The audience at Kala Mandir was treated to some fine vocal music when the Turetsky Choir performed there on January 29. The concert was part of a three-city tour, supported by the government of Moscow and the ministry of foreign affairs of the Russian Federation. The 23-member troupe performed for the first time in Calcutta, in between shows in Delhi and Mumbai.

The choir is a Russian ensemble and musical collective under the direction of Mikhail Turetsky. According to their website, their voices range from tenore contraltino (operatic tenor) to basso profundo (deep bass), a claim that was backed by the powerful performances by each of the singers.

The choir is also known for singing in over 10 languages, including a cappella. That evening, they performed global hits like Bella Ciao and Livin’ la vida loca, interspersing the original lyrics with Russian verses.

A personal moment was introduced when, on hearing the audience applaud a performance by Emmanuel Turetskaya, the founder of the choir, Mikhail Turetsky proudly announced, “My daughter”.

At another point, while singing the Russian folk-style Kalinka song, one member of the troupe came off stage and briefly danced with an audience member. “The song sounded so much like Darling from 7 Khoon Maaf,” exclaimed Arieana Islam, a Park Circus girl, as she returned to her seat.

One person who could be seen singing along from the front row was Russian consul general Maxim Kozlov. “It is a very famous Russian group. It feels nice to have singers come from the motherland and sing songs you grew up with,” he smiled, seated next to his wife Natalia Gerasimova.

The biggest applause was for the last performance when they broke into Jimmy Jimmy aja aja, the Disco Dancer song in Hindi, which has always been popular across the then Soviet Union.