Maia Laaning

Maia and Vivian were very fond of classical music including opera. Vivian had been Estonia's Minister of Culture for about six years starting when Maia was seven years old. During that time her mother was instrumental in starting a chamber music competition festival in Tallinn at the behest of Natasha Starikovich, a world class violinist. The festival proved to be a huge success drawing in extra thousands of tourists to Estonia in August. As a natural consequence Vivian and Ms Starikovich became close intimate friends. Accordingly, classical music was virtually the exclusive music heard in the Laaning-Kruuse household and Maia by virtual osmosis was a huge fan of classical music.

Maia's appreciation for classical music was heightened by the fact that they possessed a concert size piano, in their home. Vivian never had the inclination to learn to play the instrument, but her stepfather, Raimond Kruuse, was an adequate amateur pianist and influenced Maia to take piano lessons. As a result, Maia became competent enough to tackle most music, but she was not going to make a career out of it even as a local amateur. Her favorite piece that she mastered and loved to play was Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. She also loved to play some of the easier Chopin nocturnes.

Maia's nineteenth birthday fell on a Saturday that calendar year. As a special present Vivian had acquired tickets for a spectacular concert performance scheduled that night at Alexela Concert Hall. It was a performance that was two years in the making and Vivian Laaning was instrumental in bringing about the event.

As a result of elections whereby Vivian's political Party lost control of the Riigikogu (the Estonian Parliament) Vivian had not been in the administration of the government for the past several years. Still, she was a member of the Riigikogu and as a result she naturally had some clout and influence. Her successor, although competent and capable of overseeing the ministry, still did not have the contacts and the skills to attract the most important cultural events to Estonia, the way Vivian had been successful in achieving. As a result, he commissioned Vivian to attract world class cultural events to take place in Estonia.

For this particular assignment Vivian had enlisted the assistance of her business partners: the European agents of Baxter and Sons, to help sponsor the event. In addition, she was able to secure financial backing from BNP Paribas, France's largest banking house as well as Allianz, of Munich, Germany, the world's largest property and casualty insurer. Those companies had been pleased with their backing of Natasha's chamber music festivals and so were disposed to help Vivian again. With such prominent financial backing, Vivian was successful in inducing two of Russia's most prominent operatic super stars: to wit; baritone Dmitri Arkhangelsky and soprano Anna Nezhdanova to do a special one night concert at the Alexela Concert Hall.

Dmitri was born in Siberia and was mostly raised by his maternal grandmother and alcoholic step grandfather. His father, an engineer, and his mother, a gynecologist, both had extremely time-consuming careers and were often only around on the weekends and holidays. His hair turned prematurely white in his early thirties. As a result, he was renowned for his silver mane and smoldering good looks. His strikingly command presence on stage subconsciously greatly enhanced the pleasurable enjoyment of listening to his richly deep baritone voice. He was a natural heartthrob for any straight woman possessing a pulse; even lesbians could not deny the appeal of his virile magnetism.

Dmitri came to prominence in the general operatic world by winning the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, beating out a local Welsh favorite. From that victory landed him a lifelong recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon (DGG) label. He sang at virtually every major opera house in the world, including: the Metropolitan Opera, the Berlin State Opera, La Scala and the Vienna State Opera. As a typical Russian he was prone to excessive drinking. By his own admission, he had stated in an interview, "I could easily put away two bottles of vodka after a performance."

In the eyes of the Laanings, mother and daughter, that idiosyncrasy naturally endeared him more to their respective hearts, given their own regular alcohol consumption. Maia only wondered did he mean the bottle was 350 ml in size or was it 500 ml; but surely, he didn't mean the 1.75 liter size. In her youthful exuberance she felt she could match him certainly in the smallest size and probably could hold her own with two 500 ml bottles, as well. However, she was pretty sure even he could not handle two 1.75 ml size in one sitting which would amount to nearly 120 fluid oz.

In the eyes of Maria, the bio of Dmitri Arkhangelsky suggested to her a giant of a man. She harbored the belief that if she could have discerned that had any of her male acquaintances displayed even a hint or spark of the virility Dmitri obviously possessed, she would not have been a virgin on her nineteenth birthday. In any case, Maia was geeked and was looking forward with eager anticipation.

Anna Nezhdanova was one of the most beautiful sopranos on the international opera concert circuit. She was born in a city in southern Russia to a family of Kuban Cossack background. Showing affinity as a child of possessing a potentially magnificent voice, her parents sent her off to Saint Petersburg to study at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Her dedication to her art was so determined, that Anna worked as a janitor at Saint Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre. She believed that such experience could only ensure her aspirations of becoming the premier opera soprano as she so desired.

This historic theatre of opera and ballet opened in 1860. It became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. Throughout most of the Soviet era, it was known as the Kirov Theatre, but upon collapse of the Soviet Union, reverted to its original name. At the same time the name of the city itself abandoned the Soviet name of Leningrad to restore to the previous name of Saint Petersburg.

Currently, the Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra. When Anna auditioned for the theatre, the main conductor recognizing her potential, subsequently became her vocal mentor. Thus, under his tutelage, Anna made her professional operatic stage debut at the Mariinsky Theatre at the age of twenty-two as Susanna in Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro'.

Thereafter, Anna launched an active, highly successful international career and performed prominently at the Salzburg Festival, (Austria) Metropolitan Opera, (New York City) Vienna State Opera, (Austria) and The Royal Opera (London). After her first stage performance at the Salzburg Festival, she, like Dmitri negotiated and received a lifelong recording contract from DGG.

Anna Nezhdanova received a lot of flak as a Russian citizen and was plagued with rumors that she was believed to be a mistress to President Vladimir Putin. Anna steadfastly denied these rumors. However, in the category of Shakespeare's famous line from Hamlet: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks", in categorically denying the rumor Anna was quoted as saying nevertheless, "I'd have loved to have been romantically involved with President Putin. He's a very attractive man. Such a strong, male energy."

Unfortunately for Anna, in hoping to squelch the rumor, her incautious positive assertion of her admiration of the Russian leader served only to reinforce the authenticity of the rumor. Consequently, she applied for Austrian citizenship in Vienna. In response to the backlash, she received back in Russia, her native country, for pursuing citizenship in a foreign country, she cited the cumbersome and humiliating process of obtaining visas as a Russian citizen for her many performances abroad as the main reason for her decision to seek Austrian citizenship. The Council of Ministers of the Austrian government approved Anna's application for her "special merits", despite the fact that at the time she neither spoke German nor lived in Austria.

Anna did subsequently establish residency in Vienna as well as learn to speak German adequately. She maintained a residency in Saint Petersburg, and also was in possession of an apartment in Manhattan, the premier downtown island borough of New York City.

Her problems as a Russian citizen performing on the world's opera stages came to a head, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Several opera companies unilaterally canceled her scheduled appearances. There was a demand that she condemn the war and renounce her allegiance to President Putin. She took a hiatus of a few months from performing in any opera or concert. She then issued the following statement:

"I expressly condemn the war in Ukraine and my thoughts are with the victims of this war and their families. My position is clear. I am not a member of any political party, nor am I allied with any leader of Russia. I acknowledge and regret that past actions or statements of mine could have been misinterpreted. In fact, I have met President Putin only a handful of times in my entire life, most notably on the occasion of receiving awards in recognition of my art or at the Olympics opening ceremony. I have otherwise never received any financial support from the Russian Government, and live and am a tax resident in Austria. I love my homeland of Russia and only seek peace and unity through my art."

After issuing that statement during her pause from performing, her critics were somewhat mollified. A few months later Anna came back on stage in Monte-Carlo as Manon Lescaut where she replaced the ailing previously contracted performer. Anna was unanimously praised for her performance, which was called "triumphant". Then she highlighted her official come back on stage, with spectacular performances for the Philharmonie de Paris and at the Teatro alla Scala. She received "triumphal" welcomes and ovations from those audiences.

Anna subsequently sang in performances of the operas of Aida (Verdi) and Turandot (Puccini). For those performances she was praised by critics as "superlative" or "masterful" for the former occasion and was acclaimed for her vocal and acting interpretations for the latter performance. Her name was applauded by the audience during the cast announcement at the beginning of each performance.

Between these performances, she sang some concerts, including in the program arias from Roméo et Juliette, Anna Bolena and The Queen of Spades, displaying her awesome vocal range. She opened the subsequent season of the Wiener (Vienna) Staatsoper, singing Mimi in La Boheme. Around twenty people protested against her performance outside the opera theatre. At her first entrance on stage, a few of the protesters, occupying the standing places of the theatre, booed her. However, she was in return widely applauded by the rest of the audience. Critics praised her performance and noted that the booing was totally unjustified and ultimately drowned by ovations at the end of her performance.

Another controversy in the career of Anna Nezhdanova dealt with the issue of the appropriateness of face-darkening make-up, especially for performances of Verdi's operas, Aida and Otello. Anna had often performed the titular character in Aida, an Ethiopian princess, with face-darkening makeup, including her role debut at the Salzburg Festival and at the Metropolitan Opera despite the latter opera company's previous pledge to eliminate the use of face-darkening makeup in its productions.

The matter flared up into an outstandingly heated controversy when Anna was engaged to perform in Aida at the Arena di Verona Festival. The release of publicity photos for her performance of Aida showing Anna in black face makeup was the catalyst for this major artistic dust-up. Subsequently, American soprano Angel Blue, apparently a relatively young woke black opera singer canceled her upcoming scheduled performances of La Traviata at the Festival, citing the company's insistence on maintaining the practice of face-darkening makeup. She wrote in her social media account:

"Dear Friends, Family, and Opera Lovers, I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that I will not be singing 'La Traviata' at Arena di Verona this summer as planned. As many of you know, Arena di Verona recently made the decision to utilize blackface makeup in a recent production of 'Aida.' Let me be perfectly clear: the use of blackface under any circumstances, artistic or otherwise, is a deeply misguided practice based on archaic theatrical traditions which have no place in modern society.

"It is offensive, humiliating, and outright racist. Full stop. I was so looking forward to making my house debut at Arena di Verona singing one of my favorite operas, but I cannot in good conscience associate myself with an institution which continues this practice. Thank you for your understanding, and to all who have shown support and sensitivity to me and my fellow artists of color."

When Anna was apprised of Angel Blue's opposition to her contract to perform Aida with blackface at the Salzburg Festival, she cavalierly scoffed to her friends and acquaintances, "Angel Blue you say? And she is a soprano engaged in major opera performances? I would have thought with her name that she would be a porn star."

Luckily for Anna such a frivolous reaction did not get exposed in the public domain or social media. However, serious opposition to Ms Blue's action did come from a surprising quarter in the person of Grace Bumbry. Ms Bumbry, is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano earlier in her career. She is a member of a pioneering generation of African American opera and classical singers, beginning with Leontyne Price and including Martina Arroyo, Shirley Verrett, Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, and Reri Grist, who succeeded Marian Anderson in the worlds of opera and classical music. They paved the way for future generations of black opera and concert singers. Bumbry's voice was rich and dynamic, possessing a wide range, and was capable of producing a very distinctive plangent tone.

Ms Bumbry replied to Ms Blue be stating in her social media account:

"My dear Angel, I read your publication and was thoroughly shocked at your point of view. For all of my 50 years of Opera singing I have always used white face, when necessary, and blackface, when necessary, as well. Of course, my preference is to sing in blackface, but if I am to be perfectly honest, that preference goes against my artistic sense of credibility. My make-up cabinet runs the gamut from Dark Egyptian to Chalk White for Turandot and everything in between. If you do your historical studies, as one should, you get a clear picture as to the background of the characters, no matter what the opera. As an artist, you may decide which roles you would prefer, but to limit yourself to only a few roles such as Aida, Selika (L´Africaine), and Bess (Porgy and Bess), or maybe one or two others which I cannot recall at the moment, you are limiting your possibilities. Did you ever have the opportunity to see Sir Laurence Olivier, in the role of Shakespeare's Othello?

"To my knowledge, he was the first white person to perform in Blackface in classical theatre. To be proud of your race is a noble thing, and one which should be honored all the time, but if you made the choice to perform in a medium of Opera you must first know the history and the desire for credibility. I am sorry to have to be so stern with you because you are one of my very favorite young singers, however, it is my job and my responsibility as a black pioneer in this profession, to correct you when you are out of line. I hope that you will take this correction with the love that I write it. I am sorry that you will not be singing the Traviata in Verona, because I heard you sing the role about three years ago, and vocally you were wonderful. Is there no way that you could recall that decision? Your friend always, Grace B."

Responding to the controversy surrounding blackface, the Arena di Verona Festival cited historical precedent claiming it is "very hard to change" the production to avoid the use of blackface (this staging dates from 2002). The Festival also stated that when Blue signed her contract for La Traviata, this staging of Aida was already planned, and she should already have known that blackface was to be used.

For this evening's mother-daughter dinner and concert date each elected to wear elegant formal dresses specially purchased by them just for this occasion. They were helped with input from Carmen Kass, Estonia's super model and Vivian's special friend. This was Maia's first formal dress from Yves Saint Laurent fashion house. It was a gathered bandeau dress bright pink in color. It featured a wrap style front, an asymmetric hem, a twisted detail and a strapless design. Vivian's floor length gown was by Givenchy made from silk and embroidered with clusters of shining crystals. It has ivory in color a slip silhouette and an open back with gathered strap.

When they entered the restaurant heads turned, as Vivian and Maia presented a vision of the ultimate in spectacular feminine pulchritude. Their appearance was made even more stunning by their wearing of appropriate winter clothing. Maia wore an authentic beautiful full length white mink fur, whereas Vivian had donned an authentic full length sapphire mink fur coat. [Their outdoor clothing included very fashionable snow boots that were sure to keep their feet sufficiently warm for the cold Estonian winters.

However, their luxurious attire was not the sole reason for their conspicuous entrance in the restaurant. Vivian's position and prominence in the previous administration had made her instantly recognizable to virtually every Estonian citizen. Add to the fact that she was cohabiting with the Prime Minister made even Maia instantly recognizable to all Estonians as well. As a result, throughout the meal, people would come to their table greeting them, and to importune Vivian and Maia to allow for the opportunity of taking a selfie on their smartphone.

With such continuous interruptions, Vivian and Maia were not able to conduct a thorough in-depth conversation regarding the protests surrounding Ms Nezhdanova's performances. They both had the view that the controversy was nothing more than a tempest in a teapot. It surely made sense that since Aida was an Ethiopian princess that the singer in taking the role ought to look black. In the United States there are a plethora of black sopranos who can take on the role but in Europe not so much. So, it makes sense for a white person like Anna Nezhdanova to utilize blackface makeup to reprise the role of Aida.

Still the meal was splendid and a perfect complement to precede the concert. The date consisted only Vivian and Maia, as Raimond Kruuse was not into classical music as much as Vivian and Maia. As it turned out Raimond was in Brussels during that week for a series of meetings with EU diplomats concerning new legislative innovations planned for implementation during the current year. Such plans would have an impact on Estonia, and hence it was imperative that Raimond lead a delegation to the EU parliament to protect Estonian interests.

When they arrived at the theatre, Vivian and Maia were again inundated with people greeting them and seeking to take selfies with them. Both Vivian and Maia graciously accommodated such intrusions with the view that is the price they were expected to pay as a result of their public prominence. As it was, due to such status, their seats were located in the very first front row right in the center offering the closest and sharpest view of the stage proceedings without the need of resorting to opera glasses.