Irina Zhurina (russian: Ирина Михайловна Журина; born 28 August 1946) is a Russian

operatic Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills. The term '' coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component o ...

Biography

Zhurina was born in

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

(

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

). After studying singing at the Kharkov Art Institute, she joined the Kharkov Opera in 1971, where she sang the leading roles in La Traviata,

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel ''The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...

, etc. Since 1975, she had been a soloist of the opera at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. On this stage, she performed the leading opera parts composed for high soprano (lyrical coloratura soprano), such as Antonida (A Life for the Tsar), The Snow Maiden (Snegurochka), The Swan-Princess (The Tale of Tsar Saltan), Marfa (''

The Tsar's Bride ''The Tsar's Bride'' (russian: Царская невеста, translit=Tsarskaja nevesta) is an historical verse drama in four acts by Lev Mei from 1849.Golub (1998, 951). Fifty years later Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov used the play as the basis for h ...

''), the Queen of Shemakha/Shemakhan Tsaritsa (The Golden Cockerel), Violetta (

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'') and Rosina (''

Il Barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

''). She had taken part in the Bolshoi Opera tours in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. At the 1988 Making Music Together festival in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

(organised by

Sarah Caldwell Sarah Caldwell (March 6, 1924March 23, 2006) was an American opera conducting, conductor, impresario, and stage director. Early life Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and ...

), Zhurina premiered

Boris Tchaikovsky Boris Alexandrovich Tchaikovsky (russian: Бори́с Алекса́ндрович Чайко́вский; 10 September 1925 – 7 February 1996), PAU, was a Soviet and Russian composer, born in Moscow, whose oeuvre includes orchestral works, cha ...

's ''Four Poems by Josef Brodsky'' for soprano and piano, and the following year gave their first performance in the Soviet Union. Irina Zhurina still has a very active concert life, with a repertoire of opera arias, Russian art songs, baroque music and works by contemporary composers, devoted to (or specially composed for) her. She is also a teacher of singing on the faculty of the Academic Junior Music College of the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

. Zhurina has recorded a number of CDs both in Russia and in Germany.

Recognitions and awards

Zhurina was made a

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: Народный артист Российской Федерации, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an h ...

by President

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

in 1993.

Recorded works

Zhurina's recorded works included a number of artists. The first record called

Judith (Serov) ''Judith'' (russian: Юдифь, translit=Yudíf – stress on second syllable) is an opera in five acts, composed by Alexander Serov during 1861–1863. Derived from renditions of the story of Judith from the Old Testament Apocrypha, the Russ ...

, which was recorded in 1991, included Andrey Chistyakov (conductor), Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Russian Academic Choir of the USSR, Irina Udalova (Judith), Y

Elena Zaremba Elena Zaremba (born July 10, 1957) is a Russian-born mezzo-soprano long active in the United States. Zaremba was born in Moscow into a family of singers, and studied at the Gnessin State Musical College, joining the Bolshoi Opera in 1984 upon gra ...

(Avra), Mikhayil Krutikov (Holofernes), Nikolay Vasilyev (Bagoas), Anatoly Babïkhin (Ozias), Vladimir Kudryachov (Achior), Stanislav Suleimanov (Asfaneses), Pyotr Gluboky (Eliachim), Maksim Mikhaylov (Charmis), Irina Zhurina, Marina Shutova (Odalisques) and Lev Kuznetsov (Hindu Song).

Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

(

Kashchey the Deathless ''Kashchey the Immortal'' (subtitle: A Little Autumn Fairy Tale) ( rus, Кащей бессмертный, Kashchéy bessmértny , ''Kashchey the Immortal'') is a one-act opera in three scenes by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto was writte ...

), which was also recorded in 1991, included Andrey Chistyakov (conductor), Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Yurlov Academic Choir, Aleksandr Arkhipov (Kastchey), Irina Zhurina (Tsarevna), Nina Terentyeva (Kashcheyevna), Vladislav Verestnikov (Ivan Korolevich) and

Vladimir Matorin Vladimir Anatolyevich Matorin (russian: Влади́мир Анато́льевич Мато́рин; May 2, 1948) is a famous Russian opera singer. He is considered one of the greatest contemporary bass singer in Russia. Biography Vladimir was ...

(Storm-Bogatïr).

References

General references

*Academic Junior Music College (

),
Faculty biography: Irina Zhurina
(in Russian) *Dyer, Richard
"Extra Concert is a Poignant Addition"
''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', 2 April 1988 *Klimov, Pyot
Liner Notes: ''Boris Tchaikovsky – Song-Cycles and Chamber Music''
Toccata Classics (TOCC0046), May 2009 *Kotliarskaia, Elena Moiseevna, ''Women in Society: Russia'', Marshall Cavendish, 1994, p. 62. *Pugliaro, G.
''Opera '90. Annuario dell'opera lirica in Italia ''
EDT srl, 1990, p. 122. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhurina, Irina 1946 births Living people Musicians from Kharkiv People's Artists of Russia Russian operatic sopranos 20th-century Russian women opera singers 21st-century Russian women opera singers Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory