Arnold Grigorevich Azrikan (russian: Арнольд Григорьевич Азрикан; uk, Арнольд Григорович Азрікан; February 23, 1906 – July 19, 1976) was a Soviet operatic
dramatic tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
.
Biography and career
He began to sing at the age of twelve in a chorus of the city church in
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...
. Between 1926-1929, he studied at the Odessa Conservatory where he was coached by the singers Menner-Kanevskaya and Julia Reider. Later, in
Kharkov
Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine. , he had further studies the Italian tenor and voice teacher with Carlo Barrero. He began first as a chorister at the
Odessa Opera
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, image_size = 270px
, caption = Odesa Theatre of Opera and Ballet
, address = Tchaikovsky Lane 1
, city = Odesa
, country =
, designation = Architectural Landmark
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, archite ...
theater in 1926, and in 1928 he made his debut there as Nathanael in
Offenbach's ''
The Tales of Hoffmann
''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died i ...
''.
In 1930, he was invited to the opera theater in Kharkov (the capital of Ukraine at that time) where he sang in the Ukrainian, Russian and Italian repertoires. In 1934 both the capital and the opera theatre's leading soloists, including Azrikan, moved to
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
.
In 1939, Azrikan first sang the title role in
Giuseppe Verdi's ''
Otello
''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play '' Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. ...
'' which later became his signature role. He was awarded the title of
Honored Artist of Ukraine
Merited (Performing) Artist of Ukraine (also translated as Honored (Performing) Artist of Ukraine, uk, Заслужений артист України) is a state honorary title of decoration awarded by the Ukrainian SSR and later Ukraine for ...
in 1940, and along with his friendly rival Yuri Kiporenko-Domansky, Azrikan was the leading tenor at the
Kyiv Opera and Ballet Theatre
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
K ...
until 1943. The same year he joined the
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administrat ...
(then called Sverdlovsk) Opera Theatre where he achieved his greatest recognition as a dramatic tenor in ''Otello''. For this performance he was awarded the
Stalin Prize in 1946.
[Matafonova, Y. (April 27, 2007). "Vertinskii pisal o nem tak…" ertinsky wrote about him these words… ''Uralskii rabochii'' ]he Urals Worker
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
He remained with this theatre until 1951. Later, he toured extensively all over the Soviet Union while having long time engagements with the Odessa Opera and Ballet theater and the
Baku Opera and Ballet Theatre. He retired from stage in 1964 during his engagement with the Moldova Opera Theater but returned to the same theater for his farewell performance in ''Otello'' in 1968.
Azrikan was also the stage director of several opera productions in which he also sang the leading roles. After his retirement from stage, he taught singing at the
Chișinău Conservatory.
He died in 1976 in Moscow.
Repertoire

*Vladimir Igorevich (''
Prince Igor
''Prince Igor'' ( rus, Князь Игорь, Knyáz Ígor ) is an opera in four acts with a prologue, written and composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the Ancient Russian epic '' The Lay of Igor's Host'', which ...
'' by
Borodin
Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...
)
*Vladimir (''
Dubrovsky'' by
Nápravník)
*Sobinin (''
A Life for the Tsar
''A Life for the Tsar'' ( rus, "Жизнь за царя", italic=yes, Zhizn za tsarya ) is a "patriotic-heroic tragic opera" in four acts with an epilogue by Mikhail Glinka. During the Soviet era the opera was known under the name '' Ivan Susanin ...
'' by
Glinka)
*Pretender (''
Boris Godunov
Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of hi ...
'' by
Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
)
*Andrei (''
Mazeppa Mazepa or Mazeppa is the surname of Ivan Mazepa, a Ukrainian hetman made famous worldwide by a poem by Lord Byron. It may refer to:
Artistic works Poems
* "Mazeppa" (poem) (1819), a dramatic poem by Lord Byron
* "Mazeppa", a poem by Victor Hugo, ...
'' by
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...
)
*Vakula (''
Cherevichki
''Cherevichki'' (russian: Черевички , ua, Черевички, ''Cherevichki'', ''Čerevički'', ''The Slippers''; alternative renderings are ''The Little Shoes'', ''The Tsarina's Slippers'', ''The Empress's Slippers'', ''The Golden Slippe ...
'' by Tchaikovsky)
*Sadko (''
Sadko
Sadko (russian: Садко) is the principal character in a Russian medieval epic ''bylina''. He was an adventurer, merchant, and ''gusli'' musician from Novgorod.
Textual notes
"Sadko" is a version of the tale translated by Arthur Ransome in ...
'' by
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 ...
)
*Hermann (''
The Queen of Spades'' by Tchaikovsky)
*Lyonka (''Into the storm'' by
Khrennikov Khrennikov is a surname which may refer to:
* Tikhon Khrennikov (19132007), Russian composer and pianist
* Aleksandr Khrennikov
Alexander Pavlovich Hrennikoff (russian: Александр Павлович Хренников; 11 November 1896 — ...
)
*Godun (''Razlom'' by Vladimir Femelidi)
*Grigory (''Quiet Flows the Don'' by
Dzerzhinsky)
*Andrei (''
Taras Bulba
''Taras Bulba'' (russian: «Тарас Бульба»; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons An ...
'' by
Lysenko
Lysenko ( uk, Лисенко; russian: Лысенко; be, Лысенка Lysienka) or Lisenko is a Ukrainian surname. It most often refers to:
* Mykola Lysenko (1842–1912), Ukrainian composer, after whom the Lysenko music school and Lysenko S ...
)
*Andrei (''
Zaporozhets za Dunayem
''Zaporozhets za Dunayem'' ( uk, Запорожець за Дунаєм, translated as ''A Zaporozhian (Cossack) Beyond the Danube'', also referred to as ''Cossacks in Exile'') is a Ukrainian comic opera with spoken dialogue in three acts with mu ...
'' by
Hulak-Artemovsky)
*Petro (''
Natalka Poltavka
''Natalka Poltavka'' ( uk, Наталка Полтавка, ) is a Ukrainian play written by Ivan Kotlyarevsky.
The Opera in 2 acts, ''Natalka Poltavka'', was the last scheduled performance by The Kyiv Opera Company at the National Opera House ...
'' by Lysenko)
*Iontek (''
Halka
''Halka'' is an opera by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko to a libretto written by Włodzimierz Wolski, a young Warsaw poet with radical social views. It is part of the canon of Polish national operas.
Performance history
The first perf ...
'' by
Moniuszko)
*Nathanael (''
The Tales of Hoffmann
''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died i ...
'' by
Offenbach)
*Raul (''
Les Huguenots
() is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836.
Composition history
...
'' by
Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera '' Robert le d ...
)
*Faust (''
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The wiktionary:erudite, erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a ...
'' by
Gounod
Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
)
*Calaf (''
Turandot
''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is " Nessun dorma", ...
'' by
Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...
)
*Radames (''
Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...
'' by
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 ...
)
*Manrico (''
Il trovatore
''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mo ...
'' by Verdi)
*Canio (''
Pagliacci
''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who ...
'' by
Leoncavallo
Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera ''Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained h ...
)
*Arrigo (''
The Sicilian Vespers'' by Verdi)
*Cavaradossi (''
Tosca
''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dr ...
'' by Puccini)
*Don Jose (''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...
'' by
Bizet
Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...
)
*Pinkerton (''
Madame Butterfly
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...
'' by Puccini)
*Turiddu (''
Cavalleria rusticana
''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 Cavalleria rusticana (short story), short story of ...
'' by
Mascagni Mascagni is a surname of Italian origin. Notable people with the surname include:
* Donato Mascagni (1579–1636), Italian painter
* Paolo Mascagni (1755–1815), Italian physician
* Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945), Italian composer
{{surname
Su ...
)
*Des Grieux (''
Manon Lescaut
''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of ''Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité'' (''Memoirs and Adventures of a M ...
'' by Puccini)
*Otello (''
Otello
''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play '' Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. ...
'' by Verdi)
Stage director
*''Otello'' by Verdi (Kuibyshev Opera and Ballet Theater, 1950;
Saratov Opera and Ballet Theater
Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 90 ...
, 1951; Baku Opera and Ballet Theater, 1952; Chisinau Opera and Ballet Theater, 1964)
*''
Iolanta
''Iolanta'', Op. 69, (russian: Иоланта, links=no ) is a lyric opera in one act by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. It was the last opera he composed. The libretto was written by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, and is based on the Danish play ' ...
'' by Tchaikovsky (Baku Opera and Ballet Theater, 1953)
*''Manon Lescaut'' by Puccini (Baku Opera and Ballet Theater, 1956)
Discography
''Two Ukrainian romances - Arnold Azrikan'' - Gramplast, No.5230/5232, 1937.
Awards
*
Deserved Artist of the Ukraine, 1940
*
Stalin Prize, 1946 (renamed as the USSR State Prize in 1954)
References
Sources
English
*Azrikan, Dina and Dmitry. ''Arnold Azrikan: Romance for a Dramatic Tenor''. Highland Park, Illinois: Azrikan. 2006. 256. (also in Russian)
*Azrikan, Dina. ''Arnold Azrikan, part II: Curtain Call''. Highland Park, Illinois: Azrikan. 2012. 110. (also in Russian)
Russian
*Agin, M.S. ''Vokalno-entsiklopedichskii slovar''
ncyclopedic Dictionary of Vocalists Moscow, 1991. 15
*Azrikan, Dina and Azrikan, Dmitry. ''Arnold Azrikan: romans dlia dramaticheskogo tenora''. Highland Park, Illinois. 2006. 256. (also in English).
*Azrikan, Dina. ''Arnold Azrikan, chast II: vozvrashchenie na avanstsenu''. Highland Park, Illinois. 2012. 110. (also in English).
*Belza, I. (April 17, 1946)."Otello" v Sverdlovskom opernom teatre
Otello" at the Sverdlovsk Opera Theater ''Izvestia''.
*Demianenko, S. (July 31, 1946). "Glazami rezhissera"
y the director's eye
Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or seven ...
''Teatr i zritel''.
*Ebergardt, S., Porska V. ''Nash opernyi''
ur opera theater
Ur was an important Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia, located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar ( ar, تل ٱلْمُقَيَّر) in south Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate. Although Ur was once a coastal city near the mouth of t ...
Yekaterinburg: Uralskoe literaturnoe agentstvo, 1998. 73-75, 128.
*Maksimenko, V.S.'' Dva veka odesskogo Gorodskogo teatra''
wo Centuries of the Odessa Civic Theater Odessa: Astroprint, 2005. 248.
*Maksimenko, V.S.''Gorodskoi teatr Odessy: 1809-2009''
he Odessa Civic Theater: 1809-2009 Odessa: Astroprint, 2010. 177-179.
*Matafonova, Y. (April 27, 2007). "Vertinskii pisal o nem tak…"
ertinsky wrote about him these words… ''Uralskii rabochii''
he Urals Worker
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
*Pozhar, S. "Luchshii Otello" (Best Otello), "Moldova" 5-6 (2007): 19-21.
*Vertinskaia, Lidiia. ''Siniaia ptitsa liubvi''
lue bird of love Lue or LUE may refer to:
People
* Andrew Lue (born 1992), Canadian retired football player
* Cachet Lue (born 1997), Canadian-born Jamaican footballer
* Lue Gim Gong (1860–1925), Chinese-American horticulturalist
* Lee Lue (1935–1969), Laoti ...
Moskva: Vagrius, 2004. 168.
*Deviatova, O.L. ''Zhivaia zhizn teatra''
ive life of the theater Ekaterinburg: Avtograf, 2012. 193-196.
*Matafonova, Y. ''Golosa iz XX veka'' (Voices from the XX century), Ekaterinburg: Sokrat, 2014. 83-87.
Ukrainian
*''Entsyklopediia sychasnoi Ukrainy''
ontemporary Ukrainian encyclopedia Kiev: NAU, 2001. T.1. 229.
*Lysenko, Ivan. Slovnyk spivakiv Ukrainy
ictionary of the Ukrainian singers Kiev: Rada, 1997. 10.
*Lysenko, Ivan. ''Ukrainski spivaky u spohadakh suchasnykiv''
krainian singers in the memoirs of their contemporaries Kiev: Rada, 2003, 531.
*''Myttsi Ukrainy: entsyklopedychnyi dovidnyk''
uses of Ukraine: encyclopedia Kiev: Ukrainska entsyklopediia, 1992. 16.
Czech
* Petišková, Dagmar. Návrat "zapomenutého" jména: příběh Arnolda Azrikana. Knihovna
nline 2013, roč. 24, č. 1, s. 79-88
it. 2013-10-17
It or IT may refer to:
* It (pronoun), in English
* Information technology
Arts and media Film and television
* ''It'' (1927 film), a film starring Clara Bow
* '' It! The Terror from Beyond Space'', a 1958 science fiction film
* ''It!'' (196 ...
Romanian
* Eskenasy, Victor (21—27 April 2007). «Arnold Azrikan — Tenorul de neuitat»
''Suplimentul de Cultura''124, p. 12
* Eskenasy, Victor (18—24 Feb. 2012).
("Arnold Azrikan - Curtain Call).
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says th ...
External links
* (from the soundtrack of the film ''Vozdushnyy izvozchik'' (''Taxi to Heaven''), Lenfilm, 1943.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azrikan, Arnold
1906 births
1976 deaths
Russian operatic tenors
Soviet male opera singers
Odesa Jews
Soviet tenors
Stalin Prize winners
Musicians from Odesa
Singers from Moscow
Recipients of the title of Merited Artist of Ukraine