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THE STARS OF ZIMIN OPERA (1904 – 1917)
The Zimin Opera Theatre was a private opera house founded in 1904 in
Moscow by S. I. Zimin. It was nationalized in 1917 and later transformed into a
branch of the Bolshoi Theatre in 1924. The theatre officially opened on October
1 (14), 1904, at the Aquarium Theatre with a performance of May Night by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.
From 1908 onward, performances were held on the stage of the
Solodovnikov Theatre (now the premises of the Operetta Theatre). The Zimin
Opera promoted Russian classical opera—Boris
Godunov by Mussorgsky, for example, was presented without the usual cuts
and included the "Under Kromy" scene—and also staged major works of
Western European repertoire. Notably, Wagner’s The Mastersingers of Nuremberg was performed here for the first
time in Russia in 1909.
During World War I, in 1914, Zimin organized a hospital in Moscow
where wounded soldiers were cared for by the theatre's artists and staff. In
1916, he opened an Opera Studio, where singers were trained according to
methods he had developed. However, the studio was soon closed by the new Soviet
authorities.
Following the October Revolution in 1917, the Zimin Opera was
nationalized and renamed the Theatre of the Council of Workers' Deputies. It
later became the Small State Opera in 1919 and the Theatre of Musical Drama in
1921. Despite the nationalization, Sergei Ivanovich Zimin continued to work at
the theatre for a time as a member of the management.
Selected Productions:
1907 – The Maid of Orleans
Conductor: Palitsyn; Director: Olenin
Charles VII – Picock; Dunois – Vekov; Lionel – Bocharov; Cardinal – Trubin;
Agnes – Dobrovolskaya; Joan of Arc – Petrova-Zvantseva; Thibaud – Osipov;
Raymond – Karenzin
September 24, 1909 – The Golden Cockerel by
Rimsky-Korsakov (first performance)
Director: Olenin; Designer: Bilibin; Conductor: Cooper
Queen of Shemakha – Dobrovolskaya; Dodon – Speransky; Astrologer – Picock;
Amelfa – Rostovtseva; Polkan – Zaporozhets; Gvidon – Ernst; Afron – Dikov;
Golden Cockerel – Klopotovskaya
1911 – The Oprichnik
Conductor: Palitsyn; Director: Olenin; Set Designer: Matorin
Andrei – Damaev; Natalia – Milova; Morozova – Ostrogradskaya; Zhemchuzhny –
Trubin
1911 – The Valley by Eugen d'Albert (second
production in Russia after Odessa)
Conductor: Palitsyn; Director: Olenin
Pedro – Damaev; Sebastiano – Bocharov; Marta – Druzyakin; Tomaso – Osipov; Nuri
– Turchaninova; Moruccio – Chugunov; Nando – Skuba
The Zimin Opera staged numerous works, including:
Russian operas: Ivan Susanin,
Rusalka, The Demon, Prince Igor, The Snow
Maiden, Sadko, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Khovanshchina, Boris Godunov (complete with
"Under Kromy" scene), The
Miller–Sorcerer, Deceiver and Matchmaker by Sokolovsky, Askold’s Grave, Rogneda by Serov
Tchaikovsky's operas (most of his works)
Western European operas: Aida,
La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, Manon by Massenet, Louise by Charpentier
Other premieres: The
Mastersingers of Nuremberg (1909), Carmen, The Captain’s
Daughter by Cui, Klara Milich
by Kastalsky, Trilby by
Yurasovsky, Sister Beatrice by
Grechaninov
In 1916, The Wedding,
a comic opera by V. Ehrenberg based on Chekhov’s vaudeville, premiered here
In 1908, Zimin also opened the Orion Theatre in Moscow as a branch of
the Zimin Opera, focused on young artists. The great soprano Valeria Barsova
made her debut at the Zimin Opera in 1917.
The theatre was formed by merging Zimin’s private troupe with much of
the ensemble from the “Association of Artists of the Moscow Private Opera,” led
by M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, which disbanded in 1904.
Zimin employed both celebrated singers and emerging talents. As the Great Soviet Encyclopedia noted,
“Along with famous singers, Zimin invited young actors to his theatre, often
organizing support for their vocal and artistic development.”
Notable Artists of the Zimin
Opera:
Singers: F. I. Shalyapin, L. V. Sobinov, L. M. Klementyev, A. M.
Matveyev, P. S. Olenin (chief director from 1907), V. I. Strakhova, V. R.
Picock, O. I. Kaminsky, V. L. Nardov, A. I. Ulukhanov, R. K. Lambert, N. D.
Vekov, E. V. Nechaeva, E. Ya. Tsvetkova, V. N. Petrova-Zvantseva, S. I.
Druzyakin, M. I. Zakrevskaya, N. S. Ermolenko-Yuzhina, M. V. Bocharov, V. P.
Damaev, N. I. Speransky, M. I. Donetsk, Yu. S. Kiporenko-Damansky
Directors: A. V. Ivanovsky, A. P. Petrovsky, N. N. Zvantsev, F. F.
Komissarzhevsky
Conductors: M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, E. A. Cooper, A. M. Pazovsky, M.
M. Bagrinovsky, E. E. Plotnikov
Instrumentalists: Violinist Yu. F. Fayer, clarinetist F. I.
Nikolaevsky
Dancers: M. F. Moiseyev
Foreign Guests:
Zimin also invited international stars, including singers Titta Ruffo,
Domenico Anselmi, Lina Cavalieri; conductors Édouard Colonne (1907) and Bruno
Walter (1914); and the legendary baritone Mattia Battistini, who sang at the
theatre for many years. In 1915, ballerina Mathilde Kschessinskaya performed on
the theatre stage, and in 1916, Michel Fokine brought his ballet troupe to
perform there.
TRACKLIST
Georgy Baklanov (Georges
Baklanoff) Demon (Rubinstein): Accursed world 3-22589 2695’r
G&T, Tiflis
Georgy Baklanov (Georges
Baklanoff) Demon (Rubinstein): I am he whom you called 3-22590
2697’r G&T, Tiflis
Georgy Baklanov (Georges
Baklanoff) Nero (Rubinstein): Epithalamium 3-22593 2700r G&T,
Tiflis
Natalya Ermolenko-Yuzhina
Norma (Bellini): Casta diva 023045 1935c Gramophone
Natalya Ermolenko-Yuzhina
Norma (Bellini): Ah! Bello a me ritorna 023059 1936c Gramophone
Natalya Ermolenko-Yuzhina
Fliegende Hollander (Wagner): Jo-ho-hoe! Traft ihr das Schiff 023110
2701c Gramophone
Ivan Alchevsky Huguenots (Meyerbeer):
Plus blanche 022038 68y G&T, St Petersburg 1903
Ivan Alchevsky Lohengrin
(Wagner): Da voi lontan 022039 92y G&T, St Petersburg 1903
Ivan Alchevsky Eugen Onegin
(Tchaikovsky): Whither, whither have you gone 022010x 93½y G&T, St
Petersburg 1903
Klara Brun-Kamionska Don
Giovanni (Mozart): Là ci darem la mano with Oscar Kamionsky 21122 Pathé, St
Petersburg 1911
Klara Brun-Kamionska
Herbstlied with Oskar Kamionsky Beka 7045
Avrelia-Cecilia Dobrovolskaya
Rigoletto (Verdi): E il sol dell’anima with Karenzin as Ivanov X-64244
Zonophone, Moscow 1908
Avrelia-Cecilia Dobrovolskaya
Traviata (Verdi): Brindisi with Karenzin as Ivanov & chorus X-64246
Zonophone, Moscow 1908
Avrelia-Cecilia Dobrovolskaya
Nero (Rubinstein): Cradle song as Volskaya, with Ratmirova X-64443 Zonophone,
Moscow 1908
Nina Koshetz Demon
(Rubinstein): In the Quiet of the Night 221 Artistopia, 1916
Nina Koshetz Sadko
(Rimsky-Korsakov): Berceuse 222 Artistopia, 1916
Nina Koshetz Prince Igor
(Borodin): Yaroslavna’s aria 9233A CVE43726-2 Victor, 1928/1930
Nina Koshetz Sadko
(Rimsky-Korsakov): Berceuse 9233B CVE43727-3 Victor, 1928/1930
Nina Koshetz Dobrynia Nikitich
(Grechaninov): The Flowers Were Growing in the Fields 7111B CVE 51104-2 Victor,
1928/1930
Sergey Preobrazhensky
Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky): In the town of Kazan 2-22560 1616z
Gramophone, Moscow 1903
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