Music
In his youth, Basque became a laureate of the prestigious competition in Spain “Grande Voce”, and was nominated three times for the Ovation Award as the “Golden Voice of Russia”. In 1997, the artist became a laureate of the debut All-Russian competition for young romance singers called “Romansiada”. And then the talented singer received First Prize at the All-Russian Competition for Young Opera Artists. At the same time, Nikolai was invited to perform the part of Lensky in the production of “Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky, which was performed at the Bolshoi Theater.
Nikolai Baskov's collection of awards is growing rapidly. In 1999, the artist won Second Prize at the Grande Voce competition in Spain. A year later, the man is already appearing in videos. Participation in the video for the song “In Memory of Caruso” contributed to the speedy conquest of the Russian musical Olympus. The video was then in first place in the Russian charts on radio and television.
Baskov’s career was no longer limited to academic halls; the number of the singer’s fans began to grow at a stunning pace. Records with songs sold millions of copies. As a result, Nikolai Baskov becomes the first and only singer in the Russian Federation who can sing both in pop style and in a more complex genre with a reference to the classics - crossover.
Each new song by Baskov becomes a hit and soars to the top of the Russian charts.
In 2002, the artist made his debut on the stage of the national festival “Song of the Year” with the musical compositions “Heavenly Forces” and “Hurdy Organ”, which immediately received the status of hits. The musician's videos are broadcast on prestigious music channels. The artist has repeatedly received national music awards “Ovation”, “Golden Gramophone”, “MUZ-TV”, “Style of the Year”.
At the same time, the artist began releasing albums, creating 1-2 discs per year until 2007. First of all, these are the collections “Dedication”, “I’m 25”, “Never Say Goodbye”, “To You Alone”. The next album, “Romantic Journey,” appeared in Nikolai’s repertoire in 2011. The latest album to date is the collection “Game”.
At the dawn of the 2000s, Basque worked as a soloist of the opera troupe at the Bolshoi Theater. At the same time, Nikolai completed his studies at Gnesinka, specializing in opera and chamber singing. He entered graduate school, but already at the Moscow Conservatory named after Pyotr Tchaikovsky. After 3 years, the singer completes it with honors. In 2003, Nikolai Baskov left his native troupe and began working in theaters in Nizhny Novgorod and Yoshkar-Ola.
In the year of the millennium, a meeting took place in Baskov’s creative biography that radically changed his future life. The singer met a legendary figure in the field of opera, the greatest soprano of the century, Montserrat Caballe. The couple performed several performances together, after which Caballe advised the artist to improve his vocals. Basque became the only student of the great singer, who was also her colleague on stage.
Caballe and Basque sang together on famous European stages. The foreign press often emphasized the exclusive timbre of the Russian artist’s voice, his excellent technique, the widest range, artistry and sense of style, which is extremely important in show business.
Nikolai spent many years as a student of Montserrat in Barcelona. He participated in many city performances. In the Spanish capital, he even sang with the daughter of the famous mentor Marty Caballe. During this period, Basque performed works of world classics, gave many pop concerts, where he sang musicals, arias, and Neapolitan works.
In 2012, the Russian capital hosted the world premiere of A. Zhurbin’s opera “Albert and Giselle,” which was written specifically for Baskov and at his request. Naturally, Basque himself performed the main role of Albert.
In addition, the man recorded several successful duets with recognized pop stars Taisiya Povaliy, Valeria and Sofia Rotaru. The songs “Let Me Go” and “You Are Far Away,” performed by Baskov and Povaliy, became hits.
Next, Baskov sang the song “Nikolai” with the singer Natalie, which also became very popular. It is curious that the singer herself wrote this composition specifically for this performance. The last partner of the “golden voice of Russia” was Baskov’s beloved Sophie Kalcheva.
The artist regularly tours cities in Russia and neighboring countries. In 2009, Nikolai Baskov was awarded the title “People’s Artist of the Russian Federation” by decree of the head of state Dmitry Medvedev. Soon after this, the singer received the title “People’s Artist of Moldova.”
In 2014, Basque delighted the audience with yet another hits and new videos for the songs “Zaya, I love you” and “I will kiss your hands.” By the way, today the celebrity has participated in dozens of video clips.
In 2020, the artist starred in a number of videos for the songs “I’ll hug you”, “I’ll give you love”, “Cherry Love”, and also comes to the “Evening Urgant” program, in which he and Ivan Urgant participate in a parody video for the crazy Japanese hit “The Story Of Pen Pineapple Apple Pen” that blew up the Internet.
Basque becomes a guest of the “Blind Audition” of the show “The Voice”. Members of the jury of the popular television project “saw through” Baskov in the very first minute, who failed to disguise his magnificent voice. In the same year, Nikolai opened his own music production class=”aligncenter” width=”750″ height=”422″[/img]
In addition to his musical career, the artist is actively promoting himself on television. Few people remember that in the summer of 2003, it was Baskov who began hosting the television reality show “Dom-1” on the TNT channel. A little later he is replaced by Svetlana Khorkina. Since 2005, Nikolai Baskov has become the permanent host of the popular music program “Saturday Evening,” which airs on the Rossiya TV channel.
It’s not for nothing that they say that if a person is talented, then he is talented in everything. Basque is not only a stage star, but also starred in more than a dozen films, mostly musicals, the most memorable being “Cinderella.” Here Basque played the prince, and actress Yulia Mavrina played Cinderella. Also on this list are the musicals “Morozko”, “The Snow Queen”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Wedding Ring” and others.
On the 30th anniversary season of the popular television show “What? Where? When?" The club decided to assemble a team of stars, which included Tatyana Ustinova, Larisa Rubalskaya, Oleg Morozov, Alexander Zhurbin, human rights activist Mikhail Barshchevsky and Nikolai Baskov. This team became the best in the spring series of games in 2005, and Baskov unexpectedly showed himself to be a skilled expert and deservedly became the best player of the star team.
In 2012, the man played in KVN. In the “STEM with a Star” competition, Baskov helped the “SOK” team from Samara, incredibly believably getting into the role of an ordinary car mechanic Kolya.
Biography
The singer was born in Balashikha, near Moscow, into a military family. When little Kolya was two years old, his father graduated from the Military Academy and was sent to Germany, so the future singer spent his early years far from his homeland.
In the photo: Nikolai Baskov as a child
Nikolai Baskov’s mother, who received a pedagogical education, worked for some time as an announcer on a local TV channel after moving to Germany.
“The mistress of the house is mother. She graduated from the Pedagogical Institute. Lenin, but she worked for only two years - when we lived in Halle, in Germany,” says Baskov.
Their family has always been very friendly, the singer’s father and mother loved each other, so the sudden death of Nikolai Baskov’s father in the spring of this year was a great tragedy for him and his mother.
Nikolai Baskov's parents made sure that their son grew up to be a well-rounded person, and at the age of five, his mother began to study musical notation with him. Since Nikolai Baskov’s family, like the families of other military men, often had to move from place to place, he went to music school in Kyzyl.
Later, Nikolai Baskov’s family moved to Novosibirsk, with which the beginning of the creative biography of the future artist is connected. In this city, he began studying at the Musical Theater for Young Spectators, with which he went on tour abroad.
In the photo: Nikolai Baskov in his youth
When his parents returned to Moscow with him, he entered a school specializing in the study of choreography and music. At the same time, Nikolai studied at a music school, which he graduated from in 1989.
Nikolai Baskov with his parents
Having received the certificate, Nikolai knew for sure that he wanted to connect his life with the stage, but had not yet decided whether he would be an actor or a singer, so he entered GITIS. After studying for a year, he realized that the main thing in his life was music, and he transferred to the school. Gnesins, after graduating from which he became a graduate student at the Moscow Conservatory.
In addition, he took vocal lessons from Honored Artist Liliana Shekhova.
“Working with me every day, she said: “Kolya, don’t pay attention to anyone. The time will come, and people will listen to your singing and cry! ”, the singer recalls.
During his student years, Nikolai Baskov more than once became a laureate of various music competitions; in 1998 he was accepted into the troupe of the Novosibirsk Opera Theater, and the following year he became an intern at the Bolshoi Theater, on the stage of which he performed as Lensky in the opera Eugene Onegin.
The popularity of the young performer fell after he shot a video for the song “In Memory of Caruso.” Then they began to call him the “Golden Voice of Russia.” After leaving the Bolshoi Basque, he sang on the stages of other opera houses, performing leading roles in famous operas.
Soon his popularity ceased to be limited only to academic halls; he began performing on the pop stage, recording videos, and acting in television projects. Compositions performed by Baskov, almost every one of which immediately became a hit, were played on the radio, his glossy publications featured his photo on their covers, and discs sold out at breakneck speed.
Personal life
The singer always had a sea of fans, of different ages. Schoolgirls, their mothers and even grandmothers are delighted with his singing and appearance. In the winter of 2001, January 27, a “black” day came for them - their idol got married! His chosen one was Svetlana Shpigel, the daughter of a producer. The bride was 19 years old at that time, and the groom was 20.
For quite a long time, the young couple did not want to have children, but five years later, in 2006, Svetlana finally decided and gave birth to her husband’s son, who was named by the beautiful name Bronislav. The newly-made grandfather, producer Boris Shpigel, was incredibly happy about the continuation of the family and insisted that the child have a double surname - Shpigel-Baskov. The young happy father did not argue with his father-in-law.
However, the famous singer was not lucky enough to bask at the family hearth for long. As the biography of Nikolai Baskov further narrates, personal life after the birth of a child was difficult. Svetlana Shpigel was not satisfied with the role of wife waiting for her husband to return from work. It turned out that Nikolai devoted most of his time to work: concerts, tours, filming on television... A creative person could not live any other way, Nikolai breathed art! In 2007, Basque, with one suitcase in his hands, left the house where he was so happy. The artist moved to a rented apartment, and divorce papers were signed in 2008.
The ex-wife and former father-in-law insisted that according to the documents, Baskov’s son was Bronislav Shpigel, and the father’s surname was simply removed. Moreover, Nikolai was forbidden to meet with the child, it was very difficult to survive. The artist became depressed and even had to turn to psychologists. Emotional people always take a breakup in a relationship very hard. But life goes on, the “Golden Voice of Russia” returned to its fans, the stage and the auditorium became its cure for melancholy.
Oksana Fedorova
It was not only the stage and the audience that brought Nikolai back to life after the divorce. Considerable credit for this belongs to Oksana Fedorova. This beautiful girl made the singer smile again, and a relationship arose between the young people, which grew into a deep feeling. Detractors and envious people claimed that there was no smell of love in this couple, that this was just PR, an opportunity to attract attention. But can’t such creative personalities have real feelings? Unfortunately, there are many evil tongues in the world.
At the “New Wave” song competition in Jurmala, happy Nikolai proposed to Oksana, but by the end of that year the couple broke up, declaring in public that their creative union had not broken up, they were just not ready to be together. Well, life is life, in it meetings are replaced by partings, the main thing is that good memories remain, without hatred and lies. Nikolai Baskov and Oksana Fedorova parted on good terms; they do not feel like enemies.
Romance with Anastasia Volochkova
Then the famous ballerina Anastasia Volochkova appeared in Baskov’s life. An opera star and a ballet star - the union of such two world-class talents could not go unnoticed, given that the lovers did not hide their relationship at all, appeared in public together everywhere and posted their candid photos on social networks.
“Well-wishers” of Nastya and Nikolai again stated that this was a publicity stunt, that such individuals simply cannot love anyone but themselves, but does anyone have the right to weigh the feelings of other people on the scales of cynicism?
Baskov and Volochkova love to be in the center of attention, they love to listen to compliments, they had a good time together, but it didn’t come to marriage. The singer and ballerina parted as friends, the passion of the two hearts subsided, and pleasant memories remained. Neither he nor she suffered from this breakup.
Sofia Kalcheva - the new love of the great tenor
When, after an affair with Anastasia, Baskov appeared in public with a charming companion, there were rumors in Russian show business that the girl was simply using the singer to make her way to fame. But she is so beautiful and elegant, they complement each other so harmoniously that you don’t want to believe any gossip. Nikolai Baskov simply fell in love, and it may well be that this time the matter will end at the altar.
Victoria Lopyreva
After breaking up with Sophie, Nikolai hid the details of his personal life for some time, but rumors immediately appeared on the Internet about the singer’s affair with fashion model and sports TV presenter Victoria Lopyreva. In the summer of 2020, the couple officially announced their upcoming wedding celebration.
The wedding was planned to be held in the capital of Chechnya in October 2017. The singer talked about his feelings for his chosen one, his readiness for family life and the birth of children. But after a while, the public learned that Victoria would not become the wife of the “golden voice of Russia” - they finally broke up. Now Baskov and Lopyreva maintain friendly relations.
Svetlana Shpigel
Nikolai was forced to part with his bachelor life by his love for the daughter of popular producer Boris Shpigel, Svetlana. Many perceived their romance as an opportunity for Baskov to “unwind” faster, but Nikolai was extremely negative about these hints and said that his love for Svetlana was sincere and mutual.
In the photo: Nikolai Baskov and Svetlana Shpigel
The singer’s first wife was five years younger than him; she had an international English college behind her, after graduating from which Svetlana entered the law faculty of Moscow State University.
They got married at the end of January 2001, and each of them continued to build their own careers - Nikolai Baskov’s first wife ran her PR agency “Success”, and he went on tour, gave concerts, and recorded discs.
A busy work schedule did not stop the couple from dreaming about children, and five years later an heir was born - the son of Nikolai Baskov, Bronislav. At the insistence of his wife’s father, Nikolai Baskov, the child was given a double surname – Shpigel-Baskov.
The first years of Svetlana and Nikolai’s life together were happy - they relaxed together, spent free time, which, however, was not so much.
“The best vacation is to be with your family. Lie on the couch, chat with your wife, play with your little son. It’s great when you don’t have to run anywhere or rush,” Nikolai said in those years.
However, two years after the birth of the heir, Nikolai Baskov’s personal life began to collapse - Svetlana was not happy with the fact that her husband was constantly away from home, and therefore he could not fully fulfill his paternal responsibilities.
The divorce process was long and difficult, and in the spring of 2008 the singer finally divorced his wife, after which she did everything possible to ensure that her ex-husband could no longer see her son. In addition, Svetlana and her father removed the second part from Bronislav's surname, and he became simply Shpigel.
More than ten years have passed since the singer last saw his only son—he has no more children—and during this time Bronislav has changed a lot. He and his mother live in an elite gated community near Moscow.
If anyone is interested in knowing how old Nikolai Baskov’s son is now, then in the spring of this year Bronislav turned thirteen years old, and Baskov has not seen him for almost the same amount of time.
“It’s hard for me to talk about this, this is a very difficult situation for me and... Time will put everything in its place,” says the artist.
After Nikolai divorced his wife, he has not yet married again, and Nikolai Baskov has no children, except for his only son from his first marriage.
But Svetlana Shpigel attempted to start a family again - with businessman Vyacheslav Sobolev, who at one time held the position of head of the board of Naftogaz, but this attempt was not crowned with success. After living with her new husband for a short time and giving birth to a daughter, she divorced him too.
Nikolay Baskov now
In 2020, Nikolai Baskov decided to make some changes to his image. Thanks to visiting the gym, the singer lost a fair amount of weight. Now, with a height of 174 cm, his weight has become much less than 80 kg. On Instagram, the artist posted a photo with his hair dyed, commenting on the photo with the phrase: “I’m tired of being blonde.” Fans reacted positively to the changes in the appearance of their idol, wishing him a speedy marriage.
In 2020, Nikolai Baskov surprised fans with unexpected collaborations. In February, the pop idol performed the hit “Fantaser” with musicians from the group “Disco Accident”. Within six months, the number of views of the video for this song reached 7 million.
In August, information appeared on the Internet about a new composition by Nikolai Baskov and Philip Kirkorov “Ibiza”. The advertised video was created according to the script of comedian Alexander Gudkov. The intrigue was fueled by the screening of Kirkorov’s previous sensational video, “The Color of Mood is Blue,” filmed in a similar style.
In the new video, in addition to the performers, Russian show business stars Sergei Shnurov, Garik Kharlamov, Valery Leontiev, Anita Tsoi, Andrei Malakhov appeared in the frame. In the first 24 hours, the clip, which contained obscene language, scenes of violence and primitive humor, took a leading position in the “Trending” tab on YouTube, and was watched by 1 million people.
The video, as well as the subsequent performance of the song on New Wave, caused a stir in society. The public was dissatisfied with the change in the image of the People's Artists of the Russian Federation. There was even talk on the Internet about depriving the singers of such a high title. The artists had to release a musical “apology” to fans. They posted the clip on YouTube.
In addition to scandalous projects, the singer held a benefit performance in the television studio of Andrei Malakhov on the TV show “Hello, Andrei!”, and also presented a disc of sacred music “I Believe” on the stage of the concert hall of the State Kremlin Palace. The concert was attended by the State Academic Russian Choir named after A.V. Sveshnikov and a symphony orchestra conducted by conductor Yuri Medyanik.
Personal life of Nikolai Baskov
The artist met his first wife, Svetlana Shpigel, in a work environment. The girl’s father at that time was producing Baskov. In 2004, after five years of marriage, the couple had a son, Bronislav. In November of the same year, the couple filed for divorce. Their relationship was officially dissolved in May 2008.
In 2009, it became known about Nikolai’s affair with TV presenter and model Oksana Fedorova. The engagement never led them to marriage. In 2011, the stars announced their separation.
In the same year, Basque began dating ballerina Anastasia Volochkova. Until now, their relationship is regarded as a smart PR move. Two years later, the couple's love story ended.
Until 2020, the singer was together with his colleague Sophie Kalcheva. Now Nikolai’s chosen one is model Sofia Nikitchuk. In 2020, the young beauty won the Miss Russia competition and became the 1st vice-Miss World.
Stage
View this post on Instagram
Publication from Nikolai Baskov (@nikolaibaskov) July 17, 2020 at 10:58 PDT
In parallel with the development of his career in the world of opera, Nikolai Baskov actively participated in many pop projects. Unfortunately, this affected his work at the Bolshoi Theater, where Nikolai never appeared on the stage during the last years of his work there. This became the reason for the theater’s refusal to renew its contract with him. And, although the singer entered into contracts with other theaters - the Academic Opera and Ballet Theater of Nizhny Novgorod and the Erik Sapaev Opera and Ballet Theater in Yoshkar-Ola, Nikolai has been actively developing his solo career on the Russian stage during these years.
In 2000, his debut albums “Dedication” and “Encore Dedication” were released, and the next year was marked by the release of two discs - “Masterpieces of the Outgoing Century” and “I’m 25.” Moreover, “Masterpieces” were filled with numerous opera arias and songs of the 20th century in completely different styles.
In this album, Nikolai reveals himself as a true professional in his field, capable of performing compositions in a wide variety of styles, and demonstrated masterful command of his voice. And “I’m 25” includes many songs that the public loved so much, and which are still on everyone’s lips. For example, "Hurdy Organ".
View this post on Instagram
Publication from Nikolai Baskov (@nikolaibaskov) November 6, 2020 at 11:25 PST
The following years became no less fruitful for Nikolai. In 2005, he released compositions that he performed together with Tisia Povaliy - “Never Say Goodbye” and “Let Me Go,” as well as the collection “Best Songs,” which included all the artist’s popular and beloved songs by the public. At this time, he actively tours throughout the country, gives charity concerts, and also travels outside Russia with his performances - to Israel, the USA and many other countries.
In 2011, the singer performed in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Philharmonic with Maria Maksakova and Lyudmila Magomedova. During the concert, he performed many classical arias and romances, thereby proving that concentration on the stage does not negate his natural vocal abilities and the great work done on his voice and technique, which is so necessary for performing opera.
View this post on Instagram
Publication from Nikolai Baskov (@nikolaibaskov) April 24, 2020 at 11:30 PDT
In 2012, Nikolai Baskov performs at a concert dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the creative career of Montserrat Caballe. Of course, the student could not miss such a significant event for the teacher, so his performance was mandatory in the program. And the following year, the State Kremlin Palace hosted a large-scale concert program performed by Nikolai Baskov, Montserrat Caballe and her daughter Montserrat Mart, during which they performed arias from the classical repertoire of world-class opera performers.
- We make a diagnosis based on the songs you sing at karaoke
Recognition came to Nikolai Baskov even earlier; in 2009 he received the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation. Also, from 2011 to 2016, he taught vocal art at the Moscow Humanitarian University. M.A. Sholokhov, and in 2020 he opened a music production center and to this day helps young talents, who he once was, to find themselves and their audience.
