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Alexander Prokhorov-Tolstoy (Russian: Александр Александрович Прохоров-Толстой) is a Russian-born American bass-baritone opera singer, Russian Romance Performer, stage director, producer, vocal method creator and vocal instructor, choral conductor, and composer. He obtained his Master of Music degree in Opera Performance from Longy School of Music of Bard College; and his Artist's Diploma from Boston University Opera Institute.
In Alexander Prokhorov-Tolstoy's repertoire are opera arias, art songs, old classical Russian and Gypsy romances, folk songs, and war-time ballads. He is known as Master of Russian and Gypsy Romances. He is a connoisseur and collector of well-known, as well as rare and forgotten romances, that he performs with his own improvised piano accompaniment. “His deep bass baritone immediately captivates and brings forth the melodic beauty of the romances, along with their drama and excitement to the audiences.”
Alexander Prokhorov-Tolstoy concert appearances range from Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall of the New England Conservatory, and the Emerson/Cutler Majestic Theater to Moscow and St. Petersburg's Philharmonic Halls. The Romances remain his favorite genre and his concert tours always include the annual Evening of Russian and Gypsy Romances at Tolstoy's Museum in Moscow, which he dedicates to his famous great- grandfather, Aleksey Tolstoy.
Alexander Prokhorov-Tolstoy is also the Founder and Artistic and Stage Director of the award-winning Commonwealth Lyric Theater, which he co-founded with Olga Lisovskaya in Boston, Massachusetts, and where he has staged critically acclaimed productions of operas featuring world-class singers from the Bolshoi, La Scala, and Metropolitan opera companies. His opera productions of Aleko by Sergei Rachmaninov (2013) and Mozart and Salieri by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (2014), and Demon by Anton Rubinstein (2017), won 1st prize in the National Opera Association Competition (NOA).
Commonwealth Lyric Theater also includes a Young Artist Program. Alexander Prokhorov-Tolstoy's vocal students, between the ages of 6 and 18, have an opportunity to perform on the big state with international stars in all of his productions. New project Commonwealth Lyric Theater is hosting a live show "Musical Window" - interactive weekly show for children that will send kids on a fun and educational musical journey. They will learn basics of rhyme and melody, get acquinted with musical instruments, and be introduced to the great composers of all times and masterpiece music they created.
Alexander Prokhorov-Tolstoy was the artistic director, and vocal instructor of Lucky Ten Young Talent Studio, a winner of international competitions that produced, several fully staged opera productions performed by children with orchestra, which included W.A. Mozart's The Magic Flute and Figaro, Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmila, and Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. Some of those productions received an Honorable Mention Award by National Opera Association.
Alexander Prokhorov-Tolstoy is internationally recognized voice instructor and creator of a unique method of vocal training and performance and voice rehabilitation technique called “ONE TWO THREE SING” (U.S. federal trademark serial number of 86200198). He teaches series of master classes and gives lectures on the subject throughout the USA and Europe, including Gnessin State Musical College and the Higher School of Performing Arts (Theater School of Konstantin Raikin) in Moscow. His voice teaching method and skills were praised by national newspapers including the Boston Globe, USA National Radio and TV stations. He was also featured in the national TV show Young Marvels by Ovation TV as a teacher of vocal prodigies. His student, Clark Rubinshtein, was chosen to perform at America’s Got Talent show before the celebrity judges and performed the National Anthem at Red Sox game in Boston.
His students received Grand Prix at various vocal competitions Golden Voices of America (New York), Passion for Music (New York), Planet of Art (Washington), Istoki (Moscow), Caribbean Gold (Caribbean Islands) and other famous international competitions. He often presides on Jury panels of national and international competitions, with genre ranging from Opera to Broadway and Pop/Jazz.
Alexander Prokhorov-Tolstoy also composes music for children's musicals and drama plays including famous Musical Play Buratino, based on his famous great-grandfather's retold tale of Pinnoccio by Aleksey Tolstoy. |
