Boris Shtokolov | |
|---|---|
Борис Штоколов | |
![]() Boris Shtokolov | |
| Born | Boris Timofeyevich Shtokolov (1930-03-19)March 19, 1930 |
| Died | January 6, 2005(2005-01-06) (aged 74) |
| Occupation | Opera singer |
| Years active | 1950s–1990s |
| Title | People's Artist of the USSR(1966) |
Boris Timofeyevich Shtokolov (Russian:Бори́с Тимофе́евич Што́колов; March 19, 1930 – January 6, 2005), was a famousSoviet andRussian singer, one of the greatest basses of the 20th century.[according to whom?]
Boris Shtokolov was born in the settlement of Kuzedeyevo in Gorno-Shorsky District of Kuznetsk Okrug inSiberian Krai (now inNovokuznetsky District ofKemerovo Oblast). In 1949, he entered theUral State Conservatory in Sverdlovsk (nowYekaterinburg), but wanted to become a military pilot.Georgy Zhukov, having heard his singing, said:There are many guys like you in aviation, but in opera singing you are unique. In 1950 and 1951, he was singing at the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Society before he became a soloist at the Sverdlovsk Opera and Ballet Theater. In 1959, he was invited to theKirov Theater in Leningrad (nowSt. Petersburg) where he gained world fame as a leading soloist from 1959 to 1989. At the Kirov Theater he sang a great number of roles, such asRuslan,Don Basilio,Boris Godunov,Ivan Susanin, the title role inAnton Rubinstein'sThe Demon,Prince Gremin,Mefistofele, and many others.
He died on 6 January 2005 in St. Petersburg, and was buried at the Literatorskie Mostki of theVolkovo Cemetery.
Boris Shtokolov was also a prominent theorist of opera singing and breathing techniques. In 1995, he published a bookBurn, Burn, My Star: How to Sing.