Grave of Arthur Arturovich Eisen October 2011

Artur Arturovich Eizen (russian: Артур Артурович Эйзен; 8 June 1927,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

– 26 February 2008, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian bass singer, actor and pedagogue.

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

(1976). He was born into a family of Latvian revolutionaries, and his family was also musical; his father was a violinist.Translated Japanese webpage: Arthur Eisen
/ref> After leaving school in 1944 he joined the Shchukin Theatre School at the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre. He studied with future stars, and his singing teacher had been famous in the past: N. Popovoy-Narutovich. He left college in 1948 and joined a youth literary reading group. On a performing tour in the

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

he sang, making their tour a hit. Back in Moscow he spent a year at

Gnessin State Musical College The Gnessin State Musical College (russian: link=no, Государственный музыкальный колледж имени Гнесиных) and Gnesins Russian Academy of Music (russian: Российская академия музык� ...

. He then attended

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

and in 1955, a year before graduating, he won the gold medal at the

World Festival of Youth and Students The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. History The festival has been held regularly since 1947 as an eve ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. While studying at the

he became a soloist for the

Alexandrov Ensemble The Alexandrov Ensemble ( rus, Ансамбль Александрова, r=Ansambl' Aleksandrova; commonly known as the Red Army Choir in the West) is an official army choir of the Russian armed forces. Founded during the Soviet era, the e ...

1949-1956. This involved lessons at the Conservatory, exams and rehearsals, performances and concert tours with the choir in the Soviet Union, foreign tours and mandatory daily rehearsals with an accompanist. He was also preparing for big solo performances at major concert halls in Moscow. He became well-known and often appeared on radio. Following this he gained fame on the international

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

circuit after a successful 1956 debut as Don Basilio in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

''. He was praised in the American, British and Japanese press. From 1956 to 1996, he was a soloist at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

, singing major roles. With the

he recorded: ''Elegy'', ''Oh No John'' (1956), ''Cold Waves Lapping'' (1956), ''Black Raven'' duet with N.A. Abramov (1956), four unknown solos (1956), ''

The Song of the Volga Boatmen The "Song of the Volga Boatmen" (known in Russian as Эй, ухнем! y, ukhnem!, "Yo, heave-ho!" after the refrain) is a well-known traditional Russian song collected by Mily Balakirev and published in his book of folk songs in 1866. It was ...

.''CD: EMI Classics: Red Army Ensemble, 0946-3-92030-2-4CD: EMI: Soviet Army Chorus & Band, CDC-7-47833-2 DIDX-1015kkre-48.narod.ru webpage: Biography of Arthur Eisen and songlist
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisen, Artur 1927 births 2008 deaths Soviet male opera singers 20th-century Russian male actors 20th-century Russian opera singers Singers from Moscow Alexandrov Ensemble Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Gnessin State Musical College alumni Moscow Conservatory alumni Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Operatic basses Russian basses Russian male film actors Russian people of Latvian descent Soviet male film actors Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery