Kasyan Svetlana Davidovna

Biography

Svetlana Davidovna Kasyan was born in Batumi in 1984. Came from family of Yazidi, the ethno-religious group which arose in Iraq approximately in the 12th century.

In 13 years Svetlana was christened in Orthodox church, graduated from the Moscow conservatory, passed training at the leading opera singers.

Since 2010 acts in the Bolshoi Theatre.

In 2012 at the Athenian festival she was called "new Maria Callas".

As the opera star, Kasyan often travels all over the world and easily comes into contact with influential people. So it could fascinate so the ambassador of the USA in the Russian Federation Michael McFaul that he in the book "From Cold War to the Hot World" wrote that Svetlana - the only non American of whom he invited to sing with a concert in the American Embassy in Moscow and thanks to qualities of soul of the performer he decided to enter tradition of celebration of the International Women's Day and in the American Embassy.

In 2013 Kasyan received the first audience at Pope Francis on which the pontiff devoted its voice to God, having taken a promise to sing only for the Lord and for the sake of promotion of good from Svetlana.

Kasyan repeatedly met the Father in 2017 and 2018, and in 2019 he signed the decree on construction of the prima donna in a rank of the Lady of an award of Saint Sylvester for merits before Catholic Church and the Holy See, at the same time Kasyan became the first woman awarded with this high award.

Svetlana's photos were published in the Maxim magazine in April, 2017, than she wanted "draw attention of public to opera art".

Maxim magazine, 2017

In 2019 Svetlana celebrated the 35 anniversary in St. Marfa's House in Vatican. In Pope Francis's company. From which received as a gift a fragment of the Turin Shroud.

Any of artists and even any world politician and not each cardinal does not meet so often the Father in private and the more so does not receive so valuable presents.

In addition to art talents Kasyan, it is connected with Rimo-katolichesky church and through the husband – Leonid Mikhaylovich Sevastyanov who is a chief executive of Charitable foundation of the prelate Gregory the Theologian.

The annual turnover of fund is calculated by hundreds of millions of rubles, money arrives from the Jesuit organizations from Europe and the USA. Money of fund is spent for activity of the General church postgraduate study and doctoral studies of ROC and Department of external church relations which are directed by the metropolitan Illarion. Itself Kasyan told once that Illarion is her confessor, and during small time it even sang at its concerts.