Vera Davydova - Soviet opera singer: biography, interesting facts, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Singer Vera Davydova lived a very long life. Unfortunately, history almost did not preserve her voice, but the impressions of the listeners who were once fascinated by it remained. Her name today is most often remembered nearby at the mention of Stalin, although this is completely unfair. Vera Alexandrovna Davydova was a great singer, worthy of being left in the history of art.

Childhood

The future opera star Vera Davydova was born on September 17, 1906 in Nizhny Novgorod in a noble family. Her maternal family descended from the Pozharskys, there were also merchants in the family, but no one had ever had anything to do with art. The family had five children. The father often disappeared at the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, and all the worries about the children lay on the shoulders of the mother. In the end, Vera's mother could not stand it, gathered the children and left for the Far East, where she got married a second time. It was her stepfather who noticed the girl's unusual musicality and insisted that she start studying music.

In 1912, Vera entered school and simultaneously took piano and vocal lessons. During her school years, she first appeared on stage. When the Far East was engulfed by the Civil War, Vera's family moved to Blagoveshchensk. There, the future opera diva continued to study music with the pianist L. Kuksinskaya. She also arranged for Vera to be a soloist in the choir of the city's cathedral.

Years of study

The girl's success in music was great, one day the famous opera singer A. Labinsky, who was in the city on tour, heard her and strongly advised her to continue her studies. And in 1924, Vera Davydova went to Leningrad to get an education. A. Glazunov, who auditioned at the Leningrad Conservatory, was struck by the power and beauty of Vera's voice, subsequently he supported her more than once. And already in the autumn of 1924, Davydova saw her name in the lists of students of the Conservatory. ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov. She studied in the class of E. V. Devos-Soboleva, attended classes at the opera studio with I. Ershov. From the first year she was immediately transferred to the third due to her special success in mastering the curriculum.

The start of the journey

Even in her student days, Vera Davydova made her debut on the stage of the famous Kirov Theatre. She sang the part of the page Urban in the opera Les Huguenots. After graduating from the conservatory in 1930, Vera worked sporadically for two years at the Kirov Theatre, where she performed the parts of Martha in Khovanshchina and Amneris in Aida, and also sang manyclassical opera parts.

Opera career

In 1932, Vera Davydova, an opera singer with a unique mezzo-soprano, was invited to the Bolshoi Theatre. The debut part of the singer on the main stage of the country was Amneris in the opera Aida. Then, one after another, all the best parts of the world operatic repertoire followed: Lyubava in Sadko, Lyubasha in The Tsar's Bride, Martha in Khovanshchina, Aksinya in The Quiet Don, Marina Mnishek in Boris Godunov. But her main and unsurpassed party was Carmen. Opera critics and connoisseurs admitted that Davydova was the best Carmen on the Soviet stage.

During the war, the singer was evacuated to Tbilisi, where she sang at the opera house, also toured in Azerbaijan, in hospitals on the Black Sea, in Armenia during these years. Her career in the theater was very successful, she had no competitors. Davydova worked at the Bolshoi until 1956.

She repeatedly toured abroad, her name was well known in Finland, Norway, Hungary, Sweden.

Davydova's performance was characterized by an amazing combination of singing and acting expressiveness. Critics wrote that Vera Alexandrovna was distinguished not only by her excellent technique, but also by her outstanding acting skills. Her heroines amazed with the depth of emotions and incredible content.

Chamber music

Besides the opera, Davydova devoted much time to performing chamber works. In 1944, she performed the cycle "Russian Romance from the Beginnings to the Present Day", which included 200 works,starting from the chants of the 17th century and ending with the works of Gliere, Myaskovsky, Shaporin, little known to the general public. The program also included compositions by N. Rimsky-Korsakov and S. Rachmaninov.

Critics noted that Vera Alexandrovna's performance was distinguished by the subtlest capture of the nature and spirit of this complex music. Each romance performed by Davydova was a carefully crafted mini-story, in which the singer's magnificent voice emphasized the meaning of the work. Vera Aleksandrovna's program, which included works by Grieg, Sinding, Sibelius and other composers from Scandinavia, enjoyed great success with the audience.

Life in Georgia

After leaving the Bolshoi Theater in 1956, Vera Alexandrovna moved to Tbilisi with her husband. Here, since 1959, she has been working at the Tbilisi State Conservatory. Over the years of teaching, Davydova has released a whole galaxy of wonderful performers, including Maklava Kasrashvili, soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, People's Artist of the USSR. In 1964, Davydova was awarded the title of professor at the conservatory. She worked a lot with Chinese students who specially came to the USSR to master their skills in the Soviet opera school. Vera Alexandrovna lived in Tbilisi until the end of her days.

Heritage and memory

Unfortunately, very few recordings of the magical voice of Vera Davydova have survived to this day. Today you can listen to a 1937 recording of Bizet's opera Carmen, an opera by P. Tchaikovsky"Mazepa" (recorded in 1948), Verdi "Aida" (1952), N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov "Sadko" (1952).

The singer was not forgotten in her small homeland. In honor of the 105th birthday in Nizhny Novgorod, an evening in memory of Vera Davydova was held, in 2012 a concert was held in her honor, at which her favorite opera parts and romances were performed.

Awards and titles

Vera Davydova has been repeatedly awarded for her outstanding talent. She was awarded the Stalin Prize three times. In 1937 she received the title of "Honored Artist of the RSFSR", in 1951 she was awarded the title of "People's Artist of the RSFSR". During her life in Tbilisi, she became the owner of the title "People's Artist of the Georgian SSR". Vera Alexandrovna was awarded several medals, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the Badge of Honor.

Private life

Vera Alexandrovna got married when she studied at the Leningrad Conservatory, for a talented singer from Georgia, Dmitry Mchelidze. The couple lived together for almost 60 years. Dmitry Semenovich was an outstanding bass, he sang at the Mariinsky Theater, then the couple came together to the Bolshoi Theater. In 1950, he became the head of the troupe of this theater. In 1951, Dmitry was transferred to work in Tbilisi, and Vera Alexandrovna followed him. The couple taught together at the Tbilisi Conservatory. When her husband died in 1983, relatives offered Vera Aleksandrovna to return to Moscow, but she did not dare to leave her husband's grave.

Vera Davydova and Stalin: truth and speculation

Today is the name of VeraDavydova is most often remembered not only because of her work, but in connection with the person of Stalin. Even during the singer's work at the Bolshoi Theater, ill-wishers whispered behind her back that all her successes were associated with high patronage.

In 1993, L. Gendlin's book "Confession of Stalin's mistress" was published in London, written on behalf of the singer. When Vera Alexandrovna found out about this publication, she categorically denied all the facts that were stated there. Her granddaughter Olga Mchelidze says that it was this book that caused the death of her grandmother, who could not stand such an insult. Olga, according to the singer, claims that there was no connection between Stalin and Davydova. That once she was brought to his dacha, where there was a short conversation, and that was the end of the relationship forever. People who lived at that time say that the singer would hardly have survived if she had refused the leader. But there is no documentary evidence and evidence of a real connection between the singer and Stalin.

Interesting facts

Vera Davydova was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of the second and third convocations. During the Second World War, the singer gave several concerts, the proceeds from which were sent to the Defense Fund. Davydova never received the title of "People's Artist of the USSR", they say that Stalin himself crossed her name out of the award lists.