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 skills. 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 famous master, who got the opportunity to give ten concerts at once at La Scala in Milan. IN further 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 at the Bolshoi Theater.
During the war for own funds 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 went to long time together with his wife. As a result, the attitude towards him in the country became much worse, and the incident of donating funds from one of his performances to children of emigrants in 1927 was perceived in the USSR as direct support 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 his debut took place back in the 19th century future star. 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 had already become successful and recognized by everyone, and 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
Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin is a great Russian chamber and opera singer who brilliantly combined unique vocal abilities with acting skills. He performed roles in high bass and as a soloist at the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters, as well as at the Metropolitan Opera. He directed the Mariinsky Theater, acted in films, and became the first People's Artist of the 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 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 Fyodor became a choir member opera troupe in Ufa, since 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 (“Rusalka” by Dargomyzhsky), Boris Godunov, Varlaam and Dosifey (“Boris Godunov” and “Khovanshchina” by Mussorgsky), Ivan Grozny and Salieri (“The Woman of Pskov” 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 abroad began, 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 Italian young ballerina was in her homeland a real star, already at the age of 18 Iola became a prima 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, on the contrary, remained cold towards Chaliapin for a long time.
One day during a tour, Iola fell ill, and Fyodor came to visit her with a saucepan 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 appeared new love. Moreover, Maria Petzold (1882-1964) was not just a lover, she became a second wife and mother three daughters Fyodor Ivanovich: 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 October revolution 1917 Chaliapin was appointed artistic director Mariinsky Theater, but in 1922, having gone abroad on tour, he did not return to Soviet Union and stayed 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. novel of the same name Cervantes. The film was shot in two languages - 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, graphic works. He also had a literary gift.
K. A. Korovin. Portrait of Chaliapin. Oil. 1911
Drawings and portraits of Fyodor Chaliapin can be viewed
- Married to
Coming from peasant family, Fyodor Chaliapin performed at the most prestigious theaters in the world - the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, and Metropolitan Opera. Among the admirers of his talent were composers Sergei Prokofiev and Anton Rubinstein, actor Charlie Chaplin and the future English king Edward VI. Critic Vladimir Stasov called him a “great artist”, and Maxim Gorky called him a separate “era of Russian art”
From the church choir to the Mariinsky Theater
“If everyone knew what a fire smolders inside me and goes out like a candle...”- Fyodor Chaliapin said to his friends, convincing them that he was born to be a sculptor. Already a famous opera performer, Fyodor Ivanovich drew, painted, and sculpted a lot.
The painter's talent was evident even on stage. Chaliapin was a “virtuoso of makeup” and created stage portraits, adding a bright picture to the powerful sound of the bass.
The singer seemed to be sculpting his face; contemporaries compared his manner of applying makeup to the paintings of Korovin and Vrubel. For example, the image of Boris Godunov changed from painting to painting, wrinkles and gray hair appeared. Chaliapin-Mephistopheles in Milan caused a real sensation. Fyodor Ivanovich was one of the first to apply makeup not only to his face, but also to his hands and even his body.
“When I went on stage dressed in my costume and makeup, it caused a real sensation, very flattering for me. Artists, choristers, even workers surrounded me, gasping and delighted, like children, touching with their fingers, feeling, and when they saw that my muscles were painted on, they were completely delighted.”
Fyodor Chaliapin
And yet, the talent of the sculptor, like the talent of the artist, served only as a frame for the amazing voice. Chaliapin sang from childhood - in a beautiful treble. Coming from a peasant family, in his native Kazan he studied in the church choir and performed at village holidays. At the age of 10, Fedya visited the theater for the first time and dreamed of music. He mastered the art of shoemaking, turning, carpentry, and bookbinding, but only the art of opera attracted him. Although from the age of 14 Chaliapin worked in the zemstvo government of the Kazan district as a clerk, still free time he gave to the theater, appearing on stage as an extra.
A passion for music led Fyodor Chaliapin with nomadic troupes across the country: the Volga region, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. He worked part-time as a loader, a hookman, and was starving, but he waited for his finest hour. One of the baritones fell ill on the eve of the performance, and the role of Stolnik in Moniuszko’s opera “Galka” went to the chorister Chaliapin. Although the debutant sat past the chair during the performance, the entrepreneur Semyonov-Samarsky was moved by the performance itself. New parties appeared and confidence in the theatrical future grew stronger.
“I still think superstitiously: it’s a good sign for a newcomer to sit past the chair in the first performance on stage in front of an audience. Throughout my subsequent career, however, I kept a vigilant eye on the chair and was afraid not only of sitting past, but also of sitting in another’s chair.”, - Fyodor Ivanovich later said.
At the age of 22, Fyodor Chaliapin made his debut at the Mariinsky Theater, singing Mephistopheles in the opera Faust by Gounod. A year later, Savva Mamontov invited young singer to Moscow private opera. “From Mamontov I received the repertoire that gave me the opportunity to develop all the main features of my artistic nature, my temperament”- said Chaliapin. The young summer bass gathered a full hall with his performance. Ivan the Terrible in "The Woman of Pskov" by Rimsky-Korsakov, Dosifey in "Khovanshchina" and Godunov in the opera "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky. “One more great artist”, - wrote about Chaliapin musical critic Vladimir Stasov.
Fyodor Chaliapin in leading role in the production of Modest Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunov". Photo: chtoby-pomnili.com
Fyodor Chaliapin as Ivan the Terrible in a production of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Woman of Pskov.” 1898 Photo: chrono.ru
Fyodor Chaliapin as Prince Galitsky in the production of Alexander Borodin's opera "Prince Igor". Photo: chrono.ru
"Tsar Bass" Fyodor Chaliapin
It was as if the art world was just waiting young talent. Chaliapin communicated with the best painters of that time: Vasily Polenov and the Vasnetsov brothers, Isaac Levitan, Valentin Serov, Konstantin Korovin and Mikhail Vrubel. The artists created amazing scenery that emphasized the vivid stage images. At the same time, the singer became close to Sergei Rachmaninov. The composer dedicated the romances “You Knew Him” to Fyodor Tyutchev’s poems and “Fate” based on a poem by Alexei Apukhtin to Fyodor Chaliapin.
Chaliapin is a whole era of Russian art and since 1899 the leading soloist of the country's two main theaters - the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky. The success was so enormous that contemporaries joked: “There are three miracles in Moscow: the Tsar Bell, the Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bass - Fyodor Chaliapin”. Chaliapinsky high bass known and loved in Italy, France, Germany, America, Great Britain. Both opera arias and chamber works, and romances. Wherever Fyodor Ivanovich sang, crowds of fans and listeners gathered around. Even while relaxing at the dacha.
The triumphal tours were stopped by the First World War. The singer, at his own expense, organized the operation of two hospitals for the wounded. After the 1917 revolution, Fyodor Chaliapin lived in St. Petersburg and was the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater. A year later, Tsar Bas was the first artist to receive the title people's artist republic, which he lost by going into exile.
In 1922, the artist did not return from a tour of the United States, although he believed that he was leaving Russia only for a while. Having toured the whole world with concerts, the singer performed a lot at the Russian Opera and created a whole “theater of romance”. Chaliapin's repertoire included about 400 works.
“I love gramophone records. I am excited and creatively excited by the idea that the microphone symbolizes not a specific audience, but millions of listeners.”, - said the singer and recorded about 300 arias, songs and romances. Having left a rich heritage, Fyodor Chaliapin did not return to his homeland. But until the end of his life he never accepted foreign citizenship. In 1938, Fyodor Ivanovich died in Paris, and half a century later, his son Fyodor obtained permission to rebury his father’s ashes in Novodevichy Cemetery. At the end of the twentieth century, the great Russian opera singer returned the title of People's Artist.
“Chaliapin’s innovation in the field of dramatic truth opera art had a strong impact on Italian theater... Dramatic art the great Russian artist left a deep and lasting mark not only in the field of performing Russian operas Italian singers, but also in general on the entire style of their vocal and stage interpretation, including the works of Verdi..."
Gianandrea Gavazzeni, conductor and composer
The fame of his unique booming bass and powerful talent as a dramatic actor thundered throughout the world, but he was far from an unambiguous person.
Ashamed of his origins
The fate of Fyodor Chaliapin is the story of how a peasant boy managed to rise to the heights of not only Russian, but also world fame. He became the embodiment national character and the Russian soul, which is as broad as it is mysterious. He loved the Volga, said that the people here are completely different, “not squanderers.”
Meanwhile, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, Chaliapin seemed to be embarrassed by the peasants. Often, while relaxing with friends in the village, he was unable to have a heart-to-heart talk with the peasants. It was as if he was putting on a mask: here he is, Chaliapin, a shirt-sleeve guy with a great soul, and at the same time a “master”, constantly complaining about someone and hinting at his bitter fate. There was that anguish in him that is so characteristic of Russian people. The peasants idolized the “golden guy” and his songs, which “touch the soul.” “If only the king would listen,” they said. - Maybe I would cry if I found out peasant life" Chaliapin liked to complain that people were getting drunk, noting that vodka was invented solely so that “the people would not understand their situation.” And that same evening I got drunk.
Ingratitude
It is unknown what Chaliapin’s fate would have been like if in 1896 he had not met the great Russian philanthropist Savva Mamontov, who persuaded him to leave the Mariinsky Theater and move to his opera house. It was while working for Mamontov that Chaliapin gained fame. He considered Mamontov’s four years the most important, because he had at his disposal a repertoire that allowed him to realize his potential. Chaliapin was well aware that as a connoisseur of everything beautiful, Mamontov could not help but admire him. Wanting to one day test Savva Ivanovich’s attitude towards himself, Fyodor Ivanovich stated that he wanted to receive a salary not monthly, but as a guest performer, for each performance. They say, if you love, pay. And when Chaliapin was reproached for ingratitude, because it was thanks to Mamontov that he received his name, fame, and money, the bass exclaimed: “Should I also be grateful to the masons who built the theater?” They said that when Mamontov went bankrupt, Chaliapin never visited him.
Heavy character
Chaliapin had a bad character. Not a day went by without him quarreling with someone. On one of these days, before performing the main role in Boris Godunov, Chaliapin managed to quarrel with the conductor, the hairdresser and... the choir. That evening he sang especially delightfully. Chaliapin himself said that he felt like Boris on stage. Friends aptly noted that after quarrels, Chaliapin always sang magnificently. He didn't try to choose words or smooth out rough edges. He often did not get along with conductors, believing that many of these “idiots” did not understand what they were playing: “Notes are not music! Notes are just signs. We still need to make music out of them!” Among Fyodor Ivanovich’s acquaintances there were many artists: Korovin, Serov, Vrubel, Levitan. Chaliapin could directly state that he did not understand what was in the picture: “Is this a person? I wouldn’t hang one like that!” As a result, he fell out with almost everyone.
Unwillingness to forgive
Chaliapin always repeated that he did not like to forgive: “Forgiving is the same as making a fool out of yourself.” He believed that if you let it, anyone will start to “exploit” you. There is a known incident that happened to him in Baku. He had a big quarrel with the manager, who after the performance threw out the unknown singer without a penny with the words: “Drive him to the neck!” Much later, the woman, while in the capital, decided to visit a friend whose name had already become popular. Having learned who was asking him, Chaliapin said loudly: “Entrepreneur? From Baku? Drive her in the neck!”
Left his homeland
He always believed that Russian people should live better. But the events of 1905 only worsened the situation. Looking out the window, Chaliapin said that “it is impossible to live in this country.” “There is no electricity, even the restaurants are closed...” And despite the complaints, he will live in Russia for another 17 years - his whole life. During this time, he made his film debut, playing the role of Ivan the Terrible, repeatedly acted as a director and became the director of the Mariinsky Theater, and also received the title of People's Artist. Chaliapin would be prohibited from returning to the Land of Soviets and deprived of the title of People's Artist in 1927 due to his alleged reluctance to “return and serve the people whose title of artist was awarded to him.” Yes, Chaliapin had not been to his homeland for 5 years - in 1922 he went on tour abroad, and on the eve of the “verdict” he dared to give money from the concert to the children of emigrants (according to another version, Chaliapin generously financed the monarchists in exile). Be that as it may, see native home Chaliapin will no longer succeed.
Weighed down by fame
At the beginning of the 20th century, Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was one of the most popular people not only in Russia, but throughout the world. Everyone loved him, regardless of rank and class: ministers and coachmen, composers and carpenters. They recalled that in the very first season of working for Mamontov, Chaliapin became so famous that any dinner in a large restaurant turned into a silent scene: Chaliapin ate and the public watched. Later, Chaliapin would complain that he was too tired of “all this nonsense”: “I can’t stand fame! It seems to them that it is very easy to sing. There is a voice, he sang and, up, Chaliapin!” Of course, there were those who did not understand Chaliapin. They said: “Good for him! Sing and welcome - here’s the money for you.” Apparently, those who slandered him forgot that talent alone will not get you far. To get to such heights, and even more so to stay, one had to work tirelessly. And Chaliapin, of course, was a great worker.
Chaliapin felt especially tired towards the end of his life. IN recent months Before his death from leukemia, Fyodor Ivanovich dreamed of singing for a couple more years, and then, as he said, “to retire, to the village.” “There I will be called Prozorov, after my mother. But Chaliapin is not needed! Was and floated!”
I wanted to express the intonation
In his memoirs “Mask and Soul,” Chaliapin wrote: “There are letters in the alphabet and signs in music. You can write everything with these letters and draw with these signs. But there is an intonation of a sigh. How to write or draw this intonation? There are no such letters and signs!” Throughout his life, Fyodor Ivanovich perfectly conveyed this most subtle intonation. It was he who opened Russian opera not only to the world public, but also to Russia itself. It was almost always difficult, but Chaliapin possessed those qualities of national character that allowed him to become a Russian asset and pride: amazing talent, breadth of soul and the ability to hide the secret somewhere deep inside.
Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was born on February 13, 1873 in Kazan, into the poor family of Ivan Yakovlevich Chaliapin, a peasant from the village of Syrtsovo, Vyatka province. Mother, Evdokia (Avdotya) Mikhailovna (nee Prozorova), comes from the village of Dudinskaya in the same province. Already in childhood Fedor had in a beautiful voice(treble) and often sang along with his mother, “adjusting his voices.” From the age of nine he sang in church choirs, tried to learn to play the violin, read a lot, but was forced to work as an apprentice to a shoemaker, turner, carpenter, bookbinder, copyist. At the age of twelve he participated in the performances of a troupe touring in Kazan as an extra. An insatiable craving for theater led him to various acting troupes, with whom he wandered around the cities of the Volga region, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, working either as a loader or as a hookman at the pier, often going hungry and spending the night on benches.
"... Apparently, even in the modest role of a chorister, I managed to show my natural musicality and good vocal abilities. When one day one of the baritones of the troupe suddenly, on the eve of the performance, for some reason refused the role of Stolnik in Moniuszko’s opera “Pebble”, and replaced him There was no one in the troupe, then the entrepreneur Semyonov-Samarsky asked me if I would agree to sing this part. Despite my extreme shyness, I agreed: it was too tempting: the first serious role in my life, I quickly learned the part and performed.
Despite the sad incident in this performance (I sat past a chair on stage), Semyonov-Samarsky was still moved by both my singing and my conscientious desire to portray something similar to the Polish tycoon. He added five rubles to my salary and also began assigning me other roles. I still think superstitiously: it’s a good sign for a newcomer to sit past the chair in the first performance on stage in front of an audience. Throughout my subsequent career, however, I kept a vigilant eye on the chair and was afraid not only of sitting past, but also of sitting in another’s chair...
In this first season of mine, I also sang Fernando in Troubadour and Neizvestny in Askold’s Grave. Success finally strengthened my decision to devote myself to the theater."
Then the young singer moved to Tiflis, where he took free singing lessons from the famous singer D. Usatov, and performed in amateur and student concerts. In 1894, he sang in performances held in the St. Petersburg country garden "Arcadia", then at the Panaevsky Theater. On April 5, 1895, he made his debut as Mephistopheles in the opera Faust by Charles Gounod at the Mariinsky Theater.
In 1896, Chaliapin was invited by S. Mamontov to the Moscow Private Opera, where he took a leading position and fully revealed his talent, creating over the years of work in this theater a whole gallery of unforgettable images in Russian operas: Ivan the Terrible in “The Woman of Pskov” by N. Rimsky -Korsakov (1896); Dosifey in “Khovanshchina” by M. Mussorgsky (1897); Boris Godunov in the opera of the same name by M. Mussorgsky (1898) and others. “One more great artist has become,” V. Stasov wrote about the twenty-five-year-old Chaliapin.
Communication at the Mamontov Theater with the best artists Russia (V. Polenov, V. and A. Vasnetsov, I. Levitan, V. Serov, M. Vrubel, K. Korovin and others) gave the singer powerful incentives for creativity: their scenery and costumes helped in creating a convincing stage image. The singer prepared a number of opera roles in the theater with the then novice conductor and composer Sergei Rachmaninov. Creative friendship united the two great artists until the end of their lives. Rachmaninov dedicated several romances to the singer, including “Fate” (poems by A. Apukhtin), “You Knew Him” (poems by F. Tyutchev).
Deep national art the singer was admired by his contemporaries. “In Russian art, Chaliapin is an era like Pushkin,” wrote M. Gorky. Based on the best traditions of the national vocal school, Chaliapin opened new era in domestic musical theater. He managed to amazingly organically combine the two most important principles of operatic art - dramatic and musical - to subordinate his tragic gift, unique stage plasticity and deep musicality to a single artistic concept.
Since September 24, 1899, Chaliapin has been the leading soloist of the Bolshoi and at the same time Mariinsky theaters, tours abroad with triumphant success. In 1901, at La Scala in Milan, he sang the role of Mephistopheles in the opera of the same name by A. Boito with E. Caruso, conducted by A. Toscanini, with great success. World fame The Russian singer was approved for 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 by nature, 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 Michelangelo's titans. Chaliapin's art crossed national boundaries and influenced the development of the world opera house. 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 of operatic art had a strong impact on the Italian theater... The dramatic art of the great Russian artist left a deep and lasting mark not only in the field of performance Russian operas by Italian singers, but in general, on the entire style of their vocal and stage interpretation, including the works of Verdi..."
"Chaliapin was attracted to characters strong people, embraced by an idea and passion, experiencing a deep spiritual drama, as well as bright, comedic images, notes D.N. Lebedev. - With stunning truthfulness and power, Chaliapin reveals the tragedy of the unfortunate father, distraught with grief, in “The Mermaid” or the painful mental discord and remorse experienced by Boris Godunov.
Sympathy for human suffering reveals high humanism - an integral property of progressive Russian art, based on nationality, on purity and depth of feelings. In this nationality, which filled Chaliapin’s entire being and entire work, the power of his talent, the secret of his persuasiveness and understandability to everyone, even an inexperienced person, is rooted.”
Chaliapin is categorically against feigned, artificial emotionality: “All music always expresses feelings in one way or another, and where there are feelings, mechanical transmission leaves the impression of terrible monotony. A spectacular aria sounds cold and protocol if the intonation of the phrase is not developed in it, if the sound is not colored with the necessary shades of experience. Western music also needs this intonation... which I recognized as mandatory for the transmission of Russian music, although it has less psychological vibration than Russian.”
Chaliapin is characterized by bright, intense concert activity. Listeners were invariably delighted with his performances of the romances “The Miller”, “The Old Corporal”, “The Titular Councilor” by Dargomyzhsky, “The Seminarist”, “Trepak” by Mussorgsky, “Doubt” by Glinka, “The Prophet” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “The Nightingale” by Tchaikovsky, “The Double” Schubert, “I am not angry”, “In a dream I cried bitterly” by Schumann.
Here's what I wrote about this side creative activity singer, a wonderful Russian musicologist, academician B. Asafiev:
“Chaliapin sang truly chamber music, it happened, so concentratedly, so deeply that it seemed that he had nothing in common with the theater and never resorted to the emphasis required by the stage on accessories and the appearance of expression. Perfect calm and restraint took possession of him. For example, I remember Schumann’s “In a Dream I Cried Bitterly” - one sound, a voice in silence, a modest, hidden emotion - but it’s as if the performer is not there, and this large, cheerful, clear person, generous with humor, affection, is not there. A lonely voice sounds - and everything is in the voice: all the depth and fullness of the human heart... The face is motionless, the eyes are extremely expressive, but in a special way, not like, say, Mephistopheles in the famous scene with the students or in the sarcastic serenade: there they burned angrily, mockingly, and here are the eyes of a man who felt the elements of grief, but understood that only in the severe discipline of the mind and heart - in the rhythm of all his manifestations - does a person gain power over both passions and suffering.”
The press loved to calculate the artist's fees, supporting the myth of Chaliapin's fabulous wealth and greed. So what if this myth is refuted by the posters and programs of many charity concerts, famous performances singer in Kyiv, Kharkov and Petrograd in front of a huge working audience? Idle rumors, newspaper rumors and gossip more than once forced the artist to take up his pen, refute sensations and speculation, and clarify the facts of his own biography. Useless!
During the First World War, Chaliapin's tours stopped. The singer opened two hospitals for wounded soldiers at his own expense, but did not advertise his “good deeds.” Lawyer M.F. Wolkenstein, who managed the singer’s financial affairs for many years, recalled: “If only they knew how much Chaliapin’s money passed through my hands to help those who needed it!”
After the October Revolution of 1917, Fyodor Ivanovich was involved in the creative reconstruction of the former imperial theaters, was an elected member of the directors of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters, and directed the artistic part of the latter in 1918. In the same year, he was the first artist to be awarded the title of People's Artist of the Republic. The singer sought to get away from politics; in the book of his memoirs he wrote: “If I was anything in life, it was only an actor and singer; I was completely devoted to my calling. But least of all I was a politician.”
Outwardly, it might seem that Chaliapin’s life was prosperous and creatively rich. He is invited to perform at official concerts, he performs a lot for the general public, he is awarded honorary titles, asked to lead the work of various kinds of artistic juries and theater councils. But then there are sharp calls to “socialize Chaliapin”, “to put his talent at the service of the people”, and doubts are often expressed about the singer’s “class loyalty”. Someone demands the mandatory involvement of his family in performing labor duties, someone makes direct threats to the former artist of the imperial theaters... “I saw more and more clearly that no one needed what I could do, that there was no point in my work.” , - the artist admitted.
Of course, Chaliapin could protect himself from the arbitrariness of zealous functionaries by making a personal request to Lunacharsky, Peters, Dzerzhinsky, and Zinoviev. But being in constant dependence on the orders of even such high-ranking officials in the administrative-party hierarchy is humiliating for an artist. Moreover, they often did not guarantee complete social security and certainly did not instill confidence in the future.
In the spring of 1922, Chaliapin did not return from foreign tours, although for some time he continued to consider his non-return temporary. The home environment played a significant role in what happened. Caring for children and the fear of leaving them without a livelihood forced Fyodor Ivanovich to agree to endless tours. The eldest daughter Irina remained to live in Moscow with her husband and mother, Pola Ignatievna Tornagi-Chalyapina. Other children from the first marriage - Lydia, Boris, Fedor, Tatiana - and children from the second marriage - Marina, Marfa, Dassia and the children of Maria Valentinovna (second wife), Edward and Stella, lived with them in Paris. Chaliapin was especially proud of his son Boris, who, according to N. Benois, achieved “great success as a landscape and portrait painter.” Fyodor Ivanovich willingly posed for his son; The portraits and sketches of his father made by Boris “are priceless monuments to the great artist...”.
In foreign lands, the singer enjoyed constant success, touring almost all countries of the world - England, America, Canada, China, Japan, and the Hawaiian Islands. Since 1930, Chaliapin performed in the Russian Opera troupe, whose performances were famous high level staged culture. The operas “Rusalka”, “Boris Godunov”, “Prince Igor” had particular success in Paris. In 1935, Chaliapin was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Music (together with A. Toscanini) and was awarded an academician's diploma. Chaliapin's repertoire included about 70 parties. In the operas of Russian composers, he created unsurpassed in strength and life-truth images of the Miller (“Rusalka”), Ivan Susanin (“Ivan Susanin”), Boris Godunov and Varlaam (“Boris Godunov”), Ivan the Terrible (“The Woman of Pskov”) and many others . Among the best roles in Western European opera are Mephistopheles (Faust and Mephistopheles), Don Basilio (The Barber of Seville), Leporello (Don Giovanni), Don Quixote (Don Quixote). Chaliapin was equally great in chamber vocal performance. Here he introduced an element of theatricality and created a kind of “theater of romance.” His repertoire included up to four hundred songs, romances and works of chamber and vocal music of other genres. Among the masterpieces performing skills included “The Flea”, “The Forgotten”, “Trepak” by Mussorgsky, “Night View” by Glinka, “The Prophet” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “Two Grenadiers” by R. Schumann, “The Double” by F. Schubert, as well as Russian folk songs“Farewell, joy”, “They don’t tell Masha to go beyond the river”, “Because of the island to the river”.
In the 20-30s he made about three hundred recordings. “I love gramophone recordings...” admitted Fyodor Ivanovich. “I am excited and creatively excited by the idea that the microphone symbolizes not a specific audience, but millions of listeners.” The singer was very picky about recordings; among his favorites was the recording of Massenet’s “Elegy,” Russian folk songs, which he included in his concert programs throughout creative life. According to Asafiev’s recollection, “the wide, powerful, inescapable breath of the great singer saturated the melody, and it was heard that there was no limit to the fields and steppes of our Motherland.”
24 August 1927 Council people's commissars adopts a resolution to deprive Chaliapin of the title of People's Artist. Gorky did not believe in the possibility of removing the title of People’s Artist from Chaliapin, about which rumors began to spread already in the spring of 1927: “The title of People’s Artist given to you by the Council of People’s Commissars can only be annulled by the Council of People’s Commissars, which he did not do, and, of course, he did not will do." However, in reality everything happened differently, not at all as Gorky expected...