Vera Petrova-Zvantseva (Mezzo-Soprano) (Saratov 1876 – Moscow 1944)

                                                               

She studied in Saratov with S. Loginova and from 1891 started to appear in concerts. In 1897 Petrova-Zvantseva graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, where she had studied with V. M. Zarudnaia. In 1897 she made her debut as Vanya in Glinka's ''A Life for the Tsar'' in Orel. Then she performed in Elts and Kursk. From 1898 to 1899 she was a soloist of the Tbilisi Opera Theatre. In 1899 at the Moscow Private Opera Theatre she made her debut as Liubasha in  ''The Tsar's Bride’’ of N. Rimsky-Korsakov. Here she sang until 1904. From 1904 to 1923 she appeared at the Sergei Zimin’ Moscow Opera Theatre. Guest appearances followed in Kiev, Tbilisi, Nijni Novgorod, Kharkov, Odessa, Samara, Riga, Japan, France and Germany. She possessed a powerful, equal voice of a warm timbre and an extensive range. Outstanding among Petrova-Zvantseva’s varied repertoire were roles from the operas of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov: she played Kashcheevna in ''Kashchey The Immortal'', Liubava in ''Sadko'', and Liubasha in ''The Tsar’s Bride''. Her other notable roles were Liubov and Ioanna in Tchaikovsky’s ''Mazepa'' and ''The Maid of Orleans'', Carmen in Bizet’s opera of the same name, Amneris in Verdi’s ''Aida'', and Dalila in Saint-Saëns’s ''Samson and Dalila''. From 1916 to 1931, Petrova-Zvantseva was a professor at the Moscow Conservatory.

Chronology of  appearance

1899 Moscow Private Opera Theatre The Tsar's Bride (Liubasha)

RECORDINGS FOR SALE

 

Gramophone  1-09

The Tzar's Bride (Rimsky-Korsakov):  What have I come to 2-23381 8608L

Gramophone 25-1-10

Trovatore (Verdi): Stride la vampa 2-23480 14155b

May night (Rimsky-Korsakov): Is she asleep? with Vasili Damaev 024038 1922½c
The Maid of Orleans: Farewell, valleys with Maria Mikhailova 023056 1924 ½c