Larisa Avdeyeva

Larisa Ivanovna Avdeyeva or Avdeeva (Russian: Лариса Ивановна Авдеева; 21 June 1925 – 10 March 2013) was a Soviet and Russian mezzo-soprano, who starred with the Bolshoi Opera for thirty years. People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1964).

Larisa Avdeyeva
Лариса Авдеева
Avdeyeva as Gertrude in Bánk bán, 1959
Born(1925-06-21)21 June 1925
Moscow, Soviet Union
Died10 March 2013(2013-03-10) (aged 87)
Moscow, Russia
NationalityRussian
OccupationMezzo-soprano
Years active1947-1983
Spouse(s)Yevgeny Svetlanov

Biography

Larisa Ivanovna Avdeyeva was born on 21 June 1925[1] in Moscow to a family of opera singers. Though surrounded by music and performing in a children's glee club from age eleven, Avdeyeva initially wanted to study architecture. After World War II, she entered college to study construction, but a year later changed over to music.[2] She studied at the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre from 1945 to 1946, and the following year began working as a soloist at the Stanislavsky Musical Theatre of Moscow.[1] Among the roles she performed were Olga in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Varvara[2] in the 1950 premiere of Frol Skobeyev by Tikhon Khrennikov, Mistress of Copper Mountain the 1951 premier of Kamenniy tsvetok (based on the story The Stone Flower) by Kirill Molchanov[1] and Kosova in the 1952 production of V buryu (Into the Storm) by Khrennikov. She made her debut at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1952 reprising her earlier role of Olga.[2]

She was a mezzo-soprano and quickly became a lead singer for those roles, performing as Spring in The Snow Maiden by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Martha in Khovanshchina by Modest Mussorgsky. Avdeyeva excelled in the Rimsky-Korsakov roles of Ljubasha in The Tsar's Bride and Lel in The Snow Maiden and Carmen in the Georges Bizet opera of the same name.[2] Some of her later roles included Princess in Tchaikovsky’s Enchantress, Konchakovna in Borodin’s Prince Igor, Akhrosimova in Prokofiev's War and Peace[1] and the Commissar in Kholminov’s Optimisticheskaya tragediya. She also performed in Canada, Europe, Japan and the United States.[3] Making a 1975 trip to the US, Avdeyeva's portrayal of the Countess in War and Peace was described as "not only acted [but] sung superbly".[4]

In addition to her 30 years of live appearances with the Bolshoi, for four decades Avdeyeva recorded with the USSR State Symphony Orchestra, which was directed by her husband Yevgeny Svetlanov.[5] She recorded Scriabin's Symphony No. 1 In E Major, Op. 26; in 1969,[6] Edward Elgar's Sea Pictures & Symphony No. 2 in 1977;[7] Tchaikovsky's "Onegin" in 1979; and Prokofiev's "Voina i mir" in 1983, among many other titles.[6] Avdeyeva appeared in the 1951 film Большой концерт (Grand Concert)[8] and played the role of Marina in the 1954 film Boris Godunov, both directed by Vera Stroyeva.[9] In 1964, she was awarded the People's Artist of the RSFSR.[3]

Adveyeva died on 10 March 2013 in Moscow.[10]

References
  1. Macy 2008, p. 20.
  2. "Лариса Авдеева" (in Russian). Moscow, Russia: Bolshoi Theatre. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  3. Macy 2008, p. 21.
  4. "'War & Peace' Goes into Repertoire as Bolshoi Engagement Nears Finis". The Bridgeport Post. Bridgeport, Connecticut. 15 July 1975. p. 14. Retrieved 23 January 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Blyth, Alan (March 1970). "Remembering Yevgeny Svetlanov (1928-2002)". London, UK: Gramophone. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  6. "Avdeeva, Larisa, 1925-2013". Library of Congress. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  7. Achenbach, Andrew. "Elgar Sea Pictures; Symphony No 2". London, UK: Gramophone. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  8. "Авдеева Лариса Ивановна" (in Russian). Kino-teatr Russia. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  9. "'Boris Godunov' and Bardot Work Coming". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Knoxville, Tennessee. 17 January 1960. p. F6. Retrieved 15 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Горелова, Мария (11 March 2013). "Оперная певица Лариса Авдеева скончалась на 88-м году жизни" (in Russian). Moscow, Russia: Комсомольская правда. Retrieved 23 January 2016.

Bibliography
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