Sergei Lemeshev
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| Sergei Lemeshev | ||
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 Sergei Lemeshev
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Sergei Yakovlevich Lemeshev | |
| Born | 10 July 1902 | |
| Died | 26 June 1977 | |
| Genre(s) | Opera | |
| Occupation(s) | Opera Singer | |
| Instrument(s) | Voice | |
Sergei Yakovlevich Lemeshev (Russian: Серге́й Я́ковлевич Ле́мешев, born July 10 [O.S. June 27] 1902, Staroye Knyazevo, Tver District – died June 26, 1977, Moscow) was an outstanding Russian opera singer, a lyrical tenor.
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[edit] Biography
Lemeshev was born into a peasant family, and his father wanted him to become a cobbler. In 1914 he left parish school and was sent to be trained to make shoes to St Petersburg; in 1917 he graduated from school in Tver, where he simultaneously attended lessons in the musical school. He began to sing, first at a local workers' club, before then moving to Moscow.
In 1921-1925 he studied in the Moscow Conservatory with the well-known tenor Nazari Raisky (1875-1958). From 1924 he sang in the opera studio of Konstantin Stanislavsky. In 1926-1931 he sang in the theatres of Sverdlovsk, Harbin and Tbilisi. In 1931 he was invited to the Bolshoi theatre, where he made his debut in the roles of Tsar Berendei (Snow Maiden), Lensky (Eugene Onegin) and Gerald (Lakmé). Along with his long term rival Ivan Kozlovsky (1900-1993), he was the leading tenor at the Bolshoi until 1956.
While Lemeshov was a reigning tenor of the Bolshoi Theatre, he was idolized by female fans jokingly called "lemeshistki". The theatre lobby was a venue for scuffles between the "lemeshistki" and the "kozlovityanki", as Kozlovsky's fans were known.[1]
Lemeshov's roles included Levko in May Night, Zvezdochyot (the Astrologer) in Golden Cockerel, the Indian guest in Sadko by Rimsky-Korsakov, Boyan in Ruslan and Ludmila by Glinka, Dubrovskiy in the opera of the same title by Eduard Napravnik, the Duke in Verdi’s Rigoletto and so on. Lensky was his signature role that he gave more that 500 times from 1927 onwards. He performed it for the last time on his 70th birthday (after three heart attacks and a missing lung).
Asteroid number 4561 received the name Lemeshev in 1978, a year after Sergei Lemeshev's death.
[edit] Recordings
- Scenes and Arias from Operas - Sergei Lemeshev (CD) Label: Yedang Entertainment, 2002
- Lebendige Vergangenheit: Sergei Lemeshev, Preiser Records Audio CD (July 4, 1998)
see the link for more information
[edit] Sound samples
Lemeshev: La donna e mobile. (Verdi: Rigoletto). Rec.: 1956. Source: Discovery Classics. File: mp3pro at 16 kbit/s. Size: 323 kb.
[edit] Quotations
“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 see the link [2])
“He sang sul soffio (leaning on the breath), avoided stressful abdominal respiration (only Caruso could do it) and directed the sound current to the mask, the method of singing which was so much Lauri-Volpi's gospel.” (Dr. Joseph Fragala, see the link [3])
[edit] Bibliography
Vasiliev, Viktor Dmitrievich: Doroga k Lemeshevu, Tver' ,2002, ISBN 5-87049-247-5
