OPERA Feb 2019 pp 172-3

Vladimir Ovodok conducted the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra with a sure hand, reflecting the influence of his mentor Riccardo Muti. This was a densely dramatic
account of the score, attentive to its richness. The chorus of the Teatro Municipale di
Piacenza and the Coro di Voci Bianche del Coro Farnesiano di Piacenza were a
significant presence. Ovodok kept a fine balance between pit and stage, following the
impassioned action but avoiding the extremes that have sometimes marked performances
of verismo operas.

Giancarlo Landini

Connessi all’Opera, Fabio Larovere, 9 ottobre 2018

Le note migliori di questo allestimento provengono tuttavia dall’orchestra, la giovanile Luigi Cherubini, e dal direttore Valdimir Ovodok, che confezionano un’esecuzione eccellente. Anzitutto per la bellezza del suono nel suo complesso e la bravura dei singoli elementi della compagine. E poi per la capacità di trasmettere l’impeto della poetica verista senza scadere nell’eccesso ma anzi conferendogli maggiore pregnanza proprio grazie a un fraseggio duttile e cangiante, a sonorità sempre calibratissime, a preziosi impasti timbrici e a un incedere orchestrale che sembra respirare col canto. Stupisce che un giovane maestro non italiano dimostri di conoscere così a fondo questa partitura e ne restituisca una lettura scevra di retorica, come asciugata nella sua essenzialità, con una peculiare attenzione allo strumentale, senza perdere per questo di vista l’insieme.
Probabilmente, Ovodok ha anche fatto tesoro degli insegnamenti di Riccardo Muti, col quale nel 2015 ha frequentato l’Accademia dell’Opera Italiana. E sappiamo quanto Muti ami Pagliacci.

Connessi all’Opera, Fabio Larovere 9 ottobre 2018

With the wave of a wand. Conductor’s wand.

Nowadays we are used to praising Russian conductors. When people who don’t know a thing about classical music hear a name like Vladimir Spivakov, Yury Bashmet or Valery Gergiev, they immediately start to nod in approval. But Belarus is also rich in talented musicians. Will they be famous overseas and perform to a full house there?
We can’t predict this with certainty. But here is the front-runner  – Vladimir Ovodok.

His promotional CD is a dream not only for the students at the conservatorium of music, where he teaches, but also for his colleagues. Of course there are a couple of conductors in Belarus who are successful overseas. But never  before has Maestro Riccardo Muti given his place to a young conductor as he did for Vladimir Ovodok.  The great Maestro Yuri Simonov invited Vladimir to perform the opening piece for the finale event of his masterclasses two years in a row. These are incredible achievements for this young musician. As a matter of fact, Vladimir, who is just turning 30, still hasn’t completely decided whether he should follow his pianistic career or that of conductor. But one thing is certain- he considers himself   lucky to be able to combine hobby and job. How did Vladimir get into the music profession? It’s a common story for one born into a musical family. His parents chose the piano as a first instrument for him, and got him enrolled in music school. They also asked little Vladimir for some reason: “Son, would you like to go to a male or female teacher?” And what do you think the 7 year- old boy answered? He described Rimsky-Korsakov: a respectable man with a beard.  Vladimir still wonders how it came to his mind and where he could have seen a portrait of the composer. Probably he subconsciously wanted to study with a serious-minded person who could give him a lot of knowledge.

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“In Italy to Maestro Muti I came with my travel tent and the score of Verdi’s Falstaff”

Vladimir Ovodok: “I arrived in Italy to Maestro Muti with my travel tent and score of Verdi’s “Falstaff”. Unbelievable and almost sensational news was received at the end of summer: young Belarusian conductor Vladimir Ovodok became an assistant to one of the most renowned conductors of the 20^th century Maestro Riccardo Muti, who headed “La Scala” theatre for about 20 years. Vladimir won a challenging competition, there were only 4 places and over 200 applicants from all around the world.

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