Alexandrov Ensemble soloists

This is an alphabetical list of the basso profondo, bass, bass-baritone and tenor soloists who have performed with the Alexandrov Ensemble (under its various titles) since its establishment in 1928. It is difficult to differentiate between regular and guest soloists, since many have alternated between the one category and the other during their careers, so they are all listed together. Soloists of whom no recordings have yet been found have been listed below as "other soloists".
Introduction.
Until April 2009, when this article was created, little or nothing was generally known outside Russia about these fine soloists: as a group, or (in most cases) as individuals. People in the West could read a few of their names on current Alexandrov Ensemble CDs and DVDs, and perhaps hear a few old 78rpm recordings on YouTube, but could not Google in English for their images or musical biographies. Since April 2009, to a certain extent, they can. Therefore this article is part of the soloists' history.
In 2004, Max Loppert said of Georgy Vinogradov: "How is it possible for any singer of this caliber to have been (outside Russia) this unknown?". One could say the same of the whole group. Before April 2009, almost all online resources on this subject were in Russian and Japanese, and even these were limited in content, so far as the biographies of most soloists were concerned. The dearth of information in the West could be partly attributable to the language barrier and the Cold War. One could speculate that scandals such as those 1951 rumours surrounding Vinogradov could have pressured the Alexandrov Ensemble to exercise particular discretion regarding publicity of their valuable star turns.
Even so, there is almost no online information about the tenor Victor Nikitin, who made a beautiful 78 rpm recording of "Cold Waves Lapping" in the 1940s, and his last traceable recording appears to have been made in 1951, the same year as the rumours of a bar-room brawl and the end of Georgy Vinogradov's career. One can draw no conclusions, but – outside Russia at least – an air of mystery surrounds some of these great singers.
Status of soloists.
Apart from guest soloists, there are two ways of contracting a soloist in the Alexandrov Ensemble:
A to Z list of soloists.
Georgi Abramov.
See image here and here. (born in Moscow 12 April 1903; died in Georgia 1 November 1966). (Russian: Георгий Абрамов). Bass soloist. Honoured Artist of Russia (1944). From 1918 to 1928 he worked as a mechanic or plumber in Moscow State University. In 1930 he entered an operatic singing competition on All-Union Radio. As a result of this, from 1931 to 1966 he was soloist of the All-Union Radio and television, taking part in opera productions. He was a concert singer, promoting the works of Soviet composers, and became the definitive singer of songs such as "Roads" (by Novikov), "Treasured Stone", "Single Accordion" (by Mokrousov), and especially "Bryansk Forest" (by Katz)
. From 1954 to 1958 he was a music teacher at Gnessin State Musical College. He toured in Poland, Hungary, Romania and East Germany
With Georgy Vinogradov and Vladimir Zakharov he recorded "For those who are in Transit" (S. Katz – A. Fatyanov), and the beautiful folksong "Already as the Sea"
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "A Bryansk Forest" (recorded 1948) for the All-Union Radio Committee.
Nicolai A. Abramov.
"The Little Bells" (1956)
. Unfortunately, Nicolai Abramov's name was frequently incorrectly attributed on recordings, notably on the Kultur video of 1965 that is available in the West.
Vadim Petrovich Ananyev.
Current soloist in the Ensemble. Ananyev was one of the very few soloists of the ensemble who did not board a plane to Syria later lost in the 2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash. He stayed to care for his recently born child.
Georgy Yakovlevich Andryushchenko.
(Russian: Георгий Яковлевич Андрющенко); also spelled "Andryushenko"; tenor soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre, People's Artist of Russia (1973). He studied at Gnessin State Musical College, and joined the Alexandrov Ensemble as a soloist in 1958. He performed at the Bolshoi Theatre 1963–1979,
had a wide repertoire and was one of the leading tenors in a troupe which toured the world. From 1974 to 1976 he was the supervisor of the trainee group of Bolshoi Theatre soloists. From 1979 he was director of the Moscow Ice Ballet Ensemble. In the late 1980s he worked as general director of GosTsirk; he was the head of all circuses in Russia, and he published an article in "Dei/Disillusionist" magazine about a circus tour to the Vatican in 1982.
Within the Bolshoi Theatre his recorded operatic arias include the following: as Prince Andrei Khovansky in Modest Mussorgsky's opera "Khovanshchina" (1979); as Mikhailo Tucha in "Pskovityanka" (or A Girl from Pskov); as Alexey in "Optimistic Tragedy" by Kholminov; as Masalsky in "October" by Muradeli; as Marquise in "The Gambler" by Sergei Prokofiev from the story by Dostoyevsky; as Semyon in "Semyon Kotko" by Sergei Prokofiev.
Valentin Ivanovich Anisimov.
See image
here.
(born 1937; died 26 August 2002). (Russian: В.И. Анисимов), bass soloist (of the Odessa Opera House). People's Artist of Ukraine and Honoured Artist of Russia (1973). In 1962 he graduated from the Urals State Conservatory. From 1962 he was a soloist at Sverdlovsk, Ukraine and from 1967 at the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre. He gave 40 performances at the Bolshoi Theatre and gained a fine reputation throughout the USSR for singing in Verdi's opera Rigoletto. From 1980 he was soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic. He also taught at the Institute of Contemporary Art in the USSR
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Veterans" (music: Boris Alexandrov; lyrics S. Bencken).
Georgiy Ivanovich Babaev.
(Russian: Г.И. Бабаев; also translated George Babayev), bass-baritone soloist, Stalin Prize Laureate. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Song of the Young Soldiers" duet with V. Puchkov (music: P. Akulenko; lyrics: Ya Shvedov), "Song about Klim Voroshilov" duet with Yuri Louth (music: Alexander Alexandrov; lyrics: O. Kolychev), "Aside Native" (music: A. Alexandrov; lyrics: S. Mikhalkov), "Seasoned Cook" (music: Z. Компанеец; lyrics: I. Lakshin), "Song about Blyukher" duet with V. Pankov (music: Alexander Alexandrov; lyrics: S. Alymov), "I Myself" (Slovak song).
Kim Ivanovich Bazarsadaev.
(Russian: Ким Иванович Базарсадаев), bass soloist. People's Artist of the USSR (1981).
Evgeny Belyaev.
Soloist of the Ensemble. (Russian: Евгений Михайлович Беляев). Outside the USSR, one of the most celebrated tenor soloists under Boris Alexandrov was Evgeny Belyaev or Evgeny Mikhailovich Belyaev (1926–1994)
. He was born 11 September 1926 in the Bryansk Oblast, and served in the subdivision of zenith troops during World War II. He then graduated from Gnessin State Musical College. In 1947 he was a soloist of the Ensemble of Song and Dance of the Carpathian military district, and in 1952 a Member of CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union). In 1955 he was a soloist of the Ensemble of Song and Dance of the Soviet Army of Alexandrov. In 1967 he was made People's Artist of the USSR, and in 1978 he won the State Prize of the USSR. He died in 1994 ( 21 or 22 February).
Two of his most famous performances are "Oh the Rye" and "Nightingale". The lyric of "Nightingale" asks the nightingale to be quiet as the soldiers are sleeping; i.e. they have died. One of his most popular recordings with The Alexandrov Ensemble is "Kalinka"
Pyotr Dmitrievich Bogachev.
, "Nut Brown Girl" duet with S. Ivanov (1989/92, 2003), "Endless Sea" duet with S. Ivanov, "We Protect the Country" duet with S. Ivanov, "Afield" duet with S. Ivanov (1992), "Evening on the Roads" duet with S. Ivanov (1992), "Distant Northern Town" trio with V.S. Buzurov and S. Ivanov (1992), "Dixie" duet with S. Ivanov 1992, "Greetings from the Troops" duet with S. Ivanov, "Our Army" duet with S. Ivanov (1984)
Ivan Semionovich Bukreev.
Soloist of the Ensemble. (born 1924; died 1998). (Russian: Иван Семенович Букреев), lyric tenor soloist, People's Artist of the USSR, People's Artist of Russia
. In World War II he was in the Air Force, and was seriously wounded in battle. In 1944 he graduated from the Gnessin State Musical College, and became a soloist in the Air Force ensemble. It has been suggested in the West that he was overshadowed by E. Belyaev, but Leonid Kharitonov remembers the following:
"Bukreev didn’t have any specific reaction to Belyaev's success. Actually, he was glad for his colleague. Besides, it would be quite strange to compare them since they were different kinds of tenor – Belyaev was "lyric" tenor (higher voice) and Bukreev was a "lyric and dramatic" tenor (deeper voice). Bukreev never performed as a soloist abroad. Belyaev sang only three songs abroad and was mainly famous for the "Kalinka" song. In Russia they had equal popularity. Bukreev was teetotal and was a good husband and father to his wife and daughter."
Kharitonov only ever sang duets with one person, and that was Bukreev. With the Alexandrov Ensemble from 1953 to 1987/88 Bukreev gained a high reputation and recorded: "Take Soldiers" (music: Y. Milutin; lyrics: M. Lisyansky), "Submariners' Waltz" (music: V. Alexandrov; lyrics: Igor Morozov) (1965), "Rides the Border" (music: B. Muradeli; lyrics: A. Annual), "We Go, We Go Into the Army" duet with P. Bogachev (music: B. Aleksandrov; lyrics: V. Tatarinov), "The Soldier" (music: B. Mokrousov; lyrics: C. Islands), "Our Soldiers" (music: L. Lyadov; lyrics: A. Zharov), "Good Guy" (music: A. Doluhanyan; lyrics: Nekrasova L.), "Song of Prague" (music: M. Blanter; lyrics: Anon) (1960), "At Least" (music: A. Doluhanyan; lyrics: M. Lisyansky), "A Wave" (music: A Doluhanyan; lyrics: M. Lisyansky), "Soldier's Ways" duet with Edward Labkovsky (music: B. Aleksandrov; lyrics: B. Dubrovin), "Russian Accordion" (music: B. Muradeli; lyrics: E. Savinov), "I Took You into the Tundra" (music: M. Fradkin; lyrics: M. Plyatskovsky) (performed 1982),
"Bird Cherry" (music: M. Blanter; lyrics: M. Isakovsky), "South-West Region" (music: Yu Milyutin; lyrics: E. Dolmatovskaya), "I Will Never Forget You" (music: E. Kolmanovsky; lyrics: K. Vanshenkin) (ca.1965), "Moscow Nights" (music: V. Soloviev-Sedoi; lyrics: M. Matousovski) (1958), "Bella Ciao" duet with P. Slastnoi (Italian partisan song; arr. B. Pogrebov) (ca.1966)
"Bucharest Love", "Homeland Night", "Wait a Day to Return" (1956), "Song of the Border Defence Troops", two unknown solos, "Spring of 1945" duet with Boris Shemyakov, "Sky Blue Eyes" (1978), "Near the Garden" trio with I.I. Savchuk and E. Belyaev, "American Soldiers", "That Soldier Heads Up", "Far Away" (1978), "The Girls I Cry", "Early Apple Blossom", "Regiment Polka" duet with V.P. Gorlanov, "Ready Rocket Forces" duet with V.L. Ruslanov, "City of Rostov", "In Our Company", "Vasya-Vasilyok" duet with L. M. Kharitonov (ca.1965), "I'll Always be a Soldier".
Vladimir Abramovich Bunchikov.
Bass-baritone soloist. (born in Yekaterinoslav 21 November 1902; died 17 March 1995). Honoured Artist of Russia (1944).
From 1934, he recorded songs. With V. Kandelaki he sang jazz, and he sang with the popular orchestra directed by B. Knushevitsky, and with Boris Alexandrov's Song and Dance Ensemble of All-Union Radio and band. His main repertoire was the songs of Soviet composers. From 1942 to 1967 he was a soloist of the All-Union Radio. For 25 years he performed fine duets with the lyric tenor Vladimir Nechaev (1908–1969) whom he had met during World War II.
With the Ensemble of the All-Union Radio Committee under Boris Alexandrov he recorded "Evening in the Roadstead"/"Night on the Road" duet with P. Mikhailov (recorded 1942)
This is a baritone-tenor duet, and the choir includes women sopranos. He also recorded "Nightingale" in the 1940s as a baritone-tenor duet with Georgi Pavlovich Vinogradov,
"It's a Long Time Since We Were Home" duet with V. Nechaev.
E. Burchak.
(Russian: Е.Бурчаков), bass-baritone soloist. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Not a – Do Not Know" (music: S. Tulika; lyrics: V. Malkov).
Victor Sergeievich Buzurov.
(Russian: Виктор Сергеевич Бузлов). Tenor soloist. Joined the Ensemble ca.1970. Since 1990 he has recorded with the Don Cossack Choir and V. Gavva, singing religious songs. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he has recorded "The Birch Tree" (1987), "Distant Northern Town" trio with S. Ivanov and P. Bogachev (1992), "Moscow"
Vladimir Chernykh.
(Russian: Черных, Владимир), tenor soloist. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Jet Pilot", "Ballad of the Red Army", "Loyalty" duet (possibly with G. Andryushchenko),
"Hail to the Infantry!" with V. Shkaptsov (1978) and unknown song
Ivan Alexandrovich Didenko.
See image
here.
Soloist of the choir. (); Tenor soloist. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Lights Black Sun" (music: A. Doluhanyan; lyrics: M. Lisyansky), "The Birch Tree" (1956)
"Snowflakes" (1956)
V. Dmitriev.
See image
here.
(Russian: В.Дмитриев), bass soloist. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded the beautiful and dramatic "Halt, Who Goes There!" (music: B. Muradeli; lyrics: E. Dolmatovskaya).
Arthur Arturovich Eisen.
See photos here. (Russian: Артур Артурович Эйзен), bass-baritone soloist. (b. Moscow 8 June 1927; d. Moscow 26 February 2008). Soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre, Honoured Artist of Russia (1956), Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1971), People's Artist of the USSR (1976), Order of Friendship of Peoples (1988). With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded: "Elegy", "Oh No John" (1956), "Cold Waves Lapping" (1956), "Black Raven", duet with N.A. Abramov (1956), 4 unknown solos (1956), "Song of the Volga Boatmen".
Vasily Eliseev.
Soloist of the choir. Born 1931; died 1982. (Russian:Василий Елисеев), tenor with countertenor capability, i.e. with smooth transition to upper range, and good tone and projection throughout. There is a long tradition of countertenors in the Orthodox Church; this tradition continued during the Soviet era. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded: "Listen". On the Kultur video from which the screenshot is taken, Eliseev is incorrectly named as Nicolai A. Abramov.
Vladimir Fyodorov.
The only basso profondo that the Ensemble ever had. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded: "Bandura" duet with Nikolai Polozkov (1956).
Stanislav Ivanovich Frolov.
See image
here.
(Russian: Станислав Иванович Фролов), magnificent Russian basso profondo (from GABTa). Ten years after graduation he worked as a film camera operator. He was then admitted to the State Music School in the Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast. From 1960 to 1962 he was employed by the Kyrgyz Academy Theatre, then from 1964 to 1967 by the Belarusian Opera and Ballet. He joined the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow as soloist, and in 1970 joined their tour to Japan. He joined the Alexandrov Ensemble in 1976, and was part of its tour to Japan in the same year
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Great October Holiday" (music: Boris Alexandrov; lyrics: S. Bencken), "Song of the Dnieper" (music: M. Fradkin
music: E. Dolmatovskaya), "The Red Cavalry" (Civil War song: D. Pokrass)
"Song of the Fatherland", "Song of the Golden Calf" from the opera "Faust" (1995), "Soldiers' Song" (1983)
Valery Gavva.
(Russian: Валерий Гавва), fine Russian bass. (b. Donetsk, Ukraine, 1947). He is descended from an old Cossack family. He attended the Industrial University of Rostov, and did military service in the Urals. After that, he studied music at the University of Donetsk in Ukraine. After graduating, he became an operatic soloist. In 1987 he joined the Ensemble as a bass soloist, and became People's Artist of the USSR. He did a 1996 tour to Japan with the National Opera Theatre of Leningrad, singing in Modest Mussorgsky's opera" Boris Godunov". He broadcast with the Don Cossack Choir, and recorded in 1994 and 1995. In 2002 he performed with the Moscow Radio and Television Choir in Korea
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Treasured Stone" (music: B. Mokrousov; lyrics A. Zharov), "Poem of the Ukraine" (music: Alexander Alexandrov; lyrics: O. Kolychev), "Dark Eyes" with A. Molostov, trumpet (trad; arr. Dmitri Oleg Yachinov)
. He has made many more recordings
Konstantin Grigorievich Gerasimov.
Soloist of the Ensemble. (born 1912). (Russian: Константин Григорьевич Герасимов). People's Artist of Russia (1962); bass-baritone soloist. After graduating from the College of Light Industry he studied singing while working as a clerk in charge of plant management. In 1936 he enlisted as an army sniper so as to be allowed into the Alexandrov Ensemble to get musical training and experience. In 1969 he became a leading baritone soloist.
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "The Death of Varyag" (music: A. Turischev; lyrics: R. Greynts; E.Studinskaya) (1959/63), "Barrow" (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: E. Dolmatovskaya), "Marine Guard" (music: Y. Milutin; lyrics: V.Lebedev-Kumach), "Moscow-Beijing" (music: B. Muradeli; lyrics: M. Vershinin) (1950), "We Are For Peace" (music: S. Tulika; lyrics: A. Zharov), "Song of the Ballistic Missile" duet with A. Sergeev (music: S. Tulika; lyrics: M. Andronov), "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" (1956)
"Song of Japan", "Our Bodyguard" duet with V.V. Puckkov (1951), "Near the Border", "Song of the Military Alliance" (1960), unknown operatic aria, "Song of Russia" (1960/63)
Pyotr Gluboky.
See image here. (b. Volgograd, 1947), bass soloist. From 1967 to 1973 he studied at Gnessin State Musical College. In 1972 he began working as a soloist at the Bolshoi Theatre. He was a Glinka Competition winner in 1973, and in 1974 he won the grand prize in the Toulouse International Competition. He was also professor at the Gnessin State Musical College. He became People's Artist of the USSR. He performed as a guest soloist for the Alexandrov Ensemble on tours to Japan. He recorded with the Bolshoi Theatre company
Vladimir P. Gorlanov.
(Russian: Владимир П. Горланов), tenor soloist from mid-1950s until 1960. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded: "Virgin Land" (1960), "Song of the Defence", "Regiment Polka" duet with I.S. Bukreev
Nikolai Timofeyevich Gres.
Soloist of the Ensemble. Born 28 December 1920 in Kobeliaky; died 25 March 2003 in Simferopol. (Russian: Николай Тимофеевич Гресь), tenor soloist. Honoured Artist of Russia (1966). During World War II he sustained an injury resulting in a brain contusion. From 1946 he was a soloist of the Black Sea Fleet Ensemble. From 1955 to 1963 he was a soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre, and his debut with the Bolshoi was 11 February 1956 in Moscow. He then joined the Alexandrov Ensemble until 1973. After leaving the Ensemble he worked briefly in Moscow teaching automobile engineering, then moved to Simferopol in the Ukraine, where he became an administrator in the Simferopol Philharmonic Society. In his last years he suffered poor health and died suddenly in hospital at Simferopol. Some newspaper and magazine articles about Gres are listed at Slovari Yandex. In 2001 in the Crimea a biography of Gres was published under the title "The whole life with a song" (Всю жизнь – с песней), by I.Turchin (И. Турчин).
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "I was going back from Berlin" (music: I. Dunaevsky; lyrics: L. Oshanin) (1966), "The Birch Tree" (1965)
"Truth of the Century" (1970), "The River Flows" (1963), "French Marching Song" (Походная) lyrics by E.Mugel (1963), "My Friends" (duet with A.S. Sibirtsev), and "Let us remember, comrades" (duet with A.S. Sibirtsev 1960s, music A.V.Alexandrov, lyrics S.Alymov), "When I go to the quick river" (Как пойду я на быструю речку) (1955), "The Grey Cuckoo" (1965), "Obelisks" (music: Smolsky; lyrics: Yasen) or Обелиски (Д. Смольский – М. Ясень) (1966), "The Song of the Headman" from the opera "The Night of May" by Rimsky-Korsakov or Песня про Голову из оперы "Майская ночь" (Н. Римский – Корсаков) (1955; 1967), "I Have Travelled the Whole Universe" (1969), also known as "I wandered through the world", the part of Sobinin in "Ivan Susanin" (Life of the Tsar) opera by Glinka. He also recorded "Soviet Flag" (music: B.A. Alexandrov; lyrics: P.Arsky (П. Арский)) (1969), and "Fanikuli-Fanikula" (1969).
Critical commentary on a music video featuring Nikolai Gres.
(see screenshot right): Gres sings "The Birch Tree" on the music video "Soviet Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble" This is a late medieval composition about a man sitting under a birch tree, whittling and thinking of women. It is usually categorised as a folk song as the name of the composer has been lost. However it is clearly a professional composition of a quality comparative to those of medieval Northern European composers of troubadour songs, such as Dufay and Binchois. This performance is part of the history of the early music revival movement. In the 19th century, rediscovered early music, along with folk music, was usually arranged to be performed in the grand orchestral or Italian operatic style. However, such music had always survived in church music, in one form or another, and people were used to hearing it performed in the style of traditional European church choirs: no vibrato; pure and clear tone; adjusting the voice production to the acoustics of the building. In church music, the building was always the secondary soundbox for the vocal instrument (the nasal cavity being the first). From the 1950s, early music performance reverted to this ecclesiastical style of singing. So the Alexandrov Ensemble performance of ca.1963 was very modern for its time. Gres sings like a church choir baritone, with the same appearance of spiritual joy as any oratorio soloist. The screenshot does not capture such a moment, but it does show the sheer effort that the performance required. His voice is responding to a building-soundbox too; in this case a recording studio. The Russian practice of the time was to film outdoors and then dub the sound later. Studio dubbing tends to appear artificial today, but on this occasion it is advantageous, as the church choral style does need a building-soundbox. From the 1970s, some early music singers, such as the Martin Best Ensemble, started to reflect what may have been the contemporary late medieval performance-style of troubadour songs: that is, the Arab singing style which can still be heard in Islamic sung prayer. Hence Gres' performance now sounds a little dated, but remains nonetheless one of the finest recorded performances of this song.
Sergei Vasilievich Ivanov.
"The Samovars" duet with P. Bogachev (music A. Novikov; lyrics: S. Alimov) (1982/92)
"Endless Sea" duet with P. Bogachev, "The Hero Walks in the Urals" solo (1983), "Who Protects the Country" duet with P. Bogachev, "Afield" duet with P. Bogachev (1992), "Nut Brown Girl" duet with P. Bogachev (1989/92, 2003), "Evening on the Roads" duet with P. Bochachev 1992, "Distant Northern Town" trio with S.V. Buzurov and P. Bogachev (1992), "Dixie" duet with P. Bogachev (1992), "Greetings from the Troops" duet with P. Bogachev, unknown duet with V. Gavva (1992), "Our Army" duet with P. Bogachev (1984)
B. Jaivoronok.
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Troika" (trad; arr. Dmitri Oleg Yachinov)
"Gandzia" (trad; arr. Dmitri Oleg Yachinov)
See image here. (born 1938) (Russian: Борис Григорьевич Жайворонок) bass-baritone soloist. People's Artist of Russia and Honoured Artist of Ukraine (1972). In 1964 he graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of Arts. From 1965 he was soloist at the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet. He was with the Alexandrov Ensemble 1981–1998 and he recorded The Enemies of the Burned Home (music: M. Blanter; lyrics: M. Isakovsky), My Moscow (music: I.M. Dunaevsky; lyrics: S. Agranyan, M. Lisyansky), Ogonek (lyrics: M. Isakovsky), It is time to Take the Road (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: S. Fogelson), Farewell, Rocky Mountains (music: E. Zharkovsky; lyrics: A.N. Bukin), Troika and Granada .[187]
Leonid Kharitonov.
Soloist of the Ensemble. (Golumet, Irkutsk Oblast 1933 – Moscow 19 September 2017). (Russian: Л.М. Харитонов). People's Artist of Russia, Honoured Artist of Russia; bass-baritone soloist. Known as Lenya Kharitonov. When his father went missing in World War II, his mother brought him up. At the age of 14yrs he studied locally to be a welder, and began to perform as a singer. At 17 years old he started auditioning at Irkutsk Philharmonic, then at Moscow Philharmonic, and finally was accepted by Moscow Conservatory. This was very difficult because as a Siberian he did not have even a matriculation certificate, but his strong singing voice spoke for him. For nearly 20 years he was a member of the Red Song and Dance Ensemble of the Soviet army (later the Alexandrov Ensemble): in the choir from 1953 to 1965, and a soloist from 1965 to 1972. He subsequently became a soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic. He performed successfully in most concert halls in Russia: On tour he visited the entire country, including the Kremlin Palace concert hall. He was the pride of Russia, sang at concerts for the Government and for foreign delegations. After that he went on tour abroad a great deal
. His biography is here.
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "The Ballad of the Russian Boy" (music: Novikov; lyrics: Oshanin L.), "John Reid Goes to Petrograd" (music: Novikov; lyrics: M. Vershinin), "It is Not the End of the War" (music: B. Muradeli; lyrics: M. Andronov), "Here Lenin Lived" (music: B. Terentiev; lyrics: A. Fatyanov), "Lenin's Guard" (music: B Aleksandrov; lyrics: M Khotimsk), "My Native Land" (music: O. Feltsman; lyrics: Oshanin L.), "Not Old Soul Veterans" (music: Tulika S.; lyrics: Y. Belinsky), "Song of Peace" (music: B. Muradeli; lyrics: V. Kharitonov), "Sedina" (music: A. Ekimyan; lyrics: F. Laube), "Son of the Fatherland" (music: S. Tulika; lyrics: V. Lazarev), "The Song of Russia" (music: St. Tulika; lyrics: V. Kharitonov), "Song of the Volga Boatmen"
"Death of Varyag"
Ivan Semyonovich Kozlovsky.
See image here. (Russian: Иван Семёнович Козловский). (b. Mali, Poltava, Ukraine 1900; d. 1993); a lyric tenor. Order of the National Anthem (1941); People's Artist of the USSR (1940). He made his debut at the Kharkiv Opera Theatre. From 1926 to 1954 he was a member of the Bolshoi Theatre. He was professor at Gnessin State Musical College 1956 to 1980, continuing over the age of 80. In Russia has been considered the best tenor in the first half of the 20th century. From the 1920s he recorded opera. In the 1950s with the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded martial music and Russian folk songs, including "Song of the Red Navy" (1953), "In Front of the Forest", and "Raw Wilderness"
. Nikita Khrushchev said in his autobiography that Kozlovsky was Joseph Stalin's favourite tenor and that Koszlovsky was unhappy about this.
Andrey Kusleev.
(Russian: Андрей Куслеев), bass-baritone soloist. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Cold Waves Lapping" duet with E. Belyaev (music: F. Bogoroditsky; lyrics: Ya Repninsky), "Shooting Kommunarov" duet with E. Belyaev (music: V.Tan-Bogoraz), a duet with Abramov, "Execution of the Warrior Revolution" duet with E. Belyaev, "Marching song" duet with I.A. Didenko, "Song of the Red Army Cavalry" (recorded 1954), "Travel Far" duet with V.V. Puchkov
Edward Maxovich Labkovsky.
See images
here,
here
and
here.
(born in Kazakhstan 24 July 1938).
(Russian: Эдуард Максович Лабковский), bass soloist. Honoured Artist of Russia (1978); People's Artist of Russia (1988). He moved to Moscow aged 3yrs, after his father, a Soviet official, died. There he worked in an aircraft factory as a fitter-assembler before attending Gnessin State Musical College as a singer instructed by A. Adana. After graduation he took part in a Puccini opera at Moscow Conservatory, did a tour singing across the country from Transdniestria to Sakhalinthen, then joined the Ensemble in 1972. On behalf of the Ensemble, he travelled the country performing solos with a sextet of musicians from the orchestra, and entertaining troops where they were in service
He also performed on film and television, but has been ill recently
With the Alexandrov Ensemble, he recorded "Take an Overcoat" (music: V. Levashov; lyrics: B. Okudzhava), "The Entire Country – It is Our Job" (music: B. Terentiev; lyrics: V. Kharitonov), "Hot Snow" (music: A. Pakhmutova; lyrics: M. Lvov) (1980), "Victory Day" (music: D. Tuhmanov; lyrics: V. Kharitonov) (1992), "Conductors of War" (music: B. Figotin; lyrics F. Laube), "Otgremeli Near Moscow has Long Battles" (music: A. Kukushkin; lyrics: B. Zishenkova), "Paratroopers' Song" (music: M. Minkov; lyrics: I. Shaferan), "Letter From the Depths" (music: B. (Russian: Калистратов); lyrics: M. Reytman), "Under the Balkan Stars" (music: M. Blanter; lyrics: M. Isakovsky), "Before it is Too Late" (music: A. Pakhmutova; lyrics: N. Dobronravov), "Soldiers' Ways" duet with Ivan Bukreev (music: B. Aleksandrov; lyrics: B. Dubrovin), "Fifth Ocean" (music: W. Korostelev; lyrics: B. Bezhaev), "Home Country" (music: G. Movsesyan; lyrics: B. Gin), "Forties" (music: I. Katayev; lyrics: D. Samoylov), "Tulskaya Defence" (music: Novikov; lyrics: V. Guryan), "The Shield and Sword" (P. Ovsiannikov – S. Volkov), Men (1978), Take the Mantle (1975), Commissars (1980), "Parachute Song", "The Russians Want War?" (1989), "Separation", "My Country"
Konstantin Pavlovich Lisovsky.
See image
here and
here.
. One of his recordings is "Golden Lights" (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: A. Fatyanov, S. Fogelson)
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded: "The Birch Tree" (trad; arr. Dmitri Oleg Yachinov)
Yuseph Laut.
(Russian: Ю.Лаут), tenor soloist. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Song of the Klim Voroshilov" duet with Georgiy Babaev (music: Alexander Alexandrov; lyrics: O. Kolychev), "Artillery March" duet with Oleg Razumovsky (music: Novikov; lyrics: S. Vasiliev).
Alexei Pavlovich Martynov.
See image
here and
here.
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "In a Sunny Forest Clearing" (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: A. Fatyanov), "The Roads" (music: A. Novikov; lyrics: L. Ochanine; arr. V. Samsonenko)
Mikhail Mikhailov.
Tenor soloist. With the Ensemble of the All-Union Radio Committee under Boris Alexandrov he recorded "Evening in the Roadstead"/"Night on the Road" duet with Vladimir Bunchikov (recorded 1942) This is a bass-baritone–tenor duet, and the choir includes women sopranos.
In most of his recordings he uses a light voice suitable for radio or film, but in some, such as "Boat", Mihailov exhibits the kind of powerful tenor, favoured by the Alexandrov Ensemble, to be heard above the choir and orchestra
Victor Ivanovich Nikitin.
(Russian: Виктор Иванович Никитин), tenor soloist, born in Syzran 1911 and died in Moscow 1994. He joined the Ensemble around 1938. He was already known as "Mr Kalinka" before World War II. He recorded many songs with the Alexandrov Ensemble, including "Song of the Red Fleet Sailors" (recorded 1943) and "Kalinka". Legend in Russia says that when he sang to entertain the Russian troops at the Eastern Front in World War II, the Germans on the other side stopped shooting to listen. At the Alexandrov Ensemble August 1948 Peace Concert in East Berlin, he sang encores of Kalinka and received high praise. He returned to the Ensemble choir in 1952, by his own choice, and remained with the Ensemble until at least 1965. He recorded "Ich Freue Mich Ihnen Mein Lied Zu Singen" in 1988, saying that it was 40 years after the 1948 peace concert in Berlin.
Vasily Pankov.
(Russian: В.Панков), tenor soloist. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Song about Blyukher" (music: Alexander Alexandrov; lyrics: S. Alymov); "Vasya - Vasilyok" (music: Anatoly Novikov; lyrics: Sergei Alymov) duet with Georgiy Babaev
Leonid V. Pshenichniy.
(Russian: Леонид В. Пшеничный), tenor soloist (People's Artist of Russia). With the Alexandrov Ensemble, he recorded "Birch Dreams" (music: B. Geviksman; lyrics: G. Fere), "In the Dugouts" (music: K. sheets; lyrics: A. Surkov), "Where Are You Now, Odnopolchane Friends?" (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: A. Fatyanov), "Let Lit" (music: M. Tabachnikov; lyrics: I. Frenkel), "Katyusha" (music: M. Blanter; lyrics: M. Isakovsky), "My Favourite" (music: M. Blanter; lyrics: E. Dolmatovskaya), "Parade of Victory" (music: V. Pleshakov; lyrics: B. Levtov), "Oh, the Road" (music: Novikov; lyrics: Oshanin L.), "My Country" (trad; arr. B. Alexandrov).
Oleg N. Razumovsky.
With the Alexandrov Ensemble in the 1940s to 1960s he recorded "American Soldiers' Song" (music: B. Hills), "In the Battle for the Motherland" (music: Компанеец Z.; lyrics: L. Oshanin), "In a good hour!" (music: K. sheets; lyrics: A. Zharov), "Goodbye, Mom" (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: A. Galić), "Pub" (music: B. Hills), "As for the Kama, the River" (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: Vladimir Gusev), "Krasnoflotskaya Smile" (music: N. Budashkin; lyrics: A. Fidrovsky), "Swallow-Kasatochka" (music: E. Zharkovsky; lyrics: O. Kolychev), "Artillery March" duet with Yuri Louth (music: Novikov; lyrics: S. Vasiliev), "Sailor's Waltz" (music: V. Sorokin; lyrics: S. Fogelson), "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" (music: D. Judge; lyrics S. Bolotin), "Night" (Music: L.D. Utesov; lyrics: I. Fradkin), "Eternal Glory to our Hero" duet with B.G. Shapenko, "Dance Dance", "Echo Across the River", "Farewell", "Song of the Coachman", "Song of the Unified" (1949), "When We Part"
Mark Reizen.
Bass soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre and Bolshoi Theatre. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "The Fond Stone", "Oh The Road ( Ekh, dorogi )" transmitted on Soviet All-Union radio in 1947, "Song of the Volga Boatmen" (trad; arr. Dmitri Oleg Yachinov).
Vadim Lvovich Ruslanov.
Soloist of the Ensemble. (born 1926). (Russian: Вадим Львович Русланов). People's Artist of the USSR (1974); bass soloist. His mother was an actress; he attended drama school, and became an actor attached to a Moscow theatre. However he still had a passion for music and studied at Gnessin State Musical College. He joined the Alexandrov Ensemble in 1958. With the Alexandrov Ensemble during the 1960s and 1970s he recorded: "And the Song Goes to War" (music: M. Fradkin; lyrics: C. Islands), "Cranes" (music: J. Frenkel; Lyrics: R. Gamzatov), "Solidarity March" (music: S. Tulika; lyrics: A. Sofronov), "A Peaceful Country" (music: A. Averkin; lyrics: A. Turkin), "Angels Brothers" or "Brothers in Heaven" (music: A. Averkin; lyrics: P. Gradov) (ca.1965), "Invisible Soldiers of the Front" (music: Novikov; lyrics: P. Gradov), "Song of the Faraway Homeland" (music: M. Tariverdiyev; lyrics: Robert Rozhdestvensky), "Victory" (music: V. Shainsky; lyrics: L. Oshanin), "Regimental Band" duet with Vadim V. Shkaptsov (music: L. Lyadov; lyrics: G. Hodos), "Do You Hear Me, Paris" (music: A. Ostrovsky; lyrics: L. Oshanin), "Soldiers Pribautki" duet with E. Belyaev (music: A. Doluhanyan; lyrics: G. Hodos), "Soldiers Are Always Soldiers" (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: M. Matusovsky) (1960/68), "Oh No John", "Ballad of the Eternal", "Dance Dance" (1975), "Take the Mantle" (1980), "The Wind Sounds" (1966), "He is a Man", "Kutuzov's Heart", "Military Musician", "Murderers Roam the Earth", "Farewell Love" (1966), "Third Battalion", "Voices of the Earth", "Song of Unity", "Sentry Post", "My Friends I Believe", "Paris", "Old Soldier's Song", "Bravo the Soldiers" (1969), "Song of Friendship", "World Peace", "Daughter is Water" (1966), "The Stone" (1973), "Rocket Troops March", "Ready Rocket Forces" duet with I.S. Bukreev, "The Russians Want War?" (1963/64), "Song of Russia" (ca.1965), "Song of the Russian Soldiers", "Our Country Russia" (1960)
Ivan Ivanovich Savchuk.
"Happy Girl", "Near the Garden" trio with I.S. Bukreev and E. Belyaev, "Bandura" both as solo and as duet with V. Fedorov (1951/56)
"I Look Up at the Sky", "Black Eyebrows" (1956)
Alexei Tikhonovich Sergeev.
"(See also: Russian Wikipedia article about A.T. Sergeev)"
See
a typical, jolly image.
Soloist of the Ensemble. (Russian: Алексей Тихонович Сергеев). Born 24 January 1919 in Gerasimovka in the Tambov region of Russia. People's Artist of the USSR (1967), State Prize of the USSR. Graduated from Gnessin State Musical College. From 1940 to 1968 he was bass singer with the Alexandrov Ensemble; promoted to soloist 1950. Performed in recitals from 1968.
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Ballad of the Tank" (music: IE Zharkovsky; lyrics: Yuri Kamenetsky; M. Kravchuk) (1951?), "Memoirs of Algiers" (music: B. Muradeli; lyrics: E. Dolmatovskaya), "Duma of the Motherland" (music: S. Tulika; lyrics: V. Malkov), "Stars Lovely Homeland" (music: I. Dunaevsky; lyrics: M. Matusovsky) (1965?), "Nothing Was Said" (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: A. Fatyanov), "On the Rocks, Granite Rocks" (music: B. Terentiev; lyrics: AN Bukin), "Bryansky Partisan Song" duet with E. Belyaev (music: D. Kabalevsky; lyrics: V.Lebedev-Kumach), "Song of the Ballistic Missile" (music: S. Tulika; lyrics: M. Andronov), "Third Battalion" (music: B. Mokrousov; lyrics: A. Fatyanov), "Soldiers Carry Out the Order" (music: O. Feltsman; lyrics: V. Sergeev), "Stenka Razin" (1951/56/63)
"Along Peterskaya Road/Street" (trad; arr. Dmitri Oleg Yachinov) (1956/60/66)
"Ah Nastasia" (trad; arr. B. Alexandrov) (1968)
unknown operatic aria, "Song of the Volga Boatmen", "Ukrainian Poem" (1956/60/63)
"See the Village", unknown song, "Under the Elm, Under the Oak" (1963, 2007)
"Can You Hear Me Brother", "Marching Song", "Cossack Cossack", "Work Song" (1956), "Her Son-in-Law", "Cheesecake", "If I Had a Hammer" (1956)
"The Motto of the Struggle", "Uncle" (1951), "Red Sun" (1960), "Rain", "Bryansk Forest", "Old Urals", "Soldier's Farewell", "Star", "Song of the Poplar", "Groove", "Ballad of the Moscow Boy", "The Little Bells", "Night", "Spend an Evening" (1977), "Lenin Lived Here", "Story of Russia", "Only Russia"
. He is buried in Moscow, not far from his fellow soloist Evgeny Belyaev, in a section of Novodevichy Cemetery affiliated branch (Russian: Новоде́вичье кла́дбище) located in Kuntsevo District.
Boris G. Shapenko.
Soloist of the Ensemble. (Russian: Борис Г. Шапенко), bass soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre. Honoured Artist of Russia. With the Alexandrov Ensemble in the 1960s he recorded "It is the Soviet Navy" (music: K. Sheets; lyrics: V. Guryan), "Song of the Volga Boatmen" (music: M. Fradkin)
"The Long-Range Guns Are Silent" (music: M. Blanter; lyrics: M. Matusovsky), "Rodina" (music: S. Tulika; lyrics: Yu Polukhin), "Evening on the Road"/"Night on the Road" (1980s) duet with E. Belyaev (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: A. Churkin), "Eternal Glory" duet with O.N. Razumovsky, "Song of the Red Army Cavalry", "Country", unknown opera aria, "Spring in Berlin" (1965), "The Fun and Joy" (1969), "Song of Russia"
Boris Shemyakov.
(Russian: Борис Шемяков), bass-baritone soloist from the 1970s onward. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded: "Sailors March" duet with V. Shkaptsov, "Spring 1945" duet with I.S. Bukreev, "Hawks"
Vladimir Shkaptsov.
Soloist of the choir. (Russian:Владимир Шкапцов), bass soloist in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1957 he graduated from Gnessin State Musical College. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded: "Regimental Band" duet with Vadim Ruslanov (music: L. Lyadov; lyrics: G. Hodos), "Sailors March" duet with B. Shemyakov, "Song of the March-Past" duet with A.S. Sibirtsev, "Hail to the Infantry!" duet with V. Chernykh
Vasily Ivanovich Shtefutsa.
Also spelled Chtefoutsa. (Russian: Василий Иванович Штефуца), current tenor soloist. People's Artist of the USSR (1993). From a farming family in Ukraine. He sang in the choir of the Uzhhorod School of Music, then attended Gnessin State Musical College, graduating in 1965. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he was at first in the choir, then as a soloist from 1970 he recorded "You are One of Us" (music: A. Doluhanyan; lyrics: M. Lisyansky), "Moscow" (music: D. Tuhmanov; lyrics: B. Dubrovin), "Kalinka"
and "Korobeiniki"
(both trad.; arr. Dmitri Oleg Yachinov).
He won a prize in the Polish song festival of 1972
Alexander Sergeievich Sibirtsev.
Soloist of the choir. (born 1935). (Russian: Александр Сергеевич Сибирцев), dramatic tenor soloist. People's Artist of the USSR. Studied at Gnessin State Musical College. From 1963 he was a soloist of the Opera and Ballet Theatre in Gorky. In 1964 he spent a year as a soloist of the Alexandrov Ensemble, then became soloist of Perm and Samara Opera. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded: "My Friends" duet with N. T. Gres, unknown song duet with N. T. Gres, "Song of the March-Past" with N. T. Shkaptsov
B. Slastnoi.
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Bella Ciao" duet with I. Bukreev (Italian partisan song; arr. B. Pogrebov)
Anatoly Borisovich Solovyanenko.
See image
here and
here.
Guest soloist. (born Donetsk, Ukraine 25 September 1932; died 29 July 1999; , ). People's Artist of the USSR (before 1978), People's artist of Ukraine, State Taras Shevchenko prize-winner
He was born into a mining family, and graduated from Donetsk Polytechnic Institute in 1954, having taken singing lessons at Olexander Korobeichenko from 1950. He began his career in Donetsk, where there is now a monument in his memory
. He did 12 performances at the Metropolitan Opera in Kiev, then graduated from Kiev Conservatory in 1978. For 30 years he was soloist at the Taras Shevchenko National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Kiev, and performed at Expo 67 in Montreal
He performed as soloist for Alexandrov Ensemble during its UK tour 1988, singing "Kalinka" and others
. He recorded 18 LPs: arias, romances and songs
Ivan Stolyar.
Ivan Stolyar (born in Kostroma, 16 September 1977; died 25 December 2016). Bass-baritone. Graduated from the A. Schnittke Moscow State Institute of Music in 2002. He was a soloist of the Tver Philharmonic from 1999 to 2000, then joined the Ensemble in 2005. As of 2010 he sings for the Ensemble as a guest soloist. With the Ensemble he has performed in various concerts including Quebec 2008, where he sang the song known in the west as "Those Were the Days", but which is a Russian song called Дорогой длинною or "By the Long Road" by Boris Fomin. Died in the 25 December plane crash
A. Syrovatko-Zolotarev.
(Russian: А.Сыроватко-Золотарёв), tenor soloist. With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "I Am From Berlin" (music: I. Dunaevsky; lyrics: L. Oshanin).
Barseg Tumanyan.
See image
here.
Guest soloist. (b. Yerevan 1958). Renowned Armenian bass soloist. (Russian: Б.Р. Туманян) (People's Artist of Armenia, soloist of Yerevan Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, the winner of the Tchaikovsky contest). With the Alexandrov Ensemble in ca.1960 he sang "Granada"
and the "Toreador Song" from Bizet's "Carmen", and received a seemingly endless ovation
In 2008 he celebrated his 50th anniversary as a bass soloist with the Opera
. In 2007 Tumanyan was interviewed by M. Zatikyan
. His biography is
here.
Alexei Ivanovich Usmanov.
See image
here.
(b. Moscow 1916; d. 1990). (Russian: Алексей Усманов), tenor soloist. He began singing in the amateur choir of the Automobile Club before World War II. He wanted to join the choir of the All-Union Radio, but World War II began. As a soldier he fought bravely when an armoured personnel carrier was hit; for this he was awarded the Order of the Red Star. In the late 1940s he became a soloist of All-Union Radio, and in the early 1960s began to record duets with Victor Selivanov
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "You Often Write Soldier" (music: B. Terentiev; lyrics: S. Bencken). In 1954 he took part in a recording of "The Enchantress" by Pyotr Tchaikovsky with the Moscow Philharmonia State Orchestra and Radio USSR chorus.
Georgi Pavlovich Vinogradov.
(Russian: Г.П. Виноградов), tenor soloist (born in Kazan 16 November 1908; died in Moscow 11 November 1980). Honoured Artist of Russia (1949). From about 1937 he sang jazz, opera and Soviet lyric songs on Radio Moscow and in World War II he sang with the USSR Committee of Defense Model Orchestra. From 1943 to 1951 he was a soloist with the Alexandrov Ensemble; however in 1951 there was apparently a bar-room brawl which embarrassed the Soviet government, and finished his career
. See his own page for further information.
With the Alexandrov Ensemble he recorded "Two Maxims" (recorded 1943)
"Oh the Road"
"In a Forest at the Front" (recorded 1945), "Nightingale" (recorded 1950), "Dark Night" (recorded 1945)
. In the 1940s he also recorded "Nightingale" as a duet with the baritone Vladimir Bunchikov, and "The Bending Branch" (or "Luchina")
as a solo with the Alexandrov Ensemble
Boris Grigorievich Zhayvoronok.
See image here. (born 1938) (Russian: Борис Григорьевич Жайворонок) bass-baritone soloist. People's Artist of Russia and Honoured Artist of Ukraine (1972). In 1964 he graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of Arts. From 1965 he was soloist at the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet. He was with the Alexandrov Ensemble 1981–1998 and he recorded "The Enemies of the Burned Home" (music: M. Blanter; lyrics: M. Isakovsky), "My Moscow" (music: I.M. Dunaevsky; lyrics: S. Agranyan, M. Lisyansky), "Ogonek" (lyrics: M. Isakovsky), "It is time to Take the Road" (music: V.Solovev-Sedoy; lyrics: S. Fogelson), "Farewell, Rocky Mountains" (music: E. Zharkovsky; lyrics: A.N. Bukin), "Troika" and "Granada"
Other soloists.
Lev Leshchenko (born 1942): a soloist with the Ensemble from 1962. With the Alexandrov ensemble he performed "Den Pobedy" on Soviet TV (1976).
A.I. Mischenko (Russian: А.И. Мищенко) (from GABTa).