Description

LIDYA LIPKOVSKAYA (LYDIA LIPKOVSKA) (VILLAGE BABINO, BESSARABIAN REGION OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, 10 MAY, 1884 – BEIRUT, LEBANON, 22 MARCH, 1958)

 

 

 

 

Since 1903, she studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with Natalya Iretskaya. In 1907, 1909, and 1914, she perfected her vocal art under Vittorio Vanza in Milan. She made her debut in 1904 at the St. Petersburg Russian-Italian Private Opera House, singing the role of Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto opposite Nikolai Figner, who performed as the Duke.

From 1906 to 1909, 1911 to 1913, and in the 1916-1917 season, Lipkovskaya performed at the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre. In 1908, 1911, and 1929, she made guest appearances at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre. She also sang in Kiev, Odessa, Baku, Tbilisi, at the St. Petersburg National House, and from 1913 to 1916 at S. Zimin’s Private Opera House. From 1914 to 1915, she was a soloist at the Petrograd Theatre of Musical Drama, and in the 1915-1916 season, she appeared in Kiev.

In 1909, she sang with great success at La Scala in Milan, where she performed in Lakmé, La Traviata, and I Puritani. That same year, she also performed in Paris (Grand Opera), London (Covent Garden), and Boston, where she sang in Lucia di Lammermoor opposite her husband, the great Russian baritone Georgy Baklanov.

From 1908 to 1912, she sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, making her debut as Gilda in Rigoletto. In 1909, she performed in Rigoletto with Enrico Caruso and Mario Sammarco. During the 1910-1911 season, she made guest appearances at the Chicago Opera House and also sang in Montreal. In the same period (1910-1911), she appeared at the Théâtre National de l’Opéra Comique in Paris, performing in La Traviata, Lakmé, and Thaïs. In 1910, she sang at the Opera House in Rome and then at La Scala in La Sonnambula and other operas under Arturo Toscanini.

Lipkovskaya retired from the stage in 1941, with her final performance in Odessa in Verdi’s La Traviata. She was known for her beautiful, silvery, yet warm voice and an impressive vocal range (capable of easily singing an F in the 3rd octave). Her technical ability was flawless, allowing her to navigate even the most difficult passages with ease. She was also an eccentric woman, a great actress, and had an extraordinary natural instinct for the stage.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1909 Boston  Opera House Carmen (Micaela)

1909 Boston  Opera House Rigoletto (Gilda)

1909 New York  Teatro Metropolitan Rigoletto (Gilda)

1909 New York  Teatro Metropolitan Traviata (Violetta)

1909 Boston  Opera House Boheme (Mimi)

1909  Boston  Opera House Traviata (Violetta)

1910 Boston  Opera House Rigoletto (Gilda)

1910 Boston  Opera House Boheme (Mimi)

1910  Chicago  Auditorium Traviata (Violetta)

1910 New York  Teatro Metropolitan Traviata (Violetta)

1911 Philadelphia  Teatro Metropolitan Rigoletto (Gilda)

1911 Baltimora  Opera House  Boheme (Mimi)

1911 Londra  Covent Garden Boheme (Mimi)

1911 Boston  Opera House Traviata (Violetta)

1911 Philadelphia  Teatro Metropolitan Traviata (Violetta)

1914 Montecarlo  Grand Theatre Boheme (Mimi)

1920 Montreal  His Majestic’s Rigoletto (Gilda)

1920 Montreal  His Majestic Boheme (Mimi)

1920 New York  Manhattan Theater Rigoletto (Gilda)

1920 New York Manhattan Theater Traviata (Violetta)

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Don Giovanni (Mozart):  Là ci darem la mano with Ramon Blanchart A5297 Columbia, New York 1911-04-05
2. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini): Dunque io son with Ramon Blanchart A5297 80720 Columbia, New York 1911-04-05
3. Snow Maiden (Rimsky-Korsakov): How painful here 023114 2724c Gramophone, St Petersburg 1912-12-19
4. Snow Maiden (Rimsky-Korsakov): With friends to gather berries 023115 2725c Gramophone, St Petersburg 1912-12-19
5. Semiramide (Rossini): Bel raggio pt 1 053307 2726c Gramophone, St Petersburg 1912-12-19
6. Semiramide (Rossini): Bel raggiopt pt 2 053308 2726½c Gramophone, St Petersburg 1912-12-19
7. Iolanta (Tchaikovsky): Iolanta’s arioso 2-23698 17157b Gramophone, St Petersburg 1912-12-21
8. Tosca (Puccini): Vissi d’arte 2-23699  17158b Gramophone, St Petersburg 1912-12-21
9. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini): Una voce poco fa 023116 2728c Gramophone, St Petersburg 1912-12-21
10. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini): Io sono docile 023117 27281/2C Gramophone, St Petersburg 1912-12-21
11. Boheme (Puccini): Si, mi chiamano Mimi 023131 2941c Gramophone, St Petersburg 1913-11-27
12. Hamlet (Thomas): Nega se puoi la luce with Georgy Baklanov 054476 736m Gramophone, Wien 1914-01-08
13. Rigoletto (Verdi): Caro nome  023137 281af Gramophone, St Petersburg 1914-01-17
14. Romeo et Juliette (Gounod): Je veux vivre 023138 282af Gramophone, St Petersburg 1914-01-17
15. The Tsar’s Bride (Rimsky-Korsakov): All the livelong day 4 2-23827 5335ae Gramophone, St Petersburg 1914-01-20
16. Coppelia (Delibes) Valse 023135 286af Gramophone, St Petersburg 1914-01-20
17. Sylvia (Delibes): Pizzicato 0231402 87af Gramophone, St Petersburg 1914-01-20
18. Sixteen years (Dargomyzhsky) 2-23815 5346ae Gramophone, St Petersburg 1914-01-21
19. Frühlingsnacht (Schumann); Dichterliebe: Die Rose, die Lillie (Schumann) 2-23816 5347ae Gramophone, St Petersburg 1914-01-21