Description

ANTONINA NEZHDANOVA (KRIVAYA BALKA, NEAR ODESSA, 16 JUNE [O.S. 4 JUNE], 1873 – MOSCOW, 26 JUNE, 1950)

She was a Russian lyric coloratura soprano. An outstanding opera singer, she represented the Russian vocal school at its best.

Nezhdanova was born in Kryva Balka, near Odessa, Ukraine, then in Russian Empire. In 1899, she entered the Moscow Conservatory. Upon her graduation three years later she joined the Bolshoi Theatre, rapidly becoming its leading soprano. She sang often, too, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg and also in Kiev and Odessa. Paris heard her in 1912, when she appeared opposite the great tenor Enrico Caruso and Caruso’s baritone equivalent, Titta Ruffo.

Nezhdanova was the dedicatee of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, and she was the first performer of the arrangement for soprano and orchestra, with the composer conducting. She created a number of operatic roles. After the 1917 Russian Revolution she stayed on at the Bolshoi, unlike some of her fellow opera singers, who left their native country for the West. In 1936, she began to teach singing in Moscow and was appointed a professor at the city’s conservatory in 1943.

She was married to the conductor Nikolai Golovanov and died in Moscow in 1950.

Nezhdanova made a number of recordings that display the beauty and flexibility of her voice and the excellence of her technique. She is considered by opera historians and critics to have been one of the finest sopranos of the 20th century.

TRACKLIST

1. A Life for the Tzar  (Glinka) I look over the empty field (Glinka) 023018 300s Gramophone, -07
2. A Life for the Tzar  (Glinka) In the village beyond the river 21850 Pathé 1904
3. A Life for the Tzar (Glinka) I do not grieve about that 023149 319af Gramophone, 14-4-14
4. A Life for the Tzar (Glinka) I do not grieve over that 2-23140 2718r -07 G&T
5. a) An angel wept; b) Thy Name be blessed (Chestnokov) 023121 2792c Gramophone, 18-4-13
6. Air and variations (Proch) 2-23776 17540b Gramophone, 20-4-13
7. At the bullfight (Les filles de Cadiz), Spanish song (Delibes) 023097 2602c Gramophone, 23-4-12
8. Blue Forget-me-not Flowers (Kochetov) 6531 ??? 0572 Noginsk Plant 1938
9. Bolero (Cui) (O my dear, charming one) 2-23142 2720r Gramophone
10. By the Moon (Serrano, arr. Golovanov) 8958 ??? 2428 Aprelevka Plant (Recorded 1938)
11. Clavelitos (Valverde, arr. Golovanov) 8959 ??? 2429 Noginsk Plant (Recorded 1939)
12. Collective Farm Song (Sergey Pototsky) 6532 ??? 0573 Noginsk Plant (Recorded 1938)
13. Die Zauberflöte (Mozart) Der Hölle Rache 023101 2590c Gramophone, 17-4-12
14. Dinorah (Meyebreer) Ombre légère, Valse 023144 322af Gramophone, 14-4-14
15. Do not sing, Beauty (Rachmaninoff) 705 ??? 297 Aprelevka Plant 1935
16. Dobrynja Nikitich (Grechaninov) Zabava’s aria 2-23076 1185r Gramophone
17. Ein Wintermärchen (Goldmark) Schmücket Euch mit Rosen 023052 1931c Gramophone, 28-1-1
18. Faust (Gounod) Ah, je ris de me voir si belle 2-23092 1197r Gramophone, -6-06
19. Fra Diavolo (Auber) Or son sola 023054 1928c Gramophone, 27-1-1
20. Had you but known (Denza) 5967 ??? 0186 Noginsk Plant 1937
21. Hamlet (Thomas) Scène de la folie 023132 2798c Gramophone, 20-4-13
22. Harold (Napravnik) Hush thee, dear one, slumber well 2-23130 2709r Gramophone
23. How fair this spot (Rimsky-Korsakov), op 21 n° 7 (Rachmaninoff) and The rose and the nightingale, op 2 n° 2 023159 325af Gramophone
24. I have lost a ring (arr. Golovanov) 708 ??? 298 SovSong 1935
25. I Puritani (Bellini) Qui la voce sua soave 023098 2606c Gramophone, 24-4-12
26. I Vespri Siciliani (Verdi) Mercè, diletti amiche 023157 323½af Gramophone, 14-4-14
27. Il Barbiere di Siviglia  (Rossini) Una voce poco fa 023123 2799c Gramophone, 20-4-13
28. In the dark grove the guelder rose is not seen, Song 2-24178 16463b Gramophone, 24-4-12
29. In the evening behind a river (arr. Golovanov) 134 ??? 131 Aprelevka Plant 1934
30. La Bohème (Puccini) Quando me’n vo’ 2-23674 16403b Gramophone, 17-4-12
31. La Perle du Brésil (David) Charmant oiseau 2-23129 2708r Gramophone, -07
32. La Traviata (Verdi) Addio del passato 2-23495 14168b Gramophone, 27-1-10
33. La Traviata (Verdi) Ah, fors’è lui 2-23072 1181r -6-06 G&T
34. La Traviata (Verdi) Folie, folie – Sempre libera 2-23668 16458b Gramophone, 24-4-1
35. La villanelle (sung in Russian) (dell’Acqua) 023104 2601c Gramophone, 23-4-12
36. Lakmé (Delibes) Air des clochettes – Où va la jeune hindoue 023109 2607½c Gramophone, 24-4-12
37. Lakmé (Delibes) Blanche Dourga 2-23091 1196r Gramophone, -6-06
38. Lakmé (Delibes) Légende des clochettes – Où va la jeune hindoue 2-23077 1186r G&T
39. Lakmé (Delibes) Tu m’as donné le plus doux rêve 023164 3040c Gramophone, 30-9-15
40. Lakmé (Delibes) Viens, Mallika ….. Sous le dome épais de jasmine with E A Popello-Davydova 024067 255af Gramophone, 21-11-12
41. Les Huguenots (Meyerbeer) Air de la Reine – O beau pays de la Touraine 2-23317 7219L Gramophone, -08
42. Les Huguenots (Meyerbeer) Cavatine du page Une dame noble et sage 023154 318af Gramophone, 13-4-14
43. Les Huguenots (Meyerbeer) La tenera parola 21853 Pathé 1904
44. Les Pêcheurs des Perles (Bizet) Comme autrefois 2-23074 1183r Gramophone, -6-06
45. Les Pêcheurs des Perles (Bizet) Tu n’as pas tout compris (w. Sobinov) 024037 1984c Gramophone, 6-2-10
46. Lohengrin (Wagner) Das süsse Lied verhallt (w. Sobinov) 024032 1983c Gramophone, 6-2-10
47. Lohengrin (Wagner) Elsas Traum – Einsam in trüben Tagen 023046 1930c Gramophone, 28-1-10
48. Lohengrin (Wagner) Euch Luften 023053 1926c Gramophone, 27-1-1
49. Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Regnava nel silenzio 023126 2796½c Gramophone, 19-4-13
50. Masquerade Nina’s song (Glazunov) 8960 ? 2435 Aprelevka Plant (Recorded 1939)
51. Mignon (Thomas) Polonaise – Je suis Titania 023122 2797c Gramophone, 19-4-13
52. Mireille (Gounod) O légère hirondelle (sung in French) 2-23322 7224L Gramophone, -08
53. Mother darling, Song (Gurilev) 2-23651 16400b Gramophone, 17-4-12
54. Mtsyri Song of the fish – My child, stay here (Arensky) (with piano) 2-23318 7220L Gramophone, -08
55. Nal and Damayanti (Arensky) Damayanti’s cradle song – From the vale of moans and tears 2-23320 7222L Gramophone, -08
56. Nightly Campfire (Kochetov) 6534 ??? 0578 Noginsk Plant (Recorded 1938)
57. Parla! Valzer (Arditi) 023106 2605c Gramophone, 24-4-12
58. Peer Gynt Swedish song (Solveig’s song) (Grieg) 023093 2588c Gramophone, 17-4-12
59. Rigoletto (Verdi) Caro nome 2-23075 1184r -6-06 G&T
60. Roméo et Juliette Valse (Je veux vivre) 2-23078 1195r -6-06 G&T
61. Ruslan and Ludmila (Glinka) Ah, my fate 2-23131 2710r  G&T -07
62. Ruslan and Ludmila (Glinka) Ah, my fate 023156 321af Gramophone, 14-4-14
63. Sadko (Rimsky-Korsakov) Cradle song (Sleep went along the river) 2-23138 2717r -07 G&T
64. Sadko (Rimsky-Korsakov) Cradle song (Sleep went along the river) 023100 2589c Gramophone, 17-4-12
65. Serenada (Gounod) 2-23132 2711r Gramophone,  -07
66. Serenada (Tosti) 023125 2795½c Gramophone, 19-4-13
67. Si vous l’aviez compris, Romance (Denza) 023155 320af Gramophone, 13-4-14
68. Smile (Chemberdzhi) 6533 ??? 0573 Leningrad Plant (Recorded 1938)
69. Soloveyko, malorossiyskaya pesnya (Zaremba) 2-23636 16401b Gramophone,
70. Somehow behind the (arr. Golovanov) 5969 ??? 0183 Aprelevka Plant 1937
71. The Demon The night is warm and calm (Rubinstein) 023075 398ac Gramophone, 9-5-11
72. The Golden Cockerel (Rimsky-Korsakov) Hymn to the sun – Answer me, alert Sun! 2-23483 14171b Gramophone, 28-1-10
73. The nightingale (with piano) (Alyabyev) 2-23321 7223L Gramophone, -08
74. The Snow Maiden (Rimsky-Korsakov) How painful here 2-23316 7218L Gramophone, -08
75. The Snow Maiden (Rimsky-Korsakov) Prolog – S podruzhkami po yagody khodit 2-23315 7216L Gramophone, -08
76. The woodland bird (Der Vogel im Walde) (Taubert) 023047 1927c Gramophone, 27-1-10
77. To forget so soon, Romance (with piano only) (Chaikovsky) 023051 1929c Gramophone, 28-1-10
78. Traviata (Verdi) Ah, fors’è lui 21851 Pathé 1904
79. Virgin Maria (Ave Maria) (Bach-Gonod) 2-23319 7221L Gramophone, -08
80. Why had I know you, my dear (arr. Golovanov) 134 ??? 131 Aprelevka Plant 1934