Description

THE STARS OF ZIMIN OPERA (1904 – 1917)

 

 

 

The Zimin Opera Theatre was a private opera house founded in 1904 in Moscow by S. I. Zimin. It was nationalized in 1917 and later transformed into a branch of the Bolshoi Theatre in 1924. The theatre officially opened on October 1 (14), 1904, at the Aquarium Theatre with a performance of May Night by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

From 1908 onward, performances were held on the stage of the Solodovnikov Theatre (now the premises of the Operetta Theatre). The Zimin Opera promoted Russian classical opera—Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky, for example, was presented without the usual cuts and included the “Under Kromy” scene—and also staged major works of Western European repertoire. Notably, Wagner’s The Mastersingers of Nuremberg was performed here for the first time in Russia in 1909.

During World War I, in 1914, Zimin organized a hospital in Moscow where wounded soldiers were cared for by the theatre’s artists and staff. In 1916, he opened an Opera Studio, where singers were trained according to methods he had developed. However, the studio was soon closed by the new Soviet authorities.

Following the October Revolution in 1917, the Zimin Opera was nationalized and renamed the Theatre of the Council of Workers’ Deputies. It later became the Small State Opera in 1919 and the Theatre of Musical Drama in 1921. Despite the nationalization, Sergei Ivanovich Zimin continued to work at the theatre for a time as a member of the management.

Selected Productions:

1907 – The Maid of Orleans
Conductor: Palitsyn; Director: Olenin
Charles VII – Picock; Dunois – Vekov; Lionel – Bocharov; Cardinal – Trubin; Agnes – Dobrovolskaya; Joan of Arc – Petrova-Zvantseva; Thibaud – Osipov; Raymond – Karenzin

September 24, 1909 – The Golden Cockerel by Rimsky-Korsakov (first performance)
Director: Olenin; Designer: Bilibin; Conductor: Cooper
Queen of Shemakha – Dobrovolskaya; Dodon – Speransky; Astrologer – Picock; Amelfa – Rostovtseva; Polkan – Zaporozhets; Gvidon – Ernst; Afron – Dikov; Golden Cockerel – Klopotovskaya

1911 – The Oprichnik
Conductor: Palitsyn; Director: Olenin; Set Designer: Matorin
Andrei – Damaev; Natalia – Milova; Morozova – Ostrogradskaya; Zhemchuzhny – Trubin

1911 – The Valley by Eugen d’Albert (second production in Russia after Odessa)
Conductor: Palitsyn; Director: Olenin
Pedro – Damaev; Sebastiano – Bocharov; Marta – Druzyakin; Tomaso – Osipov; Nuri – Turchaninova; Moruccio – Chugunov; Nando – Skuba

The Zimin Opera staged numerous works, including:

Russian operas: Ivan Susanin, Rusalka, The Demon, Prince Igor, The Snow Maiden, Sadko, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Khovanshchina, Boris Godunov (complete with “Under Kromy” scene), The Miller–Sorcerer, Deceiver and Matchmaker by Sokolovsky, Askold’s Grave, Rogneda by Serov

Tchaikovsky’s operas (most of his works)

Western European operas: Aida, La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, Manon by Massenet, Louise by Charpentier

Other premieres: The Mastersingers of Nuremberg (1909), Carmen, The Captain’s Daughter by Cui, Klara Milich by Kastalsky, Trilby by Yurasovsky, Sister Beatrice by Grechaninov

In 1916, The Wedding, a comic opera by V. Ehrenberg based on Chekhov’s vaudeville, premiered here

In 1908, Zimin also opened the Orion Theatre in Moscow as a branch of the Zimin Opera, focused on young artists. The great soprano Valeria Barsova made her debut at the Zimin Opera in 1917.

The theatre was formed by merging Zimin’s private troupe with much of the ensemble from the “Association of Artists of the Moscow Private Opera,” led by M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, which disbanded in 1904.

Zimin employed both celebrated singers and emerging talents. As the Great Soviet Encyclopedia noted, “Along with famous singers, Zimin invited young actors to his theatre, often organizing support for their vocal and artistic development.”

Notable Artists of the Zimin Opera:

Singers: F. I. Shalyapin, L. V. Sobinov, L. M. Klementyev, A. M. Matveyev, P. S. Olenin (chief director from 1907), V. I. Strakhova, V. R. Picock, O. I. Kaminsky, V. L. Nardov, A. I. Ulukhanov, R. K. Lambert, N. D. Vekov, E. V. Nechaeva, E. Ya. Tsvetkova, V. N. Petrova-Zvantseva, S. I. Druzyakin, M. I. Zakrevskaya, N. S. Ermolenko-Yuzhina, M. V. Bocharov, V. P. Damaev, N. I. Speransky, M. I. Donetsk, Yu. S. Kiporenko-Damansky

Directors: A. V. Ivanovsky, A. P. Petrovsky, N. N. Zvantsev, F. F. Komissarzhevsky

Conductors: M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, E. A. Cooper, A. M. Pazovsky, M. M. Bagrinovsky, E. E. Plotnikov

Instrumentalists: Violinist Yu. F. Fayer, clarinetist F. I. Nikolaevsky

Dancers: M. F. Moiseyev

Foreign Guests:

Zimin also invited international stars, including singers Titta Ruffo, Domenico Anselmi, Lina Cavalieri; conductors Édouard Colonne (1907) and Bruno Walter (1914); and the legendary baritone Mattia Battistini, who sang at the theatre for many years. In 1915, ballerina Mathilde Kschessinskaya performed on the theatre stage, and in 1916, Michel Fokine brought his ballet troupe to perform there.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Georgy Baklanov (Georges Baklanoff) Demon (Rubinstein): Accursed world  3-22589 2695’r G&T, Tiflis
2. Georgy Baklanov (Georges Baklanoff) Demon (Rubinstein): I am he whom you called  3-22590 2697’r G&T, Tiflis
3. Georgy Baklanov (Georges Baklanoff) Nero (Rubinstein): Epithalamium  3-22593 2700r G&T, Tiflis
4. Natalya Ermolenko-Yuzhina Norma (Bellini): Casta diva 023045 1935c Gramophone
5. Natalya Ermolenko-Yuzhina Norma (Bellini): Ah! Bello  a me ritorna 023059 1936c Gramophone
6. Natalya Ermolenko-Yuzhina Fliegende Hollander (Wagner): Jo-ho-hoe! Traft ihr das Schiff  023110 2701c Gramophone
7. Ivan Alchevsky Huguenots (Meyerbeer): Plus blanche 022038  68y G&T, St Petersburg 1903
8. Ivan Alchevsky Lohengrin (Wagner): Da voi lontan 022039 92y G&T, St Petersburg 1903
9. Ivan Alchevsky Eugen Onegin (Tchaikovsky): Whither, whither have you gone 022010x 93½y G&T, St Petersburg 1903
10. Klara Brun-Kamionska Don Giovanni (Mozart): Là ci darem la mano with Oscar Kamionsky 21122 Pathé, St Petersburg 1911
11. Klara Brun-Kamionska Herbstlied with Oskar Kamionsky Beka 7045
12. Avrelia-Cecilia Dobrovolskaya Rigoletto (Verdi): E il sol dell’anima with Karenzin as Ivanov X-64244 Zonophone, Moscow 1908
13. Avrelia-Cecilia Dobrovolskaya Traviata (Verdi): Brindisi with Karenzin as Ivanov & chorus X-64246 Zonophone, Moscow 1908
14. Avrelia-Cecilia Dobrovolskaya Nero (Rubinstein): Cradle song as Volskaya, with Ratmirova X-64443 Zonophone, Moscow 1908
15. Nina Koshetz Demon (Rubinstein): In the Quiet of the Night 221 Artistopia, 1916
16. Nina Koshetz Sadko (Rimsky-Korsakov): Berceuse 222 Artistopia, 1916
17. Nina Koshetz Prince Igor (Borodin): Yaroslavna’s aria 9233A CVE43726-2 Victor, 1928/1930
18. Nina Koshetz Sadko (Rimsky-Korsakov): Berceuse 9233B CVE43727-3 Victor, 1928/1930
19. Nina Koshetz Dobrynia Nikitich (Grechaninov): The Flowers Were Growing in the Fields 7111B CVE 51104-2 Victor, 1928/1930
20. Sergey Preobrazhensky  Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky): In the town of Kazan 2-22560 1616z Gramophone, Moscow 1903