By Natasha Barbieri
Natalia Krishtopets is a classical crossover soprano from Russia who is rapidly gaining an online following. “I live 20 km from Moscow in the town of Schelkovo. It is my hometown and I love it very much. Moscow is very close so I am able to visit this beautiful city often, especially to attend theaters and concert halls as a spectator. Russia is a huge country, it has so many beautiful towns and places but shame on me I haven’t seen much of it. I dream to visit St Petersburg one day.”
For her “Music has always been in my blood. I remember how happy I was when I heard beautiful songs in my childhood and always tried to remember and sing it.” She sang in her church choir, but never had any formal musical education. “It has always been just my hobby. At the age of 14 one my friends taught me to play the guitar a bit, I was extremely happy that I could sing and play my favorite songs. Being a teenager I spent my summer holidays in the village and those times will always stay in my memory when all friends were gathering around the fire and listening to my singing.”Her musical tastes changed with age and Natalia no longer plays guitar, but her passion for singing remained.
Her hobby began to blossom under the attention of Chris Broom. “I was lucky to be noticed by the great British composer Chris Broom and he offered to make the CD of his songs. I am extremely happy because of it as his songs are absolutely magnificent and exquisite.” It was an international collaboration with the instrumentals being recorded in London and vocals in Russia. The final songs were mixed by sound engineer Stefano Galante in Canada! “It is incredible how the Internet helps to make dreams come true! We have such a wonderful international project. I am so honored to work with such absolutely talented people!”
Natalia’s EP “Dreams of Tomorrow” is now available but she promises “We are close to finishing the whole album.” It is planned for release later this year.
In addition to her musical “hobby” Natalia is a philologist-linguist. “I am a teacher of English, Russian and literature, I graduated from Moscow Pedagogical University in 2004. I’ve been giving private English lessons for many years already.” No doubt her profession assists her when it comes to singing in multiple languages. “My album will contain songs in English and Italian. I also enjoy singing in Spanish. I dream to sing songs in French without an accent one day, I think it is the most difficult task for me,” she shares good-naturedly. She advises singers learning new languages, “only zeal and hard work will help you to reach great results.’
Natalia draws aural inspiration from many different genres of music but mostly from her own genre. “I can name some of the singers: Sarah Brightman (she influenced me a lot!), Anna Netrebko, Elina Garanca, Eva Cassidy, Hayley Westenra, Sissel, Blackmore’s Night, A-HA, Scorpions, Natasha St-Pier, Josh Groban, Loreena Mckennitt, Yanni and many others.”
As she looks to the future Natalia says, “For sure everyone has dreams, now at the age of 34 I dream of peace in the world, I dream of health and happiness for my family and friends. I dream of having the opportunity to visit different places in the world and of not to being afraid that something bad will happen.”When it comes to music she is excited for the release of her debut album. “It will be indeed an unbelievable event for me.”
At present, she has no plans to perform in concerts. “I have never performed for an audience, so this side of the artist’s work is unknown to me and frightens me a bit but who knows, maybe one day I’ll have the opportunity to perform for people in different countries.”
Learn more at reverbnation.
