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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
Zinaida Ershova Eugene Onegin
(Chaikovsky): I love you with Alexander Karenzin X-2-64035 Zonophone, Moscow
-08
Vera Klopotovskaya Aida
(Verdi): Pur ti riveggo with Alexander Matveev 024008 134Hp G&T, Moscow
1903
Capiton Zaporojetz Sadko
(Rimsky-Korsakov): Song of the Viking Guest – O fearful crags 10020 Sirena
Capiton Zaporojetz The Queen
of Spades (Tchaikovsky): Tomsky´s Aria 10027 Sirena
Capiton Zaporojetz Barber of
Seville (Rossini): La calunnia 10023 Sirena
Capiton Zaporojetz Faust
(Gounod): Invocation Il était temp 10024
Sirena
Ivan Gryzunov Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky):
Eugene Onegin: Should I decide on domesticity 022141 1916c Gramophone, Moscow
24-1-10
Ivan Gryzunov Sadko
(Rimsky-Korsakov): Song of the Varangian guest 022152 1917c Gramophone, Moscow
24-1-10
Ivan Gryzunov The Prisoner in
the Caucasus: The sun was brightly shining in the sky 022153 1918c Gramophone,
Moscow 24-1-10
Vasili Damaev Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner):
Preislied 022133 2177c Gramophone, Moskva 1911-02-01
Vasili Damaev Sadko (Rimsky-Korsakov): Ho, faithful friends
022194 2178c Gramophone, Moskva 1911-02-01
Vasili Damaev Pique Dame (Tchaikovsky): What is our life
4-22248 15333b Gramophone, Moskva 1911-02-06
Vasili Damaev Boheme (Puccini): Che gelida manina 022196
2181c Gramophone, Moskva 1911-02-06
Nikolai Karzhevin Askold’s Tomb
(Verstovsky): Near the city of Slavyansk 24124 Pathé cylinders & discs,
Moscow 1904?
Nikolai Karzhevin Aida
(Verdi): Celeste Aida 24127 Pathé cylinders & discs, Moscow 1904?
Lidia Milova Ernani (Verdi): O
sommo Carlo with Oskar Kamionsky, Vladimir Pikok and Dubrovin 022108 335m
Gramophone Moscow 1908
Vasili Petrov Barbiere di
Siviglia (Rossini): La calunia 20553 Pathé
Vasili Petrov Don Quixote
(Massenet): Quand apparaissent les etoiles 20554 Pathé
Vasili Petrov How the king
went to war (Koenemann) 21838 Pathé
Vasili Petrov On the old
burial mound (Vasily Kalinnikov, Lyrics
by I.S. Nikitin) 20370 Pathé
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