GATHERING IN ST. PETERSBURG, I COULD NOT ASSUME THAT THREE WEEKENDS AT THE MOST FIRST TIME OF THE WHITE NIGHT SEASON WILL BE TURNED OFF, WAIT, AND SHOP A PLACE, ALREADY DREAMING ABOUT AN INTERVIEW WITH THEM, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE AT ALL. AND THE SPEECH WILL NOT BE DISCUSSED AT ALL ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL FORUM, WHICH HAVE ALREADY BEEN PASSED IN THE NORTHERN PALMYER (SIMPLY SUCH A MISCELLANEOUS), AND EVERYTHING WAS ONE WALKING BEFORE YOU WITCH. SO… Stars of the White Nights
St. Petersburg, June 16-18, 2011
This year was a jubilee for the general partner of the festival. For almost 5 years, and to be precise, since the summer of 2007, the German company Montblanc, a manufacturer of high-end writing instruments, jewelry, watches and luxury goods, has supported the Stars of the White Nights International Art Festival. For the uninitiated, I will remind you that the Stars of the White Nights festival was initiated by Valery Gergiev, the artistic director and general director of the Mariinsky Theater, in 1993. According to the maestro, he conceived the first festival as a musical gift to the city from the Mariinsky team and soloists who agreed to take part in it. Annually, the festival brings together outstanding music groups and famous performers. The influence of the festival in world cultural life is evidenced by the fact that last year the Stars of the White Nights entered the top ten best festivals in the world, along with the Salzburg, Bayreust, festivals in Bregenz, Lucerne, Aix-en-Provence.
Montblanc, traditionally presenting the Montblanc New Voices project at the Mariinsky Theater, is a permanent partner of the festival. This is not the only Montblanc project aimed at supporting world culture and art, but one of the most beloved in the company. The surprising and fruitful partnership between Montblanc and the world famous St. Petersburg theater will be discussed a bit later, but for now let's turn to the facts.
By tradition, the New Montblanc Voices Award honors the most interesting and promising young performers. So in 2007, the British Classical Vocalist Catherine Jenkins (mezzo-soprano) was awarded the New Montblanc Voices Award, and in 2008, the Crystal Crystal Soprano of the Mariinsky Theater Anastasia Kalagina. In 2009, all fans of opera singing were in for a surprise. The prizes were awarded to two performers at once, the participants of the Mariinsky Theater Opera Company: mezzo-soprano Kristina Kapustinskaya and baritone Aleksey Markov. In 2010, with the prestigious New Voices Award, the works of Sergey Skorokhodov (tenor, Russia) and Shenyang (bass-baritone, China) were noted. This year, everyone was looking forward to when the names of the winners would be announced.
The invited guests of the festival are usually Montblanc partners and foreign guests, the foreign and Russian federal business and glossy press, guests of the Mariinsky Theater, outstanding cultural figures and business representatives of St. Petersburg. Our magazine was invited to the festival as the leading foreign Russian-language publication in the Middle East, and it was especially pleasant to receive such recognition from the organizers and partners of the holiday. Montblanc also invited the famous American actress Andy MacDowell, who supports numerous charitable initiatives and is a great friend of the company, to the current XIXth Stars of the White Nights festival. Andy first flew to Russia.
Start. In anticipation of the ball
On June 16th, a gala reception and gala dinner hosted by Montblanc took place. To the venue of the reception from the Taleon Imperial Hotel, where, in the ideal city center, right on the Moika embankment and a stone's throw from Palace Square and the Hermitage, all the invited guests lived and traveled by water. Having passed numerous bridges and bridges across the Moika and Neva, having climbed out onto the expanses of the Gulf of Finland and solemnly walking along the proud spire of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the legendary cruiser Aurora, we finally approached a paradise of nature, manicured by human hands and turned into a garden, into in the center of which stood a snow-white pavilion arbor. Once upon a time there was a summer residence of Russian emperors. In Soviet times, party leaders received important delegations within the walls of this light and openwork pavilion.
We, who descended from the "river trams" and climbed the stairs, were first met by park sculptures depicting ancient goddesses, and then a flock of young ballerinas from the Mariinsky Theater troupe, who were to give a special entourage to further action.
Before starting the gala dinner, Lutz Betge, CEO of Montblanc International made a speech, thanking everyone for supporting the festival and Montblanc's values, and wishing the guests a pleasant evening and new discoveries. Then the audience was shown collections of fine watchmaking and jewelry, as well as a limited series of Montblanc writing instruments. This, in fact, was one of the main discoveries of the evening.
A special collection of fine jewelry made from snow-white jewelry with diamonds, called White Nights and dedicated to the 5th anniversary of Montblanc’s partnership with the festival of the same name, was created by art director Carlo Giordanetti. Montblanc jewelery and watch collections displayed in the windows were surrounded by Mariinsky Theater corps de ballet dancers who looked like light snowflakes. They so masterfully froze in elegant poses, pointing to one or another jewelry or unique watch, that from afar it was possible to take them for one of the stone statues, of which there were many in this garden, illuminated by the soft silver light of the white night of St. Petersburg. The classic drawing of the famous Russian ballet was perfectly combined with the flickering of white gold in a placer of diamonds - ingenious jewelry created by Montblanc masters.
The presentation was followed by an amazing dinner in every respect. Its menu included more than ten changes of dishes, including cold and hot appetizers, pancakes with caviar, borsch, meat, fish and poultry, and of course, pancake baskets with ice cream for dessert. I don’t know if it was a meal at the time of the Russian emperors, but it was difficult for modern people to pay tribute to the art of cooking, tasting each of the dishes of Russian national cuisine, without prejudice to the figure. In any case, I, a native Russian woman, did not succeed. The Hong Kong journalists lasted the longest, but even they were forced to just look at the dessert without touching the delicacy ....
This is probably why the organizers of the holiday allowed the guests to get home by water for almost two hours, so that everything eaten and drunk during the long night, which did not want to get dark at all, finally settled down in the fresh air. In the midst of fun on the ship, its famous bridges were built over the Neva. ... This miracle we all, as children, joyfully watched from the deck, approaching the pier Taleon Imperial Hotel, the only, by the way, luxury hotel in the northern capital of Russia, located in the real palace of the 18th century.
To be continued. New Montblanc Voices
The next day, June 17, 2011, turned out to be surprisingly clear and sunny, in contrast to the previous one, gloomy and filled with lead clouds and the portent of imminent rain. Moreover, this day was so eventful that the guests of the festival did not notice how the night crept up again.
It all started with an award! For the fifth time, the New Montblanc Voice Award was presented at the Mariinsky Theater as part of the International Stars of the White Nights Festival. This year, she was awarded ascendant opera stars - tenor Sergei Semishkur and bass Mikhail Petrenko, soloists of the Mariinsky Theater. Both artists traveled to the theater troupe of many countries and performed in Spain, France, Great Britain, USA, Germany and Austria. Sergei Semishkur’s track record includes such roles in famous operas as Grigory Otrepiev (Boris Godunov), Lensky (Eugene Onegin), Trufaldino (Love for Three Oranges), Graf (Rigoletto), Rudolfo (Bohemia "), Pinkerton (" Madame Butterfly ") and others. Mikhail Petrenko often acts as a guest soloist, his talent has been awarded numerous awards. Among the most prominent opera parts in his performance can be noted such as Svetozar ("Ruslan and Lyudmila"), Khan Konchak ("Prince Igor"), Bolkonsky ("War and Peace"), The Grand Inquisitor ("Don Carlo"), Pistol ("Falstaff") and others.
The press conference on the occasion of the award was attended by Mariinsky Theater Artistic Director Valery Gergiev, Montblanc International CEO Lutz Betge and Montblanc brand friend, famous actress Andy MacDowell. Answering journalists' questions, maestro Valery Gergiev noted: “This award plays an important role for the theater, as it helps young talented singers to reach their potential and go from promising stars to world opera scenes. In my opinion, it is no coincidence that it’s already "For several years in a row, the young forces of our theater have received the award. The combination of youth, magnificent talent, stage charm, plus the crazy tempering that was performed at the Mariinsky Theater is, in fact, the key to success."
Then, all guests were invited to visit the Montblanc branded boutique on Nevsky Prospekt. And in the evening of the same day, in the gala concert at the Mariinsky Concert Hall stage, the winners of the 2011 New Montblanc Voices Award Sergey Semishkur and Mikhail Petrenko, as well as Victoria Yastrebova (soprano) and Ekaterina Semenchuk (mezzo-soprano), who performed brilliantly, performed Requiem "Giuseppe Verdi together with the Mariinsky Theater choir and symphony orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev. If you have never seen how maestro Gergiev works on stage, try to get at least one of his concerts! It is not for nothing that the world press calls him a genius: the choir, the orchestra, and the soloists react to every movement of his, not even his hands, fingers, performing great music. An unexpected and pleasant surprise was the presence in the hall of the Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Alexei Kudrin.
At the end of the concert, guests were invited to the nightly Montblanc Сocktail Party. Appearance of maestro Valery Gergiev and actress Andy MacDowell at the night cocktail was met with applause.
Climax. Ball
The third and farewell day - June 18, 2011 - was marked by a visit to the Hermitage, and then a magnificent ball given by Valery Gergiev in honor of the end of the festival in one of the palace complexes of St. Petersburg.
The main guests of this holiday were the honorary guests of the Mariinsky Theater, the business and cultural elite of Russia, and Montblanc VIP clients. Even the formidable clouds that gathered over the palace that evening could not interfere with the holiday.
Living sculptures greeted guests in the alley, waiters in colorful costumes of the XIX century carried champagne and snacks. All evening, actress Andy MacDowell and German top model Francis Knappe shone in jewelry from the new Montblanc collection. Among the many guests were seen German Gref and Ekaterina Mtsituridze, politicians and businessmen. The ladies circled the cavaliers with their incredible outfits, and everyone understood - this is a real ball! With a gourmet dinner and dancing until the morning.
And, finally, as if in gratitude to the rain, which never spilled over the heads of a smart and cheerful audience, at the end of the evening (and to be honest, almost in the morning), a festive fireworks blossomed in the sky over the city. A curtain! The next annual international festival "Stars of the White Nights" is over! Long live the new festival!
Etcetera. Thinking out loud
When, if not now, it is important to hear, absorb and try to understand what those who started the Stars of the White Nights and those who supported them think about everything that’s happening. Those who try to find perfection in everything that touches, and those whose popularity makes you often look back at the world and think about a lot. I decided to give you a gallery of press portraits of wonderful people, communication with which brought me endless pleasure and sincere joy.
Valery Gergiev
Since 1996, artistic director and director of the Mariinsky Theater, People's Artist of Russia (1996), laureate of the State Prize of Russia (1994 and 1999). Throughout the years of service to the theater, the maestro's main desire has remained unchanged - to turn the Mariinsky Theater troupe into the best troupe in the world.
Valery, how important is your festival today for the life of St. Petersburg and the world art culture?
You know, St. Petersburg is such a beautiful and wonderful city that it can probably exist even without this festival. A lot of festival events take place in the city, but the Stars of the White Nights is the largest of them. Of course, you can set a goal and conduct various concerts, including free ones, for schoolchildren and students. Many do just that. But I love the scope! I love, so to speak, a scale adequate to the situation and status of our theater.
The Mariinsky Theater is a leader, not only in St. Petersburg and Russia, it is one of the most gigantic theaters in the world with a powerful troupe in which many stars work, ballet and opera are presented. Of course, we have to hold big festivals. I see it for myself. I saw it twenty years ago, and even more so now.
Do you feel pride for your artists, for the theater, for your hometown, where, thanks to this festival, many visitors from abroad come to?
I’m thinking about something else today. We just have to do our job at the highest level, and then there will be even more guests. Today, people will go where there is quality, no one will spend the precious days of their vacation on something that is of little interest.
How important is it for you to develop a classical culture in such young countries as the UAE, where you participated in the Abu Dhabi Arts Festival?
Today, the United Arab Emirates, thanks to its unique architectural projects, numerous world-class sporting events such as Formula 1, is well known to everyone. I have been to Abu Dhabi twice, the first time in 1996 and the second in 2011, and I must tell you, the difference is enormous. Therefore, I do not exclude the possibility that I will visit the UAE more often, and I hope that concert halls and venues like ours will appear there soon.
Allow me to thank you for the current festival and the talent of its laureates, however, I can’t help but ask, are there really young singers worthy of the New Montblanc nomination?
Several girls have already become winners of this award. Next year, I am almost 100% sure that one of the winners will be a girl.
Remark. In just 60 days of the Stars of the White Nights festival in St. Petersburg, more than 100 opera and ballet performances and concerts were given. In the summer, the Mariinsky Theater operates in a special mode, giving two evening performances per day - at 19.00 and 22.00. And all the fault - white nights.
Lutz Betge
CEO Montblanc International, born in 1955 in Hanover (Germany). In 1990, he became financial director of Montblanc Simplo GmbH, in 2007 he became president and chief executive officer of Montblanc International.
Montblanc’s participation in such cultural projects as “Stars of the White Nights” is a great humanitarian task - first of all, the desire to preserve and increase the world cultural heritage.
Lutz, Montblanc's history began with writing instruments. Why did you decide to expand the range with watches and jewelry from the collections of high jewelry art?
Our regular customers are confident in the quality of all products coming from Montblanc workshops. Today, people value family values, they want to invest in what can be passed from generation to generation, in what is associated with real skill and quality, and these values are timeless.Therefore, jewelry, therefore, the unique development of its own mechanisms for the unique Montblanc watch. All that gives customers the joy of owning an item and the confidence that it is for all time.
Your company supports culture and art, you even have your own Montblanc cultural foundation. Why does your company need this?
Success is one of the key elements of the Montblanc brand philosophy. The basis of success is, first of all, knowledge, dedication and enthusiasm. We can rightfully be proud of our success, but at the same time it is our responsibility to give something in return to those who helped us achieve it. It is helping others give true meaning to success. Actively participating in world cultural events, Montblanc makes an invaluable contribution to the life of modern society, to the preservation of cultural values.
I believe that in the modern world we need to balance everyday life. We lead a business life and are so focused on it that sometimes we need to take a step back, we need to expand our view. Art and culture can provide such a balance; they provide an opportunity to see things from a different perspective. I think that there would be no Michelangelo and Mozart, if not for the support of famous patrons and art lovers. Our goal is to introduce society to the masterpieces of world musical culture, in the hope that society itself will become better.
What does the Stars of the White Nights festival in St. Petersburg and the long-standing friendship with maestro Gergiev mean to you?
We met with maestro Valery Gergiev six years ago, and this meeting became crucial. The Montblanc award idea was born out of a conversation when we discussed how we can help young opera singers become “new voices”. Then we wanted to help young people with talent and ambitions actually become new Villasons, new Netrebko, become famous. Today I am proud of my friendship with the maestro and what we managed to achieve in five years. For the success of such projects, it is very important that such people as Valery Gergiev support them. He is one of those who build bridges between nations and cultures and does it in a unique way. He makes people meet, he has a huge talent for communication. In addition, he can identify talented young people. He once said to me: “I can’t sing for them, I can only tell them that I need to work hard with all my efforts and skills. These people need support, including material support, so that they can concentrate on learning , on improving mastery. "
How would you express the spirit of Montblanc in a few words?
We consider ourselves to be master artists, very competent. We believe in timelessness, elegance and lasting value. When we introduce a new product on the market, we must be sure that the buyer will like it in 30-40 years. This is the main criterion for every new Montblanc collection. Because we want to give our client a thing for life, one that he can pass on to the next generation.
Carlo Giordanetti
Creative Director of Montblanc. He joined the company two years ago. He brought his own style to the concept of high jewelry collections. For the festival in St. Petersburg, he created unique jewelry from the Montblanc Haute Joaillerie White Nights ("Montblanc White Nights") collection.
Carlo, what feelings do the Stars of the White Nights festival and the eponymous collection of jewelry evoke in you?
Oh, the festival in St. Petersburg is one of the most expensive for us. Firstly, because it is annually recorded in our calendar and you can prepare for it in advance, which cannot be said about other events. Secondly, a trip to the city on the Neva is always a touch of beauty, especially for me as an artist. Therefore, the appearance of the Montblanc jewelry collection, dedicated to the white nights season, I think is completely logical. Judge for yourself - the white mountain, the name of the peak of both our company and the white nights are translated! Is this not symbolic?
What are you most interested in working as a creative director of the company on?
Above everything, because my creative process is never boring. During the day, I constantly switch, sometimes to pens, then to jewelry, then to bags or accessories. It's so interesting!
And yet, what inspired you to create the White Nights collection?
The images of the weightless ballerinas of the Mariinsky Theater, imperial glory and luxury of this greatest of Russian cities. I dedicated a necklace of white gold with pure water diamonds, totaling 27 carats, and earrings to him, I want to give him a unique Seconde Authentique Haute Joaillerie White Nights watch from the Villeret 1858 collection, shining with 208 diamonds on the dial, 160 on the case and 38 - on the crown. I pay tribute to this city in original men's cufflinks and a pen from a limited edition.
In the era of keyboards and touchscreens, did the fountain pen turn into just a collectible or even a slightly outdated expensive toy?
The pen remains the tool for writing and, as the English say, “a jewelry that happens to write” (jewelry that happens to write). There is something personal and sincere in the handwritten letter. It involves a lot of personal involvement. In life or throughout the day, there are times that we want to highlight: write a letter by hand to convey a cordial or important message. Writing by hand conveys emotions. A fountain pen turns into an item for the soul. So they say in the house of Montblanc.
Andy mcdowell
Hollywood actress, beauty and smart, mother of two daughters, a pleasant and thoughtful interlocutor. She supported the joint initiative of Montblanc and UNISEF - Signature for Good, aimed at increasing the level of literacy of children in developing countries.
Andy, what brought you the collaboration with Montblanc?
I was very lucky when I was invited to participate in the Montblanc and UNISEF program, which was a great success around the world. Perhaps this charity campaign has become one of the most memorable, and I am proud that the Montblanc house then chose me.
Which Montblanc collection would you choose for yourself without hesitation?
I have a Montblanc fountain pen and I really like it. Their watches are also interesting. However, I prefer simple things in life, so I like jewelry from Montblanc jewelry collections, they can be worn with jeans with equal success every day, or worn with a cocktail dress.
Andy, you are a successful and famous actress, act in films and commercials a lot. What are you trying to teach your daughters in this life?
Both a simple and complex question at the same time. I try to teach them to perceive themselves as they are, not to be shy about something imperfect in their face or body. If my current life experience were passed on to me, Andy MacDowell, who was twenty years old, I would not have been at all worried about cellulite and some other nonsense. I would just love life and everything that it gives us.
I grew up in the American South, and I consider it important that my girls grow up grateful, know how to say "thank you" to others for any trifle. It is important for me that they try to read and write a lot by hand, and be sure to know the rules of etiquette. Without this, a girl cannot be called educated and educated.
You flew to Russia for the first time, so welcome! What conquered you St. Petersburg?
Thank! (smiles). I flew here with the desire to comprehend what the "mysterious Russian soul" is.
So far, St. Petersburg has simply stunned me with its grandeur and beauty, as well as the fact that the sun in it is constantly replaced by clouds, then by such a thing as “white” nights. Incomprehensible city! And the people in him are incomprehensible!
