Irina Zhurina
Encyclopedia
Irina Zhurina is a Russia
n operatic coloratura soprano
.
(Ukraine). After studying singing at the Kharkov Art Institute, she joined the Kharkov Opera in 1971, where she sang the leading roles in La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor
, Rigoletto, etc.
Since 1975, she had been a soloist of the opera at the Bolshoi Theatre
in Moscow
. On this stage, she performed the leading opera parts composed for high soprano (lyrical coloratura soprano), such as Antonida (A Life for the Tsar), The Snow Maiden (Snegurochka), The Swan-Princess (The Tale of Tsar Saltan), Marfa (The Tsar's Bride
), the Queen of Shemakha/Shemakhan Tsaritsa (The Golden Cockerel), Violetta (Verdi
's La traviata
) and Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia
).
She had taken part in the Bolshoi Opera tours in Italy
(La Scala
), Germany
, Great Britain
, France
, Finland
, the United States
and Japan
. At the 1988 Making Music Together festival in Boston
(organised by Sarah Caldwell
), Zhurina premiered Boris Tchaikovsky
's Four Poems by Josef Brodsky for soprano and piano, and the following year gave their first performance in the Soviet Union.
Irina Zhurina still has a very active concert life, with a repertoire of opera arias, Russian art songs, baroque music and works by contemporary composers, devoted to (or specially composed for) her. She is also a teacher of singing on the faculty of the Academic Junior Music College of the Moscow Conservatory
.
Zhurina has recorded a number of CDs both in Russia and in Germany.
in 1993.
The first record called Judith (Serov)
, which was recorded in 1991, included Andrey Chistyakov (conductor), Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Russian Academic Choir of the USSR, Irina Udalova (Judith), Yelena Zaremba (Avra), Mikhayil Krutikov (Holofernes), Nikolay Vasilyev (Bagoas), Anatoly Babïkhin (Ozias), Vladimir Kudryachov (Achior), Stanislav Suleimanov (Asfaneses), Pyotr Gluboky (Eliachim), Maksim Mikhaylov (Charmis), Irina Zhurina, Marina Shutova (Odalisques) and Lev Kuznetsov (Hindu Song).
Rimsky-Korsakov
(Kashchey the Deathless), which was also recorded in 1991, included Andrey Chistyakov (conductor), Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Yurlov Academic Choir, Aleksandr Arkhipov (Kastchey), Irina Zhurina (Tsarevna), Nina Terentyeva (Kashcheyevna), Vladislav Verestnikov (Ivan Korolevich) and Vladimir Matorin
(Storm-Bogatïr).
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n operatic coloratura soprano
Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice...
.
Biography
Zhurina was born in KharkivKharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
(Ukraine). After studying singing at the Kharkov Art Institute, she joined the Kharkov Opera in 1971, where she sang the leading roles in La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
, Rigoletto, etc.
Since 1975, she had been a soloist of the opera at the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. On this stage, she performed the leading opera parts composed for high soprano (lyrical coloratura soprano), such as Antonida (A Life for the Tsar), The Snow Maiden (Snegurochka), The Swan-Princess (The Tale of Tsar Saltan), Marfa (The Tsar's Bride
The Tsar's Bride (opera)
The Tsar's Bride is an opera in four acts by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the composer's tenth opera. The libretto, by Il’ya Tyumenev, is based on the drama of the same name by Lev Mey. Mey's play was first suggested to the composer as an opera subject in 1868 by Mily Balakirev...
), the Queen of Shemakha/Shemakhan Tsaritsa (The Golden Cockerel), Violetta (Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
) and Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
).
She had taken part in the Bolshoi Opera tours in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
), Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. At the 1988 Making Music Together festival in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
(organised by Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell was a notable American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director of opera.- Life :Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and gave public performances on the violin by the time she was ten years old...
), Zhurina premiered Boris Tchaikovsky
Boris Tchaikovsky
Boris Alexandrovich Tchaikovsky was a Soviet composer, born in Moscow, whose oeuvre includes orchestral works, chamber music and film music. He is considered as part of the second generation of Russian composers, following in the steps of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and especially Mussorgsky.He was admired...
's Four Poems by Josef Brodsky for soprano and piano, and the following year gave their first performance in the Soviet Union.
Irina Zhurina still has a very active concert life, with a repertoire of opera arias, Russian art songs, baroque music and works by contemporary composers, devoted to (or specially composed for) her. She is also a teacher of singing on the faculty of the Academic Junior Music College of the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
.
Zhurina has recorded a number of CDs both in Russia and in Germany.
Recognitions and awards
Zhurina was made a People's Artist of Russia by President Boris YeltsinBoris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
in 1993.
Recorded works
Zhurina's recorded works included a number of artists.The first record called Judith (Serov)
Judith (Serov)
Judith , is an opera in five acts, composed by Alexander Serov during 1861-1863. Derived from renditions of the story of Judith from the Old Testament Apocrypha, the Russian libretto, though credited to the composer, has a complicated history . The premiere took place in 1863 in Saint Petersburg...
, which was recorded in 1991, included Andrey Chistyakov (conductor), Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Russian Academic Choir of the USSR, Irina Udalova (Judith), Yelena Zaremba (Avra), Mikhayil Krutikov (Holofernes), Nikolay Vasilyev (Bagoas), Anatoly Babïkhin (Ozias), Vladimir Kudryachov (Achior), Stanislav Suleimanov (Asfaneses), Pyotr Gluboky (Eliachim), Maksim Mikhaylov (Charmis), Irina Zhurina, Marina Shutova (Odalisques) and Lev Kuznetsov (Hindu Song).
Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
(Kashchey the Deathless), which was also recorded in 1991, included Andrey Chistyakov (conductor), Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Yurlov Academic Choir, Aleksandr Arkhipov (Kastchey), Irina Zhurina (Tsarevna), Nina Terentyeva (Kashcheyevna), Vladislav Verestnikov (Ivan Korolevich) and Vladimir Matorin
Vladimir Matorin
Vladimir Anatolyevich Matorin is a famous Russian opera singer. He is considered one of the greatest contemporary bass singer in Russia.-Biography:...
(Storm-Bogatïr).
Sources
- Academic Junior Music College (Moscow ConservatoryMoscow ConservatoryThe Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
), Faculty biography: Irina Zhurina (in Russian) - Dyer, Richard, "Extra Concert is a Poignant Addition", Boston Globe, 2 April 1988
- Klimov, Pyotr Liner Notes: Boris Tchaikovsky – Song-Cycles and Chamber Music, Toccata Classics (TOCC0046), May 2009
- Kotliarskaia, Elena Moiseevna, Women in Society: Russia, Marshall Cavendish, 1994, p. 62. ISBN 1854355619
- Pugliaro, G., Opera '90. Annuario dell'opera lirica in Italia , EDT srl, 1990, p. 122. ISBN 8870630889