Among the hundred of thousand of Russian who did not see a place for themselves in Russia following the Revolution there were people of a wide variety upbringings and social origins: generals and enlisted men, royalty and peasants, writers, academics, artists, journalists and politicians. And among them were also opera singers who did not what to remain under the Bolshevik regime, including those who had already managed to make a name for themselves: Kuznetsova, Ermolenko-Yuzhina, Lipovskaya, Koshits, Sadoven, Davidova, Yakovleva, Mozhukhin and Sibiryakov, among others. In 1921 they were joined by Fedor Shalyapin, who went on tour in the West and never again returned to Russia. In 1927 he was stripped of his Soviet citizenship and People’s Artist award.
On the one hand, opera singers did not have such a hard lot compared to actors, writer and journalists. Their arias sounded no different in Paris than in Moscow. Most of the operas showing in Europe had also been commonly staged in Moscow and St. Petersburg theaters. So, having learned the basics of a language, it wasn’t so difficult for those with a good ear for music to continue their careers in Europe or America.
However, some opera stars did not just wanted to sing, they wanted to sing in Russia – they wanted to sing the operas of Musorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Dargomyzhsky and Borodin, among others. And here they encountered serious problems.
In the early 20th century, the West had already gained a little familiarity with Russian opera thanks to Diagilev and his Russian Seasons. Some European singers had even dabbled in the works of Russian composers. However, the public as a whole and musicians themselves did not have a good grasp of Russian opera. It was not that the language barrier was a problem, as back then opera was traditionally sung in translation. Simply the works of Musorgsky or Rimsky-Korsakov differed too much from the usual Western repertoire. Attempts to stage Russian operas often resulted in something quite far from the composer’s vision.
And this problem persists to this day. Even the best Western singers and conductors are not always capable of handling Russian works. When the legendary bass Samuel Ramey, whose talent is without question, tried to sing the role of Boris Godunov, the audiences saw something similar to a Roman senator or Venetian doge rather than a Russian tsar.
Sometimes the presence of Russian artists in the opera is not enough. For example, Claudio Abbado’s decision to stage Khovanshchina produced a strange result, despite the fact that stars from Russia – Atlantov, Burchuladze and Kocherga – played some of the leading roles and the lead role was played Bulgarian Nicolai Ghiaurov (who had no difficulty understanding the text). But of course there are examples of the opposite as well, such as when Ghiaurov spectacularly performed in the British staging of Evgeny Onegin.
Thus it is no surprise that the idea of creating a Russian troupe came up quite often in emigrant circles, a troupe that would focus on a Russian repertoire. And in the period between the wars, several such attempts were made. The most successful of these was connected with Prince Alexei Tsereteli – a well-known opera entrepreneur, who prior to the Revolution had worked successfully with the top artists of the Russian Empire, including Shalyapin (for whom Tsereteli organized his first tour of America).
Tsereteli left Russian in 1917. By 1921 he had already managed to create a Russian opera-ballet troupe that performed in Barcelona. The initiative was a success and over the course of several seasons the troupe enthralled Spanish audiences.
The Tsereteli’s debut in Paris took place in 1926, when he received an offer to stage The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh (Rimsky-Korsakov). The opera was staged at the Grande Opera and was a smashing success, much like the Diagilev Seasons.
However, the most significant step was taken in 1929, when the renowned opera singer Maria Kuznetsova decided together with her millionaire husband Alfred Massenet (nephew of the famous composer Jules Massenet) to create in Paris a “Russian Opera”. Tsereteli was quick to join this project and become its main driving force. Thanks to his efforts, a number of the leading singer-
