Feedback from our students

Taras Berezhansky
I took master classes from Marina Shaguch and Alexander Khaindrava in the period from 2014 to 2017. As a vocal coach Marina had a great influence on my final stage of becoming a singer.

After graduating from the conservatory, I felt like I missed out on something to really sing. And when I visited her, I put everything together and understood what I needed to do with my vocals. Although Marina is a soprano and I am a bass, it did not cause any controversy, as the basis of correct singing for everyone is the same. However, Marina has a personal approach for each singer. She also taught us not to be afraid of any difficulties or things that we consider difficulties.

We’ve worked on repertoire and parts in great detail. That's where the conductor Alexander Khaindrava made a big contribution, as he could always tell what is going on in scores at any given moment, how it is better to sing a particular phrase, so that it would sound organic, and indicated errors in the rhythmic pattern if necessary.

Training with two coaches at once significantly reduced time of learning roles and doubled the effect of lessons. I started my singing career during this training. In 2016 I was invited to the Kiev Opera, and in 2017 I signed a contract with an international agency. Now I am performing at leading opera houses including the Sydney Opera, Deutsche Opera Berlin, Geneva Opera, Santiago Municipal Opera, etc.

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Ksenia Antonova
Before working with Marina and Alexander, I used to take private lessons with various coaches in America and Europe. I always felt like I didn’t fully understand how the breathing and breath column work. Everyone talked about it from senses, but did not specify how to do it. It was a secret kept under lock and key. I knew a lot, I worked a lot, I worked in theaters, but I still didn’t know if I could sing through breathing or not. On top of that, my voice got unstable and bleated very often.

Marina and I worked a lot on exercises that are structured as a system and are perfect to prepare one for performing arias. Step by step, in about 2-3 weeks of lessons (with breaks in between and a lot of independent work) I felt that I’m having progress and my colleagues and pianists confirmed it.

I could already sing legato, got rid of bleating and learned to sing through breathing. Now I can confidently say that after five-six weeks in total of training with Marina and Alexander I finally understood and felt how my body works, got rid of old habits and felt the freedom and joy while singing.

Alexander works on the musical part, which is important for artistic development and is also connected with its technical part. I’m grateful to Marina and Alexander that we met, and I’ve learned a lot from them. They are willing to share knowledge that is based on experience, and that is invaluable.

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Yulia Muzychenko

My first acquaintance with Marina Shaguch took place in 2012. I was a freshman of the Rimsky-Korsakov Academy of Music in Saint Petersburg and came to Marina’s master class as a listener. I was very interested and realized that this is exactly the coach I am looking for and the person who will help me find the answers to my questions. And after the master class, I took the first private lesson with Marina and sang Cerlina’s aria.

We began to work immediately: Marina paid great attention to breathing, the consistency of sound (so that all the notes were “smooth” in one place), in the same position and gave me a lot of useful technical “hints” I did not know before. The sensitive musician and conductor Alexander Khaindrava helped me a lot over musical forms, phrases, sound cohesion and other “subtleties” without which the composition could not be performed.

Our first joint result, which happened literally a year and a half after our acquaintance and lessons with Marina and Alexander is that I’ve entered the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory with straight A. Not only did Marina and Alexander help me choose a program for my entrance performance, which made the best showing my technique and revealed the timbre of my voice, but also prepared me for entering the conservatory.

For six years I’ve been training with Marina and Alexander and thanks to their efforts and energy I have won many musical competitions in Italy, Germany and Russia.

Thank you very much for your invaluable advice, which I always record on a voice recorder and listen on trips wherever I am. In addition, I want to thank you for charging us with your warm energy and atmosphere during classes and sharing not only the scenic, but also your personal life experience with your students! I wish success to your academy and creative success to all your students!
Brazhkina Natalia
I was studying at the vocal department of the Institute of Culture in Moscow. My main problem during vocal training was a small voice range, the inability to sing piano on the top notes.

When I came to the school to Marina Shaguch and Alexander Khaindrava, my maximum was A-flat of two-line octave (and I am a soprano). For literally 20 lessons not only I “unlocked” the whole two-line octave, but also the three-line octave. The voice became stronger and sounder.

During the training we did a lot of breathing, learned to sustain vowels, to sing big phrases in different dynamics of sound. I would like to note that thanks to the work of the vocal coach and the conductor, I learned to decipher musical scores, to hear the musical phrase and to interpret it.

The music turned for me from being something abstract into a logical, clear and complete form: there was a phrase in the beginning and it continued until the last note.
Julia Isakovskaya
I took my first master class in 2016, when I had problems with high and transition notes, with the homogeneity of sound throughout my vocal range. It was also necessary to choose the right repertoire, suitable to my type of voice and corresponding to my abilities.

The concept of this master class is completely unique, as classes are conducted simultaneously by a conductor Alexander Khaindrava and a vocal teacher and opera singer Marina Shaguch. Thanks to this, elaboration of compositions is very detailed, bring into the picture its musical component, style, interpretation and technical vocal features of the performance.

Marina Shaguch is a very tactful and attentive coach. During the training she monitors your breathing, the quality of sound, explains the principles of opera singing and is always ready to answer any questions.

Alexander provides the skills that are necessary to work with an opera conductor, tells a lot about the importance of legato, the construction of a musical phrase, the logic of interpretation of music scores. I came to the school several times over the course of 2 years to study for about 2 weeks 3-4 times a year.

On the first visit I had problems with the middle of the vocal range.The top notes A-flat and A of the two-line octave sounded tense. Now B of the two-line octave in the pianissimo dynamics and E-flat of the three-line octave are easy for me. That's fantastic!

I’ve succeed in choosing the right repertoire, mastered several parts, such as Muzetta from Puccini’s opera “La bohème”, Martha from Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Tsar’s Bride”. Now I’m doing an internship at an opera studio in Vienna and for the next year I’m invited to the Wales National Academy of Voice (WIAV) in Cardiff UK. Thank you very much, Alexander and Marina!

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Yulia Alekseeva

After graduating from the conservatory, I faced the urgency to start all over again. Many singers have these thoughts, but it is very difficult to find a good coach who is right for you.

I was lucky, because I met two such coaches at once. Marina and Alexander are real experts in their field. They helped me really discover my voice. Thanks to them I overcame technical problems and gained confidence in a successful outcome. Enormous work was done.

Marina and Alexander approach the process very responsibly, paying attention to every detail and demanding maximum commitment from their students. We could work on one or two notes for weeks in order to achieve the desired quality. Before that, my singing wasn’t smooth, bright, and bloom.

After a few months of studying, I felt that my breathing had improved. Moreover, vocal freedom and a vivid timbre appeared. Also Marina and Alexander rehearsed with me a large number of opera parts for performances in Germany, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel and Ukraine.

We worked hard on technicalities, phrases and nuances. Alexander analyzes the musical text in detail and he is very sensitive to the composer’s ideas. Trainings with him are very involving and effective.

Alexander pays great attention to teaching how to read and interpret a musical composition. In addition to opera parts, we also reviewed the chamber repertoire. You need great delicacy to sing romances.

Marina always explains and shows with her voice how to make a certain nuance, play with timbral colors, and overcome technical difficulties. I still turn to Marina and Alexander for help and advice, because it is very important to have a coach who you trust. You always need a professional who supervise your singing and helps you develop your voice in the right way.

I consider our encounter fateful and I am very grateful to Marina and Alexander for their support.
Yevgeny Malofeyev
I met Marina and Alexander when I attended their master classes as a listener a few years ago. And even then their teaching approach aroused my interest and desire to participate in the process. I really appreciated the relaxed creative environment and the extraordinary methods of solving vocal tasks.

I have to say that after the conservatory I felt blocked and constrained on stage, which caused technical difficulties and problems with high notes. What a surprise it was when, after active training with Marina and Alexander, I felt my body loosening up, and my voice sounded bright and full. And all this happened in a rather short period: in a few months I managed to succeed in what I hadn’t been able not achieve for years at the conservatory.

During trainings, Marina and Alexander always charge students with positive energy and belief in their own strength. Special attention is paid to the work on intonation, phrasing, interpretation and understanding of the style of the composition performed. Thus, we had analyzed and had gone through several opera parts that I performed in the theater later.

I am very grateful to Marina and Alexander for participating in my creative destiny and the opportunity to always seek professional advice and human support.
Klonovsky Maxim
This year I’ve participated in Marina Shaguch’s and Alexander Khaindrava’s master class for the third time. At the first master class I had to change a lot. I was a bass when I came and I left as a baritone.

We worked on breathing, the homogeneity of sound and the top notes. We also had to completely change the repertoire. Working at the training combines many elements: on the one hand, you work on the singing technique and performance features with Marina Shaguch, a vocal coach; on the other hand, you work on the musical component, style, and interpretation with Alexander Khaindrava, a conductor.

Thanks to the work of both coaches, the detailed elaboration of each composition is carried out. This year I plan to move to Prague to prepare the repertoire for the contests. Marina and Alexander have become the best coaches for me.

If you would like to learn more about training, please contact us

+420 605 273 740

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marina.shaguch@gmail.com

Opera Academy