Osip Afanasyevich Petrov |

Osip Petrov

“This artist may be one of the creators of Russian opera. Only thanks to such singers as he, our opera could take a high place with dignity to withstand the competition with the Italian opera.” This is how V.V. Stasov is the place of Osip Afanasyevich Petrov in the development of national art. Yes, this singer had a truly historic mission – he became at the origins of the national musical theater, together with Glinka laid its foundation.

At the historical premiere of Ivan Susanin in 1836, Osip Petrov performed the main part, which he prepared under the guidance of Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka himself. And since then, the outstanding artist has reigned supreme on the national opera stage.

The place of Petrov in the history of Russian opera was defined by the great Russian composer Mussorgsky as follows: “Petrov is a titan who carried on his Homeric shoulders almost everything that was created in dramatic music – to start from the 30s … How much was bequeathed, how much unforgettable and deep artistic taught by dear grandfather.

Osip Afanasyevich Petrov was born on November 15, 1807 in the city of Elisavetgrad. Ionka (as he was called then) Petrov grew up as a street boy, without a father. Mother, a bazaar tradeswoman, earned pennies by hard work. At the age of seven, Ionka entered the church choir, where his sonorous, very beautiful treble clearly stood out, which eventually turned into a powerful bass.

At the age of fourteen, a change happened in the boy’s fate: his mother’s brother took Ionka to him in order to accustom him to business. Konstantin Savvich Petrov was heavy on hand; the boy had to pay for his uncle’s bread by hard work, often even at night. In addition, my uncle looked at his musical hobbies as something unnecessary, pampering. The case helped: the regimental bandmaster settled down in the house. Drawing attention to the boy’s musical abilities, he became his first mentor.

Konstantin Savvich categorically forbade these classes; he severely beat his nephew when he caught him practicing the instrument. But the stubborn Ionka did not give up.

Soon my uncle left for two years on business, leaving behind his nephew. Osip was distinguished by spiritual kindness – a clear obstacle to trading. Konstantin Savvich managed to return in time, not allowing the unlucky merchant to completely ruin himself, and Osip was expelled from both the “case” and the house.

“The scandal with my uncle broke out just at the time when Zhurakhovsky’s troupe was touring in Elisavetgrad,” writes M.L. Lvov. – According to one version, Zhurakhovsky accidentally heard how skillfully Petrov played the guitar, and invited him to the troupe. Another version says that Petrov, through someone’s patronage, got on stage as an extra. The keen eye of an experienced entrepreneur discerned Petrov’s innate stage presence, who immediately felt at ease on the stage. After that, Petrov seemed to remain in the troupe.

In 1826, Petrov made his debut on the Elisavetgrad stage in A. Shakhovsky’s play “The Cossack Poet”. He spoke the text in it and sang verses. The success was great not only because he played “his own Ionka” on the stage, but mainly because Petrov “was born on the stage.”

Until 1830, the provincial stage of Petrov’s creative activity continued. He performed in Nikolaev, Kharkov, Odessa, Kursk, Poltava and other cities. The talent of the young singer attracted more and more attention of listeners and specialists.

In the summer of 1830 in Kursk, M.S. drew the attention of Petrov. Lebedev, director of the St. Petersburg Opera. The advantages of the young artist are undeniable – voice, acting, spectacular appearance. So, ahead of the capital. “On the way,” Petrov said, “we stopped for a few days in Moscow, found M.S. Shchepkin, with whom I already know … He praised the determination for a difficult feat and at the same time encouraged me, saying that he noticed in me a great ability to be an artist. How happy I was to hear these words from such a great artist! They gave me so much vigor and strength that I did not know how to express my gratitude to him for his kindness to an unknown visiting person. In addition, he took me to the Bolshoi Theatre, to Madame Sontag’s envelope. I was completely delighted with her singing; until then I had never heard anything like it and did not even understand to what perfection the human voice can reach.

In St. Petersburg, Petrov continued to improve his talent. He began in the capital with the part of Sarastro in Mozart’s Magic Flute, and this debut evoked a favorable response. In the newspaper “Northern Bee” one can read: “This time, in the opera The Magic Flute, Mr. Petrov, a young artist, appeared for the first time on our stage, promising us a good singer-actor.”

“So, a singer from the people, Petrov, came to the young Russian opera house and enriched it with the treasures of folk singing,” writes M.L. Lvov. – At that time, such high sounds were required from an opera singer, which were inaccessible to the voice without special training. The difficulty lay in the fact that the formation of high sounds required a new technique, different from that in the formation of sounds familiar to a given voice. Naturally, Petrov could not master this complex technique in two months, and the critic was right when he noted in his singing at the debut “a sharp transition of it into the upper notes.” It was the skill of smoothing this transition and mastering very high sounds that Petrov persistently studied with Kavos in subsequent years.

This was followed by magnificent interpretations of large bass parts in operas by Rossini, Megul, Bellini, Aubert, Weber, Meyerbeer and other composers.

“In general, my service was very happy,” Petrov wrote, “but I had to work a lot, because I played in both drama and opera, and no matter what opera they gave, I was busy everywhere … Although I was happy with my success in his chosen field, but rarely was he satisfied with himself after the performance. Sometimes, I suffered from the slightest failure on stage and spent sleepless nights, and the next day you would come to a rehearsal – it was so ashamed to look at Kavos. My lifestyle was very modest. I had few acquaintances … For the most part, I sat at home, sang scales every day, learned roles and went to the theater.

Petrov continued to be a first-class performer of the Western European operatic repertoire. Characteristically, he regularly took part in performances of the Italian opera. Together with his foreign colleagues, he sang in the operas of Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti, and here he discovered his widest artistic possibilities, acting skills, sense of style.

His accomplishments in the foreign repertoire caused sincere admiration of his contemporaries. It is worth quoting lines from Lazhechnikov’s novel The Basurman, which refers to Meyerbeer’s opera: “Do you remember Petrov in Robert the Devil? And how not to remember! I’ve only seen him in this role once, and to this day, when I think about him, sounds haunt me, like calls from hell: “Yes, patron.” And this look, from the charm of which your soul does not have the strength to free itself, and this saffron face, distorted by the frenzy of passions. And this forest of hair, from which, it seems, a whole nest of snakes is ready to crawl out … “

And here is what A.N. Serov: “Admire the soul with which Petrov performs his arioso in the first act, in the scene with Robert. The good feeling of paternal love is at odds with the character of the infernal native, therefore, to give naturalness to this outpouring of the heart, without leaving the role, is a difficult matter. Petrov completely overcome this difficulty here and in his entire role.

Serov especially noted in the game of the Russian actor that which favorably distinguished Petrov from other outstanding performers of this role – the ability to find humanity in the soul of the villain and emphasize the destructive power of evil with it. Serov claimed that Petrov in the role of Bertram surpassed Ferzing, and Tamburini, and Formez, and Levasseur.

The composer Glinka closely followed the singer’s creative successes. He was impressed by Petrov’s voice rich in sound nuances, which combined the power of a thick bass with the mobility of a light baritone. “This voice resembled the low-lying sound of a huge silver-cast bell,” writes Lvov. “On high notes, it sparkled like lightning sparkles in the thick darkness of the night sky.” Keeping in mind the creative possibilities of Petrov, Glinka wrote his Susanin.

November 27, 1836 is a significant date for the premiere of Glinka’s opera A Life for the Tsar. That was Petrov’s finest hour – he brilliantly revealed the character of the Russian patriot.

Here are just two reviews from enthusiastic critics:

“In the role of Susanin, Petrov rose to the full height of his enormous talent. He created an age-old type, and every sound, every word of Petrov in the role of Susanin will pass into distant offspring.

“Dramatic, deep, sincere feeling, capable of reaching amazing pathos, simplicity and truthfulness, ardor – this is what immediately put Petrov and Vorobyova in first place among our performers and made the Russian public go in crowds to the performances of” Life for the Tsar “”.

In total, Petrov sang the part of Susanin two hundred and ninety-three times! This role opened a new, most significant stage in his biography. The path was paved by great composers – Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky. Like the authors themselves, both tragic and comic roles were equally subject to him. Its peaks, following Susanin, are Farlaf in Ruslan and Lyudmila, Melnik in Rusalka, Leporello in The Stone Guest, Varlaam in Boris Godunov.

Composer C. Cui wrote about the performance of the part of Farlaf: “What can I say about Mr. Petrov? How to express all the tribute of surprise to his extraordinary talent? How to convey all the subtlety and typicality of the game; fidelity of expression to the smallest shades: highly intelligent singing? Let’s just say that of the many roles so talented and original created by Petrov, the role of Farlaf is one of the best.

and V.V. Stasov rightly considered Petrov’s performance of the role of Farlaf as a model by which all performers of this role should be equal.

On May 4, 1856, Petrov first played the role of Melnik in Dargomyzhsky’s Rusalka. Criticism regarded his game as follows: “We can safely say that by creating this role, Mr. Petrov has undoubtedly acquired a special right to the title of artist. His facial expressions, skillful recitation, unusually clear pronunciation … his mimic art is brought to such a degree of perfection that in the third act, at his mere appearance, without hearing a single word yet, by the expression of his face, by the convulsive movement of his hands, it is clear that the unfortunate Miller gone crazy.”

Twelve years later, one can read the following review: “The role of Melnik is one of the three incomparable types created by Petrov in three Russian operas, and it is unlikely that his artistic creativity did not reach the highest limits in Melnik. In all the various positions of Melnik, in which he reveals greed, servility to the Prince, joy at the sight of money, despair, insanity, Petrov is equally great.

To this it must be added that the great singer was also a unique master of chamber vocal performance. Contemporaries left us a lot of evidence of Petrov’s surprisingly penetrating interpretation of the romances of Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky. Along with the brilliant creators of music, Osip Afanasyevich can be safely called the founder of Russian vocal art both on the opera stage and on the concert stage.

The artist’s last and extraordinary rise in intensity and brilliance dates back to the 70s, when Petrov created a number of vocal and stage masterpieces; among them are Leporello (“The Stone Guest”), Ivan the Terrible (“The Maid of Pskov”), Varlaam (“Boris Godunov”) and others.

Until the end of his days, Petrov did not part with the stage. In the figurative expression of Mussorgsky, he “on his deathbed, he bypassed his roles.”

The singer died on March 12, 1878.

References: Glinka M., Notes, “Russian antiquity”, 1870, vol. 1-2, M. I. Glinka. Literary heritage, vol. 1, M.-L., 1952; Stasov V.V., O.A. Petrov, in the book: Russian modern figures, vol. 2, St. Petersburg, 1877, p. 79-92, the same, in his book: Articles about music, vol. 2, M., 1976; Lvov M., O. Petrov, M.-L., 1946; Lastochkina E., Osip Petrov, M.-L., 1950; Gozenpud A., Musical theater in Russia. From the origins to Glinka. Essay, L., 1959; his own, the Russian Opera Theater of the 1th century, (vol. 1836) – 1856-2, (vol. 1857) – 1872-3, (vol. 1873) – 1889-1969, L., 73-1; Livanova T.N., Opera criticism in Russia, vol. 1, no. 2-2, vol. 3, no. 4-1966, M., 73-1 (Issue XNUMX jointly with V. V. Protopopov).