Buried (MP3) Treasure: Galina Vishnevskaya

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Russian Operatic Royalty Attends Bolshoi Theatre Gala

The audience for the reopening of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow was filled with politicians, businessmen, celebrities and some well-known opera singers who performed at the landmark auditoriums throughout their careers.

Mezzo-soprano Elena Obraztsova was sitting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (not pictured) in the Tsar's box which rests in the center rear of the auditorium. 

Soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, widow of Mstislav Rostropovich, was sitting in a special box stage right. 

In addition to guests in the auditorium a number of artists that have been part of the Bolshoi Theatre's history were present through previously recorded interviews, including the late Irina Arkhipova who passed away in February 2010:

Although Russia has two powerhouse opera facilities (the other being that bastion of culture in St. Petersburg led by Valery Gergiev known as the Mariinsky Theatre), it seems odd that so many prominent Russian opera singers were not present for the festivities that reopened the Bolshoi Theatre on October 28 either to perform or just appear as dignitaries. Perhaps this had to do with schedules and the fact that the government was in charge of the invitation list for the evening. Here are some audio clips in their honor:


Anna Netrebko - "O ne rydai, mai Paolo" Francesca da Rimini (Rachmaninoff)


Galina Gorchakova - "''Da, On Rassejalsja'' The Fiery Angel (Prokofiev)


Ljuba Kazarnovskaya - "Den li tsarit" (Tchaikovsky)


Olga Peretyatko - "Lilacs" (Rachmaninoff)


Olga Borodina - "Merknet svet dnevnoj" Prince Igor (Borodin)


Larissa Diadkova - "Duenna's Aria" Betrothal in a Monastery (Prokofiev)


Sergei Leiferkus - "The Field Marshal" Songs and Dances of Death (Mussorgsky)


Vladimir Atlantov - "Kuda, kuda vï udalilis" Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)


Maria Guleghina - "The Cuckoo" (Tchaikovsky)


Yevgeny Nesterenko - "Vas tabor spit. Luna nad nim" Aleko (Rachmaninoff)


Nina Rautio - "Prastite Vy, Xalmy" The Maid of Orleans (Tchaikovsky)


Vladimir Chernov - "Prince Andrei's Aria, Act I" War and Peace (Prokofiev)

Also curiously missing were some major opera singers who participated in a cultural exchange in 1964 between La Scala and the Bolshoi Theatre. Opera stars like Renata Scotto, Fiorenza Cossotto, Leontyne Price and Mirella Freni, all took part in that event and are all still around today. Would that have been too much of a gesture on the part of Moscow? The exchange between companies took place again in 1974 (with Montserrat Caballé and Plácido Domingo) and 1989. Here is an audio clip of Mirella Freni singing "Non mi resta" from L'Amico Fritz at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on September 13, 1964:

Happy Birthday: Galina Vishnevskaya

"Líu's Death Scene"
Turandot (Puccini)
w/Franco Corelli & Birgit Nilsson

Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya (Russian: Гали́на Па́вловна Вишне́вская) (born October 25, 1926) is a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966. Vishnevskaya was born in Leningrad. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 singing operetta. After a year studying with Vera Nikolayevna Garina, she won a competition held by the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow (with Rachmaninoff's song "O, Do Not Grieve" and Verdi's aria "O patria mia" from Aida) in 1952. The next year, she became a member of the Bolshoi Theatre. She remained a member of the Bolshoi company for 22 years. She gave unforgettable interpretations of more than 30 roles in Russian and Western European operas. Following a brilliant debut as Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene

"Puskay pogibnu ya"
Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)

Onegin, she went on to perform, among others, the title role in Verdi’s Aida, Violetta in Verdi’s La traviata, the title role in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Natasha Rostova in Prokofiev’s War and Peace, Katarina in the 1957 world premiere of Shebalin’s The Taming of the Shrew, Lisa in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, Kupava in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snowmaiden, and Marfa in his The Tsar’s Bride. On May 9, 1960 she made her first appearance in Sarajevo at the National Theatre, as Aida. In 1961, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Aida; the following year she made her debut at the Royal Opera House with the same role. For her La Scala debut in 1964, she sang Liù in Turandot, opposite Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli. In addition to the roles in the Russian operatic repertoire, Vishnevskaya has also sung roles such as Violetta, Tosca, Cio-cio-san, Leonore, and Cherubino. Benjamin Britten wrote the

"Vocalise" Op.34, No. 14
(Rachmaninov)

soprano role in his War Requiem (completed 1962) especially for her. She also sang Polina in the first Russian production Prokofiev’s The Gambler in 1974, performed Poulenc’s mono-opera La voix humaine in 1965, and starred in the film version of Shostakovich’s opera Katerina Izmailova in 1966. Vishnevskaya was married to the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich from 1955 until his death in 2007; they performed together regularly (he on piano or on the podium). Both she and Rostropovich were friends of Dmitri Shostakovich, and they made an electrifying recording of his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk for EMI. During the Soviet regime Galina Vishnevskaya opposed the authorities. According to Robert Conquest, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn stayed at their dacha from 1968 while writing much of The Gulag Archipelago. For that reason,

"Act 2, Finale" Tosca (Puccini)

among others, the couple was exposed to particular attention and pressure from the intelligence service of the USSR. In 1974 Galina Vishnevskaya and Mstislav Rostropovitch left the Soviet Union and in 1978 they were deprived of Soviet citizenship. They first settled in the United States and later lived in France and Great Britain. Galina Vishnevskaya starred in the greatest opera theaters of the world, including Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, Opera de Paris, Teatro alla Scala and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, performing with the most celebrated masters of opera and the theatrical arts. In 1982, the soprano bade farewell to the opera stage, in Paris, as Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. In 1987, she stage directed Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride in Washington, D.C. She sang the part of Marina in a renowned

"Songs and Dances of Death"
(Mussorgsky, orchestrated by Shostakovich)

recording of Boris Godunov, conducted by Herbert von Karajan, with co-soloists Nicolai Ghiaurov, Martti Talvela, Ludwig Spiess and Alexei Maslennikov, and in 1989 performed the same role in the film version directed by Andrzei Zulawsky, with the score conducted by Mstislav Rostropovitch. During the period in which she was forced to live abroad, Galina Vishnevskaya made a complete recording of Prokofiev’s War and Peace and recorded five discs of romances by Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky, Borodin and Tchaikovsky. Galina Vishnevskaya’s whole life and creative work have been aimed at renewing and glorifying Russian opera traditions. At the beginning of the 1990s, in the wake of perestroika, she and Mstislav Rostropovitch were given back their

"Ritorna vincitor" Aida (Verdi)

Russian citizenship. Returning to Russia, she became an honorary professor of the Moscow Conservatory. She described her life in the book Galina: A Russian Story, the English version of which was published in 1984, with the Russian version following in 1991. Galina Vishnevskaya has received an honorary doctorate of arts from numerous universities. For many years she has worked with young people in the arts, giving master classes throughout the world and chairing the juries of leading international competitions. She is President of the All-Russia Fair of Singers in Yekaterinburg. The long-awaited opening of the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre

"Con onor muore"
Madama Butterfly (Puccini)
[sung in Russian]

took place in Moscow on September 1, 2002. At the Centre, the great diva shares her accumulated experience and unique knowledge with talented young singers in order that they may proudly represent the Russian school of singing on the international operatic stage. In 2006, she was featured in Alexander Sokurov's documentary Elegy of a life: Rostropovich, Vishnevskaya. In 2007, she starred in his film Aleksandra, playing the role of a grandmother coming to see her grandson in the Second Chechen War. The film premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Galina Vishnevskaya has received many prestigious awards for her contributions to the art of music: the Medal for the Defense of Leningrad (1943), the Order of Lenin (1971), the Diamond Medal of Paris, the Order for Services to Fatherland in the third degree (1996) and the Order for Services to Fatherland in the second degree (2006). She is also a Grand Officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters (1982), a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour (1983) and an Honorary Citizen of Kronshtadt (1996). The diva made many recordings, including Eugene Onegin

"Casta diva" Norma (Bellini)

(1956 and 1970), Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death (1961 and 1976), Britten's War Requiem (with Sir Peter Pears and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, conducted by the composer; 1963), The Poet's Echo (1968), Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (1970 and 1987), Puccini's Tosca (1976), Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades (with Regina Resnik, 1976), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1978), Tchaikovsky's Iolanta (with Nicolai Gedda, 1984), and Prokofiev's War and Peace (1986). Galina and her late husband have two daughters and six grandchildren. The daughters have followed in the path of their parents and have become distinguished musicians. The older one, Olga, plays the cello and instructs. She is married to French businessman Olaf Geran-Germess and they have two sons - Oleg and Mstislav. The younger daughter, Elena, is a pianist and General Director of the International Music Festival in Evian (France). She married the Italian publisher Stefano Tartini and they have four children - Ivan, Sergey, Anastasia and Alexander. [Source, Source]

More photos of the soprano with famous friends after the jump.

Sylvia Sass Complete Recitals Released on Decca Eloquence

As part of the Decca Eloquence series of recent vocal releases comes the latest addition which includes the complete Decca recitals of soprano Sylvia Sass from the late 1970s. Previously only available on CD from Japan (Decca did release "Presenting Sylvia Sass Opera's Sensational New Star" as part of its Classic Recital line in 2005) these recordings are welcome treasures to any collection. Note: The series also features a first-time CD release of Tchaikovsky songs with soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, details can be found here and don't forget to check out the other three discs coming out featuring Peter Pears, Kiri Te Kanawa and Kenneth McKellar by clicking here. Purchase the Sylvia Sass disc by clicking here.

The original LP covers for the recitals on Decca:
Recitals previously only available on Japanese releases:

More information and complete track list after the jump.

Dmitry Tcherniakov Will Open Renovated Bolshoi Theater

Director Dmitry at Bolshoi

"After six years of renovations that have been beset with allegations of corruption, infighting, delays and political point-scoring, the Bolshoi Theater’s main stage will open again to the public this autumn. Following a gala concert at the end of September that will likely be attended by both the cultural and political elite of the country, the more serious business of opera and ballet will begin on October 2, as one of the world’s most famous theaters finally gets its home back. The first performance on the newly renovated stage will be of Mikhail Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila, regarded as the first major Russian opera—so far, so predictable. Somewhat more surprising, perhaps, is the choice of director for the opera. Dmitry Tcherniakov offended traditionalists with his Bolshoi production of Eugene Onegin in 2006 so much that legendary soprano Galina Vishnevskaya vowed never to set foot inside the theater again."

Galina: Disgruntled Diva

"Then came the fateful Onegin in 2006, which replaced Boris Pokrovsky’s legendary 1944 staging. Vishnevskaya said she had 'cried in humiliation' in a letter to the Bolshoi’s management, and vowed never to set foot in the theatre again, cancelling an 80th birthday party due to be held at the theatre, and railing at the 'completely deformed' main characters. The soprano, who was probably the theatre’s most famous Tatyana of all time, wrote of Tcherniakov’s 'public desecration of our national treasure.'" [Source]