Part II - Your Favorites: ODA SLOBODSKAYA

THIS PART IS FOR YOUR FAVORITES!
Russian soprano Oda Slobodskaya? Please give your sentiments!

Oda Slobodskaya, Soprano (1895, other sources 1888-1970)

Sergei Rachmaninow - To the children
With Ivor Newton, piano
(Recorded around 1940)

My personal opinion: In the mid-1970s, John Steane wrote in "The grand tradition", that Oda Slobodskaya was the last russian singer with a consistent voice. Nice, but trivial words about an artist that never came into focus of the masses. I didn´t know her before, and it seems, today she is a cult-legend, highly valued for her recordings of russian music.
She gave her debut in 1916 (some say 1917) in "Pique Dame" at the Mariinsky Theatre and soon after she sang leading roles; of course Tatjana in "Eugen Onegin" but also Sieglinde (!) and Marguerite. In 1922 she came to Paris, one year after she escapted to Berlin. In Paris she performed Stravinsky´s "Mavra" - and she hated it, but "this opportunity was not to turned down", after that she hoofs in Vaudevilles. She came back to opera in 1931 - with Chaliapin in The Lyceum London (Elisabeth in Verdi´s "Don Carlo") and performed many russian operas with Sir Thomas Beecham. She made England her home and after her marriage she came to Covent Garden to sing Wagner again. She was singing at La Scala as well as touring South America. At the end of the 1930s, her vocal decline began - before (!) she made her first recordings for HMV. During the war, entertainment work returned and in the 1950s she had a "comeback" when she recorded two longplayers. "At this time she had virtually retrained her voice from lyric soprano to a (dramatic) character-mezzo. The records were superb and were claimed as such. This prompted Decca to wake up to the fact that they had several unissued Slobodskaya recordings from 1939 - 1945. They were released in 1961. A fine set of Polish songs and a LP of classical Russian art and folk songs followed. After a painful illness, Oda Slobodskaya died in 1970." (Source from Cantabile-Subito). A critic wrote, in her last renditions we can hear a rough and fissured voice, but she´s still fascinating with her magnetic expressiveness.

THE COMPLETE OVERVIEW: GO TO ALL SINGERS IN THIS LIST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBsScnQWVlU

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Oda
• Slobodskaya
• Tchaikovsky
• Rachmaninow
• Ivor
• Newton
• Eugen
• Onegin
• Pique
• Dame

[A7sogno]

Chaliapin chose her for her expression and beauty. If this lovely warm and gorgeous sound wasn't as you fantasize a front ranking voice, shame on those that sang in front of her.

She is formidable and is remembered long after the supposed front runners are dust and forgotten.

[paulostroff99]

shawDAMAN-Entirely my pleasure. I love promoting Oda,who was unquestionably the best Tatiana in the opera Eugene Onegin. You will love it and feel that she owns that aria. Enjoy.

[JMichael753]

I had the unbelievable pleasure and treasure of meeting her and hearing her sing

in 1963! Russian Folk tunes and Tatiana. Aged.....75. She was INCREDIBLE.

[dabiscaglia]

She is magnificent! What Muzio was to the Italians, Oda Slobodskaya was to the Russians. Sublime!

[CharlotteinWeimar]

Anatole Fistoulari - She had wonderful diction & was a hard worker who got the full meaning from every syllable she sang. She had a wonderful voice. I shall never forget some of her lunchtime concerts at the National Gallery, they were perfect.

[CharlotteinWeimar]

Brava Oda. Fabulous singer, penetrating interpreter and marvellous teacher.

A lesson with her on Tatiana's Letter Scene took one on a magical voyage back to the Imperial Russia of Pushkin's time as she relived Tatiana's plight. Interestingly she had great sympathy for Onegin saying that "he gave her wonderful advice".

Thank you so much Mike for your invaluable project which ensures that these very, very great singers will always be remembered.

[ShawDAMAN]

thanks for the info =)

[paulostroff99]

Gorgeous, as was most of what she did. Brava!

[paulostroff99]

shawDAMAN-Oda was one of the finest singers of all time. IMHO the finest female opera singer ever to have come from Russia. Listen to her awesome Tchaikovsky Tatiana's letter scene part 2 (especially) from Eugene Onegin. Nobody else comes even close. Enjoy!

[ShawDAMAN]

Interesting. Never heard of her before but I sure won't forget that name! "Oda Slobodskaya." wow. =P