Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Official website of the State –
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Feodor Chaliapin was a renowned Russian chamber and opera singer. He was born on February 13, 1873, in Kazan, to a family of farmers. As a child, he sang in a church choir, and at age 12, he first attended the theater, seeing Pyotr Sukhonin's "Russian Wedding." From that moment on, the stage remained his passion for the rest of his life.
"The orchestra was playing. Suddenly the curtain wavered, rose, and I was immediately stunned, enchanted. A vaguely familiar fairy tale came to life before me. Magnificently dressed people walked around the marvelously decorated room, conversing with each other in a particularly beautiful way. I couldn't understand what they were saying. I was deeply moved by the spectacle and, unblinking, unthinking, I gazed at these wonders," recalled Fyodor Ivanovich.
Wanting to get a glimpse behind the scenes, he even took a job as an extra for a nickel. His first performance, at the Panaevsky Garden in Kazan, was a disaster. After appearing on stage in the dramatic play "Vagabonds," in which Chaliapin was cast as the gendarme Roger, he was stunned and later deeply distressed by the disruption of the performance.
The debut finally took place in 1890 in Ufa, when one of the baritones fell ill the day before a performance. The role of the Stolnik in Stanisław Moniuszko's opera "Halka" went to the chorister Chaliapin. He received a "vaccine against overconfidence" then—he sat the wrong way during the performance.
The aspiring artist landed a contract with Lyubimov's opera thanks to Dmitry Usatov, a former artist at the Imperial Theatres, who taught him the basics of professional vocals and etiquette. He was then invited to the Mariinsky Theatre, but after critics criticized his poor singing, he found no roles for a long time.
That same year, in Nizhny Novgorod, where Chaliapin had gone for the summer, he had a fateful meeting with Savva Mamontov. He invited Fyodor to join his troupe for a handsome fee. The singer "didn't believe in the saving power of talent without hard work," so during his three years at the private opera, he demonstrated incredible diligence and worked hard to perfect his craft. Thanks to this, his name became widely known throughout the country.
In the autumn of 1899, Chaliapin arrived at the Imperial Theatres as a renowned opera singer – his tours were a great success, and the audiences applauded him. He then became a leading soloist at both the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres, and two years later he was performing in Italy at the renowned Teatro alla Scala. His repertoire of roles was vast, with his most memorable roles including the Miller (Rusalka), Ivan Susanin (A Life for the Tsar), Boris Godunov and Varlaam (Boris Godunov), Ivan the Terrible (The Maid of Pskov), Mephistopheles (Faust and Mephistopheles), Don Basilio (The Barber of Seville), Leporello (Don Giovanni), and Don Quixote (Don Quixote). From 1918 to 1921, Chaliapin became the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre. For the once provincial boy, this position became a true success, recognizing not only his talent and enormous work on himself, but also his sincere dedication to the cause.
In 1922, Fyodor received permission for an extended tour abroad and left for France with his family. The reason for his emigration was disagreements with the Soviet government, which the artist refused to reconcile. His fortunes abroad were flourishing – he began conquering theaters around the world and filling halls with admiring audiences. From 1923 onward, the opera singer performed successfully in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia, Latin America, China, and Japan. In 1927, while in Paris, Chaliapin donated 5,000 francs to help unemployed Russian émigrés. The Soviet government perceived this as support for the White Guards and stripped him of his title of People's Artist of the USSR.
A hallmark of his performances was makeup, which he turned into a true art form. His meticulous attention to every detail, including not only his face but also his hands, neck, and, if necessary, his body, was a completely new phenomenon. He recalled:
"When I walked onto the stage, dressed in my costume and made up, it caused a real sensation, very flattering for me. The performers, the chorus, even the workers surrounded me, gasping and delighted like children, touching me with their fingers, feeling me, and when they saw that my muscles had been painted on, they were completely delighted."
In May 1937, his final performance took place in Warsaw. He sang the title role in Boris Godunov, and in June, he gave his final concert in Great Britain. On April 12, 1938, the great artist died of leukemia.
In his time, Feodor Chaliapin was not just a world-renowned opera and chamber music star, but a true innovator. Konstantin Stanislavsky himself, the author of the famous training system still used today, admitted, "I based my 'system' on Chaliapin." Therefore, today, the great singer's legacy lives on in new generations of artists. For his contribution to culture, Chaliapin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Golden Cross of the Prussian Eagle in Germany, and the Legion of Honor in France. The title of People's Artist was restored only 53 years after the singer's death.
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