NIKOLAI MASSENKOFF RUSSIAN FOLK FESTIVAL VIDEO

Nikolai Massenkoff, is the singing star of the internationally acclaimed, Massenkoff Russian Folk Festival, which he founded and presented for the first time in 1975. The Massenkoff Russian Folk Festival is a festival of Russian song, music and dance created as an expression of a lifelong love for his heritage, tradition and soul-stirring culture.

Schooled in classical music, Massenkoff holds a B.A. in voice, drama, and speech. He has participated in the Fourth International Tchaikovsky competition, studied with voice masters, including Tito Gobbi, Alexander Kipnis, George London, in Italy, Austria, Connecticut and California. Massenkoff, in his voice and personality, has been compared by critics to the prominent singers in the classical world as well as the pops, from Fyodor Chaliapin to Frank Sinatra.

His costumes have been compared to the extravagance of Liberace. At the age of three, Nikolai was placed in the Russian Orthodox orphanage in Shanghai, China, organized by St. John of Shanghai. At the age of twelve, he arrived in San Francisco, California and took his love of music across the world, garnering acclaim from New York's Carnegie Hall to San Francisco's Symphony Pops, from Canada to Caribbean, from Eastern Europe to Western Europe... to Seoul, Korea performing for an audience of 90,000 and International television. At Epcot Center, Orlando, Florida, Massenkoff was asked for repeat performances, more than a hundred times!

In Moscow, Russia, the press wrote: "Massenkoff conquered us with his voice, full of warmth... he overwhelmpd us with his songs that seemed to push the walls aside... we could listen forever to his interpretation of our native songs."

The Massenkoff Russian Folk Festival (MRFF), starring Nikolai Massenkoff, featuring Balalaika Ensemble and the Russian Folk Ballet, continues to perform to both popular and critical acclaim.

The following are quotes from reviews of the Massenkoff Russian Folk Festival:

"Only in a neighborhood theatre, hidden away on a side street in Leningrad, have I felt a warmth similar to that of this troupe... "

"Only on Chaliapin records have I heard a voice like Nikolai's. Spaseebah, Nikolai!" (Vergari State Theatre, Ohio)

"MRFF was actually two shows for the price of one. One show featuring musicians and dancers who were delightfully talented, the other show was one few who attended will soon forget. This gigantic aura filled the stage and all eyes were riveted to a figure costumed in elaborate Russian garb, who unobtrusively demanded attention of everyone as he stepped onto the stage... Nikolai Massenkoff... putting all these ingredients together with Massenkoff's marvelous thundering voice, you have experienced a moment which you may never again capture." (The Lindsborg News, Kansas)

"Your singing was magnificent and the dancers and musicians were spectacular... at the Main Olympic Stadium, Seoul, Korea... "(Choi's Pro Co., Ltd.)

"What a delightful troupe these performers were and so filled with heart... _ the result is a joyous, refreshing, toe-tapping evening that wiped the cobwebs j and weariness away like a blast of heaven-sent breath from God... " (Granti County, Nebraska) .

"Massenkoff... is possessed of the most incredibly majestic voice I have ever heard. The instant of his first vocal ushered a reverent silence throughout the house. The depth and breadth of his range defies mere comment: it simply must I be heard." (Hayward, California)

1. DARK EYES
Dark eyes of passion, burning, enticing, wonderful... I love you and fear you... perhaps I should never have met you...

2. MOSCOW NIGHTS
Not a sound is heard, not a whisper, all is still through the night... If only you knew, if I could express what I feel in this magic night...

3. ACCORDIONIST
All is quiet until morning, only the sound of a lonely accordion is heard, searching for someone and not finding... maybe she is near...

4. VOLGA BOATMEN
One more time, let us pull together as we paise our homeland while singing of the great people, great river Volga, mother of all...

5. KAROBUSHKA
While at the faire, my container is full of merchandise, silks, scarfs... come and visit me at sunset, we'll have a wonderful time together...

6. TWO GUITARS
Behind a wall, you hear a familiar melody from long ago... unending it keeps bringing back the past love and happiness... all are gone but the song

8. ROADS
Roads, full of dust and dirt, cold, hunger, desert, desolate... far from home not knowing your fate... while family awaits, patiently, hoping...

9. KATUSHA
Katusha, daily, goes on top of the hill and waits for her lover to return from war, while he defends the country, family, never forgetting... Katusha!

10. MAPLE (ESENIN)
Why are you so bent over from the heaviness of winter snow... you remind me of a man, drunk, lost in the forest, staying alive singing of spring...

11. ALONG PETERSBURG
Those were the best of times... dashing on Troika, full of life, hope, holiday spirit, anticipating a warm reception, feast, vodka, great time!

Nikolai Massenkoff in Moscow, Russia. October 2007