Description

VLADIMIR KASTORSKY (BOLSHIE SOLI, KOSTROMA PROVINCE, 14 MARCH, 1870 – ST. PETERSBURG, 2 JULY, 1948)

As a child he sang in a church choir. Then he studied with his cousin A. Kastorsky and took some lessons from an Italian singer Antonio Cotogni. In 1892 he moved to St. Petersburg where he learned his vocal art at the “Free choir class,” the charity project of Melnikov. In 1893 he entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the course of C. Gabel, who a year later expelled the student for “voiceless and incompetence”. Later C. Gabel admitted his error. In 1894 he made his debut at the Opera House of Pskov. Vladimir surved for the operatic stage about 45 years, his repertoire included 35 roles. In 1898—1918 and 1923—1930 he was a soloist of Mariinsky Theatre, and in 1918—1923 of Bolshoi Theatre, performing Ruslan and Susanin (“Ruslan and Ludmila” and ” Life for the Tsar” by M.Glinka), Pimen (“Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky), Gremin and Kotchubey (“Eugene Onegin” and “Mazepa” by Tchaikovsky),Miller (“Rusalka” by Dargomyzhsky), Count Almaviva and Leporello (“The Marriage of Figaro” and “Don Giovanni” by Mozart), Vladimir Galitsky (“Prince Igor” by Borodin),Nilakanta (“Lakme” by Delibes). Vladimir Kastorsky was extremely successful in R.Wagner’s operas: Wotan (“The Ring of the Nibelung”) and Wolfram (“Tannhauser”), among others. In 1907 he organized a vocal quartet to promote Russian folk songs and toured with it in Russiaand Europe. In 1907-1908 he participated in Sergei Diaghilev’s Russian Seasons. The singer was the first performer of parties in Paris: Ruslan (“Ruslan and Ludmila” by Glinka, 1907), Pimen (“Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky, 1908), Prince Yuri Tokmakov (“The Maid of Pskov” and Rimsky-Korsakov, 1909). He also was heard at La Scala (1908), as well as in in Prague, Berlin, Rome, Munich, London, Harbin, Japan, Moscow (Theater Aquarium, Zimin’s private Opera), Kiev, Odessa,Tiflis, and many other cities. He taught at Mariinsky Theatre, Leningrad’s Art Studio and at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Until the end of life he performed as a chamber singer, performing Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Mozart, Schubert, Borodin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Schumann.

Chronology of some appearances

1894 Pskov Opera House

1898-1918 St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre

1918-1923 Moscow Bolshoi Theatre

1923-1930 St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre

TRACKLIST

1. All attachments are broken (Davidov) 24079 Pathé cylinders & discs, St Petersburg 1904
2. Death’s serenade (Moussorgsky) 24262 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
3. Departure (Rubinstein) (w. Tchuprinnikov) 24574 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
4. Elegy (Yakovlev) (w. Kedrov) 24572 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
5. Eugen Onegin (Tchaikovsky) Duet before the duel, act 2 (w. Tchuprinnikov) 24358 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
6. Faust (Gounod) Il était temps – Invocation 24070 Pathé cylinders & discs, St Petersburg 1904
7. Faust (Gounod) Sérénade de Méphistophélès 24078 Pathé cylinders & discs, St Petersburg 1904
8. For the Shores of Distant Homeland (Borodin) 24261 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
9. Huguenots (Meyerbeer) Air du Comte de Saint-Bris 24076 Pathé cylinders & discs, St Petersburg 1904
10. Night (Rubinstein) (w. Tchuprinnikov) 24573 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
11. Our regiment (Stern) (w. Kedrov, Tchuprinnikov & Safonov) 24568 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
12. Russian national song (-) (w. Kedrov, Tchuprinnikov & Safonov) 24563 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
13. Sadko (Rimsky-Korsakov) Song of the Viking guest 24077 Pathé cylinders & discs, St Petersburg 1904
14. Song of the flea (Moussorgsky) 24072 Pathé cylinders & discs, St Petersburg 1904
15. Ständchen (Abt) (w. Kedrov, Tchuprinnikov & Safonov) 24558 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
16. Tell me this again (Badio) (w. Tchuprinnikov) 24570 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
17. The army chief (Rubinstein) 24071 Pathé cylinders & discs, St Petersburg 1904
18. The sea gull’s cry (Grodsky) (w. Tchuprinnikov) 24359 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
19. The sun (-) (w. Tchuprinnikov) 24571 Pathé, St Petersburg 1910
20. When the king went forth to war (Koenemann) 24073 Pathé cylinders & discs, St Petersburg 1904