Background

Chaliapin was born into a peasant family on February 13, 1873 in Kazan, Russia in the wing of merchant Lisitzin's house on Rybnoryadskaya Street (now Pushkin Street) 10. The next day he was baptized in Epiphany (Bogoyavlenskaya) Church on Bolshaya Prolomnaya street (now Bauman Street). The dwelling was expensive for his father, Ivan Yakovlevich, who served as a clerk in the Zemskaya Uprava (Zemstvo District Council), and in 1878 the Chaliapin family moved to the village of Ametyevo (also Ometyevo, or the Ometyev settlements, now a settlement within Kazan) behind the area of Sukonnaya Sloboda, and settled in a small house.

Education

Feodor studied in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Career

During his youth, Chaliapin did menial work. He was practically self-taught as a singer, but at seventy he was successful in becoming a member of a small provincial opera company. He sang in St. Petersburg in 1894 and in 1896 at the Mamontov Private Opera in Moscow, where his remarkable talents as singer and actor were first noticed. Subsequently, he won outstanding success both in Europe and at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, especially in his interpretation of the title role in Boris Godunov. He was also known for his performances in Faust, Sadko, Mefistofele, Don Quichotte, and A Life for the Czar. He left Russia permanently in 1927 and eventually settled in Paris. Besides his many operatic roles, he had a great reputation as a concert singer. Among the songs he popularized were The Song of the Volga Boatmen and Mussorgsky's The Song of the Flea. He had a fine, though not exceptional, voice and was one of the greatest singing actors of all time. He died in Paris, France on April 12, 1938.

Achievements

• Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form.

Works

More photos

• book

  • FEODOR IVANOVICH CHALIAPIN SINGS vinyl record

    (FEODOR IVANOVICH CHALIAPIN SINGS Label: SCALA RECORD...)

  • Chaliapin Edition Vol. 4: 1913-21 Song Repertoire

    (Airs de Liapounov, Slonov, Rubinstein, Grieg, Rimski-Kors...)

  • The Art of Feodor Chaliapin : Opera Arias & russian Songs

    (Recorded 1926 to 1933. Songs include: Rachmaninoff : Alek...)

  • Faust: Le veau d'or (Recorded 1930)
  • Edition 1 First Recordings 1902-1908
  • 20 Great Singers in Popular Ballads

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• Some accused Chaliapin of brawling backstage. Rachmaninoff agreed. "Feodor is a brawler. They are all scared of his very spirit. He shouts suddenly or even hits someone! And Feodor's fist is powerful. He can take care of himself. And how else should one behave? Backstage at our own theater, it's just like a saloon. They shout they drink, they swear in the foulest language."

Connections

Chaliapin was married twice. He met his first wife, Italian ballerina Iola Tornagi, in Nizhny Novgorod. They married in Russia in 1898 and had six children: Igor, Boris, Irina, Lidia and twins Feodor Jr. and Tanya. While married to Tornagi, Chaliapin lived with Marina Petsold, a widow who already had two children from her first marriage. Chaliapin's two families lived separately, one in Moscow and the other in Saint Petersburg, and did not interact. Chaliapin married Petsold in 1927 in Paris, France.

Father:

Ivan Yakovlevich

2-nd spouse:

Marina Petsold

1-st spouse:

Iola Tornagi

Son:

Igor

Son:

Boris

Daughter:

Irina

Daughter:

Lidia

Son:

Feodor Jr.

Daughter:

Tanya