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Saturday, August 28, 2010

"Antonina Nezhdanova [Антонина Васильевна Нежданова] People's Artist of the Soviet Union



"Antonina Nezhdanova(1873-1950),was born near Odessa,to parents who were school teachers. Both were themselves amateur singers, and her father had formed a local choir in which young Antonina sang, even as a small child. She was a good and diligent student, and after studying at Odessa, attended and graduated from Umberto Masetti's famous class at the Moscow conservatory in 1902. (She was to continue studying with Masetti until his death in 1919.) She was immediately engaged at the Bolshoi, where she remained for nearly 40 years, singing leading roles in Russian and West European operas, most frequently opposite the great tenor Leonid Sobinov. In 1912 she was Gilda at the Monte Carlo Opéra, with Tita Ruffo as Rigoletto and Enrico Caruso as the Duke. Some outstanding roles of her huge repertoire were: Ludmilla in Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmilla, Tatyana, Lakmé, the Snow Maiden, Volkhova, Elsa, and Rosina.

She embraced the Communist era with enthusiasm, having been taught by her parents that it was the duty of middle and upper class Russians to help the less fortunate, and support their legitimate claims to a decent life. So strong was this belief in her that she would often sing in provincial theaters for food, or even for nothing at all. This earned her the great and ever-lasting affection of the Russian people. Beginning in 1922, she became a cultural ambassador for the Soviet government, and appeared in Berlin, Prague, Warsaw, Baltic capitals, and cities in Germany and Poland. In the USSR she was among the most honored singers and teachers. The government bestowed upon her the prestigious titles "People's Artist of the Soviet Union," for her great artistry, and "Hero of Labor" for her life-long efforts on behalf of socialist reform. From 1936 on, she taught at the Stanislavsky Opera Studio, later at the Bolshoi Opera Studio, and finally at the Moscow Conservatory, from 1943 until 1950." *

Nezhdanova is particularly noteworthy for the absolute perfection of her singing technique. It could be called Russian, or it could be called bel canto; I suppose it could be both: there is a premium on ease of attack and fexibility. The “color” of Russian voices, especially high voices, is “whiter” than the dark and ponderous Italian voices that have come to dominate most opera singing today. Some of this owes to the language, and some owes to the bel canto school of singing. As a general rule, as we have discussed in some detail before, bel canto singing tends to produce whiter, open phonation that reveals the more characteristic tones of the speaking voice of the singer. Chaliapin is a particularly striking example of this kind of singing, so much so that some refer to him as a singing actor because of the extremely clear enunciation that is part of bel canto training. Nezhdanova, however, does not go to that extreme. Her singing style was pure bel canto, with an emphasis on lyricism and beauty, reflecting her lifelong study with Masetti. Here is a superb example of the great soprano singing a classic Italian aria, "Una Voce Poco Fa." I call your attention to the extraordinary flexibility of the voice, and the immaculate, almost understated style, which is actually more respectful of the tradition of great singing—and Rossini’s intentions—than the often self-indulgent bombast that can accompany this particular showpiece aria. Her coloratura is perfection itself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM7Y5mYFQPU

An absolutely astonishing piece of vocalism! It is hard to imagine it done better; both the musicianship and style are admirable.

Also of great musical interest is a recording that Nezhdanova made of Elsa’s aria from Lohengrin, and it demonstrates very well that it did not,nearer Wagner’s time, require a monster soprano voice to sing Wagner, who was in fact very impressed with some Italian composers, especially Rossini and Bellini. He is reported to have spoken very highly of Rossini after a personal meeting with him that completely dispelled for Wagner some of the silly stereotypes of Italian music and composers that were current at the time. He is also said to have expressed a wish that his tenors be trained in Italy. It is also worth noting that the pit at Bayreuth is covered, both to avoid any sight-line interruptions between stage and viewer, and also to help keep the volume of the sound down:

http://www.youtube.com/user/EdmundStAustell#p/u/172/vXDk1PE3bIw

I strongly feel that this is exactly what would have pleased Wagner. It is clear, musically and stylistically excellent, and simply beautiful. The lyricism and plaintive nature of the piece come through in the voice in a way that is often not captured by huge and heroic voices.

Finally, another soprano showpiece, "Sempre Libera", from La Traviata, featuring a high D natural at the end. Extremely high notes were not so common in Nezhdanova's day, especially if the voice carried much weight into the extreme top register:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq1S34TBYEo

A wonderful soprano indeed, and a great personality! She deserves her accolades and reputation, and it is both just and gratifying that she is finally becoming known to opera lovers in the United States.
__________________________________________________________
*I wish to express my gratitude both to Natalia at younglemeshevist, a good friend and connoisseur of fine arts with a prodigious knowledge of great Russian art and singing, and to Tim at dantitustimshu, a superb collector and scholar, for information which has informed my biographical sketch of Nezhdanova, and to Tim for the photos of Nezhdanova.

21 comments:

corax said...

wow!

and yes, 'the immaculate, almost understated style, which is actually more respectful of the tradition of great singing' -- well said.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you! Yes, the farther back we go, it seems, the more the literal intentions of the composers seem to be observed. Perhaps because a fair few of them were still alive, and were in the habit of going to see their operas! Always good to hear from you!

JD Hobbes said...

I had just been listening to Mark Reizen when I turned to your latest posting on Nezhdanova. What remarkable people, and what long and exemplary, disciplined careers they had. As I have mentioned before, it is such a shame that artifical political boundaries kept the eastern world separated for so long! We could have benefitted from knowing those people and sharing talent and knowledge.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Yes, I agree. It comes as a kind of amazing discovery: Lemeshev, Nezhdanova, Sobinov, Smirnov, Vishnevskaya, Reizen and others. Absolutely wonderful singers--and, as you indicate--highly disciplined individuals. Chaliapin was of course always known, because he spent so much time abroad, especially in Paris, and was well known to Western audiences. The others either chose not to go outside the USSR, or were not permitted to, for one reason or another. Thank goodness a large part of their art was recorded, and is now appearing, especially on Youtube. The one exception I can think of that is very sad is Galina Vishnevskaya, who was very much persona non grata after she defected with Rostropovich. As a result, the government destroyed almost all of her recordings and film. There is a bit on Youtube, but not much. She was a great soprano, but extremely strong minded and temperamental, not surprisingly, perhaps, considering what she, along with many others, endured during the horror of W.W.II.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great article on my favorite soprano:)You are absolutely right about qualities of hers (aside from the voice and technique), which made her the most loved of all Russian leading sopranos: her personality and the immaculate manner. Lemeshev wrote ,“she never demonstrated her voice”, and many critics had written the same throughout her career. As for her personality, she had a great sense of humor, which gives some “lightness” to her intonations and total absence of sentimentality. She is very modern. Her Rosina was not mincing, though lively, and there was not a single performance where she was mannered . People recalled her as a very down-to-earth person. A friend called the 70-year-old Nezhdanova and asked how she was. She replied , “I’m dancing now; the music on the radio is so good!” (She always was a good dancer and moved easily , in spite of her height and figure. )At the same time Nezhdanova always was a very disciplined and strong-willed woman. Sobinov loved to meet friends after each performance and to drink some wine in the restaurant; he often joked , “I know what Nezhdanchik (as he had nicknamed her) is doing now – she is sitting at home in her pink dressing-gown and drinks warm milk ( сидит дома в розовом халатике и пьет теплое молочко)”.they were friends.
She prepared her roles with the great theater actress Yermolova. She was not famous for great acting, but as Nemirovich-Danchenko, (a co-founder of the Artistic theater along with Stanislavsky) said, there was no slightest vulgarity in Nezhdanova’s acting. Stanislavsky was a huge fan of hers, he considered her a great actress in singing. In general, she was so perfect, that it’s even scary:) Not being a pretty woman, she was considered a “goddess” by the audience and critics. She never did cheap tricks to increase her popularity, was very strict to herself. Someone said that she was really glad about her performance only once in her life.

n.a.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you so much, my friend, for your wonderfully informative comments. I really should re-edit this article and incorporate a large part of your comments in it. I'm hoping you wouldn't mind. Such excellent information, which is not generally known, to the best of my knowledge, deserves a more prominent place. It's always scary writing on a subject about which a certain number of readers are going to know more than I do about the subject! However, I have to say, it happens fairly often! This is how I learn, I suppose:-) Thank you again for the comments, and thanks for all you have done in general to help fill in the gaps in my knowledge relating to Russian opera. And not only me, but all the readers of your channel. Much appreciated!

JING said...

What wonderful comments all around, especially from Anonymous. Again, Edmund, you are to be congratulated for opening up for the rest of us this whole new world of great Russian singers. Perhaps there are many out there who know a great deal about so many of them, but please keep it up, because so many of us DON'T. As Hobbes notes, the political barriers of the past have certainly impoverished our knowledge of these great Russian artists...A quick comment about "Sempre Libera" - I was amazed at the brisk tempo taken throughout the aria, with no let up for overacting, pregnant pauses and the like. And it works brilliantly - musically and, I think, dramatically, given Violetta's state of mind in that moment. It seems to me a good illustration of what Stanislavsky referring to -"a great actress in singing."

Edmund St. Austell said...

How nice to hear from you again! I appreciate your comment, and I certainly agree about Nezhdanova's musicality and stylistic restraint. These are principal features of her art, and they are both refreshing and inspiring. The way some sopranos showboat on this particular aria can be embarrassing. For Russians, opera is largely theater. And their theatre--like their poetry, painting, and ballet--are close to sacred, and not easily violated, especially under the watchful eyes of the Soviets, who were very, very conservative in matters of traditional high culture.

Anonymous said...

Thank you , Sir Edmund. Actually, the information about Nezhdanova’s life is hard to get even in Russia. Books and articles on her were out of print long time ago and modern journalists rarely remember her. If one wants to read something, they have to go to libraries. Some people did it and posted their articles to operatic forums - -that’s why I know something about her. Though there is not much information about Nezhdanova in the West, your analysis of her singing is very profound and precise, and it’s more important than the information on her life. You came to the same conclusion about her style as many Russians who had heard her in the theater. It’s especially interesting, because she didn’t sing in the original languages.

Yesterday at the opera forum I read another interesting article on her, written by her husband, the great conductor Nikolai Golovanov. ( Nezhdanova was 43 when they married, Golovanov was 25). He wrote that she had excellent breath, which allowed her to sing very long lines, and “extraordinary effortlessness of voice production, which always surprised me… In early morning Antonina Vasil’yevna could sing the aria of the Queen of the Night at any moment; without warm-up she could take the high D (Fa) and to perform a dazzling staccato, as if on a violin or a flute”. He told a story which happened in Italy in Salsomaggiore, where all the famous Italian singers came to rest and to “fix” their voices. A popular soprano did vocal exercises , one of them was especially difficult, with the high C at the end. She tried to perform it at least 40 times. Nezhdanova suddenly repeated the exercise and sang it effortlessly. As windows were opened, the Italian singer heard it and stopped her singing. Soon all the hotel discussed the new mysterious great singer, who just arrived. Nezhdanova took part in the discussions and was “guessing” with others.


n.a.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Most interesting! Thank you so much for yet another iformative insight into this great singer. I love the story about the resort at Salsomaggiore:) I'm trying to picture her sitting around discussing who the mystery soprano was. Do you suppose she could speak Italian? Or maybe she spoke in French, which is more common in Russia, I suspect. I'm sure they couldn't speak to her in your wonderful but impossible language:) :)

Anonymous said...

Perhaps they discussed it in French. French was the main language of Russian aristocracy, some noble Russians started to learn Russian only from age 10-12. Many people could speak French. She sang Gilda in Italian, perhaps, she could speak Italian a bit. Golovanov also wrote that she didn’t like public attention. The best night in the opera for her (as a listener) was in Germany, when they could get only the cheapest tickets to the highest gallery, along with students. Nezhdanova was happy, that no-one noticed her there.
n.a.

Anonymous said...

I like the italian soprano singer María Rota

http://www.MariaRota.com/

Anonymous said...

Spasibo bolshoe za statyu

Edmund St. Austell said...

Большое спасибо за комментарий!

Anonymous said...

Where could one find a discography of Antonina Nezhdanova? Why hasn't there been yet a serious CD edition dedicated to her?

Edmund St. Austell said...

Amazon has at least two albums for sale, 1. Antonina Nezhdanove, Soprano, 1873-1950, and 2. Anthology of Russian Romance. $8.99 each. As for discographies, I don't think you will have much trouble. Just google Antonina Nezhdanova discography and you will find some information there.

Anonymous said...

Жаль, что сейчас не могу высказаться - очень занят. Вернусь - обязательно выскажу своё мнение по этому вопросу.

Anonymous said...

Сайт посвященный любви и романтике!

Gerhard Santos said...

MOLTO BELLO!!1 Thank you my friend for sharing this Very Interesting article. I'm so very happy to read this Great article you have done . Thank you also for your Wonderful video. Again Thank you so much my friend and Have a Grateful Weekend. *GOD BLESS*

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you. That is kind of you.

Anonymous said...

Отличная статья, мнне нравится, достойно.