Leonid Sobinov
Encyclopedia
Leonid Vitalyevich Sobinov , was an acclaimed Imperial Russian opera
tic tenor
. His fame continued unabated into the Soviet era, and he was made a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1923. Sobinov's voice was lyrical in size and tone, and it was employed with discerning taste and excellent musicianship.
, into the family of the lower middle-class trade officer Vitaly Vasilyevich Sobinov. The period of his childhood was apparently happy and calm. Sobinov's mother, who died early, was a keen singer, and due to her inspiration, he began singing himself. In 1881, at the age of nine, he entered a boys' school, graduating in 1890 with a silver medal. As a schoolboy, he had played the guitar as well as joining a local choir.
Sobinov enrolled in a university course in Moscow. This led to a degree in law, which he received in 1894. After university, Sobinov performed military service and then began to practice law. He also studied singing in Moscow with professors Alexander Dodonov and Alexandra Santagano Gorchakova, who, in 1897, suggested that he attend an audition at the city's Bolshoi Theatre
. He did well at the audition, obtaining a Bolshoi contract for an initial period of two years. This contract would lay the foundation for a subsequent singing career of extraordinary success.
Sobinov would go on to appear in Moscow and St Petersburg in operas such as Ruslan and Ludmila, Faust
, Manon
, Prince Igor
, Eugene Onegin
, Halka
, Rigoletto
, Lohengrin
, Tannhäuser
(as Walter von der Vogelweide) and Mikhail Ivanov
's Zabava Putyatishna (as Solovey Budomirovich).
Sobinov was impressed by the up-and-coming operatic bass Feodor Chaliapin
, who was one year younger than he was, and they appeared together on stage in 1899. In that same year he added the parts of Andrej (Mazeppa
), Gérald (Lakmé
) and Alfredo Germont (La traviata
) to his repertoire. After going through the score of Carmen
, he declined to take on the role of Don Jose, insisting that its dramatic nature would be too taxing for his voice.
The reigning lyric tenor at the Bolshoi during the 1890s and early 1900s was Nikolay Figner
. Figner was a close friend of Russia's leading composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
; but Sobinov proved to be the older tenor's equal or superior in every way, surpassing him even as Lensky in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
.
In order to enlarge his operatic repertoire (having already added to it the tenor leads in Martha
, Werther
, Mignon
and Roméo et Juliette
), Sobinov decided to travel to Italy, so that he could experience Italian opera directly. In 1904-06 (and again in 1911) he appeared at Italy's premier opera house, La Scala
, Milan
. His performances were acclaimed not only in Russia but also in other European countries, owing to the beauty of his voice and the polish of his singing style. As well as the Bolshoi and La Scala, he sang at the:
Sobinov achieved enormous fame despite facing strong competition for the Russian public's affection from a number of rival male singers of outstanding quality. They included his fellow lyric tenors Dmitri Smirnov
(1882-1944) and Andrei Labinsky (1871-1941), the spinto
tenor Lev Klementiev (1868-1910) and the dramatic tenor Ivan Yershov
(1867-1943). According to his contemporaries, Leonid Sobinov was a person blessed with rare charm. He loved a lot and he was loved by a lot. Famous beauties of his era were constantly falling in love with him. They included, among many others, Elisabeth Sadovskaya, the actress, and Vera Karalli
, the ballet dancer and silent-cinema star.
Although Sobinov's first marriage to Maria Karzhavina, a Philharmonic Society schoolmate, did not last, he was devoted to his two sons by her, Boris
and George (Yuri) Sobinov. In 1915, he married secondly Nina Mukhina. She was the sister of the renowned Soviet sculptor Vera Mukhina
, who was the creator of the "Worker and Collective Farmer" monument. It was a happy marriage. They had one daughter, Svetlana.
In 1917, after the Russian Revolution, Sobinov became the first elected director of the Bolshoi Theatre
. He undertook a theatrical trip to the Ukraine in 1918 and found himself cut off temporarily from Russia. In 1919, he was assigned to the role of chairman of the musical committee of the all-Ukrainian Division of Arts in Kiev
. The year 1920 saw him become a manager at the Division of Public Education in Sevastopol
. In 1920 his son Yuri, who served in the White Army, was killed near Militopol. His other son, Boris, a music composer, (1895-1956), emigrated to Germany.
Sobinov again became a director of the Bolshoi Theatre
in 1921. Two years later he was selected to be a deputy of the Moscow City Council. He made his last stage appearance in 1933 at a Bolshoi gala held in his honour. The next year, he began work at the operatic studio of Konstantin Stanislavsky as the studio's artistic leader.
On the night of 14 October 1934, Sobinov died in Riga
's Hotel Saint Petersburg from a heart attack. Death was instantaneous, and he died in his sleep. His body was transported back to Moscow by special train. He was buried on 19 October at the Novo-Devichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
. His fame continued unabated into the Soviet era, and he was made a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1923. Sobinov's voice was lyrical in size and tone, and it was employed with discerning taste and excellent musicianship.
Biography
Leonid Sobinov was born in YaroslavlYaroslavl
Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...
, into the family of the lower middle-class trade officer Vitaly Vasilyevich Sobinov. The period of his childhood was apparently happy and calm. Sobinov's mother, who died early, was a keen singer, and due to her inspiration, he began singing himself. In 1881, at the age of nine, he entered a boys' school, graduating in 1890 with a silver medal. As a schoolboy, he had played the guitar as well as joining a local choir.
Sobinov enrolled in a university course in Moscow. This led to a degree in law, which he received in 1894. After university, Sobinov performed military service and then began to practice law. He also studied singing in Moscow with professors Alexander Dodonov and Alexandra Santagano Gorchakova, who, in 1897, suggested that he attend an audition at the city's 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...
. He did well at the audition, obtaining a Bolshoi contract for an initial period of two years. This contract would lay the foundation for a subsequent singing career of extraordinary success.
Sobinov would go on to appear in Moscow and St Petersburg in operas such as Ruslan and Ludmila, Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
, Manon
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
, Prince Igor
Prince Igor
Prince Igor is an opera in four acts with a prologue. It was composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the East Slavic epic The Lay of Igor's Host, which recounts the campaign of Russian prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the invading Polovtsian tribes in 1185...
, Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
, Halka
Halka
Halka is an opera by the Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko. The libretto was by Wlodzimierz Wolski , a young Warsaw poet with radical social views. It is part of the canon of Polish national operas.-Performance history:...
, Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
, Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
(as Walter von der Vogelweide) and Mikhail Ivanov
Mikhail Ivanov (composer)
Mikhail Mikhailovich Ivanov was a Russian composer, critic and writer on music.-Biography:Mikhail Mikhailovich Ivanov was born in Moscow in 1849. He studied at the Technological Institute, St Petersburg, then at the Moscow Conservatory for a year, under Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Alexandre...
's Zabava Putyatishna (as Solovey Budomirovich).
Sobinov was impressed by the up-and-coming operatic bass Feodor Chaliapin
Feodor Chaliapin
Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. The possessor of a large 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.During the first phase...
, who was one year younger than he was, and they appeared together on stage in 1899. In that same year he added the parts of Andrej (Mazeppa
Mazeppa (opera)
Mazeppa, properly Mazepa , is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Victor Burenin and is based on Pushkin's poem Poltava....
), Gérald (Lakmé
Lakmé
Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. Delibes wrote the score during 1881–82 with its first performance on 14 April 1883 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Set in British India in the mid 19th century, Lakmé is based on the 1880 novel...
) and Alfredo Germont (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...
) to his repertoire. After going through the score of Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, he declined to take on the role of Don Jose, insisting that its dramatic nature would be too taxing for his voice.
Nikolay and Medea Figner
Nikolay Figner , lyric tenor, and Medea Figner , mezzo-soprano, later soprano, were a renowned husband-and-wife team of opera singers active in Russia between 1889 and 1904. Medea was Italian-born but she became competely Russianized after marrying Nikolay...
. Figner was a close friend of Russia's leading composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
; but Sobinov proved to be the older tenor's equal or superior in every way, surpassing him even as Lensky in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
.
In order to enlarge his operatic repertoire (having already added to it the tenor leads in Martha
Martha (opera)
Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond is a 'romantic comic' opera in four acts by Friedrich von Flotow, set to a German libretto by Friedrich Wilhelm Riese and based on a story by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges....
, Werther
Werther
Werther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
, Mignon
Mignon
Mignon is an opéra comique in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. The Italian version was translated by Giuseppe Zaffira. The opera is mentioned in James Joyce's The Dead,...
and Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette is an opéra in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Lyrique , Paris on 27 April 1867...
), Sobinov decided to travel to Italy, so that he could experience Italian opera directly. In 1904-06 (and again in 1911) he appeared at Italy's premier opera house, 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...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. His performances were acclaimed not only in Russia but also in other European countries, owing to the beauty of his voice and the polish of his singing style. As well as the Bolshoi and La Scala, he sang at the:
- Mariinsky TheatreMariinsky TheatreThe Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
, St.Petersburg - Palais GarnierPalais GarnierThe Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... - Royal Opera HouseRoyal Opera HouseThe Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent GardenCovent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - Opéra de Monte-CarloOpéra de Monte-CarloThe Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house located in the principality of Monaco.With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's...
, Monte-Carlo - Teatro RealTeatro RealThe Teatro Real or simply El Real , is a major opera house located in Madrid, Spain.-History:...
, MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
Sobinov achieved enormous fame despite facing strong competition for the Russian public's affection from a number of rival male singers of outstanding quality. They included his fellow lyric tenors Dmitri Smirnov
Dmitri Alexeievich Smirnov
Dmitri Alexeyevich Smirnov was a leading Russian operatic tenor with a lyric voice and a bravura singing technique.-Biography:...
(1882-1944) and Andrei Labinsky (1871-1941), the spinto
Spinto
Spinto is a vocal term used to characterize a soprano or tenor voice of a weight between lyric and dramatic that is capable of handling large musical climaxes in opera at moderate intervals...
tenor Lev Klementiev (1868-1910) and the dramatic tenor Ivan Yershov
Ivan Yershov
Ivan Vasiliyevitch Yershov or Ershov , born November 8, 1867 - died November 21, 1943, was a Russian opera singer. He earned renown for his brilliant performances at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, performing some of the most demanding roles written for the dramatic tenor...
(1867-1943). According to his contemporaries, Leonid Sobinov was a person blessed with rare charm. He loved a lot and he was loved by a lot. Famous beauties of his era were constantly falling in love with him. They included, among many others, Elisabeth Sadovskaya, the actress, and Vera Karalli
Vera Karalli
Vera Alexeyevna Karalli was a notable Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and silent film actress during the early years of the twentieth century.-Early life and career:...
, the ballet dancer and silent-cinema star.
Although Sobinov's first marriage to Maria Karzhavina, a Philharmonic Society schoolmate, did not last, he was devoted to his two sons by her, Boris
Boris Sobinov
Boris Leonidovich Sobinov was a Russian composer and a son of Leonid Sobinov, Russia's leading lyric tenor during the first quarter of the 20th Century....
and George (Yuri) Sobinov. In 1915, he married secondly Nina Mukhina. She was the sister of the renowned Soviet sculptor Vera Mukhina
Vera Mukhina
Vera Ignatyevna Mukhina was a prominent Soviet sculptor.- Life :Mukhina was born in Riga into a wealthy merchant family, and lived at Turgeneva st. 23/25, where a memorial plaque has now been placed. She later moved to Moscow, where she studied at several private art schools, including those of...
, who was the creator of the "Worker and Collective Farmer" monument. It was a happy marriage. They had one daughter, Svetlana.
In 1917, after the Russian Revolution, Sobinov became the first elected director of 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...
. He undertook a theatrical trip to the Ukraine in 1918 and found himself cut off temporarily from Russia. In 1919, he was assigned to the role of chairman of the musical committee of the all-Ukrainian Division of Arts in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. The year 1920 saw him become a manager at the Division of Public Education in Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
. In 1920 his son Yuri, who served in the White Army, was killed near Militopol. His other son, Boris, a music composer, (1895-1956), emigrated to Germany.
Sobinov again became a director of 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 1921. Two years later he was selected to be a deputy of the Moscow City Council. He made his last stage appearance in 1933 at a Bolshoi gala held in his honour. The next year, he began work at the operatic studio of Konstantin Stanislavsky as the studio's artistic leader.
On the night of 14 October 1934, Sobinov died in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
's Hotel Saint Petersburg from a heart attack. Death was instantaneous, and he died in his sleep. His body was transported back to Moscow by special train. He was buried on 19 October at the Novo-Devichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Recordings: CD reissues
Sobinov left a large legacy of recordings made prior to the 1917 Revolution. Many of these have been remastered and reissued on Compact Disc by various firms. These reissues include:- The Harold Wayne Collection Vol. 36 - His First Recordings 1901-1904, Symposium
- Leonid Sobinov - Recordings 1910 – 1911, Symposium
- Leonid Sobinov - The HMV Catalogue Recordings, Pearl
- Rimsky-Korsakov performed by his Contemporaries, Russian Disc
- Singers of Russia 1900 - 1917 / Sergej Levik and Contemporaries, Symposium
- Singers of Imperial Russia Vol. 1, Pearl
- La Scala Edition Vol. 1, EMI
- Greatest Voices of the Bolshoi, Melodiya
- The 30 Tenors, Symposium
- The Voices of the Tsar Vol. 1 (1901 - 1915), Minerva, as well as
- Mike Richter's Opera Page: The Record of SingingThe Record of SingingThe Record of Singing is a compilation of classical-music singing from the first half of the 20th century, the era of the 78-rpm record.It was issued on LP by EMI, successor to the British company His Master's Voice — perhaps the leading organization in the early history of audio recording.The...
Vol. 1 CD-ROM.