Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya (russian: links=no, Галина Павловна Вишневская, Ivanova, Иванова; 25 October 192611 December 2012) was a Russian
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...
opera singer and recitalist who was named a
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 significa ...
in 1966. She was the wife of cellist
Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well ...
, and mother to their two daughters, Olga and
Elena Rostropovich.
Biography
Vishnevskaya was born in Leningrad (now
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
). She made her professional stage debut in 1944 singing
operetta
Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its ...
. After a year studying with Vera Nikolayevna Garina, she won a competition held by 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 ...
in Moscow (with
Rachmaninoff's song "O, Do Not Grieve" and
Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the ...
's aria "O patria mia" from ''
Aida'') in 1952. The next year, she became a member of the Bolshoi Theatre.
On 24 March 1957, she made her debut in
Finnish National Opera as Tatyana in
Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...
. On 9 May 1960, she made her first appearance in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...
at the National Theatre, as Aida. In 1961, she made her
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...
debut as Aida; the following year she made her debut at the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...
with the same role.
For her
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
debut in 1964, she sang Liù in ''
Turandot'', opposite
Birgit Nilsson
Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide répertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner ...
and
Franco Corelli
Franco Corelli (8 April 1921 – 29 October 2003) was an Italian tenor who had a major international opera career between 1951 and 1976. Associated in particular with the spinto and dramatic tenor roles of the Italian repertory, he was cel ...
.
In addition to the roles in the Russian operatic repertoire, Vishnevskaya also sang roles such as
Violetta,
Tosca
''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dramati ...
,
Cio-cio-san,
Leonore, and
Cherubino.
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
wrote the soprano role in his
War Requiem (completed 1962) specially for her, though the USSR prevented her from traveling to Coventry Cathedral for the premiere performance. The USSR eventually allowed her to leave in order to make the first recording of the Requiem.
Vishnevskaya was married to the cellist
Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well ...
from 1955 until his death in 2007; they performed together regularly (he on
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
or on the
podium
A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be use ...
). Both she and Rostropovich were friends of
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...
, and they made an electrifying recording of his opera ''
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'' for
EMI.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repr ...
, a friend and an ally in various causes, lived at their dacha for about three years from 1968,
[Robert Conquest, Solzhenitsyn Was a Russian Patriot]
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
(8 August 2008) at a time when he was closely watched by the KGB and had become an official non-person; the home of the two acclaimed musicians offered safety and freedom from the risk of being spied on at home.
In 1974, the couple asked the Soviet government for an extended leave and left the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. Eventually they settled in the United States and Paris. In 1982, the soprano bade farewell to the opera stage, in Paris, as Tatyana in
Tchaikovsky's ''
Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...
''. In 1987, she stage directed
Rimsky-Korsakov's ''
The Tsar's Bride
''The Tsar's Bride'' (russian: Царская невеста, translit=Tsarskaja nevesta) is an historical verse drama in four acts by Lev Mei from 1849.Golub (1998, 951). Fifty years later Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov used the play as the basis for hi ...
'' in Washington, D.C. In 1984, Vishnevskaya published a memoir, ''Galina: A Russian Story'' (), and in 2002, she opened her own opera theatre in Moscow, the "Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre".
In 2006, she was featured in
Alexander Sokurov
Alexander Nikolayevich Sokurov, PAR (russian: link=no, Александр Николаевич Сокуров; born 14 June 1951) is a Russian filmmaker. His most significant works include a feature film, ''Russian Ark'' (2002), filmed in a s ...
's documentary ''Elegy of a life: Rostropovich, Vishnevskaya''. In 2007, she starred in his film ''
Alexandra
Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "p ...
'', playing the role of a grandmother coming to see her grandson in the
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from August 1999 ...
. The film premiered at the
2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Galina Vishnevskaya, Now 80, Finds New Success as Film Actress
PLAYBILL''Arts'' (31 May 2007) In the last week of her life, Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
honoured her with the First Class Order of Merit for the Fatherland.
On 11 December 2012, Vishnevskaya died at the age of 86 in Moscow. She was married three times. Her first marriage was to Georgy Vishnevsky, a sailor. She retained his family name after their divorce. Her second marriage was to the violinist and director of the Leningrad Light Opera company, Mark Rubin, who also served as her manager. This second marriage produced a son, who died at age 2 months, and lasted 10 years before ending in divorce. Her daughters survive her.
Recordings
Vishnevskaya made many recordings, including ''Eugene Onegin'' (1956 and 1970), Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
's '' Songs and Dances of Death'' (1961 and 1976), Britten's '' War Requiem'' (with Sir Peter Pears and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, conducted by the composer; 1963), '' The Poet's Echo'' (1968), Mussorgsky's ''Boris Godunov
Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...
'' (1970 and 1987), Puccini's ''Tosca
''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dramati ...
'' (1976), Tchaikovsky's '' The Queen of Spades'' (with Regina Resnik
Regina Resnik (born Regina Resnick, August 30, 1922 – August 8, 2013) was an American opera singer who had an active international career that spanned five decades. She began her career as a soprano in 1942 and soon after began a lengthy and ...
, 1976), '' Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'' (1978), Tchaikovsky's ''Iolanta
''Iolanta'', Op. 69, (russian: Иоланта, links=no ) is a lyric opera in one act by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. It was the last opera he composed. The libretto was written by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, and is based on the Danish play ...
'' (with Nicolai Gedda, 1984), and Prokofiev's ''War and Peace
''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...
'' (1986).
Honours and awards
* Order of Merit for the Fatherland;
**1st class (1 December 2012)
**2nd class (18 October 2006) - for outstanding contribution to music and many years of fruitful creative activity
**3rd class (25 October 1996) - for great personal contribution to the development of musical art
**4th class (18 October 2011) - for outstanding contribution to the development of national musical culture, and many years of teaching and educational activities
*Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...
(1973)
* Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" (1943)
* Honoured Artist of the RSFSR (1955)
* People's Artist of the RSFSR
*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 significa ...
(1966)
*Diamond Medal of the City of Paris (1977)
*Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters (France, 1982)
*Commander of the Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...
(France, 1983)
*Doctor of Arts honoris causa
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
, Rivier College (Nashua, New Hampshire
Nashua is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester. Along with Manchester, it is a seat of New Hampshire's most populous ...
, USA)
*Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music, Hamilton College
Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
*Doctor of Music, St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,400 undergraduate and 100 graduate students.
Though St. Lawrence today is non-denominational, it was founde ...
(Canton, NY, USA)
*Honorary Citizen of Kronstadt
Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...
(1996)
*Tsarskoye Selo Art Prize (2000)
*Honorary Professor of Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
(21 November 2007)
* Order of St Princess Olga Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
* Order of St. Euphrosyne, Grand Duchess of Moscow, 2nd class (2011) - in consideration of assistance to the Russian Orthodox Church and in connection with her 85th birthday
* Order of Peter the Great (Police Academy)
*Best Actress (Russian Guild of Film Critics
The Russian Guild of Film Critics (russian: Гильдия киноведов и кинокритиков России) is a Russian organization of professional film critics, headquartered in Moscow. Beginning in 1998, the guild began conferri ...
, 2007) - for version of "White Elephant"
*Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (25 October 2001) - for outstanding contribution to the development of musical art and active charity work
References
External links
The Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich Foundation homepage
*
Soldiers of Music (1991 documentary)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vishnevskaya, Galina
1926 births
2012 deaths
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Russian operatic sopranos
People's Artists of Russia
People's Artists of the USSR
Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur
Singers from Saint Petersburg
Honored Artists of the RSFSR
Soviet emigrants to the United States
Soviet women opera singers
Full Cavaliers of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
20th-century Russian women opera singers