Russian singer Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin. In which operas did Chaliapin perform the main roles? “Pskovite” (Ivan the Terrible), “Life for the Tsar” (Ivan Susanin), “Mozart and Salieri” (Salieri). Songs performed by Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin

Great Performers of the 20th Century

Fyodor Chaliapin. Tsar Bass

Like Sabinin in Glinka's opera, I exclaim:
“Immeasurable joy!”
Great happiness fell from the sky on us!
A new, great talent has been born...

(V. Stasov)

We live in an amazing time when miracles have become common, everyday occurrences. Thanks to one of these miracles, we now, just like Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov once did, can exclaim: “Immeasurable joy!”- we hear Chaliapin’s voice.

Tsar Bass

“Someone said about Chaliapin,- wrote V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, - when God created him, he was in a special good mood, creating for the joy of everyone.”

This voice, once heard, is truly impossible to forget. You return to it again and again, despite the imperfections of the old recordings. There were wonderful voices both before and after Chaliapin, but few can compare with his high, “velvety” bass, which was distinguished by incredible expressiveness. And the listener is fascinated not only by the unique timbre, but also by how accurately and subtly the singer was able to convey the slightest shades of feelings inherent in the work, be it an opera part, a folk song or a romance.

Chaliapin raised vocal art to new heights, teaching lessons of musical truth to those around him and generously sharing his secrets with future generations of artists.

And the life story of the Russian Tsar Bass is a lesson for everyone. No matter what conditions you live in, as long as you have a spark of talent, follow your dreams, work, strive for perfection... And everything will work out.

Since September 24, 1899, Chaliapin has been the leading soloist of the Bolshoi and at the same time the Mariinsky theaters, with triumphant success on tours abroad. In 1901, at La Scala in Milan, he sang the role of Mephistopheles in opera of the same name A. Boito with Enrico Caruso, conducted by A. Toscanini. The world fame of the Russian singer was confirmed by tours in Rome (1904), Monte Carlo (1905), Orange (France, 1905), Berlin (1907), New York (1908), Paris (1908), London (1913/14).

The divine beauty of Chaliapin's voice captivated listeners from all countries. His high bass, delivered naturally, with a velvety, soft timbre, sounded full-blooded, powerful and possessed a rich palette of vocal intonations. The effect of artistic transformation amazed the listeners - it was not only the appearance, but also the deep inner content that was conveyed by the singer’s vocal speech. In creating capacious and scenically expressive images, the singer is helped by his extraordinary versatility: he is both a sculptor and an artist, writes poetry and prose. Such versatile talent of the great artist is reminiscent of the masters of the Renaissance - it is no coincidence that his contemporaries compared his opera heroes with the titans of Michelangelo.

Chaliapin's art crossed national boundaries and influenced the development of the world opera theater. Many Western conductors, artists and singers could repeat the words of the Italian conductor and composer D. Gavadzeni: "Chaliapin's innovation in the field of dramatic truth opera art had a strong impact on Italian theater... The dramatic art of the great Russian artist left a deep and lasting mark not only on the performance of Russian operas by Italian singers, but in general, on the entire style of their vocal and stage interpretation, including the works of Verdi...”

Of particular importance was Chaliapin’s participation in the “Russian Seasons” as a promoter of Russian music, primarily the work of M. P. Mussorgsky and N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. He was artistic director Mariinsky Theater(1918), elected member of the directors of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters. Having gone abroad on tour in 1922, Chaliapin did not return to Soviet Union, lived and died in Paris (in 1984, Chaliapin’s ashes were transferred to the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow).

The greatest representative of Russian performing art, Chaliapin, was equally great both as a singer and as a dramatic actor. His voice - amazing in its flexibility and richness of timbre - sounded either with soulful tenderness, sincerity, or with striking sarcasm.

Masterfully mastering the art of phrasing, the finest nuances, and diction, the singer filled every musical phrase with figurative meaning, filled it with deep psychological subtext. Chaliapin created a gallery of diverse images, revealing the complex inner world their heroes.

The artist’s pinnacle creations were the images of Boris Godunov (“Boris Godunov” by M. P. Mussorgsky) and Mephistopheles (“Faust” by Charles Gounod and “Mephistopheles” by Arrigo Boito). Other roles include: Susanin (“Ivan Susanin” by M. I. Glinka), Melnik (“The Mermaid” by A. S. Dargomyzhsky), Ivan the Terrible (“The Woman of Pskov” by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov), Don Basilio (“The Barber of Seville” "G. Rossini), Don Quixote ("Don Quixote" by J. Massenet).

Chaliapin was an outstanding chamber singer: a sensitive interpreter vocal works M. I. Glinka, A. S. Dargomyzhsky, M. P. Mussorgsky, P. I. Tchaikovsky, A. G. Rubinstein, R. Schumann, F. Schubert, as well as a soulful performer of Russians folk songs. He also acted as a director (productions of the opera “Khovanshchina”, “Don Quixote”). He acted in films. He also owns sculptural and painting works.

The memory of the artist is immortalized in the city of his childhood - Kazan. On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of his birth, the world's first city monument to F.I. Chaliapin, made by sculptor Andrei Balashov, was unveiled here. He took a place on a pedestal near the Epiphany Cathedral, where Chaliapin was once baptized, on the main street of the city.

Arias from the opera "Boris Godunov" M. P. Mussorgsky

Chaliapin loved Mussorgsky most of all composers. And he sang it in such a way that it seems as if everything created by Mussorgsky was created specifically for Chaliapin. Meanwhile...

“My greatest disappointment in life is that I did not meet Mussorgsky. He died before I arrived in St. Petersburg. My grief..."

Yes, they never knew each other. However, no, this is not so. Mussorgsky really did not know Chaliapin. And this is very sad to think about. How happy Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky would have been if he had heard and seen Chaliapin perform his Tsar Boris, his Varlaam, Pimen, Dositheus, all his men whom he sang in music with such love, with such great pain and compassion.

And Chaliapin knew Mussorgsky. He understood and loved him like his closest friend. With the heart of a great artist, he felt every thought of his music, knew every note in it. All of Mussorgsky's works that the bass could sing were in his repertoire. The opera "Boris Godunov" has three bass parts. And all three were performed by Chaliapin.

We know that Chaliapin was not only a great singer, but also a great actor. And although we have never seen Chaliapin play, we understand this by looking at his portraits in roles. It’s hard to believe that this is the same person, that it’s all Chaliapin.

And it’s not just makeup and costume that change an artist.

Boris Godunov. Boris Godunov has a strong, strong-willed face; he is a handsome, courageous man with a sharp, inquisitive gaze. But somewhere in the depths of his smart, beautiful eyes, great anxiety, almost despair, is beating and screaming.

Listening: M. Mussorgsky. Boris' monologue (prologue) "The soul grieves..." from the opera “Boris Godunov”, performed by F. Chaliapin.

Chaliapin's daughter, Irina, recalls:

“The curtain rose, and to the ringing of bells, “led by the hands of the boyars,” Tsar Boris appeared.

The soul grieves...

We listen to Chaliapin sing. Beautiful, juicy, thick, I would like to say - regal voice. Only in this royal greatness there is no peace. The anxiety and sadness are clearly heard in the voice. Tsar Boris is in trouble in his soul. The ringing of bells does not please him, nor does the solemn election to the kingdom make him happy. But Boris Godunov is a man of strong will. He overcame his anxiety. And now, in Russian, broadly:

And then call the people to a feast...

It’s as if this mighty, generous bass hugged everyone:

All free entry; all guests are dear...

Listening: M. Mussorgsky. Boris' monologue “I have reached the highest power...”(Act 2) from the opera “Boris Godunov”, performed by F. Chaliapin.

Pimen - completely different. This old man knows a lot. Sees a lot. He is calm and wise, he is not tormented by remorse, which is why his gaze is so straight and calm. Remember, in Pushkin: "Night. Cell in the Chudov Monastery. Pimen writes in front of a lamp".

The voices of the strings in the orchestra sound muffled, note after note is strung slowly and monotonously. Like the quiet rustle of a quill pen on ancient parchment, as if the intricate script of Slavic writing stretches out, telling about the “past fate of the native land.”

One more, last legend and my chronicle is finished...

Wise tired voice. This man is very old. All the passion, all the tension that so shocked us in Boris disappeared from Chaliapin’s voice. Now it sounds very smooth, very calm. And at the same time, there is some elusive characteristic in it. It reminds me of something. But what? However, it may not remind you of anything: you have probably never heard church singing. Only in the movies. And Chaliapin knew well how priests sing: always at least a little, but “in the nose,” with a little nasal. Listen to the voice of Chaliapin Pimen... The singer gives it a barely noticeable “church” shade. He feels that Mussorgsky's music requires this.

Almost all of Pimen’s monologue sounds leisurely and thoughtful. But there is no monotonous, boring monotony in Chaliapin’s voice. If in the role of Boris he can be compared to an artist’s palette, on which you see a variety of colors - blue, yellow, green, and red, then the voice of Chaliapin-Pimen is like a palette with different shades of the same paint (for some reason I sometimes it seems lilac) from thick dark to light; blurry.

Listening: M. Mussorgsky. Pimen's monologue (1 act) from the opera "Boris Godunov", in Spanish. F. Chaliapin.

Varlaam. Here he is, in full view - a sloppy, flabby, half-drunk tramp. But as soon as you look into his eyes, you immediately see: no, this fugitive monk is not at all so simple - his eyes are smart, cunning and very unkind.

How does Chaliapin himself imagine him?

“Mussorgsky, with incomparable art, conveyed the bottomless melancholy of this tramp... The melancholy in Varlaam is such that you could at least hang yourself, and if you don’t want to hang yourself, then you have to laugh, invent some kind of riotous drunkenness, as if it were funny...”

That's why Varlaam-Chaliapin has such eyes.

In Pushkin's tragedy, Varlaam's role is very small. He doesn't have big monologues. And Mussorgsky, when creating his Varlaam, did not invent any special arias for him. But remember, Pushkin said: “Varlaam sings the song “How it was in the city in Kazan”?

The all-knowing Stasov found the original text of this ancient Russian song, which tells about how Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible took Kazan. This song became the first characteristic of Varlaam. And instead of the second song of Varlaam, indicated by Pushkin, “The young monk took his hair,” Mussorgsky’s Varlaam sings the song “How He Rides.”

Two songs tell us about the character of Varlaam. And how they say it! Especially if Chaliapin sings Varlaam.

We listen to the first song - “As it was in the city in Kazan” and understand that Chaliapin, speaking about how he imagines his Varlaam, did not reveal to us everything that is in his fugitive monk.

As with gunpowder, that barrel began to spin,
She rolled through the tunnels, through the tunnels,
Yes, and she banged...

Oh no, it’s not just drunken revelry that can be heard in Varlaam’s voice. Stasov says that Varlaam “sings like a beast and fiercely.” He says this about Mussorgsky’s music, but Chaliapin also sings exactly like that – “bestially and fiercely.” Enormous strength - dense, irrepressible - is felt in this man. Someday she will break free!.. And she breaks out.

"Subsequently,- writes Stasov, - this same Varlaam with a mighty hand will raise a formidable popular storm against the Jesuits who wandered into Russia with False Dmitry". We are talking about a scene that was banned by censorship in pre-revolutionary times. This final scene opera - a popular uprising near Kromy, in which Varlaam plays a very important role.

Here's a runaway drunkard monk!

Three roles - three different people. Such different people, of course, and the voices should be completely different. But since we are talking about Chaliapin, it is quite clear that everyone will have the same voice - the unforgettable Chaliapin bass. You will always recognize it if you have heard it at least once.

Listening: M. Mussorgsky. Song of Varlaam (1 act) from the opera “Boris Godunov”, performed by F. Chaliapin.

Farlafa's Rondo from M. I. Glinka's opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila"

F. I. Chaliapin performed the roles of Ruslan and Farlaf in M. I. Glinka’s opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, and it was in the second role that, according to A. Gozenpud, he reached the top, surpassing his famous predecessors.

Insolence, boasting, unbridled impudence, intoxication with one’s own “courage,” envy and malice, cowardice, lust, all the baseness of Farlaf’s nature were revealed by Chaliapin in the performance of the rondo without caricatured exaggeration, without emphasizing or pressure. Here the singer reached the pinnacle of vocal performance, overcoming technical difficulties with masterly ease.

Listening: M. Glinka. Rondo Farlafa from the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, performed by F. Chaliapin.

Song of the Varangian guest from N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “Sadko”

The song of the Varangian guest performed by Chaliapin is stern, warlike and courageous: “On the formidable rocks the waves are crushed with a roar.” The timbre of a low male voice and the thick sonority of the wind instruments, mainly brass instruments, harmonizes well with the whole appearance of the Varyag - a brave warrior and sailor.

The part of the Varangian Guest is fraught with enormous artistic possibilities, allowing you to create a vivid stage image.

Listening: N. Rimsky-Korsakov. Song of the Varangian guest from the opera “Sadko”, performed by F. Chaliapin.

Aria of Ivan Susanin "You will rise my dawn..." from the opera “Ivan Susanin” by M. I. Glinka

“Chaliapin’s Susanin is a reflection of an entire era, a masterly and mysterious embodiment of folk wisdom, the wisdom that saved Rus' from destruction in difficult years of trials.”

(Edward Stark)

Chaliapin brilliantly performed Susanin's aria at a private debut at the Mariinsky Theater when he came from the provinces to conquer the capital and was accepted onto the imperial stage on the day of his full majority, February 1 (13), 1894.

This audition took place on the recommendation of the patron of the arts, a major official T. I. Filippov, known for his friendship with Russian composers and writers. In Filippov's house, young Chaliapin met with M.I. Glinka's sister Lyudmila Ivanovna Shestakova, who showered the young singer with praise after hearing him perform the aria of the Russian national hero.

Ivan Susanin played a fateful role in the work of Fyodor Chaliapin. In the spring of 1896, the singer decides to go to Nizhny Novgorod. There he meets S.I. Mamontov - Savva the Magnificent, industrialist and philanthropist, opera theater reformer, creator of the Russian Private Opera and a true collector of talent. On May 14, the play “Life for the Tsar” with Chaliapin in the title role began regular performances of Mamontov’s troupe, which toured Nizhny Novgorod.

Listening: M. Glinka. Aria Susanina "You will rise my dawn" from the opera “Ivan Susanin”, in Spanish. F. Chaliapin.

Chaliapin was unusually musical. He not only understood and knew music, he lived in it, music permeated his entire being. Every sound, every breath, gesture, every step - everything was subordinate to her.

The great singer always “selected” from the richest arsenal of technical techniques exactly the one that was required of him musical image. Chaliapin gives his voice completely to the service of music. He fiercely hates singers who consider their own singing to be the main thing in their activity.

“After all, I know singers with beautiful voices, they control their voices brilliantly, that is, they can sing loudly and quietly at any moment... but almost all of them sing only notes, adding syllables or words to these notes... Such a singer sings beautiful... But if this charming singer needs to sing several songs in one evening, then one is almost never different from the other. Whatever he sings about, love or hate. I don’t know how the average listener reacts to this, but personally, after the second song, sitting at a concert becomes boring.”

Do not think, however, that a deep understanding of music came to Chaliapin by itself. He had mistakes, failures, and breakdowns. There was dissatisfaction with myself. This was the case even with Mussorgsky, whom he adored.

“I stubbornly did not betray Mussorgsky, I performed his works at all the concerts in which I performed. I sang his romances and songs according to all the rules of cantilena art - I gave costal breathing, kept my voice in a mask and generally behaved like a decent singer, but Mussorgsky came out dull for me...”

This is how it was when I was young. And Chaliapin tries, rehearses, achieves. Like Chaliapin, he passionately strives for knowledge, greedily absorbs everything that seems necessary to him to achieve a single goal. This goal is to serve music.

Presentation

Included:
1. Presentation - 15 slides, ppsx;
2. Sounds of music:
Glinka. Opera "Ivan Susanin":
Aria Susanina "You will rise my dawn...", mp3;
Glinka. Opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila":
Rondo Farlafa, mp3;
Mussorgsky. Opera "Boris Godunov":
Boris' monologue (prologue), mp3;
Pimen's monologue (1 act), mp3;
Song of Varlaam (1 act), mp3;
Boris' monologue (act 2), mp3;
Rimsky-Korsakov. Opera "Sadko":
Song of the Varangian Guest, mp3;
(all works performed by Fyodor Chaliapin)
3. Accompanying article, docx.

Fyodor Chaliapin is a Russian opera and chamber singer. IN different times he was a soloist at the Mariinsky and Bolshoi theaters, as well as at the Metropolitan Opera. Therefore, the work of the legendary bass is widely known outside his homeland.

Childhood and youth

Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was born in Kazan in 1873. His parents were visiting peasants. Father Ivan Yakovlevich moved from Vyatka province, he was engaged in work unusual for a peasant - he served as a clerk in the zemstvo administration. And mother Evdokia Mikhailovna was a housewife.

As a child, little Fedya noticed a beautiful treble, thanks to which he was sent to the church choir as a singer, where he received the basic knowledge of musical literacy. In addition to singing in the temple, the father sent the boy to be trained by a shoemaker.

Having completed several classes primary education with honors, the young man goes to work as a clerk's assistant. Fyodor Chaliapin will later remember these years as the most boring in his life, because he was deprived of the main thing in his life - singing, since at that time his voice was going through a period of withdrawal. This is how the career of the young archivist would have gone on, if one day he had not attended a performance at the Kazan Opera House. The magic of art has forever captured the young man’s heart, and he decides to change his career.

At the age of 16, Fyodor Chaliapin, with his bass voice already formed, auditioned for the opera house, but failed miserably. After this, he turns to the drama group of V. B. Serebryakov, in which he is hired as an extra.

Gradually young man began to assign vocal parts. A year later, Fyodor Chaliapin performed the role of Zaretsky from the opera Eugene Onegin. But he doesn’t stay long in the dramatic enterprise and after a couple of months he gets a job as a choir member in musical troupe S. Ya. Semenov-Samarsky, with whom he leaves for Ufa.

As before, Chaliapin remains a talented self-taught person who, after several comically disastrous debuts, gains stage confidence. The young singer is invited to a traveling theater from Little Russia under the direction of G.I. Derkach, with whom he makes a number of first trips around the country. The journey ultimately leads Chaliapin to Tiflis (now Tbilisi).

In the capital of Georgia, the talented singer is noticed by vocal teacher Dmitry Usatov, a former famous tenor of the Bolshoi Theater. He takes on a poor young man to fully support him and works with him. In parallel with his lessons, Chaliapin works as a bass performer at the local opera house.

Music

In 1894, Fyodor Chaliapin entered the service of the Imperial Theater of St. Petersburg, but the severity that reigned here quickly began to weigh on him. By luck, a benefactor notices him at one of the performances and lures the singer to his theater. Possessing a special instinct for talent, the patron discovers incredible potential in the young, temperamental artist. He gives Fyodor Ivanovich complete freedom in his team.

Fyodor Chaliapin - "Black Eyes"

While working in Mamontov's troupe, Chaliapin revealed his vocal and artistic abilities. He sang all the famous bass parts of Russian operas, such as “The Woman of Pskov”, “Sadko”, “Mozart and Salieri”, “Rusalka”, “A Life for the Tsar”, “Boris Godunov” and “Khovanshchina”. His performance in Faust by Charles Gounod still remains exemplary. He will subsequently recreate similar image in the aria “Mephistopheles” at the La Scala theater, which will earn him success among the world public.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, Chaliapin has appeared again on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, but this time in the role of a soloist. With the capital's theater, he tours European countries, appears on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, not to mention regular trips to Moscow, to the Bolshoi Theater. Surrounded by the famous bass, you can see the entire color of the creative elite of that time: I. Kuprin, Italian singers T. Ruffo and . Photos have been preserved where he is captured next to his close friend.

In 1905, Fyodor Chaliapin especially distinguished himself with solo performances, in which he sang romances and then-famous folk songs“Dubinushka”, “Along St. Petersburg” and others. The singer donated all the proceeds from these concerts to the needs of workers. Such concerts of the maestro turned into real political actions, which later earned Fyodor Ivanovich honor from the Soviet authorities. In addition, friendship with the first proletarian writer Maxim Gorky protected Chaliapin’s family from ruin during the “Soviet terror.”

Fyodor Chaliapin - "Along along Piterskaya"

After the revolution, the new government appoints Fyodor Ivanovich as head of the Mariinsky Theater and awards him the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR. But the singer did not work in his new capacity for long, since with his first foreign tour in 1922 he immigrated abroad with his family. He never appeared on the stage of the Soviet stage again. Years later, the Soviet government stripped Chaliapin of the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR.

The creative biography of Fyodor Chaliapin is not only his vocal career. In addition to singing, the talented artist was interested in painting and sculpture. He also starred in films. He got a role in the film of the same name by Alexander Ivanov-Gay, and also participated in the filming of the film by German director Georg Wilhelm Pabst “Don Quixote”, where Chaliapin played main role the famous fighter against windmills.

Personal life

Chaliapin met his first wife in his youth, while working at the Mamontov private theater. The girl's name was Iola Tornaghi, she was a ballerina of Italian origin. Despite his temperament and success with women, the young singer decided to tie the knot with this sophisticated woman.

Over the years living together Iola gave birth to Fyodor Chaliapin six children. But even such a family did not keep Fyodor Ivanovich from making radical changes in his life.

While serving at the Imperial Theater, he often had to live in St. Petersburg, where he started a second family. At first, Fedor Ivanovich met his second wife Maria Petzold secretly, since she was also married. But later they began to live together, and Maria bore him three more children.

Double life the artist continued until his departure to Europe. The prudent Chaliapin went on tour with his entire second family, and a couple of months later five children from his first marriage went to join him in Paris.

Of Fedor’s large family, only his first wife Iola Ignatyevna and eldest daughter Irina. These women became keepers of memory opera singer at home. In 1960, the old and sick Iola Tornaghi moved to Rome, but before leaving, she turned to the Minister of Culture with a request to create a museum of Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin in their house on Novinsky Boulevard.

Death

Chaliapin went on his last tour of the countries of the Far East in the mid-30s. He gives over 50 solo concerts in cities in China and Japan. After this, returning to Paris, the artist felt unwell.

In 1937, doctors diagnosed him with a blood cancer: Chaliapin had a year to live.

The great bass died in his Paris apartment in early April 1938. For a long time his ashes were buried on French soil, and only in 1984, at the request of Chaliapin’s son, his remains were transferred to a grave in Novodevichy Cemetery Moscow.

True, many historians consider the death of Fyodor Chaliapin quite strange. And the doctors unanimously insisted that leukemia with such a heroic physique and at such an age is extremely rare. There is also evidence that after a tour of the Far East, the opera singer returned to Paris in a sick state and with a strange “decoration” on his forehead - a greenish lump. Doctors say that such neoplasms arise from poisoning with a radioactive isotope or phenol. The question of what happened to Chaliapin on tour was asked by local historian from Kazan Rovel Kashapov.

The man believes that Chaliapin was “removed” by the Soviet government as unwanted. At one time, he refused to return to his homeland, plus everything, through Orthodox priest provided financial assistance poor Russian emigrants. In Moscow, his act was called counter-revolutionary, aimed at supporting the White emigration. After such an accusation, there was no longer any talk of returning.

Soon the singer came into conflict with the authorities. His book “The Story of My Life” was published by foreign publishers, and they received permission to print from the Soviet organization “International Book”. Chaliapin was outraged by such an unceremonious disposal of copyrights, and he filed a lawsuit, which ordered the USSR to pay him monetary compensation. Of course, in Moscow this was regarded as the singer’s hostile actions against the Soviet state.

And in 1932 he wrote the book “The Mask and the Soul” and published it in Paris. In it, Fyodor Ivanovich spoke out in a harsh manner towards the ideology of Bolshevism, towards Soviet power and in particular towards.

Artist and singer Fyodor Chaliapin

IN recent years During his life, Chaliapin showed maximum caution and did not allow suspicious persons into his apartment. But in 1935 the singer received an offer to organize tour in Japan and China. And during a tour in China, unexpectedly for Fyodor Ivanovich, he was offered a concert in Harbin, although initially the performance was not planned there. Local historian Rovel Kashapov is sure that it was there that Doctor Vitenzon, who accompanied Chaliapin on this tour, was awarded aerosol can with a poisonous substance.

Fyodor Ivanovich's accompanist, Georges de Godzinsky, states in his memoirs that before the performance, Vitenzon examined the singer's throat and, despite the fact that he found it quite satisfactory, “sprayed it with menthol.” Godzinsky said that further tours took place against the backdrop of Chaliapin’s deteriorating health.

February 2018 marked the 145th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian opera singer. In the Chaliapin house-museum on Novinsky Boulevard in Moscow, where Fyodor Ivanovich lived with his family since 1910, admirers of his work widely celebrated his anniversary.

Arias

Life for the Tsar (Ivan Susanin): Susanin’s Aria “They Smell the Truth”
Ruslan and Lyudmila: Rondo Farlafa “Oh, joy! I knew"
Rusalka: Miller’s Aria “Oh, that’s all you young girls”
Prince Igor: Igor’s Aria “Neither sleep, nor rest”
Prince Igor: Konchak’s Aria “Are you well, Prince”
Sadko: Song of the Varangian guest “On the formidable rocks the waves break with a roar”
Faust: Mephistopheles' Aria "Darkness Has Descended"

Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin is one of the most famous Russian opera singers. Born in Kazan in 1873, he combined unique vocal abilities with artistry and theatrical skill. He was a versatile person who was interested in sculpture, painting and other areas of creativity.

As a child, the future tenor attended church, where he was a singer. He received a good education for his time, including a parish school. At the age of 16, he was enrolled as an extra in V.B.’s troupe. Serebryakov, and the very next year he made his debut in the opera “Eugene Onegin”.

In 1890, Fyodor Chaliapin moved to Ufa, where he found work in an operetta troupe. After the young actor successfully replaced a sick colleague, he was periodically entrusted with small parts in various productions.

In 1891, the aspiring artist went on tour with the troupe of D.I. Derkach. In Tiflis he managed to meet Dmitry Ustinov, who had a serious influence on the development of the tenor. After listening, he spoke positively about the young man’s voice and agreed to give singing lessons completely free of charge. Ustinov also arranged for Chaliapin to work at the city opera, where the artist worked for a year.

A couple of years passed, and Fyodor Chaliapin, in transit through Moscow, ended up in St. Petersburg. Here he first appeared on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. In 1901, he was already a famous master, having the opportunity to give ten concerts at once at La Scala in Milan. Subsequently, the singer supported the workers during the revolution of 1905, and in 1907-1908. toured in America and Argentina.

Chaliapin played his role in cinema in 1915, when he played Ivan the Terrible in the film of the same name. Soon he mastered directing, in particular presenting the opera Don Carlos, staged in Bolshoi Theater.

During the war, at his own expense, Chaliapin organized a couple of hospitals for soldiers, and did not advertise his activities.

Emigration

Already in 1918, Fyodor Chaliapin was awarded the title of People's Artist, one of the first in the Soviet republic. In 1922, he went on tour to the United States, and left for a long time with his wife. As a result, the attitude towards him in the country became significantly worse, and the incident of donating funds from one of the performances to the children of emigrants in 1927 was perceived in the USSR as direct support for the White movement. As a result, he was deprived of his titles and the right to return to the country of the Soviets.

For the first time, it was proposed to restore the artist’s rights after his death in 1953, but the proposal did not find a response from the party leadership. They returned to this issue again only in 1991, when, on the basis of Resolution No. 317 of June 10, 1991. the decision made in 1927 was declared invalid.

The artist died in 1938 in Paris. By this time he was diagnosed with leukemia. At the end of October 1984, the remains of the tenor, with the permission of his relatives, were reburied in Moscow (Novodevichy Cemetery).

Experts admit that Chaliapin achieved success not only due to his bass, but also to his acting skills, where his expressive appearance and becoming a tenor played an important role. Demonstrating expressiveness and play of intonations every time on stage.

Being versatile, Chaliapin drew beautifully and left behind a lot of portraits, including self-portraits.

He also dabbled in sculpture. At one time, he wanted to get involved in politics, but Maxim Gorky was able to dissuade him from the idea in favor of further creative development.

Today in Ufa there is a marble sculpture of Chaliapin, located opposite the Bashkir Opera and Ballet Theater, where the debut of the future star took place back in the 19th century. The monument was opened in 2007. The marble statue personifies the image of a young talented artist. The artist himself says that his goal was to show the world the great Chaliapin, who was not already established and recognized by everyone, but to show the young one to no one famous singer Fedora. The figure seemed to freeze, awaiting the reaction of the assembled Ufa public.

Address:Ufa, st. Lenina, 14

Born into the family of peasant Ivan Yakovlevich from the village of Syrtsovo, who served in the zemstvo government, and Evdokia Mikhailovna from the village of Dudinskaya, Vyatka province.

At first, little Fyodor, trying to get him “into business,” was apprenticed to the shoemaker N.A. Tonkov, then V.A. Andreev, then to a turner, later to a carpenter.

IN early childhood he showed beautiful voice treble and he often sang with his mother. At the age of 9, he began singing in a church choir, where he was brought by the regent Shcherbitsky, their neighbor, and began to earn money from weddings and funerals. The father bought a violin for his son at a flea market and Fyodor tried to play it.

Later Fedor entered the 6th city four-year school, where there was a wonderful teacher N.V. Bashmakov, who graduated with a diploma of commendation.

In 1883, Fyodor Chaliapin went to the theater for the first time and continued to strive to watch all the performances.

At the age of 12, he began participating in the performances of the touring troupe as an extra.

In 1889 he joined the drama troupe of V.B. Serebryakov as a statistician.

On March 29, 1890, Fyodor Chaliapin made his debut as Zaretsky in the opera by P.I. Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin", staged by the Kazan Society of Performing Art Lovers. Soon he moves from Kazan to Ufa, where he performs in the choir of the troupe S.Ya. Semenov-Samarsky.

In 1893, Fyodor Chaliapin moved to Moscow, and in 1894 to St. Petersburg, where he began singing in the Arcadia country garden, at the V.A. Panaev and in the troupe of V.I. Zazulina.

In 1895, the directorate of St. Petersburg opera houses accepted him into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, where he sang the roles of Mephistopheles in “Faust” by C. Gounod and Ruslan in “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by M.I. Glinka.

In 1896, S.I. Mamontov invited Fyodor Chaliapin to sing in his Moscow private opera and move to Moscow.

In 1899, Fyodor Chaliapin became the leading soloist of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and, while touring, performed with great success at the Mariinsky Theater.

In 1901, Fyodor Chaliapin gave 10 triumphant performances at La Scala in Milan, Italy, and went on a concert tour throughout Europe.

Since 1914, he began performing in private opera companies of S.I. Zimin in Moscow and A.R. Aksarina in Petrograd.

In 1915, Fyodor Chaliapin played the role of Ivan the Terrible in the film drama “Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible” based on the drama “The Pskov Woman” by L. Mey.

In 1917, Fyodor Chaliapin acted as a director, staging D. Verdi’s opera “Don Carlos” at the Bolshoi Theater.

After 1917, he was appointed artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater.

In 1918, Fyodor Chaliapin was awarded the title of People's Artist of the Republic, but in 1922 he went on tour to Europe and remained there, continuing to perform successfully in America and Europe.

In 1927, Fyodor Chaliapin donated money to a priest in Paris for the children of Russian emigrants, which was presented as help “to the White Guards in the fight against Soviet power” on May 31, 1927 in the magazine “Vserabis” by S. Simon. And on August 24, 1927, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, by decree, deprived him of the title of People's Artist and forbade him to return to the USSR. This resolution was canceled by the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR on June 10, 1991 “as unfounded.”

In 1932, he starred in the film “The Adventures of Don Quixote” by G. Pabst based on the novel by Cervantes.

In 1932 -1936 Fyodor Chaliapin went on tour to Far East. He gave 57 concerts in China, Japan, and Manchuria.

In 1937 he was diagnosed with leukemia.

On April 12, 1938, Fedor died and was buried in the Batignolles cemetery in Pargis in France. In 1984, his ashes were transferred to Russia and on October 29, 1984, they were reburied at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin is a great Russian chamber and opera singer who brilliantly combined unique vocal abilities with acting skills. Performed the parts high bass, performed as a soloist at the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters, as well as at the Metropolitan Opera. He directed the Mariinsky Theater, acted in films, became the first People's Artist Republic.

Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was born (1) February 13, 1873 in Kazan, in the family of the peasant Ivan Yakovlevich Chaliapin, a representative of the ancient Vyatka family of the Chaliapins. The singer's father, Ivan Yakovlevich Chaliapin, was a peasant originally from the Vyatka province. Mother, Evdokia Mikhailovna ( maiden name Prozorova), was also a peasant from the Kumenskaya volost, where the village of Dudintsy was located at that time. In the village of Vozhgaly, in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, Ivan and Evdokia got married at the very beginning of 1863. And only 10 years later their son Fyodor was born; later a boy and a girl appeared in the family.

Fyodor worked as a shoemaker's apprentice, a turner, and a copyist. At the same time he sang in the bishop's choir. WITH teenage years was interested in theater. WITH early years It became clear that the child had excellent hearing and voice; he often sang along with his mother in a beautiful treble.

The Chaliapins' neighbor, church regent Shcherbinin, hearing the boy's singing, brought him with him to the Church of St. Barbara, and they sang the all-night vigil and mass together. After this, at the age of nine, the boy began singing in the suburban church choir, as well as at village holidays, weddings, prayer services and funerals. For the first three months, Fedya sang for free, and then he was entitled to a salary of 1.5 rubles.

In 1890, Fedor became a chorister of the opera troupe in Ufa, and from 1891 he traveled around the cities of Russia with the Ukrainian operetta troupe. In 1892-1893 he studied with the opera singer D.A. Usatov in Tbilisi, where he began his professional stage activities. During the 1893-1894 season, Chaliapin performed the roles of Mephistopheles (Gounod's Faust), Melnik (Dargomyzhsky's The Mermaid) and many others.

In 1895 he was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater and sang several roles.

In 1896, at the invitation of Mamontov, he entered the Moscow Private Russian Opera, where his talent was revealed. Of particular importance for Chaliapin were his studies and subsequent creative friendship with Rachmaninov.

Over the years of work at the theater, Chaliapin performed almost all the main roles of his repertoire: Susanin (“Ivan Susanin” by Glinka), Melnik (“The Mermaid” by Dargomyzhsky), Boris Godunov, Varlaam and Dosifey (“Boris Godunov” and “Khovanshchina” by Mussorgsky), Ivan Grozny and Salieri (“Pskovite” and “Mozart and Salieri” by Rimsky-Korsakov), Holofernes (“Judith” by Serov), Nilakanta (“Lakmé” by Delibes), etc.

Chaliapin had great success during the tour of the Moscow Private Russian Opera in St. Petersburg in 1898. Since 1899, he sang at the Bolshoi and at the same time at the Mariinsky theater, as well as in provincial cities.

In 1901 he performed triumphantly in Italy (at the La Scala theater), after which his constant tours began abroad, which brought the singer world fame. Of particular importance was Chaliapin's participation in the Russian Seasons (1907-1909, 1913, Paris), as a promoter of Russian art and, above all, the work of Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Fyodor Ivanovich had a special friendship with Maxim Gorky.

The first wife of Fyodor Chaliapin was Iola Tornagi (1874 - 1965?). He, tall and bass-voiced, she, thin and small ballerina. He didn't know a word Italian, she did not understand Russian at all.

The young Italian ballerina was a real star in her homeland; already at the age of 18, Iola became the prima of the Venetian theater. Then came Milan and French Lyon. And then her troupe was invited to tour to Russia by Savva Mamontov. This is where Iola and Fyodor met. He liked her immediately, and the young man began to show all sorts of attention. The girl opposite for a long time remained cold towards Chaliapin.

One day during a tour, Iola fell ill, and Fyodor came to see her with a pot of chicken broth. Gradually they began to get closer, an affair began, and in 1898 the couple got married in a small village church.

The wedding was modest, and a year later the first-born Igor appeared. Iola left the stage for the sake of her family, and Chaliapin began touring even more in order to earn a decent living for his wife and child. Soon two girls were born into the family, but in 1903 grief occurred - the first-born Igor died of appendicitis. Fyodor Ivanovich could hardly survive this grief; they say that he even wanted to commit suicide.

In 1904, his wife gave Chaliapin another son, Borenko, and the following year they had twins, Tanya and Fedya.

Iola Tornaghi, the first wife of Fyodor Chaliapin, surrounded by children - Irina, Boris, Lydia, Fyodor and Tatiana. Reproduction. Photo: RIA Novosti / K. Kartashyan

But friendly family and the happy fairy tale collapsed in one moment. In St. Petersburg, Chaliapin found a new love. Moreover, Maria Petzold (1882-1964) was not just a lover, she became the second wife and mother of Fyodor Ivanovich’s three daughters: Marfa (1910-2003), Marina (1912-2009, Miss Russia 1931, actress) and Dasia (1921 —1977). The singer was torn between Moscow and St. Petersburg, and tours, and two families, he flatly refused to leave his beloved Tornaghi and five children.

When Iola found out everything, she hid the truth from the children for a long time.

Konstantin Makovsky - Portrait of Iola Tornaghi

After the victory of the October Revolution of 1917, Chaliapin was appointed artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater, but in 1922, having gone abroad on tour, he did not return to the Soviet Union and remained to live in Paris. Chaliapin emigrated from the country with his second wife Maria Petzold and daughters. Only in 1927 in Prague did they officially register their marriage.

The Italian Iola Tornaghi remained in Moscow with her children and survived both the revolution and the war here. She returned to her homeland in Italy only a few years before her death, taking with her from Russia only a photo album with portraits of Chaliapin. Iola Tornaghi lived to be 91 years old.

Of all Chaliapin’s children, Marina was the last to die in 2009 (daughter of Fyodor Ivanovich and Maria Petzold).

Kustodiev Boris Mikhailovich. Portrait Portrait of M.V. Chalyapina. 1919

(Portrait of Maria Valentinovna Petzold)

In 1927, Chaliapin was deprived of USSR citizenship and his title was taken away. At the end of the summer of 1932, the actor starred in films, playing the main role in Georg Pabst's film "The Adventures of Don Quixote" based on the novel of the same name by Cervantes. The film was shot in two languages at once - English and French, with two casts. In 1991, Fyodor Chaliapin was restored to his rank.

Profound interpreter of romances M.I. Glinka, A.S. Dargomyzhsky, M.P. Mussorgsky, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, P.I. Tchaikovsky, A.G. Rubinstein, Schumann, Schubert - he was also a soulful performer of Russian folk songs.

Chaliapin's multifaceted artistic talent was manifested in his talented sculptural, painting, and graphic works. He also had a literary gift.