Be'er Sheva

You step out of the airconditioned car and a warm ballon of air enters your mouth, nostrils, eyes, ears. It washes all your body, wraps it, creating almost another layer of skin. It is a shock to the whole system, but after a while it feels really nice. This is Be'er Sheva- a town not far from the Sinai Desert. Where the days are blinding white from the sun, the air standing like a wall and the evenings are cool and beautiful with lovely breezes.
I stayed in the old part of the town. Which was build, according to locals only about 50 something years ago. Now it is mostly ruins and very old houses, but in those days this used to be the luxurious part of town, in fact the most desirable part to live in. For a tourist eye it is very romantic, but for those who live there it is a life of a struggle.
I went for walks in the evenings and discovered many beautifull corners, with narrow pathways, where every stone had real character.
Once I saw a very old woman, who was sitting near her house. I stopped and started chatting to her. Her eyes has almost lost their colour, her skin was dry, but tanned. She looked very fragile, but at the same time content. She seam to be happy sitting their alone in the silence of the street and a clear sky above her. I asked her how does she feel. She said: ' I feel like quarter to 9, soon it will be dark..' and she smiled looking at me.

Trasimeno Music festival

The concert took place in Castello dei Cavalieri di Malta (Magione), during a magical evening under the starry skys and a sound of distant bells in the background. I felt so happy standing there by the piano with Angela's (Angela Hewitt) wholehearted support. It felt like her fingers were singing and wrapping my voice, sending it as presents to the audience. It felt natural to be there and I enjoyed creating the music.
I sang Chopin songs op74. The first time I sang them through at home, I felt that they have a very simple beauty. They are folk in their essence, but wrapped with most delicate frame, by the knowing Master. It made me learn them in a different way from the way I was used to learn for instance Schubert songs. In my mind they were in a different place and it transferred into my voice easier.



It was my first visit to Italy and I fell in love with what I have seen. I was there three days in three small towns near the lake Trasimeno. I arrived to Perugia, had a lovely drive through the town and was staying in a most picturesque family run hotel-Le Terra di Isa. In the evening we all went in the car to Gubbio, which was one hour drive. The road was a serpentine shape and it was the Italian drivers, completely wild and unpredictable, who draw my attention, alongside the magnificent views of Gubbio's landscapes.

Here in Gubbio, for the first time in life performance, I saw how soloists conducted the orchestra-Angela conducted Mozart piano concertos from the piano and Cellist Pieter Wispelwey conducted a Haydn Concerto, from a raised podium, with his back to the orchestra. It was breathtaking!!!
I was sitting in the first row, hardly breathing. Afraid to miss a moment.

Behind me there were many local Italian people and very quickly, I don't know how, they knew that I was the singer of tomorrow's concert. In the interval, many of them came to me to shake my hand and to wish me luck for tomorrow.

Tomorrow started early, I went for a swim in the pool, had a lovely breakfast, watching the hills around the lake and had a rehearsal with Angela. At my rehearsal was Hannu Lintu, a fantastic finish conductor, who wanted to listen to the songs. The day before we went for a little tour together to explore Gubbio, which was nice.

After the concert in Magione few people came to congratulate me. One man, who is a member of a famous string quartet said: 'You performed with such Slavic passion-absolutely wonderful!

The owner of the Hotel gave me a present- two of her home made organic jams. They were delicious, as I discovered later. When I arrived to London, I got a compliment from the immigration officer (women), that I look 23 years old. I smiled and said, you are right, this is exactly how I feel..



Trasimeno music festival
Le terra di Isa