Lolitta Semenina:
“I am the strictest judge of myself…”

- Lolitta, your’ve got such a romantic name, probably, some family story is connected with it?

- You are right. In the 30-ies my grandmother’s neighbours were a Spanish family who had taken a refuge from Franco’s fascist regime in the Soviet Union. Our families felt very friendly to each other and shortly after the war was over two girls were born in both families – a Russian girl Shurochka and a Spanish girl Lolitta. The two girls became very close friends. In the sixties our Spanish friends returned to their native land, the Russian girl Shurochka and Lola continued to be on friendly terms, they exchanged letters and when I was born my mother gave me the name of Lolitta in honour of her friend. Later in Spain Lola gave birth to a daughter too and the girl was given the name of my mother – Shurochka. I am very fond of my name and in my turn I have passed it to my daughter. So now it has become a family tradition.

- …unlike the tradition of choosing professions. Are you the first professional musician in the family?

- Yes, though I wouldn’t say my way to success was easy. I studied at the Music College, then at the Gnesins Academy of Music, but my tutors didn’t contribute much to my proficiency. It was incredibly difficult to complete the course at the Academy on my own, without a tutor. I had to look for a teacher myself.

Simultaneously I took classes of V.V. Emeliyanov, a teacher at the Leningrad Academic Capella, but my main rescuer is the singer and teacher Araks Davtyan whose care and professionalism shaped my voice and helped me to gain individuality in the world of music. We still stay good friends and colleagues.

- Before you joined the Bolshoi Company you were a soloist with Minin’s Chorus. Did you start there with solo parts?

- No, of course, not. I started as a chorus singer and my strongest desire was to remain unnoticed. You see, I had a little daughter and I didn’t feel professionally strong enough then. I thought I didn’t need any solos at all … But about a year and a half later Minin started urging me to sing short solos. This way I became a soloist and soon I was singing all the solos of the repertoire – Mozart, Bach, Gendel, Vivaldi, all sorts of oratorios and cantatas, masses and so on. I stopped singing in the chorus when my second child was born.

- Was it Opera that attracted you?

- As to the theatre I didn’t make any steps towards it, everything happened without my will. The story goes like this: every year our choir went on a tour in Austria to participate in the famous opera festival in Breghence. In my free time, which my colleagues spent buying presents and souvenirs, I went downstairs, to the basement, and stayed there for two hours getting warmed up for the performance. In Breghence our prompter Volodya Yaroslavtsev, whom all of us knew very well, for the first time spoke to me about the Bolshoi theatre. He asked me if I wanted to go and take a test at the Bolshoi Opera. My response: “Oh, no, I can’t! I’ve never sung operas, either short or long, in my life! I don’t dare to approach the Bolshoi!” when autumn came he reminded me of our talk. To tell the truth, I didn’t think of trying. What decided my fate was Elena Vasilievna Perfilova’s telephone call. She literally forced me to go and try. I was listened to by Mark Fridrikhovich Ermler, the then art director of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra. When he learnt that I had never sung in opera, he couldn’t believe his ears. He invited me to join the troupe, let me participate in the performances and step by step I started mastering the repertoire. I shall be always grateful to him for his care. The producer Alexei Dmitrievich Maslennikov helped me a lot too for what I’m awfully thankful to him. Together we worked on the parts of Iolanta, Tatiana, Mimi. In the course of rehearsals we kept quarrelling and reconciling, he shouted at me, and several times looked as if he was about to beat me, but that was good, it was needed. You see, at first I was good at nothing.

- On the stage, what in particular turned out to be most difficult for you? Which traits of your character did you have to fight down?

- I remember my first appearing on stage, it was something awful to put it mildly. As far as I remember, I was afraid to make even a step onto the stage. I seem to have been pushed from behind the wings. It was really a shocking experience. But my efforts and love were so great, that they couldn’t help paying. You can’t do the role just at once, within one day, it takes time to get an insight into the nature of your heroine, you should feel her, look at everything with her eyes and understand her so that the role becomes part of your own life, It’s just like pregnancy – you are getting ready to become Iolanta, Tatiana, Maria, Lu. You’re nurturing them… In fact, if you have got something to say you will make it all right. I feel dedicated to my every heroine, I feel as if I had been each of them. I filled them with my own nature. Certainly, some of the roles yielded to me with less effort, the others took a lot of sweat and tears out of me. For instance, the part of Mimi in La Boheme at once matched my personality and voice, the music lead me and let me understand the role…

- Your heroines are mostly noble and sacrificial natures, with dramatic destiny. For many, I think it was a surprise to see you as a coquettish Alice Ford in Falstaff. How did you feel as a comical actress?

- I had to master the new emploi. I had to work pretty much before I was satisfied with my Alice. Everything is all right with the lyrical line of the role but my being skittish and coquettish both leave much to be desired. I was told once: " Lola, you look a strict and stern teacher in this role ". I understood it was necessary to change something in myself, to look for some new tints and strokes, new to my manner of singing and acting. It was necessary to work and learn to flirt, to be coquettish which is not bad at all. I want to say that the amazing, friendly atmosphere which set up when we rehearsed Falstaff, very much helped me work. We had a tremendous team, believe me, it doesn’t happen very often! All of us, young, brave, with strong voices, cheerful, how much time we spent together discussing what we were doing! I think all of us will recollect those days with gratitude!

- Do you feel you would find it interesting to try yourself in a negative role?

- Yes, probably, I’d find it interesting. But I haven’t got any offers of that kind so far. Now I’m learning Chio-Chio-San, another role which is really dramatic and sacrificial. Again onstage I’ll die because of my love.

- Your fear of stage…Is it still alive?

- I’d rather say it’s anxiety. I consider myself an adequate singer. Of course, I always feel some anxiety. On the day of performance I start my day nervously, but I try to contain myself, not to upset my family. I come to the theatre very early, "look through" the score, then warm up, well, and appear onstage, certainly, anxious …

- Who is your strictest judge?

- First of all, certainly, my accompanist, Elena Vladimirovna Ostrouhova. I am grateful to her for everything. Though, it is not the right word to use. I would say, I owe her and Araks Davtyan my style and professionalism. Elena Vladimirovna has explained to me what traditions mean and a lot of other things. She has helped me so much in my work on Mazeppa, you see, the part of Ìària is written for a very ‘strong’ drama soprano. For me it was not simple at all to sing – it was like a test. So my accompanist’s opinion is very important to me. Who else…? My mother likes everything I do onstage, for her I’m the best. Well, you know, probably, that’s me who judges my singing and acting in the strictest way. After a performance I always account to myself for everything I did, for good things and for what leaves to be desired.

- Lolitta, your heroines are at times look so defenceless, while your character is a character of a fighter. Do you bring up this quality in your children?

- I try to. I feel very much responsible for everything I do in my life first of all to my children. My daughter has already grown up and she is studying at the International University at the Journalism Department, sees her future in advertising or tourist business. And my little son is eight, he goes to school and is fond of singing, though it’s too early for making plans.