Great Singers in Moscow

Note by Boris Semeonoff











Following release of Great Singers at the Mariinsky Theatre (Prima Voce NI 7865), it had been intended to prepare a companion disc devoted to singers at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow. However, closer attention to the careers of singers active during the first quarter of the century showed that such a title would have led to the exclusion of many fine artistes who were primarily based in Moscow but did not sing at the Bolshoi.

The Bolshoi has always been the most glamorous of the Moscow theatres presenting opera, but almost equally prestigious during the period under discussion were the various independent or 'private' operas, i.e. those not under the control of the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres. The first such company, the Moscow Private Russian Opera, was founded in 1885 by Savva Mamontov, best remembered now for the influence he exerted on Chaliapin's artistic development. Several of Rimsky-Korsakov's most important operas had their premieres under Mamontov's direction, a period that also saw a general shift in emphasis in operatic production from the purely vocal to dramatic realism. When financial difficulties brought Mamontov's enterprise to an end in 1904, he was succeeded by Sergei Zimin, whose activity lasted into the post-Revolution period; three of his singers are featured on this disc.

Other operatic venues in Moscow at which leading singers appeared included the city's conservatoire, the Hermitage (winter only) and more than one Narodny Dom (or 'People's Palace'), a ubiquitous institution in Tsarist Russia that provided club facilities alongside auditoria for lectures and stage presentations.

More important than any of these was of course the Bolshoi itself. The Bolshoi (literally 'Great' or simply 'big') Theatre has had differing 'official' designations throughout its history. The first theatre bearing that name was burned down during the Napoleonic invasion. A new theatre, on the present site, was opened in 1825, but it too was destroyed by fire, and was replaced by the present building, designed by Cavos and completed in 1863. Both before and after that date the Bolshoi has seen so many important events and developments that it is impossible in the space available to mention more than a very few. Of particular historic significance are the premieres of Verstovsky's Askold's Tomb, the first (pre-Glinka) opera based on a Russian theme (1835), of Tchaikovsky's first (and ill-fated) opera The Voyevoda (1869) and of Rakhmaninov's one-act operas Francesca da Rimini and The Miserly Knight, presented as a double bill in 1906, towards the end of the composer's brief period as director.

A Russian singer can be paid no greater compliment by a critic or reviewer than to have it said that their talent puts them on a par with Chaliapin, Sobinov and Nezhdanova. These three names have - to use a currently fashionable expression - entered the national consciousness, and stayed there, to a degree possibly unparalleled in any of the performing arts, in any country. A two-disc Prima Voce issue (NI 7823/24) presents a substantial selection from Chaliapin's operatic and concert repertoire, a similar (single-disc) issue devoted to Nezhdanova is in active preparation and it is hoped it will be possible to do the same for Sobinov in the not too distant future. Nezhdanova and Sobinov, as also a few of the other singers included here are also represented on the Prima Voce Mariinsky disc referred to above; to conserve space comments on these artistes are being kept to a minimum.

As noted in the Mariinsky booklet, 'Smirnov vs Sobinov' is a favourite topic of debate among record collectors. It is of course perfectly valid to prefer Smirnov to Sobinov, as indeed many connoisseurs of singing do, but even Smirnov's most ardent admirers will admit that often he is clearly striving for effect, a practice quite foreign to Sobinov's approach. Aesthetically, the question of pre-emininence must remain unresolved, but historically there can be only one answer.

A word about Chaliapin: two contrasting opinions have been expressed regarding his artistic status, as distinct from his position as a national figure. On the one hand it has been claimed that if he had never sung a note he would still have been one of the greatest actors of all time; on the other that some of his impersonations (e.g. of Massenet's Don Quichotte) were over the top - even approaching 'ham'. But the latter view is one expressed - almost inevitably at this time - by those who have heard him only on records, whereas the fact that his visual impact could be phenomenal is attested by existing personal accounts too detailed to be quoted here. It has also been suggested that on the purely vocal side he was less well endowed than some of his contemporaries, such as Bukhtoyarov or Kastorsky. Chaliapin's renderings of both of Kastorsky's offerings on the present disc can be heard on NI 7823/24; listeners can therefore judge for themselves.

Passing now to singers new to Prima Voce:

Nikolay Figner's date of birth (1857) places him a generation earlier than nearly all of the singers on this disc. He entered the St. Petersburg Conservatoire in 1878, but failed to impress his teachers. Confident, however of his own potential, he felt he would stand a better chance in Italy. Events there proved him right and some years later he made a successful debut in Naples, in Gounod's Philemon et Baucis. Following a brilliant career in western Europe and South America, Figner returned to Russia in 1887, making his Russian debut in Aïda, at the Mariinsky. Thereafter his continued success won him recognition as a star of the first magnitude, culminating in his creation of the role of Herman in The Queen of Spades, a character he had helped the composer to develop. Figner's position in relation to recording in Russia is analogous to that of Patti in the west; both singers began to record when well past their prime and in each case their records are at first hearing disappointing. To the practised ear, however, both artistes' records reveal evidence of real greatness.

Lev Klement'yev presents a different picture. Burly in physique and of an equally robust personality, he started as an operetta singer (debut as Barikay in Der Zigeunerbaron), later singing in all the opera houses in St Petersburg, Moscow and the provinces, including ten years (1892-1902) as soloist at the Bolshoi. His voice had a baritonal quality that enabled him to sing Onegin on occasion and to excel in 'heavy' tenor roles, notably that of Rubinstein's Nero (track 2). In this he was frequently partnered by Sergei Levik as Vindex, as vividly narrated by Levik in his reminiscences, now available in translation (The Levik Memoirs: an Opera Singer's Notes, London, 1995).

Alexandr Alexandrovich (real name Pokrovsky) was possibly better known as a concert and oratorio singer and as a 'straight' actor than as an operatic tenor. Although he did sing leading roles both in Russia (Lensky at the Bolshoi in 1916) and abroad, including participation in Diaghilev's Russian seasons in Paris and London in 1913, he appears to have specialised in secondary roles - Steersman (as here, track 15) rather than Erik, Simpleton rather than False Dmitri (Boris Godunov) and the like. His many other interests included composition and authorship both within and outside the musical field.

Boris Slovtsov, the last of our Bolshoi tenors, is practically unknown in the west, mainly because he never sang outside Russia, but perhaps also because his records were issued only on the Gramophone Company's Green Label (i.e. cheaper series). He was born in the Yenisei province of Siberia and after a relatively short stay in European Russia, mainly in Kiev, he returned in 1920 to Krasnoyarsk, near the border with Mongolia, where he was active in all aspects of musical life until his early death in 1934. During that period, however, he also spent some time in both Leningrad and Moscow. At the Bolshoi he partnered - among others - Nezhdanova and Mark Reizen.

Brief mention is made in the Mariinsky booklet of Natalia Yermolenko-Yuzhina, as having starred in her husband David Yuzhin's none-too-successful touring opera company. More important was her main career, one of outstanding versatility and brilliance, covering virtually all the principal opera houses both in Russia and western Europe, a high point being her appearance as Marina Mnishek (Boris Godunov) in Diaghilev's first Russian season in Paris in 1908, which won her the Legion d'Honneur. At the Bolshoi she took part in the first presentations there of Rubinstein's Nero, Strauss's Elektra and Rimsky-Korsakov's Pan Voyevoda with Rakhmaninov conducting.

Finally, to our 'non-Bolshoi' singers: Vera Petrova-Zvantseva presents an intriguing problem: small and plump, she can hardly have made a visually convincing Carmen or Dalila, but these were among her most successful roles, as witnessed by the frequency with which her postcard photographs, appropriately costumed, turn up. She was a pupil of the composer Ippolitov-Ivanov, under whose aegis she made her Moscow debut in 1899, as Lybasha (The Tsar's Bride), and along with whom she was later extremely active on the Moscow private opera scene. At various times she made guest appearances in many provincial centres and abroad, including a visit to Japan in 1908; the baritone Shevelyov (see below) was also a member of the party. Her extensive repertoire covered more than forty roles, and she created a number of mezzo roles in now- forgotten operas by Cui, Ippolitov-Ivanov and others.

Vasily Damayev gets a somewhat dismissive assessment from Levik; on the other hand, he was highly regarded by such leading musical personalities as Chaliapin, Nezhdanova and Rakhmaninov and the Gramophone Company accorded the distinction, rare at that time, of Red Label (celebrity) status, no doubt in anticipation of sales of his records abroad, following his successful appearances in Paris (1909) and London (1913). Of humble peasant origin, he was initially self-taught musically and at the age of 16 organised an amateur choir in his home district in a remote area north-east of the Black Sea. A few years later, however, he moved to Moscow, where his studies with the former Bolshoi soloist A. Uspensky led to a debut as the Pretender (Boris Godunov) at the Zimin Theatre in 1908. From then on he made rapid progress - perhaps too rapid - because in the early 1920s his voice, probably as a result of overwork, began to deteriorate quite seriously, especially in the upper register. He retired in 1930, devoting the last two years of his life to work in administration.

Nikolay Shevelyov affords another example of an artiste whose popularity may be gauged by the large number of his photo-postcards bought by his admirers and by the long lists of recordings he made for the Gramophone Company and Sirena and no doubt on other labels that the writer has not encountered. Following a period of study in Milan, he spent most of his active life in Moscow, singing with various private companies, including, at the Solodovnikov Theatre, baritone roles in the premieres of two Rimsky-Korsakov operas - The Tsar's Bride (Gryaznoy) and The Tale of Tsar Saltan (Huntsman). Towards the end of his life he was also active in Georgia, as soloist at the Tiflis (Tbilisi) Opera and later as professor at the conservatoire. It is perhaps not unfair to describe Shevelyov as a 'reliable' rather than a 'great' singer, on the understanding, that is, that 'reliable' is being used as a term of approval and not of belittlement.

All records courtesy of The Director and Staff of St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music.

The St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music was opened in 1918, replacing the former Directorate of the Imperial Theatres. At present the Museum's holdings amount to about 420,000 items, of which about a third are related to music theatre. The collection of theatrical costumes is probably the greatest in the world. Among them are those of Chaliapin in Boris Godunov, of Zabela Vrubel as Snow Maiden and Volkhova (Sadko) and many others.

The important section of manuscripts includes autograph letters and scores by Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Tchaikovsky, Diaghilev, Shostakovich, Stanislavsky...

Facilities are available to hear recordings of the voices of leading actors of the past, and to see video presentations of world-wide theatrical design. More than 100,000 people visit the museum and its branches every year. In recent years the Museum has organised many highly acclaimed exhibitions, both in Russia and abroad, among them 'Images of the Russian Ballet' (USA), 'Wagner on the Russian Stage' (Germany) and 'The Russian Imperial Ballet' (France).


© 1996 Boris Semeonoff

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