Performing before an audience of Kyiv residents and guests of the Ukrainian capital, the Turetsky Choir presented the program “Born to Sing” commemorating the choir’s 15th anniversary. The choir, which is now touring Ukraine, performed two nights, with standing room only.
The choir’s brilliant conductor, Mikhail Turetsky, successfully combined several roles on stage as emcee, singer, and conductor. Time and again the audience burst into laughter or applause in response to his keen humor. The program, lasting almost three hours, included several totally divergent musical genres. After performing an operatic potpourri of the music of Wagner, Verdi, Mozart, and Bizet, the Turetsky Choir sang a fiery cycle about trains, from “Postoi, parovoz” to “Goluboi vagon.” The choir can also be called the Turetsky Orchestra because the singers’ voices easily imitate practically any musical instrument.
The virtuoso a cappella performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee was a real hit. The concert’s genre eclecticism is impressive. The listeners admired every composition, as hits were followed by liturgical songs and chansons. Every number was a complete miniature show. There were classical arias, Yiddish songs, Western hits, and pop songs from different countries. The choir performed a couple of favorite songs especially for the Ukrainian audience: “Chervona ruta” and “Chorniyi ochi,” the audience joining in for the latter song. The Turetsky Choir sings with inspiration and passion. Every soloist has an excellent voice and acting technique. All the singers are graduates of Russia’s best music colleges, including Moscow’s Sveshnikov Choral College, the Gnessine Russian Music Academy, and the Moscow Conservatory. Turetsky has succeeded in molding a palette of varying male voices ranging from basso profundo (Yevgeniy Kulmis) to tenor altino (Mikhail Kuznetsov). Incidentally, Kuznetsov offered a rare rendition of the Queen of the Night’s aria from Mozart’s legendary opera The Magic Flute.
There are no women in the choir. “We manage with our resources. We perform repertoires that call for male and female voices,” said Turetsky.
The choir’s current repertoire is so extensive that it can perform several programs lasting three hours, without any repetitions. Turetsky is an inexhaustible source of new and original ideas. He never ceases to amaze audiences with his unexpected musical solutions and variety of extravagant arrangements.
For two nights running Ukrainian music lovers could listen, watch, and admire a true theater of song. This vocal company has long aspired to go beyond the classical choir’s limits, with every soloist making the most of his part. The Turetsky Choir performs every number a cappella, which gives them freedom to improvise and playact while directly communicating with the audience.
When the choir ended the concert with the popular song “Davayte v dva golosa” from the popular Soviet-era film Obyknovennoe chudo (An Ordinary Miracle), the audience gave them a standing ovation. We thank the choir. We need joy so badly.
