Occupation: Prima Opera Singer at the State Theater of Opera & Ballet.
Video: solo concert

HER LIFE STORY

So darling... prima donna
written by Elena Stepanova for GazetaYakutia.Ru and translated by Nyrgustan Novopriezzhy, a YSU student.

Once upon a time Agrafena Makarova who supervises the college of culture and arts called the friends to Amga :

- Let's go to have a rest!

And they went – Agrafena herself, Sergey and Nina Chigirevy with their little son, Anastacia Varlamova, famous melodist, Stepan Vasiljev, the bayan player - such a cultural landing force. Though they went by car, but rumors in Amga scattered quickly: “Here comes Chigireva! Chigireva! And will she sing?”. Is it possible not to sing for people, who had already worn their good gowns to meet the artists?! When they can see Nina again?!

-  As we arrived, - says Agrafena, - let's sing!

- Oh, no! - Nina responded. – Ok, let's do it.

Actually they went to have a rest…

For the beginning the company went to a small river – they swam well, took sunbathes. Everything was great but Sergey lost his cross. He was really upset, crept along the coast, searched in the sand, but… And Nina wounded her leg. The blood flowed... Then the friends were blessed:

- Be not afflicted, Sergey. It is the ground took the gift from you that you took away our Nina. Don't search for it...

Well, maybe they're right? They wound a leg and went to people to act. All Chakyr village habitants ran together, but nobody noticed that under a long dress there was the bandaged leg in beach slippers. Like a propaganda team they settled down directly on the field. Nina sings, Stepan accompanies, people wipe their tears and applause. Then they went to a farm. Milkmaids left cattle, only wiped their hands on aprons...

Such concerts happen to prima donna, absolutely free-of-charge, the purest impromptu. She hides nothing from people. She is the national actress! She sings Yakut songs in the beginning, then Russian, then tells what is opera.

- I'm not only the performer of songs; I'm the opera singer.

Milkmaids never saw an opera, but they ask to sing, admire. The opera is pleasant to them. And why? All because of Nina. Though she is the prima donna, she is so grounded, does not avoid people and speaks with them.

How to bridle malicious spirits

And why avoid people? She grew up in the village and milked cows too. Life didn't indulge her: when she was twelve her mother died. Nina was the eldest and she thought how to survive and feed eleven brothers and little sisters. In three kilometers from village there was a farm where the girl became the milkmaid.

She treated every cow like a friend: she would stroke, she would praise, or look tenderly into sad cow eyes, touch a muzzle. It's warm... Cows are rescuers: in the winter Nina happened to appear barefoot in a snow. She went in fresh cow dung not to freeze her legs.

Nina was with cows before the sunset, and it was scary to come back home: the way laid through the forest and who knows what was there behind the trees... She went and sang in high voice though she was said not to do it: you will awake malicious spirits!

No, they do not touch courageous ones...

What are "bad marks" in comparison with the Charism?!

Before Nina understood that she should study to sing, she had time to work as a nanny in a kindergarten, as nurse in regional hospital, as watchman, as the cook, as working girl on a creamery, as the house painter in technical school, she was even noted in a military registration and enlistment office. And then she decided: prepared and went to Yakutsk .

In musical school the girl appeared in front of selection committee where were Fevronia Baisheva, Feodor Lobanov, Alena Ippolitova, Arcady Alekseev. Nina was scared. But it became clear from the first notes: what a magnificent timbre of a voice this girl possesses. She is the true nugget! But there were still a lot of work: she had no bases. Nina the school. They made the individual plan of lessons for her and forgave all "bad marks" on history and other disciplines. Tamara Sofronova who at that time was the director of the school insisted on individual work with the talented schoolgirl and conducted choral lessons. She told other teachers: “you will ask for the complimentary ticket to her concerts. You will see!” But it was still difficult for Nina, because she spoke Russian badly: “ I sing and don't know what about... ” Alena Ippolitova, the soloist of the choir of radiocommittee retold her the contents of the songs – he words helped Nina's imagination to draw characters and images she should cover.

And it is very important to know what you sing about. Because voice is not everything. The other thing is intonation you make. For this purpose it is necessary to like the character. We love a singer not only for his voice, but also for the way he sings. Intonation bribes the listener. Mark Bernes did not have a voice, George Ots was told that he will never become a singer, but intonation they made was wonderful.

When Nina sings you want to listen to her over and over again through the eternity.

The main thing - not to put the teacher down

The same was in the Novosibirsk conservatory - here again Nina was lucky with the teacher. She studied with professor Lydia Mjasnikova who was the prima but came from the same simple environment as well as Nina did. That is why she understood the girl as anybody else. The national actress of the USSR sang Countess divinely at 75, but her voice for her was as an icon. Lydia Vladimirovna shared it with public in small doses. She could call in the morning and cancel the performance if she felt that she couldn't act. Nina didn't learned it from her – she is ready to act as much as necessary, even for hors. If it is necessary to sing all week long, she will and not because she is such a big master. It is necessary for majority to know their price to realize the talent. But Nina knows about the self-value, but she doesn't much give value to this. She simply lives with it...

Lydia Vladimirovna loved Nina with all her heart, not only for a voice, they were close in spirits. And Nina was afraid to put her down. On the fourth course Mjasnikoca's protégée sang before Irina Arhipova and Maria Bieshu in All-Union competition of vocalists in Yerevan devoted to 180th anniversary of Glinka, and received IV premium. It became the big event because brilliant performance in such prestigious competition happened in a history of the Novosibirsk conservatory for the first time. Nina was scary before going on stage, passions were warmed up by authoritative audience... When results were declared and Nina heard her name she just told herself: “I didn't put Lydia Vladimirovna down. I didn't put her down...”

“I'll take you to the edge of the world...”

It is still doubtful who was taken away, Sergey or Nina. He is not local. He saw Nina in Novosibirsk when she sat on a bench in conservatoire passage, waiting for her turn to the teacher. Just noticed, just caught her sight and heart trembled: Here she is! The God knows, why it happens to us... He hardly crossed a threshold of the first course, and Nina was studied in the second course. On dances Sergey, squeezing her fragile shoulders, whispered in her ear:

- I'll take you to the edge of the world...

It's funny. She did not know, that she was exactly from there.

Being much of romantic, Sergey was completely fascinated with Nina and passionately wanted to learn what is northern woman.

God bless balconies in Nina's hostel! Glory to garbage tanks under them! Due to them, ardent in love stormed floors, making the way to the girl in the room. There wasn't any other way: incorruptible watchmen carefully observed moral image of the lodgers and after eight pm demanded strangers leave the building immediately. They didn't know, that in one of rooms with three charming asians (yakut, tuvinian and buryat girls) there is a young man of rather nice exterior. Also that all together they... eeh... spend the night together: at this time of night there was no reason for Sergey to come back home (it was too far!), so he stayed with the girls. It was cheerful: they drank tea, listened to music – buryat girl Tanya Galsanova had a collection of vinyl discs “the Wreath of national songs” that Sergey liked so much. And Nina had Lobanov's disc “Sakham Syre Barakhsan” (My Dearest Sakha land), - Sergey still thinks that there is no better singer. Obviously, Lobanov himself did not realize the force of his voice, and it was so strong that the person of absolutely other culture, other language, listened to him and admired the spirit, character, mentality of people. Yakutia where Nina and Lobanov from seemed to him beautiful, fantastic...

After years he would come to Yakutsk and would be stunned by our fogs...

Nina and communism

On the third course Sergey was tired of making his way to sweetheart through balconies like some thief. He opened the door of the rector and proclaimed his love to Nina: “I love Nina! Give us a separate room in the hostel!” What was surprising – they did! Certainly, it was unusual case, because Sergey was local. But everybody had a kind feeling to them in a conservatory, and Nina's surname in general was mentioned with special implied sense. There always are heroes in high schools, and at that time in a conservatory there were three: Kisin, Repin, Chigireva.

In general, young couple began to live together. She presented him a cosiness, and he... wrote her abstracts on marks-lenin philosophy. Not because she was lazy to do it herself, there was an insuperable wall between communistic ideology and Nina... How to make what heart refuses to accept?

Many years later the rector of conservatory Gurenko admitted to the Chigirev couple: “I have just understood that it was absolutely not necessary for us...” Nina always understood it perfectly.

We don't need no Turkish coast

At fair of vocalists which is usually arranged for graduates of high schools, Nina and Sergey, who proved themselves well, received a lot of invitations to work in Sochi , Frunze , Sverdlovsk .

Wow! Fantastically warm, sunny city, the sea of fruit and aroma of roses - nothing seduced these two talented people. They took the invitation from the Yakut musical theatre: director Victor Zhiltsov specially arrived to Novosibirsk so that they wouldn't go to warm territories. He also fastened the invitation with documentary made obligation of the mayoralty about allocation of an apartment. Unsophisticated in mayor affairs young couple didn't know, that obligations of officials don't mean their execution?

Six more years, working in Yakutsk theatre, they huddled in a hostel of college of culture and arts.

Talent and its admirers

Certainly, the owner of an amazing voice won love of spectators very quickly, she got fans who wrote letters and called. In 1989 together with Ivan Stepanov she acted in the Concert hall of Rakhmaninov and subdued exacting audience. The number of admirers grew up with the adviser on culture of Embassy of the USA Phillip Brown who didn't think that the concert would become for him “such holiday” and that he would rather become interested in art of Yakutia.

In the beginning of 1990s Nina has gone on training to New York to maestro Chichigov and Russian foreign press has enthusiastically started talking about her, having estimated vocal technics “dense and strong mezzo-soprano”, and fine performance of opera parts.

Having returned to Russia , Nina took part in all concerts she was invited, and travelled the half-world, becoming as wrote to mass-media “a star of a world scale”. Her voice sounded at the best theatres of Russia and abroad, and in 2004 under Galina Vishnevskaya invitation she sang in the Concert hall of the Union of theatrical figures.

 With love to life

Under the decree of the first President of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Michael Nikolaev the house for creative intelligency was constructed. The Tarbahovs became the Chigirevs' neighbours. Every time Nina tries to overtake the famous neighbor in cooking art, but perhaps it is the only thing that she succeeded less. Though there's no other who prepares ravioli (Siberian meat dumplings) as good as she does. Everything that our prima donna was engaged for is done with huge love - whether it is performance on stage, education of the son, cooking of supper, cultivation of sprouts for a summer residence, care of rabbits and numerous dogs... Her mission is to bring pleasure and light in the world.