The tenor and baritone fought a duel. No one was hurt

The tradition of singing competitions dates back to ancient times. Who has not described this fascinating intrigue! Wagner dedicated the minnesinger competition to the opera Tannhäuser, Rimsky-Korsakov created an opera about Sadko, Turgenev painted the singing competition in the Memoirs of the Hunter. Today, music competitions have become a boring mass phenomenon where everyone competes with everyone. But is it comparable to the direct fight of two bright personalities, each of whom is a master?

The performance concert “Tenor vs. Bariton” immerses the audience in the exciting competitive atmosphere of the competition. Two magnificent singers, both handsome, owners of the brightest male charisma Ivan Ozhogin and Dmitry Yankovsky talentedly and with a huge dose of humor cross their vocal swords, brilliant overtones, virtuoso technique, impeccable intonation, long breathing, high and low notes, breathtaking fermats and, of course, outstanding artistry.

We started with classics. Tchaikovsky, duet "Enemies" from the opera "Eugene Onegin". Here is the rule of duel: reconciliation is impossible. From this moment, Onegin (Yankovsky) and Lensky (Ozhogin) will go to the end. Yanovsky will sing Onegin’s aria “When would life be a home circle...”, Ozhogin – Lensky’s aria “What does the coming day tell me?” And I must say that the shares of Ozhogin after this adored by the public hit rose very high.

Ivan Ozhogin, who was once called “the main demon of the Russian musical”, actually has a beautiful tenor with a share of “dark” baritone paint. This shade is necessary for the artist to create demonic images in which it is irresistible: Rabbit (“Vampire Ball”), Hyde (“Jekil and Hyde”), Woland (“Master and Margarita”), Ghost (“The Phantom of the Opera”) finally, Onegin (“The Demon of Onegin”), where the tenor enters into direct competition with the baritone – all these roles require Ojogin’s inherent masculin and masculinity. But in this case, he's a tenor. As they say, tenor without fear or reproach. And his voice becomes incredibly lyrical, full of high overtones, tenderness and light.

When Yankovsky and Ozhogin move on to the Italian theme, the hall literally explodes with applause. Every number is a hit. First, “Tell the Girls” in the grandiose version of Yankovsky, where the singer allowed himself a spectacular trump card, singing the final phrase without a microphone – in a way that only opera singers can do. Then – “About Sole Mio” in the sweetest interpretation of Ozhogin. And, of course, duets that ended with the cult "Caruso". Here it became clear: there will be no winner and loser in this duel – the creative tandem in which Tenor and Bariton are on the same side of the musical universe, called the “Human Voice”, sparkled before the audience in all its glory.

In the second part, it would seem, the offensive passed to Ozhogin – musical, rock and pop genres were presented. However, as it turned out, this “weapon” is equally owned by both duelists. Aria Judas from the rock opera Webber “Jesus Christ – Superstar” performed by Yankovsky almost blew up the noble interiors of the House of Unions, and the response aria of Jesus performed by Ozhogin was greeted by the cries of the fandom of the artist, without which no concert takes place.

And then it was rock time. This was perhaps the most unexpected part of the program. The compositions performed by the artists synthesized folk music, Russian rock and classics. “Carmina Burana” by Karl Orff has acquired the character of heavy metal, “Changes” Tsoi mixed with Prokofiev’s theme “Montecs and Capulets”. The final block “Hey, let’s go” in the fatal treatment to the accompaniment of the symphony orchestra, was picked up by the hall, which had already sank so much.

The duelists prepared a couple of musical symbioses for the final bises, which, by the way, were invented and embodied by Dmitry Yankovsky. This is the basis of his NEOPERA project. The famous disco hit of the early 90s “White Roses”, sung in Italian in the style of “spaghegtti-pop”, the public at first did not even recognize. Unrecognizable was the cover of “Clouds” Matvienko, to whom the duet of former “enemies” gave a paradoxical and conceptual character.

It is time to remember that both Ozhogin and Yankovsky have repeatedly set foot on neighboring territories. Ozhogin performed on the stage of Helikon the role of Prince Yusupov in the modern opera Rasputin. Yankovsky, in turn, participated in the musicals “Beauty and the Beast” and “MAMMA MIA”. That proves once again: you should not divide music and theater into some strictly fenced areas. The boundaries are not between genres, but between the talented and the incompetent. Therefore, a bold experiment to create a crossover genre in which classics, rock, pop and folk are combined on the basis of two beautiful academic voices was successful. The orchestra led by Roman Belov played a significant role here: a rare case when academic musicians meet “non-academic” styles. And this, perhaps, actually speaks of the arrival of a “new era” in the notion of a boring classic.