Bel canto and the Soviet Union

time_is_now

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Bel canto and the Soviet Union

« on: 22:28:08, 04-02-2008 »

It's already happened, so too late to attend, I'm afraid (even if anyone was in London), but I was just clearing out my email inbox and thought Reiner and others might be interested to know about the following:

Quote

Institute of Musical Research, 'Directions in Musical Research' Seminar:

John Potter (University of York)
Chair: David Nice (Goldsmiths)

The Belcantification of the Soviet Union: did traditional 'bel canto' singing survive in 20th century Russia?

Thursday 17 January, 5.00-6.30pm
Senate House, Malet Street, London
Open to the public. Free of charge.

Abstract

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg and the Bolshoi in Moscow were two of the most opulent opera houses in the world. For the best singers from Italy, France and other western countries these two theatres were the focus of profitable tours that might also take in regional houses in more far-flung outposts of Russian operatic culture, such as Kiev, Kharkov, Tbilisi and Odessa. At the time of the Revolution, traditional Italian 'bel canto' was what Russians understood the best singing to be. Then the Revolution swept the east and Caruso swept the west, both events leading to irreversible changes in how singing was perceived. This paper will consider the possibility that an older, more lyrical 'bel canto' style and technique survived in the relative isolation of later 20th-century Russia, providing us with a potential window onto pre-Caruso 19th-century singing.


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trained-pianist

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Re: Bel canto and the Soviet Union

« Reply #1 on: 22:38:15, 04-02-2008 »

t-i-n
Thank you for your post. I never thought about Russian singing like this. I thought singing in the Soviet Union was old fashioned, but I did not think that it gave a window into how they used to sing.
But is it so?


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Reiner Torheit

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Re: Bel canto and the Soviet Union

« Reply #2 on: 10:58:50, 05-02-2008 »

I'm certain that there is much truth in this idea. Russian singers still talk about the "Russian bel-canto school" here, and there is a traceable "family tree" of teacher-pupil relationships that illustrate the way the technique was passed down.

By coincidence I went to a concert two weeks ago to mark the 80th birthday of veteran Bolshoi Theatre bass Alexander Vedernikov, who sits very clearly in this tradition. Most of the concert was made-up of performances of his pupils (including the astonishing tenor Gurets/Hurets whom I mentioned in another thread), but Vedernikov himself sang a few numbers, including Dosifei's narration from KHOVANSCHINA, and the bel-canto technique is clearly evident.

Of course, in parallel with this there were alternative singing techniques, more related to the German style of production - and some others which were uniquely rooted in Russian traditions (for example Vishnevskaya, who never had a lesson in her life, and was rejected from her Bolshoi audition precisely because she didn't have the Russian bel-canto style). And there were also singers who made a career more from Party cronyism than any actual vocal prowess - but without the technique to sustain them on stage, these careers rarely lasted long.

The bel-canto school is still alive and well in Russia (and the former USSR countries whose top singers mostly came to Moscow or Leningrad/Petersburg to study with the best teachers), and can be heard today. Anna Netrebko is the most obvious example, but there are lots more: sopranos Tatiana Kuinji, Marina Andreeva, Ludmila Kaftaikina, Ludmila Shikhova, Marina Karpechenko, Marina Kalinina; mezzos Larissa Kostiuk, Ksenia Vyaznikova; tenors Alexander Gurets, Mikhail Gubsky, and the veteran lyrico-dramatico Zurab Sotkilava; basses Taras Shtonda, Mikhail Serov... and probably lots more

(NB this isn't supposed to be a list of famous Russian singers, but a list of those who sing with the bel-canto technique... I've excluded singers like Diadkova and Gogolevskaya, who are excellent, but sing with a different technique).


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trained-pianist

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Re: Bel canto and the Soviet Union

« Reply #3 on: 12:44:07, 05-02-2008 »

I think now Russian singing is influenced very much by Italian Bel Canto. They used to send their best singers to study in Italy. For example, Atlantov went to study in Italy (Magomaev also was send there. He doesn't sing anymore. I don't know about Atlantov).
I always thought that Russian tenors sounded a little like German tenors (Kozlovsky).
In Russia teacher student connection is very strong. In piano playing also. There is no Russian school, but Neuhaus school, or Nikolaev school (St. Petersburg).


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