bossa nova from the repertoires of Tom Jobim and Joao Gilberto.”
In Arad, Sedov will perform Russian songs and arias from Russian operas, accompanied by pianist Ella Passik. The Petah Tikva program includes opera arias.
Denis Sedov performs on February 3 at the Dolev Auditorium in Arad; February 4 at the Sharett Center in Petah Tikva at 8 p.m. For reservations: 0546-733-117