Description

PYOTR SLOVTSOV (VILLAGE USTYANSKOE, KANSKY DISTRICT, PROVINCE ENISEYSK, 30 JUNE/ 12 JULE, 1886 – KRASNOYARSK, 24 FEBRUARY, 1934)

 

 

 

 

He studied at the Moscow Conservatory under the guidance of Ivan Gord from 1909 to 1912. He began his career performing on the opera stages of Odessa (1910-1912), Kiev (1912-1914), and Saratov (1914). During the revolutionary period, he continued his career in Petrograd, performing at the National House from 1915 to 1918. His journey as a performer extended to various cities across Russia, including Nizhny Novgorod (1917), Tomsk, Ekaterinburg (1918-1919), and Irkutsk (1919-1920).

He became closely associated with the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, where he performed in 1929 and 1932, as well as in Sverdlovsk in 1930 and in Leningrad throughout the 1920s and 1930s. From 1928 to 1930, he resided in Krasnoyarsk, where he and his wife, opera singer M. Rioli, founded the “Labouring Opera Collective” (1923-1925). This troupe attracted many renowned opera singers, such as V. Kastorsky, L. Balanovskaya, G. Pirogov, and L. Andreeva-Delmas. In addition to singing, he took on the roles of stage manager and producer, overseeing productions of operas like Faust, Aida, Dubrovsky, and Traviata.

From 1928 to 1934, he served as a professor at the Russian University of Theatre Arts, imparting his extensive knowledge to the next generation of opera talent. His voice was celebrated for its strong, lyrical quality, rare beauty, warm and soft timbre, excellent breath control, wide range, and impeccable vocal technique, earning him the nickname “Siberian Nightingale.”

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1910-1912 Odessa Opera House

1912-1914 Kiev Opera House

1914 Saratov Opera House

1915-1918 Petrograd National House

1929 Moscow Bolshoi Theatre

1932 Moscow Bolshoi Theatre

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Am Meer No. 12 from Schwanengesang (Schubert) 564 15406 Mus Trust, Moscow 1929/1930

At the ball (Tchaikovsky) or Amid a noisy ball 22351 Pathé, St. Petersburg 1912

Cradle song (Mozart) 565 15406 Mus Trust, Moscow 1929/1930

Don’t tell me he died (Rechkunov) 222353 5023ae Gramophone, St. Petersburg 1913

Dubrovsky (Napravnik) O give me oblivion Mus Trust 0570 Mus Trust, Moscow 1929/1930

Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky) I love you Olga 222320 18021b Gramophone, St. Petersburg 1913

Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky) Whither, whither 0699 Mus Trust, Moscow 1929/1930

Fust (Gounod) Salve dimora 604 Artistopia, Kiev 1914/1915

Fust (Gounod) Salve dimora 2635 2635 Metropol

Fust (Gounod) Tardi si fa (w. Kurenko) 603 Artistopia, Kiev 1914/1915

Grass (Varlamov) 563 15409 Mus Trust, Moscow 1929/1930

Hide me, stormy night (Dargomyzhsky) 222338 4989 ae Gramophone, St. Petersburg 1913

I opened the window (Tchaikovsky) 222234 4987ae Gramophone, St. Petersburg 1913

I’m alone again (Borodin) 222389 18026b Gramophone, St. Petersburg 1913

I’m alone again How bright, Romance (Rachmaninoff) 222352 5024½ae Gramophone, St. Petersburg 1913

Lohengrin (Wagner) Mein lieber Schwan 2636 Metropol

Lullaby (Flis) 565 Mus Trust Moscow, 12-1929

Lullaby (Tchaikovsky) 22350 Pathé, St. Petersburg 1912