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 Amateurs performing arts. 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 the St. Petersburg Opera Houses accepted him into the troupe. Mariinsky Theater, where he sang the parts 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, directing Bolshoi Theater opera by D. Verdi “Don Carlos”.
After 1917 he was appointed artistic director 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 helping “the White Guards to 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 a resolution, deprived him of his title 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 leading role 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, reburied at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
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. The 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...”- said Fyodor Chaliapin friends, convincing them that he was born to be a sculptor. Already a famous opera performer, Fyodor Ivanovich drew a lot, painted, and sculpted.
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 style of applying makeup to paintings Korovina 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 made up, 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 amazing voice. Chaliapin sang from childhood - in a beautiful treble. Coming from a peasant family, back 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, he devoted all his free time to the theater, appearing on stage as extras.
Passion for music led Fyodor Chaliapin with nomadic troupes around the country: the Volga region, the Caucasus, 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 in Mariinsky Theater, sang Mephistopheles in the opera “Faust” by Gounod. A year later, Savva Mamontov invited young singer to the 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 "Pskovianka" Rimsky-Korsakov, Dosifey in “Khovanshchina” and Godunov in the opera “Boris Godunov” Mussorgsky. “One more great artist”, - wrote about Chaliapin music critic Vladimir Stasov.
Fyodor Chaliapin in the title 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 brothers Vasnetsov , 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 Chaliapin Fedora Tyutcheva and “Fate” based on a poem by Alexei Apukhtin.
Chaliapin is an entire era of Russian art and since 1899 the leading soloist of the country's two main theaters - Bolshoi and 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”. Chaliapin's high bass was known and loved in Italy, France, Germany, America, and Great Britain. Opera arias, chamber works, and romances received an enthusiastic reception from the public. Wherever Fyodor Ivanovich sang, crowds of fans and listeners gathered around. Even while on vacation dacha.
Stopped triumphant tours 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 artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater. A year later, Tsar Bas was the first artist to receive the title of People's Artist of the Republic, which he lost when he went 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 consisted of 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. Leaving 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 at the 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 of operatic art had a strong impact on Italian theater... The dramatic art of the great Russian artist left a deep and lasting mark not only in the field of performance of 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
Fyodor Chaliapin performed as a soloist at the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theaters, the Metropolitan Opera and La Scala. He became the first People's Artist of the RSFSR and the man who changed opera. “There are three miracles in Moscow: the Tsar Bell, the Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bass,” the famous theater critic, journalist and playwright wrote about Chaliapin.
His career did not have a meteoric rise. The son of a Vyatka peasant, a singer in a church choir, a student of a shoemaker, a graduate of a Kazan elementary school - his father dreamed of raising Fyodor to be an artisan and angrily scolded him for his passion for theater.
After the position of an extra and the first roles in Serebryakov’s troupe, there was Ufa and the operetta troupe of Semenov-Samarsky, where 17-year-old Chaliapin once replaced an artist who accidentally fell ill in Monyushko’s opera “Pebble.” Then - small opera parts and travels with the Little Russian troupe of Derkach.
Chaliapin settled in Tiflis for a year, where he was truly lucky: the singer began giving free lessons to the poor talent. He also helped Ludwig-Forcatti and Lyubimov get a job in the opera - the singer began performing the first bass parts. Having changed several troupes and Moscow to St. Petersburg, in 1895 Chaliapin was accepted into the St. Petersburg Opera Troupe. Together with the Mariinsky Theater, the roles of Mephistopheles (Faust) and Ruslan (Ruslan and Lyudmila) came the first success.
Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin as Boris Godunov in the opera by Modest Mussorgsky on the stage of the Moscow Russian Private Opera of S.I. Mamontov, 1898-99.
B. Ukraintsev/RIA NovostiA year later, Chaliapin returned to Moscow and joined the troupe of a private opera house famous philanthropist and merchant Savva. “Fedenka, you can do whatever you want in this theater! If you need costumes, tell me - and there will be costumes. If we need to stage a new opera, we’ll stage an opera!” - Mamontov said to the singer. It was in Mamontov's troupe that Chaliapin's talent revealed itself in full force. Ivan Susanin in Glinka, Melnik in “Rusalka” by Dargomyzhsky, in Mussorgsky, in “The Pskov Woman” by Rimsky-Korsakov, Dosifey in “Khovanshchina” by Mussorgsky - in Chaliapin’s repertoire, except for the brilliant opera arias, were folk songs and romances by Russian composers.
“At the moment we have one more great artist. God, what great talent!”, wrote music critic Stasov about the singer.
In 1901, Chaliapin performed at La Scala for the first time - the success was deafening.
A life began full of brilliant victories, ovations and high-profile tours around the world.
Chaliapin and the press
Reproduction of a sketch for a portrait of Fyodor Chaliapin by artist Boris Kustodiev, 1921
RIA NovostiChaliapin had contradictory relations with the press. On the one hand, the “best bass in the country” basked in the rays of printed glory, on the other hand, he suffered from the speculation of incompetent publications and their prominent representatives.
“Press, press!!! Sometimes it is a powerful, magnificent force that shakes the minds of hundreds of thousands of people, overthrowing tyrants and changing the borders of states and the destinies of peoples. This power makes a person a world celebrity in a week and throws him off his pedestal in three days,” the singer wrote in his article “The Press and I,” which was published in the humorous Blue Journal (1912, No. 50). —
But sometimes the press seems to me like a sweet merchant’s wife, who every morning over tea is engaged in solving and interpreting dreams - and this sweet merchant’s wife sits, unraveling sleepy dreams, and it seems to her that all this is important, necessary and wonderful.”
Once a provincial newspaper started a rumor that Chaliapin was supposedly going to write memoirs. Another publication, according to the singer, embellished the “sensation” by saying that the memoirs were “written in Italian.” A third newspaper suggested that the Italian company Ricordi publishes them. And the fourth is on blue eye wrote that the memoirs were sold for 100 thousand lire. Topic five worked out the brightest: “We are informed from reliable source that Chaliapin's manuscript was stolen from the author by unknown attackers. The grief of the unfortunate author - best performer Holofernes and Boris Godunov - cannot be described."
The sixth, very reputable media outlet, for its part, having analyzed all the versions, reproached Chaliapin for a multi-step PR campaign: “To what extent does the self-promotion of our celebrities go... ...Why shouldn’t Chaliapin at the same time report that a bloody battle took place during the abduction, in which ten people were killed on both sides. It’s a shame for such a good artist to indulge in such rude “American” things!”
Chaliapin was offended.
A seventh, Moscow newspaper was also found. She published articles “My Life” signed “Fedor Chaliapin”. “But when I protested, not wanting the reader to be misled, the newspaper promised to confront me with one person (?!), claiming that I really wrote memoirs and am writing that before a confrontation “the most inveterate turn pale Sakhalin criminals" and that she would be very interested to know if I would turn pale (?)...,” the indignant singer wrote. —
What can I say about the press?
There is a thoughtful, delicate press that carefully approaches the personal life of an artist, and there is also a press that will come up to you, look you from head to toe and, thoughtfully, say: “Hm!.. Are you going to eat? Do you receive thousands in fees? Once you’ve had a good time, you won’t be able to sing like that...”
Chaliapin and the Revolution
Writer Alexei Maksimovich Gorky (left) and singer Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin (right), 1903
RIA NovostiChaliapin was an ardent supporter of the revolution and supported it financially. In addition, long before the Bolsheviks came to power, he organized charity concerts for workers, sang for free or for a nominal fee, and donated funds to the needs of ordinary people— at his performances there was nowhere for the apple to fall.
In 1918, the singer became the director of the Mariinsky Theater, and in the same year he received the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR. “You are the first in the Russian art of music. As in the art of words - Tolstoy,” wrote Chaliapin. In his opinion, the singer in Russian art has become “an era like Pushkin.”
Merits and love for the people did not prevent some Bolsheviks from robbing Chaliapin’s apartment, and others from conducting numerous searches.
On June 29, 1922, Chaliapin went on tour abroad and did not return to Soviet Russia. In August 1927, the singer was deprived of the title of People's Artist of the Republic. In April 1938, Chaliapin died of leukemia. He was buried in a small cemetery near Paris. An inscription was made on the granite slab: “Here lies Fyodor Chaliapin, the brilliant son of the Russian land.” After 46 years, his ashes were transported to Moscow.
Understanding Russian history musical theater impossible without considering the question of in which operas Chaliapin performed the main roles. This outstanding singer had a huge influence on the development of not only domestic but also world culture. It is difficult to overestimate his contribution to the development of national opera art. His phenomenal success abroad contributed to the spread and popularization of not only Russian classical music, but also folk, folklore song creativity.
Some biographical facts
Chaliapin was born in Kazan in 1873. The future singer came from a simple peasant family. He graduated from the local parish school and sang in the church choir since childhood. However, due to his difficult financial situation, he studied handicraft for some time. After some time, the young man entered the Arsk school. The beginning of it creative career associated with joining Serebryakov’s troupe, where he initially performed small parts, participating in choral singing.
In 1890, Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin left for Ufa, where he joined the operetta troupe. Here he began performing solo parts. Four years later he moved to Moscow, and then to the capital of the empire, where he was accepted into main theater. Here he performed roles from both foreign and domestic repertoire. The talent of the young singer immediately attracted the attention of not only the general public, but also critics. However, despite the growth of popularity, Chaliapin felt somewhat constrained: he lacked freedom and personal initiative.
Start of a career
A turning point in the singer’s life occurred after he met the famous Russian millionaire and philanthropist S. Mamontov. He first met him while scouting for talent and recruiting him for his troupe. best singers, musicians and artists. In this city, Chaliapin’s performances began with his performance of the title role of Ivan Susanin in M. Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar.” The performance was a great success and played a fateful role in the artist’s career, since it was in this production that his enormous talent was revealed as a performer of Russian classical music, which he perfectly felt and understood.
Then Savva Ivanovich invited the singer to his private troupe. He wanted to create a Russian national musical theater, and therefore took special care to attract the most talented artists.
Creativity flourishes
The Mamontov Opera played outstanding role in Russian culture. The fact is that on this private stage those operas were staged that were not shown in state theaters. For example, it was here that the premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov’s new work “Mozart and Salieri” took place. The role of the latter was brilliantly played by Chaliapin. Actually this new theater was intended to popularize the music of the representatives of the “Big Handful”. And it was in this repertoire that the singer’s talent was revealed to the maximum.
In order to understand how much the roles of this outstanding performer have changed, it is enough to simply list in which operas Chaliapin performed the main roles. He began to sing big Russian opera: he was attracted by the strong, powerful and dramatic music composers who wrote their works on historical, epic and fairy tale themes. Traditional folk motifs the singer especially liked, and the paintings from ancient Russian history attracted by its picturesqueness and depth. It was during this period of his work (1896-1899) that he embodied a number of outstanding images on stage. One of his most significant works of this stage was the role of Ivan the Terrible in the work of Rimsky-Korsakov.
Historical themes in creativity
The opera “The Woman of Pskov” is based on a historical episode and is distinguished by a sharp and dynamic plot and at the same time the psychological depth of the image of the king and the inhabitants of the city. The music of this work was ideally suited to the vocal and artistic capabilities of the singer. In the role of this ruler, he was very convincing and expressive, so this work became one of the most significant in his career. Subsequently, he even starred in a film based on this work. However, since the singer did not perceive the independent value of cinema, he almost did not act in films, and his first film did not deserve critical recognition.
Features of execution
For an objective assessment of the singer’s creativity, it is necessary to indicate in which operas Chaliapin performed the main roles. It is worth noting that there are many of them. The opera “The Pskov Woman” became one of the most significant in his career. However, he became famous in a number of other outstanding productions. During this period, he considered Russian opera to be his main repertoire, which he especially valued, and gave it great value in the development of world musical theater. Contemporaries noted that the singer’s popularity was explained not only by his amazing vocal abilities, but also by his artistry, ability to get used to the role and convey all the smallest shades of intonation with his voice.
Critics noted that he felt great musical language performed works. In addition, Chaliapin was an excellent theater artist, that is, with the help of facial expressions and gestures he conveyed all the psychological traits of the character he portrayed. The singer had the talent of transformation. For example, he could play several roles in one performance. Fyodor Chaliapin became especially famous for this skill.
“Boris Godunov” is an opera in which he sang the roles of the Tsar and the monk Pimen. His performance was particularly expressive, since he knew how to find a new musical language for each role. Mussorgsky was his favorite composer.
Episodes
Chaliapin's voice is a high bass. And although he became famous for performing primarily dramatic roles, he nevertheless possessed good feeling humor, and how great artist He played excellent comedic roles, for example the role of Don Basilio in the opera The Barber of Seville.
His talent was multifaceted: he sang superbly in episodic roles, as, for example, in Glinka’s opera. In addition to playing the main role in the play “A Life for the Tsar,” he played the role of one of the knights in his other work. This small mise-en-scène was positively noted by critics, who said that the artist managed to surprisingly accurately convey the image of a boastful warrior.
Another small but significant role is the part of the Varangian guest, which became business card singer, and the image of a miller from another fairy-tale opera. Nevertheless, serious dramatic roles continued to be the basis of his repertoire. Here the work in the opera “Mozart and Salieri” should be highlighted separately. This work is chamber and differs from those performances in which he previously participated. Nevertheless, Chaliapin showed himself as a great artist here too, performing the bass part superbly.
In the first decades of the 20th century
On the eve of the first Russian revolution, the singer was already very popular. At this time, he sings songs from folk songs, which received a special sound in his performance. The song “Dubinushka” became especially famous, to which the workers gave a revolutionary sound. After the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917, Chaliapin became the de facto leader of the Mariinsky Theater and was awarded the title of People's Artist of the Republic. However, due to his frequent tours abroad and donations to the children of emigrants, he was suspected of sympathy for the monarchy. Since 1922, the singer lived and toured abroad, for which he was deprived of the title of People's Artist.
Emigration
In the 1920-1930s, the singer actively toured, performing not only with domestic, but also with foreign repertoire. When characterizing this period of his work, it is necessary to indicate in which operas Chaliapin performed the main roles. Thus, J. Massenet wrote the opera “Don Quixote” especially for him. The singer played this role and starred in the film of the same name.
Chaliapin died in 1938 from a serious illness, was buried in France, but then his ashes were transported to our country. In 1991, he was posthumously returned the title of People's Artist.
