Irina Arkhipova

Irina Konstantinovna Arkhipova (Ирина Константиновна Архипова) ("b." December 2 1925) is a Russian mezzo-soprano, and later contralto, opera singer.

She originally studied architecture but switched to voice and studied with Malisheva, graduating in 1953. That same year she won an international singing competition in Warsaw. She began studies with Savransky at the Moscow Conservatory and from 1954 to 1956 sang with the Sverdlovsk Opera where her roles included Marina in Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov", Eboli in Verdi's "Don Carlos", Charlotte in Massenet's "Werther" and Marfa in "Khovanshchina". Her first appearance at the Bolshoi Theater was in the title role of Bizet's "Carmen" in 1956 which became one of her most famous roles. The Bolshoi became her operatic home and she sang all of greatest roles there. At the Bolshoi she was especially noted for roles in Tchaikovsky's "The Queen of Spades", Prokofiev's "War and Peace", Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Tsar's Bride" and Tchaikovsky's "Mazeppa" as well as her earlier roles in Boris Godunov, Don Carlos and Khovanshchina. After 1960, she began to appear outside Russia and first won fame as Carmen in Naples. She sang Helene in "War and Peace" at La Scala in 1964 where in later seasons she sang Marina in "Boris Godunov" and Marfa in "Khovanshchina".

Her first American appearance was is a recital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with John Wustman as accompanist. Her sensational performance of Azucena in Verdi's "Il trovatore" at the Orange Festival in 1972 brought her even more international acclaim. Her San Francisco Opera debut came in 1972 as Amneris in Verdi's "Aida". In 1975, she made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, as Azucena and in 1988 she returned to London as Ulrica in Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera". Although she sang at the Metropolitan Opera House with the Bolshoi Theater several times, she did not sing with the Metropolitan Opera until 1997 when she sang Filipevna in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" at the age of seventy-two. She also appeared at the opera houses in Berlin, Paris, Hamburg, Lyon, Marseille, Belgrade and the Savonlinna Festival. She has directed several opera productions as she moved into semi-retirement. She is married to heldentenor Vladislav Piavko. In 1993, a voice competition was set up in her name.

Arkhipova's voice was a full, rich mezzo-soprano with great power and intensity. She did not lose quality as she moved between vocal registers and she understood what her vocal strengths were and did not try to move beyond her best repertoire. Her voice had some of the edge that was often found in Slavic voices but this helped give her voice an individuality which is sorely lacking in many singers today.

Her recorded legacy is vast but much of it has only been available in Russia. While her Marina in "Boris Godunov" was reissued by Melodiya, her Eboli in "Don Carlos", Joan in Tchaikovsky's "The Maid of Orleans", and Laura in Dargomizhsky's "The Stone Guest" are still unavailable. Almost none of her wonderful song recitals are currently available. In particular, the songs of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Mussorgsky bring out the best in her interpretive art. The LP disc with settings of poetry by Alexander Pushkin is very good.

External links

* [http://www.arhipova.org/ru/about/persons/arkhipova/ Official website]

Persondata
NAME=Arkhipova, Irina
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Irina Konstantinovna Arkhipova
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Russian opera singer
DATE OF BIRTH=December 2 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH=Moscow
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=