Sergei Lemeshev | |
|---|---|
 Lemeshev as Lensky inEugene Onegin | |
| Born | Sergei Yakovlevich Lemeshev (1902-07-10)10 July 1902 |
| Died | 27 June 1977(1977-06-27) (aged 74) |
| Occupation | Operatic singer |
| Years active | 1926–1975 |
Sergei Yakovlevich Lemeshev (Russian:Серге́й Я́ковлевич Ле́мешев; 10 July [O.S. 27 June] 1902 – 27 June 1977) was a Soviet and Russian opera singer and director.People's Artist of the USSR (1950).
Lemeshev was born into a peasant family, and his father wanted him to become a cobbler. In 1914, he left a parish school and was sent to be trained to make shoes inSaint Petersburg. In 1917, he graduated from school in Tver, where he received vocal training. He began first at a local workers' club and later moved to Moscow.
Between 1921 and 1925, he studied at theMoscow Conservatory with Nazari Raisky. In 1924, he sang in the opera studio ofKonstantin Stanislavski. From 1926 and 1931, he sang in the theatres ofSverdlovsk,Harbin, andTbilisi.
In 1931 Lemeshev was invited to theBolshoi Theatre, made his debut and eventually became the theatre's soloist. His lyrical tenor of an unusually soft and light timbre almost at once brought him love and popularity among admirers of the operatic art. Nevertheless, Lemeshev was a great worker and worked hard to develop each of his opera roles. His vocal and artistic qualities, evident to every listener, are beauty of timbre, musicality, effortlessness of vocal production, expressiveness, very clear diction and incrediblepianissimo. The best years of his operatic career were from 1931 to 1942. He was also an outstanding concert singer and a brilliant performer of traditional Russian folk songs. In 1938, he became the first artist to sing all 100 romances byTchaikovsky in 5 concerts. Folk songs broadcast on the radio further sealed his stature as a truly national singer.
The beginning of theGreat Patriotic War was crucial for Lemeshev; during one evacuation he caught a very bad cold which resulted in two attacks ofpneumonia, complicated bypleurisy andtuberculosis of the right lung. He was treated with artificialpneumothorax, which induced the therapeutic collapse of one lung. Although singing was forbidden, he adapted by being more conscious and sensitive with regard to his technique, and continued to sing with one lung from 1942 to 1948, when the other lung was also artificially collapsed and re-inflated. During that period he recordedLakmé,The Snow Maiden,Les pêcheurs de perles,Mozart and Salieri and pieces from operas likeThe Barber of Seville andRigoletto.
In 1947, he toured and performed at theBerlin State Opera. Along with his friendly rival, tenorIvan Kozlovsky, he was the leading tenor at the Bolshoi until 1956.
Lemeshev's operatic repertoire consisted primarily of Russian works along with a particularly significant number of French and a few Italian and German pieces. Almost all works were performed in the Russian language. Unfortunately, very few complete recordings are available, with only excerpts available in spite of Lemeshev's numerous performances on stage in roles such as the Duke inRigoletto and Almaviva inThe Barber of Seville.
Lemeshev's signature role was as Lensky inEugene Onegin byPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and he performed it more than 500 times from 1927 onwards. He performed it for the last time on his 70th birthday, after suffering three heart attacks and having a lung removed.
In 1953 Lemeshev was given the prestigious titlePeople's Artist of the USSR. He was also appointed assistant manager of the Bolshoi from 1957 to 1959. He debuted as director in 1951, with the production ofLa traviata in the Maly Opera Theatre in Leningrad (now known as theMikhailovsky Theatre). Following this, he was made director for the production of Massenet's Werther in 1957 at the Bolshoi.
Toward the end of his career, he mainly gave concerts of Russian classic romances and folk songs, with performances aired on the radio, and taught in the Moscow Conservatory as associate professor.
He was buried in theNovodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Lemeshev's talent, artistry, acting skills and conspicuous charm very quickly made him a public idol. Almost all his performances during the 1930s and 1940s were accompanied by crowds of fans following him through the streets, spending days and nights near his house.[1]
While Lemeshev was one of the leading tenors of the Bolshoi Theatre, he was admired by female fans, who were jokingly called "lemeshistki." The theatre lobby was a venue for scuffles between the "lemeshistki" and the "kozlovityanki" (female fans of Lemeshev's rival Ivan Kozlovsky).[2]
Additionally, the film "The Musical Story" (1940)[3] in which he played the main role, brought him theStalin prize, and even more widespread furore and fame all over theUSSR.
Six marriages and numerous affairs focused the attention of Lemeshev's fans on his personal life. His fourth wife was the famous soprano Irina Maslennikova, who gave birth to Lemeshev's daughter Maria.Ultimately, he found his life partner in singer Vera Kudryavtseva. Their marriage lasted for over 20 years, until Lemeshev's death in 1977.
He authored the book "The Way to Art", published in 1968.
Asteroid number4561 received the nameLemeshev in 1978, a year after Sergei Lemeshev's death.
"Soft spoken and self-effacing, Lemeshev hated his star status and all the pomp and partying that it implied. His workaholic attitude and exactingness were legendary and directors, conductors, accompanists, and fellow singers always found him a nice and easygoing man everyone loved to work with…" (Voice of Russia)[4]
"He sangsul soffio (leaning on the breath), avoided stressful abdominal respiration (onlyCaruso could do it), and directed the sound current to the mask, the method of singing which was so muchLauri-Volpi's gospel." (Dr. Joseph Fragala)[5]
"He developed a mixed voice of incomparable beauty, which made it possible for him to take the highest notes with such beautiful richness that even specialists could not explain how it was done technically….His high C’s … sounded virile and full…His manner of lowering his larynx a bit on high notes allowed him to perform the parts which ordinary lyric tenors did not sing, [roles such as] Rodolfo in La Bohème, Levko in May Night, Dubrovsky, Fra Diavolo…" (A.Orfenov)[6]
Vasiliev, Viktor Dmitrievich:Doroga k Lemeshevu, Tver', 2002,ISBN 5-87049-247-5
