![]() ![]() ![]() Only a few days later, on 24th of February, he woke up in his Dutch hotel room to over 100 messages from his family and friends in Kyiv, telling him about the invasion and the bombings. Alona returned to Kyiv and Derbas-Richter, after further urging by Pessen, had finally found the courage to apply to Dutch National Opera and travelled to Amsterdam. In view of the events of the following months and the separation that awaited them, it was almost as if by premonition. In Poland, he tells me, he was accompanied by his girlfriend Alona, also a singer, and decided to buy for the two of them two little bells as a love token they could carry to help them feel connected even when apart. First came a rewarding summer at the Saluzzo Opera Academy, where he sang Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, then two rounds of auditions to join the Hannover Opera House Chorus – an experience that involved a trip from Kyiv to Hannover ripe with unfortunate incidents, including missed connections and his luggage being lost, but also with the kindness of strangers who helped him get to his destination – as well as more auditions at the Volksoper Opera Studio in Vienna and the Wroclaw Opera House in Poland. It took Derbas-Richter some time, however, before he could find the confidence to do so. However, the Academy's coach and advisor, Eytan Pessen, who in the meantime had become a good friend and career mentor, encouraged Derbas-Richter to also apply to the Dutch National Opera Studio. Coronavirus hit around that time, and he returned to Ukraine, where he finished his Bachelor of Vocal Studies in 2020.Įven if an audition for the Teatr Wielki Polish National Opera Academy was successful, an official invitation never materialised, possibly due to the pandemic. ![]() Four months at a language school in Cologne followed, but he still was not proficient enough to be accepted at the Stuttgart Musikhochschule. At some point in the future, he tells me, he wants to delve into ancestral research to really find out about his family history. This was also to do with the fact that his mother is of German-Jewish decent. He has remained a member of this ensemble, on and off, and this experience culminated in a performance at the Ravenna Festival with a programme of new compositions for a cappella chorus by the eminent Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov.īy the beginning of 2019, then just 22 years old, Derbas-Richter felt he was ready to study German, as he fervently wanted to enrol at a German music conservatory. Joining the Chamber Choir of Kyiv under the direction of Mykola Hobdych in 2017 gave Derbas-Richter the opportunity to be a soloist and travel on a few international tours. Often, the young singer would ask him: “Tell me please, what am I, a baritone or a tenor?” and Buimester would wisely answer: “You are Georgiy, and never forget that!” More importantly, he taught the young singer how to find the soul of music and the spiritual and emotional connection with it. The baritone, named "National Artist of Ukraine", quickly recognised the potential in Derbas-Richter's voice and encouraged him to pursue a singing career. Guitar lessons started when he was about seven, with a teacher who truly inspired him, and when he received the gift of a karaoke set, there was no stopping him anymore.īy 2016 he was studying at a music conservatory and was lucky to have Professor Valery Buimester as his first mentor. When he was about five, he heard an old man sing a folk song at a market and the little boy, mesmerised, sang this tune for days on end. Nonetheless, his constant singing as a child did not go unnoticed. Music was not necessarily a central theme in Derbas-Richter's home – his father was the director of an iron-ore mine and his mother a geologist. He was born in Kryvyi Rih, a city winding around the confluence of two rivers and claiming the unusual title of "longest city in Europe" as it stretches over about 100 kilometres. Derbas-Richter comes from Ukraine, and although he is relieved to be in a safe environment himself, he admits to listening to news from friends and family back home all day long. He is the newest member of the Dutch National Opera Studio - a two-year traineeship for young singers and répétiteurs that aims to prepare them for an international opera career through a combination of workshops and professional experiences. ![]() An impish smile greets me as baritone Georgiy Derbas-Richter and I start our online interview. ![]()
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