Artur Arturovich Eizen (8 June 192726 February 2008), was a Soviet and Russian

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

singer, actor and pedagogue.

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

(1976).

Background and training

Eisen was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

into a family of Latvian revolutionaries, and his family was also musical; his father was a violinist.Translated Japanese webpage: Arthur Eisen
/ref> After leaving school in 1944 he joined the Shchukin Theatre School at the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre. He studied with future stars, and his singing teacher had been famous in the past: N. Popovoy-Narutovich. He left college in 1948 and joined a youth literary reading group. On a performing tour in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

he sang, making their tour a hit. Back in Moscow he spent a year at

Gnessin State Musical College The Gnessin State College of Music () and Gnessin Russian Academy of Music () comprise a music school in Moscow.Moisenko, Rena. (1949) ''Realist Music: 25 Soviet Composers,'' London: Meridian Book, Ltd. History Originally known as the Gnessi ...

. He then attended

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

and in 1955, a year before graduating, he won the gold medal at the

World Festival of Youth and Students The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. History The festival has been held occasionally since 1947, mainl ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Career

While studying at the

Eisen became a soloist for the

Alexandrov Ensemble The Alexandrov Ensemble (), commonly known as the Red Army Choir in the West, is an official army choir of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Russian armed forces. Founded during the History of the Soviet Union, Soviet era, the ense ...

1949-1956. This involved lessons at the Conservatory, exams and rehearsals, performances and concert tours with the choir in the Soviet Union, foreign tours and mandatory daily rehearsals with an accompanist. He was also preparing for big solo performances at major concert halls in Moscow. He became well-known and often appeared on radio. Following this he gained fame on the international

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

circuit after a successful 1956 debut as Don Basilio in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

''. He was praised in the American, British and Japanese press. From 1956 to 1996, he was a soloist at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

, singing major roles.

Recordings

With the

Eisen recorded: ''Elegy'', ''Oh No John'' (1956), ''Cold Waves Lapping'' (1956), ''Black Raven'' duet with N.A. Abramov (1956), four unknown solos (1956), ''

The Song of the Volga Boatmen The "Song of the Volga Boatmen" (known in Russian as Эй, ухнем! y, ukhnyem!, "Yo, heave-ho!" after the refrain) is a well-known traditional Russian song collected by Mily Balakirev and published in his book of folk songs in 1866. It was ...

.''CD: EMI Classics: Red Army Ensemble, 0946-3-92030-2-4CD: EMI: Soviet Army Chorus & Band, CDC-7-47833-2 DIDX-1015kkre-48.narod.ru webpage: Biography of Arthur Eisen and songlist
/ref>

Death

Eisen died in

in 2008.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisen, Artur 1927 births 2008 deaths Soviet male opera singers 20th-century Russian male actors 20th-century Russian male opera singers Singers from Moscow Alexandrov Ensemble Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Gnessin State Musical College alumni Moscow Conservatory alumni Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Operatic basses Russian basses Russian male film actors Russian people of Latvian descent Soviet male film actors Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery