Chaliapin, Feodor Ivanovich

Chaliapin, Feodor Ivanovich or Shaliapin, Feodor Ivanovich (1873-1938), Russian dramatic bass, born in Kazan. Practically self-taught, Chaliapin achieved fame in opera in 1896 at the Marinsky Theatre, St Petersburg. He became world famous for his roles in operas by Russian composers, including A Life for the Tzar by Mikhail Glinka, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin, Sadko by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, and especially Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky. He was noted for the way in which he blended a rich vocal tone with an outstanding dramatic talent.

Chaliapin first appeared at La Scala, Milan, in 1901, at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, in 1907, and at Covent Garden in 1913, when Sir Thomas Beecham brought him to London. Leaving Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution, he settled in France. His writings include Pages from My Life (1927) and Man and Mask: Forty Years in the Life of a Singer (1932).