Dmitri Nabokov

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Dmitri Vladimirovich Nabokov, born in Berlin on May 10, 1934, is the only child of writer Vladimir Nabokov and his wife Véra (née Slonim). He is currently executor of his father's literary estate and is considered the ideal translator of Nabokov's works.^{[neutrality disputed]}

[edit] Background

Nabokov entered Harvard University in 1951, lived at Lowell Hall, and studied History and Literature. Although he scored high on the LSAT and was accepted to Harvard Law School (while still an undergraduate), he declined because he was searching for an avocation. After graduating cum laude in 1955, he studied singing (basso) for two years at the Longy School of Music. He then joined the U.S. Army as an instructor for Military Russian and as an assistant to a chaplain.^[1]

In 1961 Nabokov made his operatic début in Reggio Emilia, singing the role of Colline in La Bohème (which was also the début of fellow cast member Luciano Pavarotti as Rodolfo).^[2] Among the highlights from his operatic career: performances at the Gran Teatre del Liceu with the soprano Montserrat Caballé and the Catalan tenor Jaume Aragall. ^[3]

Nabokov has had the task of translating many of his father's works—novels, plays, poems, lectures, letters—into several languages. One of his first translations, from Russian to English, was Invitation to a Beheading, under his father's supervision. In 1986, Dmitri published his translation of a novella previously unknown to the public. The Enchanter (Volshebnik), written in Russian in 1939, was deemed "a dead scrap" by Nabokov and thought to have been destroyed. The novella has some similarities to Lolita; consequently (though Dmitri does not agree with this assessment) it has been known as the Ur-Lolita ("The Original Lolita"), a precursor to Nabokov's masterpiece.^[4]

As executor of his father's literary estate, Nabokov has also wrestled for 30 years over whether or not to publish his father's final manuscript, The Original of Laura.^[5]

In celebration of Vladimir Nabokov's centennial in 1999, Dmitri appeared as his father in Terry Quinn's Dear Bunny, Dear Volodya, a dramatic reading based on the personal letters between Nabokov and literary and social critic Edmund Wilson. Performances took place in New York, Paris, Mainz, and Ithaca.

Although it is well known that Nabokov also writes, he does not share his pen name, unlike his father.^{[citation needed]}

Dmitri is a life-long bachelor and has no children. He lives in Palm Beach, Florida and Montreux, Switzerland.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Interview with Dmitri Nabokov, Nabokov Online Journal (April 2008). PDF file. Nabokov discusses with Suellen Stringer-Hye his decision to publish his father's unfinished work The Original of Laura.
• Dmitri Nabokov's Weblog (since March 2006)
• A rejoinder from Dmitri Nabokov Sins of the father...
• Dear Bunny, Dear Volodya. The Paris Review has a written extract of this at their web site. Unfortunately, there is no audio clip of an actual performance.
• Una Jena in Cassaforte. (Also known as Hybrid) Nabokov appeared in this Italian film in the late 1960s (hence the extra "i" in his first name). The Internet Movie Database has a listing of it.
• "The Gay Nabokov" Nabokov is quoted in this article about his paternal uncle, Sergei Nabokov, who was persecuted by the Nazis for his homosexuality and died in a concentration camp in 1945.
• Dmitri as Synesthete. Although there is no audio interview available, The Infinite Mind (a public radio program) has a summary of their show on synesthesia which includes a segment with Nabokov.
• 1986 audio interview with Dmitri Nabokov by Don Swaim at Wired for Books.