Montblanc Brand Ambassadors Eva Green and Chairman of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation Lang Lang show their support for the young singers and new members of the Montblanc family:

Kristina Kapustinskaya & Alexei Markov

For many years, Montblanc has been culturally engaged, and this year is supporting Valéry Gergiev’s “White Nights Festival” in St Petersburg for the third time. After a Russian kick-off event in 2007 and the first international engagement in 2008, this year Montblanc presents the “Montblanc New Voices at Stars of the White Nights”, an award for the promotion of talented young opera singers under the guidance of Valéry Gergiev – friend and supporter of Montblanc for many years – to two outstanding talents.

Valéry Gergiev, star-conductor and artistic director of the Festival and the Mariinsky Theatre, will present this year’s Montblanc award to the Russian soprano Kristina Kapustinskaya and the Russian baritone Alexei Markov on June 26th during the award ceremony at the Mariinsky Theatre at 12:00 a.m. About 50 national and international journalists will attend the award ceremony – together with special Montblanc VIP guests and Montblanc friends of the brand as well as Montblanc Brand Ambassador Eva Green who is guest of honor for this years “Montblanc New Voices Award”. The two “Montblanc New Voices Award 2009” winners will perform during a Montblanc Gala Concert in St Petersburg on the evening of the same day when Valéry Gergiev will present the two new voices to the curious audience.

Montblanc Brand Ambassador and Chairman of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation Lang Lang will show his support to the talented young artists by his performance at the second part of the concert.

The “White Nights Festival” of the St Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre and “Montblanc New Voices at Stars of The White Nights”

There is a unique phenomenon that every summer bathes the culture city of St Petersburg in a glowing light. During the “White Nights” in June, the sun never fully sets and fills the sky of the world’s northernmost metropolis with a silvery glow. The impressive natural spectacle provides a magnificent setting for the “White Nights Festival” of the Mariinsky Theatre, a high-calibre cultural event with national and international top ensembles from opera, ballet and classical music.

In 1993, the renowned conductor, artistic director and general manager of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valéry Gergiev, initiated what is today the internationally renowned “White Nights Festival”, and also restored the achievements of the traditional opera house to such heights that it is currently named in the same breath as the Metropolitan Opera in New York or La Scala, Milan. In 2007, he also became the patron of a unique award: the “New Voices Award” presented by Montblanc in honor of a talented young singer.

In 2007, Katherine Jenkins, the 27 year old Welsh mezzo-soprano, was honored with this award. In 2008 it was the young Russian soprano Anastasia Kalagina who since then sang the lead roles in Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” and “Le Nozze di Figaro” at Mariinsky Theatre St Petersburg. This year two new voices will be honored by Valéry Gergiev and Montblanc in front of an international audience.

Winners of “Montblanc New Voices at Stars of The White Nights 2009” Kristina Kapustinskaya & Alexei Markov at the illustrious Mariinsky Ball

This year Valéry Gergiev has chosen 2 winners for the Montblanc New Voices Award 2009. One of the 2009 winners of the “Montblanc New Voices Award” is the Russian soprano Kristina Kapustinskaya. Since 1998, this native of St Petersburg has been a soloist at the “Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers” and in 2001 was awarded the Moniuszko Prize at the international Stanislaw Moniuszko vocal competition in Warsaw. Kristina Kapustinskaya has been a soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre since 2007.

The other winner is baritone Alexei Markov. Alexei Markov was born in Vyborg, soloist with the Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers (2001-2008), soloist with the Mariinsky Theatre since 2008, recipient of the 2nd prize at the international Competizione dell' Opera (Dresden, 2006) and recipient of the 1st prize at the International Moniuszko Competition (Warsaw, 2007).

The virtuosity of their voices will once again enchant the public of the “White Nights Festival” on June 26th 2009 at the “Montblanc New Voices” Gala Concert, with the Mariinsky Orchestra, conducted by Valéry Gergiev.

This gala concert will be one of the highlight events of “The Stars of the White Nights Festival”. At that concert Valery Gergiev will introduce Kristina Kapustinskaya & Alexei Markov as the new winners of “Montblanc New Voices at Stars of the White Nights 2009”

On June 27th 2009, the festival’s exclusive highlight will take place in form of the “Mariinsky Ball”, the music of which is also conducted by Valéry Gergiev. This will be a dazzling evening with numerous international personalities and VIPs in the baroque glory of the palace of Catherine the Great. Here too, the spotlight will be focused on the “Montblanc New Voices Award” winners Kristina Kapustinskaya and Alexei Markov, whose singing will crown a ball, which even in the era of the Russian Tsars, was an event for high society.

Valéry Gergiev 

A graduate of the Leningrad Conservatoire Valéry Gergiev has been marked for greatness since his early 20’s when he won the ‘Herbert von Karajan’ Conducting Prize at the age of 23. While still at the Conservatoire he was taken onto the staff of the then Kirov Theatre and since 1996 he has been the Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre (formerly the Kirov). Under the Maestro’s guidance the Mariinsky companies have become beacons of talent, creativity and beauty on the global cultural scene. In the last 15 years it’s repertoire has expanded massively, now even including Wagner with the first performance of The Ring Cycle in almost 100 years.

Valéry Gergiev is one of the world’s truly great musicians. An opera conductor of supreme talent his work on the concert platform as conductor of some of the greatest orchestras in the world is equally dazzling. Perhaps best known of his foreign relationships is his long connection with the Rotterdam Philharmonic where, amongst other things, this master of the Russian repertoire showed himself to be equally at home in the mighty symphonies of Gustav Mahler. Since January 1st 2007 the Maestro has been Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. Since many years Valéry Gergiev is a friend and supporter of Montblanc’s various cultural initiatives such as the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award, the Montblanc commitment at the Salzburg Summer Festival, the Prix Montblanc and the Montblanc Philharmonia of the Nations.

Source: Montblanc