On its 82nd birthday on May 25, the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater opened its doors to the audience and let them into its bowels: onto the stage and even under the roof. More than two thousand people who signed up for the tour saw the Bolshoi from the inside and learned how it prepares for performances, how rehearsals are held and how the scenery is created.

"When you do something for the first time, everyone considers it a gamble. So it was with the Christmas Opera Forum, the Grand Ball, the evenings of the Bolshoi Theater in the Radziwill Castle, the International Vocal Competition ... Everything happens for the first time, and then everything good becomes a tradition", - said on a solemn day the general director of the Bolshoi Theater Vladimir Gridyushko in your office.

Even in winter, an internal competition of proposals was announced on how to celebrate the theater's birthday. Among other ideas, the head of marketing and advertising Tatyana Aleksandrova and Deputy General Manager Svetlana Kazyulina offered to show the inner life of the Bolshoi that day.

"When a person comes to the theater, he sees everything in a festive format. But not everyone can understand what it means to create a performance. This is hard labor", - Vladimir Gridyushko explained why he liked the idea. This idea was brought to the attention of visitors on the holiday by 20 guides, specially trained theater employees.

Back in the 1920s, an opera and ballet troupe, a choir and an orchestra operated on the basis of the BDT-1. In 1924, a musical technical school was created, a year later opera and ballet departments appeared on the basis of the technical school. Then, in 1930, an opera and ballet studio appeared, and on May 25, 1933, the premiere of the opera Carmen by the then State Opera and Ballet Theater of the BSSR took place on the stage of the current Kupala Theater. The main part was performed by Larisa Pompeevna Alexandrovskaya. It is noteworthy that the opera was in Belarusian, Carmen was the heroine of the proletariat, and the smugglers fought against injustice. In 1935, "Carmen" was staged again, also in the Belarusian language, but without the proletarian flair.

In 1939, the current building of the Bolshoi Theater was built, and Mikhas Padgorny became the first opera. Together with "The Flower of Happiness" and the ballet "The Nightingale" it was shown in 1940 at the decade of Belarusian art in Moscow. Then the theater received the title of Bolshoi. In 1964, the theater was awarded the title of academic, and in 1996 - national.

On June 14, the eighth production of "Carmen" in the history of the theater will take place at the Bolshoi. The theater administration revealed the secret and said that the artists were learning flamenco and sevillana.

Winding through the corridors of the theater, we find ourselves on a stage of 600 square meters without a backstage (at the back of the stage, a reserve room for scenery that creates the illusion of depth; with it, the stage area is 800 square meters. – TUT.BY) .

If there is no performance, the stage is covered with a fire curtain. Mechanic Anatoly specially on the day of open doors raised the barrier for a while, and the auditorium appeared - at first glance it is so small from the stage.

On the stage itself there are seven tripods with spotlights and four more side towers for lighting. Each spotlight rotates in any plane independently of the other. This allows you to create the necessary lighting for the performance. All the mechanics of the stage are controlled by an electronic remote control and a touch screen. There are 21 platforms under the stage, which can rise separately and change the slope. The stage itself, according to the rules, has a slope of 4 degrees.

The chandelier in the auditorium, 4 meters in diameter and weighing 1200 kg, consists of 30,000 pendants, 500 light bulbs connected with 1 km of wires. After the season closes, the chandelier is lowered, and one can be sure that it is two times the height of a man.

With the fire curtain up

Scene without fire curtain. After the reconstruction of the theater, which took place from 2006 to 2009, the structures were fixed. There is a schedule for regular inspection of the premises, when the slightest changes are measured.

There is a small props room near the stage so that cups, swords, sabers, masks and bottles for stage feasts are at hand.

On the day of open doors, the theater was preparing for the evening ballet "Sleeping Beauty". In the scene, a safe was lifted from the floor, in which soft scenery is stored. Each of the four tiers contains three sets of decorations. All of them are signed so that the workers know which beam to tie the drapery to.

The upper part of the theater stage is the grate. They are high above the stage and lined with bars to lower the scenery. Frankly, even on a flat floor, you feel uncomfortable and your legs give way when you look down through the cracks. In the grate there are motors capable of lifting up to 1 kg of scenery.

Grids. The most mystical room under the roof of the Bolshoi.

More than 40 thousand costumes for performances are stored under the roof. Looping in the corridors with the dresser Natalia Kharabrova, we are talking about the labyrinths of the theater.

According to her, in the first year of work, the employees themselves are lost. But the turnover in the theater is small, people have been working for decades, so they navigate almost intuitively, including in the room with costumes.

Natalya herself already remembers by heart where the costume is stored. It’s hard to believe this for an inexperienced person, because without training in such a mass of costumes, even with the signatures of each row, it would be difficult to find something. We went to the largest warehouse, and there are 11 more in the theater, but smaller in size.

250-300 costumes can be involved in one performance, and this day is busy for the costume designer: all the costumes are carried by hand or on trolleys. " The dresser must have a good memory in order to remember where which sock, handkerchief", - says Natalia Kharabrova.

Periodically, a sanitation station comes to the warehouses and processes them so that moths do not start up and there is no dust. After the performance, some costumes are washed, and some are dry-cleaned, some are washed by hand in a special laundry. According to the costume designer, all the outfits for the performance are unique, "it is impossible to repeat them," for this reason the theater does not rent them out - it's like a work of art. And some costumes have been kept for decades, like, for example, the leather costumes for the ballet "Spartacus" - they have been in the Bolshoi since the 80s.

However, the theater will not be limited to opening doors. The birthday boy is already preparing certificates for performances by the next season. According to the director, when they give tickets to the theater, a person does not always have the opportunity to go to a specific performance at a specific time. The certificate will allow you to buy any ticket for any time for the specified amount.

In the spring of 1932, a volleyball section was created under the All-Union Council of Physical Culture of the USSR. In 1933, during a session of the Central Executive Committee on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, an exhibition match between the teams of Moscow and Dnepropetrovsk was played in front of the leaders of the ruling party and the government of the USSR. And a year later, the championships of the Soviet Union, officially called the "All-Union Volleyball Holiday", are regularly held. Having become the leaders of domestic volleyball, Moscow athletes were honored to represent it on the international arena, when Afghan athletes were guests and rivals in 1935. Despite the fact that the games were held according to Asian rules, the Soviet volleyball players won a landslide victory - 2:0 (22:1, 22:2).

Competitions for the championship of the USSR were held exclusively in open areas, most often after football matches in the neighborhood of stadiums, and major competitions, such as the 1952 World Cup, were held in the same stadiums with crowded stands.

The All-Russian Volleyball Federation (VVF) was founded in 1991. The president of the federation is Nikolai Patrushev. The Russian men's team is the winner of the 1999 World Cup and the 2002 World League. The women's team won the 2006 World Championship, the European Championships (1993, 1997, 1999, 2001), the Grand Prix (1997, 1999, 2002), the 1997 World Champions Cup.

Outstanding Volleyball Players

Karch Kiraly (USA) won the most medals in the history of volleyball at the Olympic Games - 2 gold medals in classical volleyball and one in beach volleyball. Among women, this is the Soviet volleyball player Inna Ryskal (USSR), who won 2 gold and 2 silver medals at 4 Olympiads 1964-1976. Among them:

Georgy Mondzolevsky (USSR)

“His generosity was legendary. He once sent a piano as a gift to the Kyiv School of the Blind, just as others send flowers or a box of chocolates. his creative personality: he would not be a great artist who brought so much happiness to any of us if he did not have such a generous benevolence towards people.
Here one could feel that overflowing love of life with which all his work was saturated.

The style of his art was so noble because he himself was noble. By no tricks of artistic technique he could have developed in himself such a charmingly sincere voice if he himself did not have this sincerity. They believed in the Lensky created by him, because he himself was like that: careless, loving, simple-hearted, trusting. That's why as soon as he appeared on stage and uttered the first musical phrase, the audience immediately fell in love with him - not only in his game, in his voice, but in himself.
Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky

After 1915, the singer did not conclude a new contract with the imperial theaters, but performed at the St. Petersburg People's House and in Moscow at the S.I. Zimin. After the February Revolution, Leonid Vitalievich returns to the Bolshoi Theater and becomes its artistic director. On March 13, at the grand opening of the performances, Sobinov, addressing the audience from the stage, said: “Today is the happiest day in my life. I speak in my own name and in the name of all my theater comrades, as a representative of truly free art. Down with the chains, down with the oppressors! If earlier art, despite the chains, served freedom, inspiring fighters, then from now on, I believe, art and freedom will merge into one.

After the October Revolution, the singer gave a negative answer to all proposals to emigrate abroad. He was appointed manager, and somewhat later commissioner of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

He performs all over the country: Sverdlovsk, Perm, Kyiv, Kharkov, Tbilisi, Baku, Tashkent, Yaroslavl. He also travels abroad - to Paris, Berlin, the cities of Poland, the Baltic states. Despite the fact that the artist was approaching his sixtieth birthday, he again achieves tremendous success.

“The entire former Sobinov passed in front of the audience of the crowded hall of Gaveau,” wrote one of the Paris reports. - Sobinov opera arias, Sobinov romances by Tchaikovsky, Sobinov Italian songs - everything was covered with noisy applause ... It is not worth spreading about his art: everyone knows it. Everyone who has ever heard him remembers his voice... His diction is as clear as a crystal, “it’s like pearls are pouring onto a silver platter.” They listened to him with emotion ... the singer was generous, but the audience was insatiable: she fell silent only when the lights went out.
After his return to his homeland, at the request of K.S. Stanislavsky becomes his assistant in the management of the new musical theater.

In 1934, the singer travels abroad to improve his health.
Already ending his trip to Europe, Sobinov stopped in Riga, where he died on the night of October 13-14.
On October 19, 1934, the funeral took place at the Novodevichy cemetery.
Sobinov was 62 years old.

35 years on stage. Moscow. Grand Theatre. 1933

* * *

version 1
On the night of October 12, 1934, not far from Riga, in his estate, Archbishop John, the head of the Orthodox Church of Latvia, was brutally murdered. It so happened that Leonid Sobinov at that time lived in Riga, where he came to see his eldest son Boris (he emigrated to Germany in 1920, where he graduated from the Higher School of Arts and became a rather famous composer). Russian emigrants who flooded Riga after the revolution spread rumors that Sobinov, using the fact that he was closely acquainted with the archbishop, led two NKVD agents to him, who committed a monstrous crime. Leonid Vitalyevich was so shocked by these accusations that on the night of October 14 he died of a heart attack.

On the night of October 12, 1934, Archbishop John (Ivan Andreevich Pommer) was brutally murdered at the bishop's dacha near Kishozero: tortured and burned alive. The murder was not solved and the reasons for it are still not completely clear. from here

The saint lived without guards in a dacha located in a deserted place. He loved being alone. Here his soul rested from the bustle of the world. Vladyka John spent his free time in prayer, working in the garden, and carpentry.
The ascent to the Heavenly Jerusalem continued, but most of the way had already been covered. The martyrdom of the saint was announced by a fire at the bishop's dacha on the night of Thursday to Friday, October 12, 1934. No one knows who subjected Vladyka John to what tortures. But the suffering was severe. The saint was tied to a door taken off its hinges and subjected to terrible tortures on his workbench. Everything testified that the martyr's feet were burned with fire, they shot at him from a revolver and set him alive on fire.
Many people gathered for the funeral of Archbishop John. The cathedral could not accommodate all those who wished to see off their beloved archpastor on his last journey. Crowds of believers stood along the streets along which the remains of the holy martyr were to be carried. fully

* * *

from an article by Dm. Levitsky THE MYSTERY OF THE INVESTIGATION CASE ON THE MURDER OF ARCHBISHOP JOHN (POMMER)

Sobinov was connected with Riga by the fact that his wife, Nina Ivanovna, came from a family of Riga merchants Mukhins, who were the owners of the so-called. Red barns. Nina Ivanovna inherited part of this property and received some income from it, which went to one of the Riga banks. It was because of this money that the Sobinovs repeatedly came to Riga, and the money they received made it possible to pay for trips abroad.

Sobinov was not familiar with Fr. John.
As for Sobinov's acquaintance with Archbishop John, T. Baryshnikova and me categorically denied such an acquaintance. At the same time, she repeated what L. Koehler wrote from her words: Sobinov, who did not know Vladyka, saw him during the Easter procession and exclaimed: “But I thought he was small, shabby, and this is Chaliapin in the role of Boris Godunov ".
In newspaper publications about the death of L.V. Sobinov, there are often words that his death was mysterious and the circumstances surrounding the death were suspicious. The authors of two books speak about this: Neo-Sylvester (G. Grossen) and L. Koehler, and it is noted that Sobinov's death occurred a few hours after the death of the lord. This is wrong and, I think, is explained by the fact that both authors wrote their books many years after the events in Riga in the autumn of 1934, from memory and without access to the Riga newspapers of that time. And from these newspapers it turns out that Sobinov died not on October 12, but on the morning of October 14.
There was nothing suspicious about what happened to the body of the late Sobinov, since this was reported in detail in the Russian newspaper Segodnya and the German Rigashe Rundschau. It was in this newspaper, but in Russian, that two notices of his death appeared. One on behalf of the Soviet embassy, ​​and the other on behalf of his wife and daughter.
Notices in the newspaper "Rigashe Rundschau", in the issue of October 15, 1934 on page 7 read:

Let us turn to the newspaper Segodnya, on the pages of which several detailed articles and reports about Sobinov and his death were published. They paint such a picture. The Sobinovs (he, his wife and daughter) arrived in Riga on Thursday evening; October 11, and stopped at the St. Petersburg hotel. On Saturday, on the last evening of his life, Sobinov let his daughter, 13-year-old Svetlana, go to the Russian Drama Theater. In the morning, Sobinov's wife heard that he, lying in his bed, was making some strange sounds, similar to sobs. She rushed to him shouting "Lenya, Lenya, wake up!". But Sobinov did not respond and there was no longer a pulse. The called doctor made an injection, but Sobinov was already dead.

This information from the Russian newspaper should be supplemented. The name of the called doctor was named in the German newspaper. It was Dr. Mackait, well-known in German circles. The same newspaper noted that on the eve of Sobinov and his daughter visited the Russian theater. But this detail is at odds with what Segodnya wrote and what T. K. Baryshnikova told me.
According to her, in the evening before Sobinov's death, it was decided that Svetlana would go with her to the Russian Drama Theater, and after the performance she would go to spend the night with the Baryshnikovs.

Therefore, it so happened that Nina Ivanovna Sobinova telephoned the Baryshnikovs early in the morning, at about 5 o'clock, and then they and Svetlana learned that Leonid Vitalievich had died.

I continue the message from the newspaper "Today". The death of Sobinov was immediately reported to the embassy in Riga and a telegram was sent to Berlin to Boris, Sobinov's son from his first marriage, who managed to fly to Riga on the same day.

Sobinov's body was placed in the bedroom of a double hotel room. The body was embalmed by Prof. Adelheim, and the sculptor Dzenis removed the mask from the face of the deceased. (These details were also reported in the German newspaper.) Friends and acquaintances of the Sobinovs, who had come to say goodbye to the deceased, were moving in both rooms. At seven o'clock in the evening, Sobinov's body was placed in an oak coffin, taken out of the hotel and transported in a funeral chariot to the embassy building.

Another fact, about which nothing was reported in the press, was told by G. Baryshnikova, namely: “After Sobinov’s death, in the morning in the hotel, in the Sobinovs’ room,” a monk, Father Sergius, served a full funeral service and burial of the body to the earth. A handful of earth was taken from the Riga Cathedral.”

The next day, October 15, a ceremony was held in the building of the embassy, ​​which was described in detail by the newspaper Segodnya in an article entitled "Remains of L. V. Sobinov sent from Riga to Moscow." The subtitles of this title give an idea of ​​what happened in the embassy, ​​and I quote them: “Civil memorial service in the embassy. Chargé d'Affaires Speech Wrinkle. Quote from Yuzhin's greeting. Kalinin's telegram. Memories of Sobinov in the crowd. Arrival of Sobinov's son. Funeral wagon.

What was said in the newspaper reports cited dispels the fog that shrouded the events surrounding the death of Sobinov. For example, L. Koehler writes that no one was allowed into the hotel where the body of the deceased was lying, not only reporters, but also the judiciary "... some type from the Soviet embassy was in charge there." And G. Grossen says that in the hotel "some red-haired comrade was in charge of everything."

Such arbitrariness of the embassy is unlikely. Apparently, both authors convey the echoes of those implausible rumors that were circulating at that time in Riga. In fact, reports and photographs that appeared, for example, in the newspaper Segodnya, testify to the fact that no one put obstacles in the way of reporters.

JI.Kehler also writes that Vladyka's brother confirmed to her that "the famous singer Sobinov called Vladyka on Thursday afternoon... They agreed that he would come to Vladyka in the evening." Here again there are inconsistencies. According to the Segodnya newspaper, the Sobinovs arrived in Riga on Thursday evening, October 11th. This time specifies the timetable of the Latvian Railways for 1934, according to which the train from Berlin via Koenigsberg arrived at 6.48 pm. Therefore, one wonders how Sobinov (according to Vladyka's brother) could call Vladyka during the day, since he arrived only in the evening. As already mentioned, the fact of Sobinov's acquaintance with Vladyka has not been proven in any way. In addition, if Sobinov called Vladyka later, after his arrival, is it likely that he would agree to go for the night looking to a country cottage, along a secluded road? And this was immediately after a long and tiring trip (as far as I remember, the trip from Berlin to Riga lasted about 30 hours).

Finally, it remains to say a few words about the rumor that Sobinov's death was violent. This is also speculation, not based on anything.

It was known that Sobinov had a heart condition and, on the advice of doctors, went to Marienbad for treatment. And from there he wrote on August 12, 1934 to K. Stanislavsky:

“I expect to stay here for a whole month from the day the treatment began, but here I had it unsuccessfully interrupted from the very beginning by a heart attack that happened for no reason at all.”

Therefore, there is nothing strange and surprising in the fact that the long journey of the Sobinovs (after Marienbad they still went to Italy) could affect the health of Leonid Vitalyevich, and he had a second heart attack in Riga.
The persistent circulation of all sorts of rumors about the cause of Sobinov's death, perhaps, to some extent due to the atmosphere created in Riga around the arrival of the Sobinovs there. Here is what Milrud, the editor of the Segodnya newspaper, who was well aware of the mood of the Russian inhabitants of Riga, wrote in his letter dated October 11, 1937 to journalist Boris Orechkin: “The Sobinovs often visited Riga. Here, Sobinov himself behaved in such a way lately that in Russian society they always spoke of him extremely negatively. The sudden death of Sobinov, coinciding with the death of arch. John (very mysterious) even caused persistent rumors that arch. was killed by Sobinov on the orders of the Bolsheviks. This, of course, is complete fiction, but these rumors are stubbornly held to this day.

69 years have passed since the death of Archbishop John (Pommer), but the mystery of his brutal murder has not yet been solved.
But the time has come not to associate the name of L.V. Sobinov with the murder of Archbishop John. For, as T.K. Baryshnikova-Gitter once wrote, the rumor about this is false and must be stopped forever.

Svetlana Leonidovna Sobinova-Kassil recalled:
We were in Riga, we had already bought tickets to Moscow, and one day, when I stayed overnight with friends, my mother's friends suddenly came for me ... When I entered the hotel, I understood everything by their faces. Dad died suddenly, in a dream - he had a completely calm face. Then dad was transferred to the Soviet embassy, ​​and I did not let the coffin be taken out, because Borya (note - the eldest son of L.V. from his first marriage) didn't make it to the funeral. Borya was a professor at the conservatory and lived in West Berlin.

In 2008, with the efforts and efforts of the Yaroslavl House-Museum of Sobinov, the book “Leonid Sobinov. The stage and the whole life. The authors of the catalog - museum staff Natalya Panfilova and Albina Chikireva - have been preparing for its publication for more than seven years. The 300-page catalog, made in the style of the Silver Age, consists of six large chapters and includes 589 illustrations that have not been published anywhere before. All of them are from the unique collection of the museum-reserve, numbering more than 1670 items. from here

why is the Sobinov House-Museum closed today??

In 1970 Anjaparidze returned to the Tbilisi Opera House. He was in excellent vocal form, continuing his creative career on the Georgian stage. Having conquered the audience with his Radamès in Aida, the singer performed there for the first time in the crown for the dramatic tenor of the most difficult part of Otello in Verdi's opera. At the same time (until 1977) he also remained a guest soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, continuing to sing Herman, beloved by himself and his audience, on its stage, less often by Don Carlos, Jose and Cavaradossi.
“I will express one, perhaps paradoxical thought,” the artist shared his feelings in the auditorium. - It is more profitable and convenient for an actor to sing in Tbilisi - the audience here is more emotional, and, in the good sense of the word, forgives us, artists more, which also has a good educational value. The more difficult. But if you have already been accepted, then that means everything! What has been said does not, of course, cancel the simple truth, which is the same for the Tbilisi and Moscow public: if you sing badly, they receive you badly; if you eat well, they accept you well. After all, as a rule, random people don’t go to the opera house.”

"La Traviata". Alfred - Z. Andzhaparidze, Germont - P. Lisitsian

Since 1972, Zurab Anjaparidze has been a teacher, professor at the Tbilisi Conservatory, then head of the Department of Musical Disciplines at the Tbilisi Theater Institute. In 1979-1982 he was director of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre. He also worked as a director at the Kutaisi Opera House (staged the operas “Mindiya” by O. Taktakishvili, “Leila” by R. Lagidze, “Daisi” by Z. Paliashvili), in the theaters of Tbilisi and Yerevan. Participated in the creation of film versions of Paliashvili's operas Abesalom and Eteri and Daisi.
Not often, but he liked to perform on the concert stage, captivating listeners with his sunny, sparkling voice and artistic charm as a performer of romances by P.I. Tchaikovsky, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, S.V. Rachmaninov, Neapolitan songs, vocal cycles by O. Taktakishvili. He was a member of the jury of international vocal competitions, including the V International Competition named after P.I. Tchaikovsky (1974). First Chairman of the D. Andguladze International Competition (Batumi, 1996).
A benevolent person, responsive to real talent, Zurab Anjaparidze once gave a start in life to many singers, including soloists of the Bolshoi Theater Makvala Kasrashvili, Zurab Sotkilava, Badri Maisuradze. In Georgia, he was the pride of the nation.
Having received the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1966, on the occasion of the 190th anniversary of the Bolshoi Theater, the singer was subsequently awarded several high awards: the State Prize of the Georgian SSR. Z. Paliashvili (1971); Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1971); Order of the October Revolution (1981).
Zurab Ivanovich died in Tbilisi on his birthday. He was buried in the square of the Tbilisi Opera House next to the luminaries of Georgian opera music Zakhary Paliashvili and Vano Sarajishvili.
In the 1960s-1970s, the Melodiya company published recordings of opera scenes with Zurab Anjaparidze in the parts of Radamès, German, Jose, Vaudemont, Othello with the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra (conductors A.Sh. Melik-Pashaev, B.E. Khaikin, M.F. Ermler). With the participation of the singer, the recording company Melodiya recorded the opera The Queen of Spades with soloists, choir and orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater (1967, conductor B.E. Khaikin).
The Evgeny Svetlanov Foundation released a CD recording of the opera Tosca in 1967 (State Symphony Orchestra conducted by E.F. Svetlanov) with T.A. Milashkina and Z.I. Anjaparidze in the main parties. This masterpiece of performing art brings back to his contemporaries two great voices of the past century.
In the collection of the State Television and Radio Fund, the singer’s voice can also be heard in the parts of Don Carlos, Manrico (“Don Carlos”, “Il Trovatore” by G. Verdi), Nemorino (“Love Potion” by G. Donizetti), Canio (“Pagliacci” by R. Leoncavallo), Turiddu (“Country Honor” by P. Mascagni), Des Grieux, Calaf (“Manon Lesko”, “Turandot” by G. Puccini), Abesalom, Malkhaz (“Abesalom and Eteri”, “Daisi” by Z. Paliashvili).
“Often when you listen to recordings of singers of the past today, many idols of the past lose their halo,” said Vladimir Redkin, leading baritone of the Bolshoi Theater, a participant in the gala concert in memory of the artist at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theater named after Paliashvili a year after the death of the singer. – The criteria for vocal mastery, manner, style have changed a lot, and only true talents have withstood such a test of time. The voice of Zurab Anjaparidze, his singing individuality is perfectly audible and heard now. Ease of sound engineering, soft timbre, volume of sound, its cantilena – all this remains.”
The memory of the extraordinary tenor is honored in his homeland - in Georgia. On the fifth anniversary of the artist's death, a bronze bust by sculptor Otar Parulava was erected on his grave in the square of the Tbilisi Opera House. A memorial plaque was opened in 1998 at 31 Paliashvili Street, where the singer lived. The Zurab Anjaparidze Prize was established, the first laureate of which was the Georgian tenor T. Gugushvili. The Zurab Anjaparidze Foundation has been established in Georgia.
In 2008, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Zurab Ivanovich, the book “Zurab Anjaparidze” (M., compiled by V. Svetozarov) was published.
T.M.

Antarova Konkordia Evgenievna
mezzo-soprano
1886–1959

Concordia Evgenievna Antarova, an outstanding opera and chamber singer, was well known in the 1920s and 1930s. She was a bright, interesting personality, whose fate intertwined happy creative achievements and sorrowful life trials.
The singer was born in Warsaw on April 13 (25), 1886. His father served in the Department of Public Education, his mother gave foreign language lessons. There were many Narodnaya Volya activists in the family, the famous Sofya Perovskaya was Antarova's great-aunt. Kora inherited culture, purposefulness and fortitude from her ancestors.
At eleven, the girl lost her father, at fourteen, her mother. She worked as a private tutor and was able to finish high school. When it became unbearably difficult, she went to the monastery. Here she learned to work, patience, kindness, and here her amazing voice was revealed - a beautiful deep contralto, and she sang with pleasure in the church choir. Talent played a decisive role in her later life. With the blessing of John of Kronstadt, Antarova returned to the world.
In 1904, she graduated from the Faculty of History and Philology of the Higher Women's Courses in St. Petersburg and received an invitation to the Department of Philosophy. But she was irresistibly attracted to the theater, she dreamed of singing. Antarova took private lessons from Professor I.P. Pryanishnikova, she studied with him at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. She earned a living and education by lessons, night shifts, taught at a factory school, stubbornly strived for her desired goal.
In 1901-1902, she performed at the St. Petersburg People's House in the operas Vakula the Blacksmith by N.F. Solovyov as Solokha and Boris Godunov by M.P. Mussorgsky as the Innkeeper.
In 1907, after graduating from the conservatory, having withstood the most difficult competition of one hundred and sixty applicants, she was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater.
A year later, she moved to the Moscow Bolshoi Theater, where she worked (with a break in 1930-1932) until 1936, being one of the leading soloists in the contralto group: at that time, the theater really needed such voices.
The singer's repertoire included twenty-one roles in Russian and Western classical operas. These are: Ratmir in "Ruslan and Lyudmila" and Vanya in "Ivan Susanin" by M.I. Glinka; Princess in "Mermaid" by A.S. Dargomyzhsky, Genius in "The Demon" by A.G. Rubinstein, Polina and the Countess in The Queen of Spades, Olga and Nanny in Eugene Onegin, Martha in P.I. Tchaikovsky; Konchakovna in "Prince Igor" by A.P. Borodina, Egorovna in "Dubrovsky" E.F. Guide. Several parties in the operas of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov - Alkonost in The Tale of the City of Kitezh, Nezhata and Lyubava in Sadko, Lel in The Snow Maiden, Dunyasha in The Tsar's Bride (Antarova was the first performer of this role at the Bolshoi Theater).
Of the foreign operas in the repertoire of the singer were the parts of Schvertleit in The Valkyrie, Floschilde in The Death of the Gods, Erda in R. Wagner's Gold of the Rhine (the first performer at the Bolshoi).

"Prince Igor". Konchakovna - K. Antarova, Vladimir Igorevich - A. Bogdanovich

K. Antarova participated in the first productions of the Soviet operas "Dumb Artist" by I.P. Shishova (Drosida party) and "Breakthrough" S.I. Pototsky (the party of Afimya). The singer worked under the guidance of famous directors P.I. Melnikova, A.I. Bartsala, I.M. Lapitsky, R.V. Vasilevsky, V.A. Lossky; outstanding conductors V.I. Bitch, E.A. Cooper, M.M. Ippolitova-Ivanova and others. She creatively communicated with F.I. Chaliapin, A.V. Nezhdanova, S.V. Rachmaninov, K.S. Stanislavsky, V.I. Kachalov...
Colleagues highly appreciated K.E. Antarov as a singer and actress.
“Antarova is one of those working artists who do not stop at their natural abilities, but all the time tirelessly move forward along the path of improvement,” said the outstanding conductor V.I. Suk, whose praise was not easy to earn.
But the opinion of L.V. Sobinova: “She always had a wonderful voice, outstanding musicality and artistic abilities, which gave her the opportunity to take one of the first places in the Bolshoi Theater troupe. I witnessed the artist's continuous artistic growth, her conscious work on a naturally rich voice with an original beautiful timbre and a wide range.
“Kora Evgenievna Antarova always occupied one of the first places in the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater in terms of her artistic data,” M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov.
One of the best parts of the singer was the part of the Countess. About working on it for several years, K. Antarova later wrote: “The part of the Countess in Tchaikovsky’s opera The Queen of Spades was my first role as an “old woman”. I was still very young, accustomed to performing only in young roles, and therefore, when the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra asked me to sing this role in its benefit performance, I was both puzzled and embarrassed. The performance in this ceremonial performance was especially frightening, since the director of the Moscow Conservatory Safonov, unusually demanding and strict, was invited to conduct it. I didn't have any stage experience. I had no idea how the old woman should get up, sit down, move, what the rhythm of her experiences should be. These questions tormented me all the time while I was learning the musical part of the Countess, and I did not find an answer to them.

Countess. "The Queen of Spades"

Then I decided to find A.P. in Moscow. Krutikova, a former artist of the Bolshoi Theater, the best performer of the role of the Countess, who at one time earned the approval of P.I. Tchaikovsky. Krutikova tried to convey to me her interpretation of the image of the Countess, demanding imitation. But it is unlikely that this method would give fruitful results ... I went to the Tretyakov Gallery and other museums, where I looked for the faces of old women and studied the wrinkles of old age for makeup, looking for postures characteristic of old age.
Several years passed, and I met K.S. Stanislavsky. It was only then that I realized what did not satisfy me in my Countess, despite the good reviews and praise. It was not me, Antarova, my artistic personality. Classes with Konstantin Sergeevich revealed new tasks to me. The image of the Countess ceased to exist for me in isolation, outside the era, environment, upbringing, etc. Konstantin Sergeevich taught me to reveal the entire line of life of the human body (that is, the logical sequence of external physical actions), which developed in parallel with the line of the image’s inner life.
Gradually, I did not need crutches of conditional transfer of the role. I began to live a natural life on the stage, as my imagination easily carried me from the magnificent halls of Parisian palaces to the Summer Garden or to the dull and gloomy chambers of the old countess herself.
I found in my heart the rhythm of the pulse of the Countess.
K.E. Antarova sang solo concerts, the program of which included works by A.P. Borodin, P.I. Tchaikovsky, S.V. Rachmaninov, M.P. Mussorgsky, M.A. Balakireva, V.S. Kalinnikova, A.T. Grechaninova, N.K. Medtner, P.N. Renchitsky... In 1917-1919 she often performed in sponsored concerts.
Participated in the performance of symphonic works. She was the first performer in Moscow of the vocal part in "The Solemn Mass" by G. Rossini at the Pavlovsky Station under the baton of conductor N.V. Galkina (1892), the first performer of "Strict Melodies" by I. Brahms (1923).
Possessing an outstanding literary talent, Antarova translated for herself the texts of romances by foreign authors. Philological education was useful to Konkordia Evgenievna in the future. The singer worked with Stanislavsky in his Opera Studio, created for the all-round creative formation of the Bolshoi Theater singers. As a result, she wrote a book, very necessary for professionals, “Conversations of K.S. Stanislavsky in the studio of the Bolshoi Theater in 1918-1922. These were almost verbatim records of the director's sessions with the studio staff.
The main task that Stanislavsky set for the actors, Antarova revealed in these notes: “At his rehearsals, Stanislavsky carried out what he so often said: “In art you can only captivate, you cannot order in it.” He burned himself and kindled all the students of the studio with love for work on true art, teaching them to look not for themselves in art, but for art in themselves.
Sister of Stanislavsky Z.S. Sokolova wrote to the singer in 1938:
“I wonder how you could record the conversations and classes of your brother so verbatim. Amazing! When reading them and after, I had such a state, as if indeed, today, I heard him and attended his classes. I even remembered where, when, after what rehearsal he spoke what you recorded ... "
The book was published several times, was translated into foreign languages. In 1946, K. Antarova created the Cabinet of K.S. Stanislavsky, where active work was carried out to promote his artistic heritage. There is another valuable book - "On the same creative path", which is a recording of the singer's conversations with V.I. Kachalov, who reveals his precepts in art for young artists. Perhaps it will also be published someday.
But even from Kora Evgenievna herself, one can learn a truly high attitude towards art. She was not always satisfied with the atmosphere in the theater. She writes: “When an actor moves from his personal “I”, which he considers the center of life, and from the protection of his personal egoistic rights to enumeration and awareness of his duties to life and art, then this atmosphere will disappear. Apart from culture, there is no way to fight.”
The personal life of K. Antarova was difficult. Happiness with a person of high spirituality, close in views, tragically ended: the husband of Kora Evgenievna was repressed and shot. As for her future fate, there are two versions. According to one, there is evidence that she, at her personal request, “was relieved of her service” at the Bolshoi Theater in 1930 and entered the Leningrad library as an employee. According to another version, the singer's creative life was interrupted by exile, and her return to the stage took place thanks to the order of I.V. Stalin, who, having visited the theater, did not hear Antarova in the performance and asked why she did not sing.
K.E. Antarova returned to the stage, in 1933 she was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR. However, there was less and less strength left to continue creativity.
She taught a little, during the war years she remained in Moscow, and, as it turned out later, she continued to engage in creativity, but of a different kind. And in this, her philological education again came in handy.
Despite the tragic circumstances of her life, K. Antarova kept her spiritual world rich and bright, she was able to rise above circumstances, moreover, she always had the strength to support others and even be a spiritual teacher. Her attitude to life and people was reflected in the book-novel "Two Lives", which she wrote in the 40s and was not intended for publication. The manuscript was kept by her students. Now it has been published. This amazing book is on a par with the works of E.I. Roerich and N.K. Roerich, E.P. Blavatsky ... It is about the spiritual life of a person, about the formation of his soul in life's trials, about daily work for the common good, in which K.E. Antarova saw the meaning of existence.

Nezhata. "Sadko"

In 1994, the book was published, and soon reprinted.
In the memoirs of K. Antarova, one of her spiritual students, Doctor of Arts S. Tyulyaev, the last letter of the singer to him is given, which expresses the essence of her attitude to life: “... I never say: “I can’t”, but I always say: “I will overcome ". I never think, “I don’t know,” but I keep saying, “I will.” Love is always good. But you need to remember that the Mother of Life knows everything better than us. There is no past, the future is unknown, and life is a flying now. And the man-creator is the one who lives his “now”.
Konkordia Evgenievna died in Moscow on February 6, 1959. She was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
The spiritual power emanating from her was felt by everyone who knew Antarova. As one of her friends said, she “was talented in everything. She was beautiful herself ... and everything around her. The famous Chekhov's saying found an extremely complete embodiment in Kora Evgenievna.
L.R.

Antonova Elizaveta Ivanovna
mezzo-soprano, contralto
1904-1994

The extraordinary beauty of the contralto, full of purity, strength, deep expressiveness, characteristic of the Russian vocal school, brought to Elizabeth Antonova the worship of both the audience and colleagues on the stage. Until now, her voice, fortunately preserved in the records, continues to excite listeners. “... Voices like Antonova's contralto are extremely rare, maybe once every hundred years, or even less often,” said the recognized master of the opera stage Pavel Gerasimovich Lisitsian, the singer's long-term partner in performances at the Bolshoi Theater.

Princess. "Mermaid"

Elizaveta Antonova was born on April 24 (May 7), 1904 and grew up in Samara. The open spaces of the Volga at all times contributed to the love of singing. However, after graduating from the Labor School in Samara after the revolution, she worked as an accountant. But an irresistible desire to learn to sing led her to Moscow, where she arrived at the age of eighteen with a friend, having neither relatives nor acquaintances there. An unexpected meeting with a fellow countryman, then very young, and later a famous artist V.P. Efanov, who supports them in a foreign city, has a beneficial effect on the development of further events. Seeing an ad for admission to the choir of the Bolshoi Theater, a friend persuades Lisa, who does not even know musical notation, to try her luck. Despite the fact that more than four hundred people take part in the competition, including those with higher musical education, for Elizaveta Antonova this attempt ends in success - her voice impressed the selection committee so much that she is unconditionally enrolled in the choir. She learns the first parties "from the voice" under the guidance of the choirmaster of the Bolshoi Theater V.P. Stepanov, who expressed a desire to study with the aspiring singer. Participating in opera productions of the Bolshoi Theater, she also acquires stage skills. And then he takes lessons from the famous former singer M.A. Deisha-Sionitskaya, a student of K. Everardi, a famous baritone singer and professor of singing, a vocal mentor of a whole galaxy of singers who made up the color of the national opera stage.
After five years of work in the choir of the Bolshoi Theater (1923–1928) and fruitful studies with Deisha-Sionitskaya, E. Antonova went to Leningrad, where she decided to try her hand at the opera troupe of the Maly Opera House. Soloist of the opera MALEGOT in 1928–1929, she performed there as Niklaus in J. Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, as well as Chipra in I. Strauss' operetta The Gypsy Baron. And in 1930, having returned to Moscow, he entered the First Moscow Musical College, where he studied in the class of T.G. Derzhinskaya, sister K.G. Derzhinskaya. At this time, he performs in experimental theaters, gives concerts. In 1933, after graduating from a technical school, he returned to the Bolshoi Theater again, but now as a soloist of the opera troupe.
The debut of the singer on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in June 1933 was the part of the Princess in A.S. Dargomyzhsky, which was later named among her best works. Reaching professional maturity, at first she performs small parts - the Polovtsian girl in "Prince Igor" by A.P. Borodin, the 2nd Lady in "The Huguenots" by J. Meyerbeer, Nezhat in "Sadko" by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. Thirty-year-old first sings Nanny in "Eugene Onegin" by P.I. Tchaikovsky, and then Olga. Since then, Elizaveta Antonova has performed the leading contralto and mezzo-soprano repertoire at the theatre. Attaching great importance to the work on stage images, the singer, as a rule, studies not only her part and the opera as a whole, but also the literary source. Recalling his conversations with L.V. Sobinov and other luminaries of Russian vocal art, and she was a partner of A.V. Nezhdanova, N.A. Obukhova, A.S. Pirogov, M.O. Reizena, E.A. Stepanova, V.V. Barsova, S.I. Blinking, the singer said: “I realized that you need to be afraid of outwardly spectacular poses, get away from opera conventions, avoid annoying clichés, you need to learn from the great masters of the Russian vocal school, who created eternally alive, deeply realistic, life-truthful and convincing images that reveal ideological content of the work. The same classical images, in the traditions of realistic art, marked by a high performing culture, were created on the stage of the Bolshoi by herself, entering the galaxy of its recognized masters and becoming a phenomenon of the Russian opera theater.
“Male” roles were considered one of the perfect vocal and stage achievements of the artist: she remained in the history of the national opera as an incomparable performer of Lel’s parts in N.A.’s The Snow Maiden. Rimsky-Korsakov, Siebel in "Faust" by Ch. Gounod, Vanya in "Ivan Susanin", Ratmir in "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by M.I. Glinka. According to Elizaveta Ivanovna, reading the great Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" helped her the most in creating the image of Ratmir. As eyewitnesses testified, the Khazar Khan Ratmir surprisingly suited her low contralto and external stage data and was imbued with a real oriental flavor. E. Antonova participated in the premiere of the production (conductor-producer A.Sh. Melik-Pashaev, director R.V. Zakharov). Her partner in the performance, Nina Pokrovskaya, who performed the role of Gorislava, recalled this work and her beloved Ratmir: “I loved this production of A.Sh. Melik-Pashaeva and R.V. Zakharov. I knew to the smallest detail the story of Gorislava, who was taken prisoner by the infidels and given to the harem of Ratmir. The strength of love and resilience of this Russian woman has always fascinated me. Just think, for the sake of Lyudmila, Ruslan endured so many trials, and my Gorislava overcame all obstacles for the sake of Ratmir. And her devotion, the power of feeling transformed the young Khazar Khan. At the end of the opera, Ratmir and Gorislava were on an equal footing with Lyudmila and Ruslan - both couples deserved a high award. That's how they knew how to love even in pagan Russia!

Ratmir. "Ruslan and Ludmila"

Handsome Ratmir was E.I. Antonova. Maybe because for me it was the first Ratmir, I still have a distinct appearance of Ratmir - Antonova. A tall, stately figure, courageous, in no way pampered habits and movements, beautiful facial features. And, of course, the voice is a real contralto, juicy, full-sounding, of a very beautiful timbre. The amazing intonations of this voice did not live, caressed the ear, carried away with imperious impulses, took prisoner. For the sake of saving such a Ratmir, my Gorislava was ready to go even to the ends of the world! What a pity that the film did not preserve for future generations one of the best works of a talented artist! Fortunately, the first complete recording of the 1938 opera with the participation of E.I. Antonova, which was released by Melodiya on phonograph records in the mid-1980s.
No less impressive were colleagues and spectators in the role of Vanya in Ivan Susanin, played by Elizaveta Antonova, which was also considered a stage masterpiece. The singer was again a participant in the premiere performance - the first production of the opera with a new libretto by the Silver Age poet S.M. Gorodetsky in collaboration with the director of the production B.A. Mordvinov and conductor S.A. Lynching. Previously, before the October Revolution of 1917, this opera was staged at the Bolshoi Theater in a different edition, based on the libretto of Baron E. Rosen. In a review of the premiere of "Ivan Susanin" in February 1939, published in the newspaper "Pravda", the composer, academician B.V. Asafiev wrote: "E. Antonova creates a wonderful image of Vanya. This is a great piece of art. Both the vocal part and the role are the most difficult. Glinka here gave full rein to his fiery attachment to vocal mastery and his findings in the field of voice possibilities and prospects for Russian singing.
In conversation with the outstanding bass M.D. Mikhailov about the performers of the main roles in Ivan Susanin, inspector of the Bolshoi Theater Opera in the 1930s–1950s. B.P. Ivanov described E. Antonova - Vanya as follows: “Antonova did not stop at the careful development of stage details, her excellent voice makes it possible to easily and convincingly perform this part. In the fourth picture, thanks to a powerful voice, Antonova reaches high pathos, captivates the audience. The simple-hearted character of Vanya Antonov carries through vocal expressiveness, while Zlatogorova through drama.

The theater building was built in 1783-87 (the facade was completed in 1802) in St. Petersburg (architect J. Quarenghi) in the traditions of ancient architecture.
The Hermitage Theater played a significant role in the development of Russian theatrical and musical culture in the late 18th century. Balls, masquerades were held here, amateur performances were staged (by the court nobility), Italian, French (mainly comic) and Russian operas, dramatic performances were staged, Russian, French, German, Italian opera and ballet troupes performed.
It opened on November 22, 1785 (before the completion of construction) with the comic opera by M. M. Sokolovsky "The Miller - a sorcerer, a deceiver and a matchmaker." The operas The Barber of Seville, or Vain Precaution by Paisiello, Richard the Lionheart by Gretry and others were performed on the stage of the theater (composers D. Cimarosa, V. Martin y Solera, J. Sarti, V. A. Pashkevich created a number of operas especially for the Hermitage Theatre). Dramatic performances were staged - Voltaire's Nanina and Adelaide de Teclin, Corneille's The Liar, Molière's The Tradesman in the Nobility and Tartuffe, Sheridan's School of Scandal, Fonvizin's Undergrowth and others.
Well-known dramatic actors performed - I. A. Dmitrevsky, J. Offren, P. A. Plavilshchikov, S. N. Sandunov, T. M. Troepolskaya, Ya. D. Shumsky, A. S. Yakovlev, singers - K. Gabrielli, A. M. Krutitsky, V. M. Samoilov, E. S. Sandunova, L. R. Todi and dancers - L. A. Duport, Ch. Le Pic, G. Rossi and others. wrote P. Gonzaga.
In the 19th century, the Hermitage Theater gradually fell into decay, performances were staged irregularly. The building was repeatedly restored (architects L. I. Charlemagne, D. I. Visconti, C. I. Rossi, A. I. Stackenschneider).
After a major overhaul, which began in 1895 under the guidance of the court architect A.F. Krasovsky (who sought to restore the Quarengiev look to the theater), the Hermitage Theater was opened on January 16, 1898 with the vaudeville Diplomat by Scribe and Delavigne and a ballet suite to music by L. Delibes.

In 1898-1909, the theater staged plays by A. S. Griboedov, N. V. Gogol, A. N. Ostrovsky, I. S. Turgenev, and others, the operas "Amur's Revenge" by A. S. Taneyev, "Mozart and Salieri » Rimsky-Korsakov, excerpts from the operas Boris Godunov; "Judith" by Serov, "Lohengrin", "Romeo and Juliet", "Faust"; Mephistopheles by Boito, Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach, Trojans in Carthage by Berlioz, ballets The Puppet Fairy by Bayer, The Seasons by Glazunov, etc.
Many major performers took part in the performances: dramatic actors - K. A. Varlamov, V. N. Davydov, A. P. Lensky, E. K. Leshkovskaya, M. G. Savina, H. R. Sazonov, G. N. Fedotova, A. I. Yuzhin, Yu. M. Yuriev; singers - I. A. Alchevsky, A. Yu. Bolska, A. M. Davydov, M. I. Dolina, I. V. Ershov, M. D. Kamenskaya, A. M. Labinsky, F. V. Litvin, K. T. Serebryakov, M. A. Slavina, L. V. Sobinov, I. V. Tartakov, N. N. and M. I. Figners, F. I. Chaliapin; ballet dancers - M. F. Kshesinskaya, S. G. and N. G. Legat, A. P. Pavlova, O. I. Preobrazhenskaya, V. A. Trefilova and others. Ya. Golovin, K. A. Korovin and others.
After the October Revolution of 1917, the first Workers' University in the country was opened in the Hermitage Theater. Since the 1920s, lectures on the history of culture and art have been given here. In 1932-35, a music museum operated in the premises of the Hermitage Theater, in which thematic concerts and exhibitions were held; artists of the Leningrad theaters and teachers of the conservatory took part in them. Explanatory programs and brochures were published for the concerts. In 1933, excerpts from Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen tetralogy and Pergolesi's The Servant-Mistress in full were staged at the Hermitage Theatre. The performances were accompanied by lectures.
The Hermitage Theater has a branch of the Central Lecture Hall. From time to time, musical performances are staged here (for example, in 1967 Monteverdi's Coronation of Poppea was staged in concert by the students of the conservatory and musical theaters), chamber concerts are arranged for the Hermitage staff, scientific conferences, sessions, symposiums are held; in 1977, the congress of the International Council of Museums was held here.
A. P. Grigorieva
Music Encyclopedia, ed. Yu. V. Keldysha, 1973-1982