In most every respect, Taras Shtonda fits the bill of an internationally recognized bass: he’s huskily built, bears a striking resemblance to the great Russian bass Fyodor Shalyapin, has a foundation-rattling voice and makes frequent performances at great opera houses like Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater.
But anyone speaking with Shtonda soon learns what sets him apart from others in his field: he’s very young, just 36 years old, and entirely unaffected by his star status. He counts himself lucky, he says – “my hobby coincides with my profession” – and he visits his hometown proudly and often.
Sitting high above the city in the Dnipro Hotel’s cozy Munich Bar and enjoying a perfect view of the National Philharmonic, where he often performs, Shtonda says he feels privileged to perform in his native Kyiv.
“It’s not true that I’m a rare guest in Kyiv,” Shtonda said. “According to my calculations, I spend 50 percent of my time here, singing for our National Opera House. Since 1992 I’ve been their soloist, and I also give some free concerts, such as at the Andriyivska Church in August,” he said. But he does have to make a living, which is easier to do on tour abroad. “I have to keep my fee level up,” he admits.
With the opera and theater seasons just beginning, Shtonda is busy these days, with interviews and concerts. Fresh from a series of solo performances in Moscow, and on the way with the Russian Association of Musicians to South Korea – where he was to perform with an all-star cast in “Bass Singers of the 21st Century” from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6 – Shtonda’s stopover in Kyiv left him just enough time to grab a light lunch.
Shtonda skipped the German Valsberg draught beer (Hr 15.59) and went instead for tomato juice (Hr 6), as he was soon driving to another interview. Ever the homeboy, he spoke with his heart in ordering local dishes, rather than German ones, both of which are served at Munich Bar.
He spoke next of his beginnings.
“As far back as I can remember, I was always singing,” he remembers. He started singing, he says, even before learning to talk.
Shtonda’s parents enrolled their obviously gifted child in music schools, which led to his attending the Tchaikovsky Kyiv National Musical Academy. He graduated in 1993.
Soon after doing so, Shtonda became an unqualified success. During the 12 years of his professional life he’s won or placed highly in many international vocal contests: third place in Pamplona, Spain (1996); first place at the Maria Callas Competition in Athens, Greece (1997); and second place at the Biul-Biul Competition in Baku, Azerbaijan, to mention a few.
Since 2002, when Shtonda finally got his chance to become a soloist (at the Bolshoi), he has played Borisfey in Mussorgsky’s opera “Khovanshchyna” and has been a prominent member of the large cast of Glinka’s “Ruslan and Ludmila.” In November he will start rehearsals for the Bolshoi production of Tchaikovsky’s “Mazepa,” in which he’ll sing the lead part of Kochubey. Unfortunately, the timing of “Mazepa” will make it impossible for him to appear in Shostakovich’s “Ekaterina Izmailova” at Kyiv’s National Opera House in January, which disappoints him – he’d like to have appeared in both.
Nonetheless, Shtonda has contented himself with the Bolshoi, for which he offers high praise.
“They are still behind European theaters,” Shtonda said, “but they have left Ukrainian opera theater far behind. The budget for the Bolshoi is six times bigger than for our Opera.”
“Work there has opened many possibilities for me, while in Kyiv a person can risk going unnoticed for months and years. In terms of career development,” Shtonda went on ruefully, “our Ukrainian opera leads nowhere.”
The Bolshoi has seen its recent controversies, like the recent row over the termination of star ballerina Anastasia Volochkova’s contract, but Shtonda prefers to focus on the positives, such as the leading Ukrainians in his field.
In Kyiv, he says, “there are very talented professionals, like Olha Mykytenko,” the soprano. He also noted some personal favorites, like the tenor Mykhailo Hurets (whom he considers the successor to the great tenor Anatoly Solovyanenko) and the tenor Mykhailo Didyk.
But Shtonda shies away from too much talk about his own success.
“Am I a star? I don’t think that I have ever reached the level of Nikolay Baskov,” Shtonda said, referring to the Russian opera and pop star. “And our Ukraine Palace has never asked me to have my own gala concert. And people are not paying Hr 500 per ticket. That’s what I consider to be a superstar.”
At lunch, Shtonda enjoyed some well-stewed pike perch (Hr 37) with vegetables, accompanied by a tender bliny starokyivsky – pancakes filled with minced chicken (Hr 42).
Eventually, conversation gravitated towards the artist’s tough schedule, which leaves little time for a private life.
“It’s one of the minuses of my career,” he admitted. “Usually people get married when they’re students and have time for personal matters. And of course my frequent travels affect my relationships.”
Shtonda, who has performed in more than 20 countries, including France, Italy and Spain, says he prefers Kyiv to abroad.
“My life credo is to earn money there and spend it here. I have no interest in going abroad; I consider it a work possibility,” Shtonda said, finishing his dessert of baked apple (Hr 16,) accompanied by a single shot of espresso (Hr 8). His longest stay overseas, he says, was a two-month sojourn in Spain in 1998, when he was appearing in Tchaikovsky’s “Evgeny Onegin” at Barcelona’s Palas de Nacional. He recalled counting every last day before his departure.
“I try to separate my life and work,” Shtonda said. “I love my job; I’m happy that God gave me a chance to spend my time doing my favorite thing in life. I’d do it anyway, and I am even paid for it.”
Munich Bar (Dnipro Hotel)
1/2 Khreshchatyk, 229-8160.
Open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
