“Plácido Domingo has given a lot to Spain and the world, he deserves appreciation and love”

Russian soprano Aida Garifullina, winner of the international Operalia competition in 2013, has said that Plácido Domingo deserves “the appreciation and love” of Spain and the entire world because he has given them “a lot” and she hopes that the tenor’s situation will change in the coming years, despite the accusations of sexual harassment levelled against him by twenty women.

“He is a very noble man, in my experience with him and in what I have heard from other close people who have worked or who are friends of his, he has always been a very, very gentle man (…) Despite everything, “He continues to represent Spain around the world. And he will remain in history forever,” Garifullina added in an interview with Europa Press on the occasion of his performance at the Santander Festival on August 3.

The Spanish tenor was a decisive judge in the soprano’s victory in the Operalia competition in 2013, and that is why Garifullina explained that she will be “grateful” all her life, a gratitude that, as she added, is shared by “other colleagues” of the contest because it “supported and helped” them to become artists.

“Plácido Domingo has played and continues to play a huge role in my life, in my career. I will be very grateful to this incredible human being all my life. He gave me the opportunity to become who I am today, to be where I am now and to make my dreams come true. He is an incredible person. Not only is he one of the best in the music industry, in the history of opera, he is also a very deep and beautiful soul. He has a very big heart,” she said.

In 2014, Domingo accompanied Garifullina – 36 years old – to her hometown, Kazan (Russia), to give her first concert in that area, something that was “magical and historic” for both the soprano and the citizens of Kazan.

“We did a concert in my hometown because my people in Kazan dreamed of Plácido Domingo. He had never come before, and when he came it was a great joy for them. They still remind me of him and it’s been ten years since 2014. They remember him and they keep coming to tell me ‘thank you, thank you, thank you very much’. It was a magical and historic moment. He is such a kind man,” she recalled.

“THE OPERA CULTURE IN SPAIN IS GREAT”

The artist returns to perform in Spain after her performance at the Liceu Theatre in Barcelona with ‘Romeo and Juliet’ last year 2018 and in that sense she has explained that Spanish opera culture is “great” and the audience “beautiful and warm”.

For Garifullina, performing at the opening concert of the Santander Festival this August is “a gift” and she has announced that she is preparing with the orchestra a program of “different music” with Russian and Czech airs, although she hopes to sing something in Spanish, too.

“They are arias that are not done often in the world. But they are true gifts and I hope the public enjoys them. It is a program that is not very well known in the world, but very famous in my country, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The composers are very well known, of course, but these particular pieces are not played much in opera houses. Not like Italian or French operas. That’s why I think it’s even more interesting for the audience to hear it. Because we always want to discover something new. , right? So we don’t hear all the same opera arias in every concert,” he explained.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Garifullina – who has described the time as “sad” and not at all “easy” – had time to “think” and go to the “deepest” of his thoughts, something that he believes helped him. has made “a better singer and a better actress.” Now, on stage she feels “different” and wants to “open her heart to the public.”

“I’ve been able to build myself up again over the past few years, even though I think the pandemic took something away from us emotionally, and so enjoy performances in a different way to be more connected to the audience (…) It’s not just about vocal technique. Of course, I work with my vocal teacher every day, but when I go on stage, I want to tell the story to people. I want to open my heart, and for them to feel the role I’m playing. I want to feel it deeply. I like the audience to laugh, but also to cry. I want to feel the pain of the character and get all the possible sensations and emotions from my performance,” she concluded.