Zurab Andjaparidze
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Zurab Anjaparidze ( ka, ზურაბ ანჯაფარიძე; born April 12, 1928 – April 12, 1997) was a Soviet and
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
tenor.
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 ...
(1966).


Biography

A native of
Kutaisi Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...
and a graduate of the
Tbilisi State Conservatoire Tbilisi State Conservatoire ( ka, თბილისის სახელმწიფო კონსერვატორია, ''Tbilisis Saxelmc̣ipo Ḳonservaṭoria'') is the State Conservatoire of Georgia, located in the capital Tbilisi. ...
(where he was taught by David Andguladze, a renowned vocal pedagogue and a one-time leading tenor of the Tbilisi Opera), Andjaparidze came to conquer the Soviet capital with a star-caliber professional potential: besides a magnificent voice, charisma and solid vocal training, he also had the stage record of seven seasons at the
Tiflis Imperial Theater The Georgian National Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi ( ka, თბილისის ოპერისა და ბალეტის სახელმწიფო აკადემიური თეატრი), formerly known as the ...
, where he performed a series of lead tenor roles. This was truly an impressive foundation since the Tbilisi Opera was recognized as one of the Soviet Union's top five theaters, with celebrated masters gracing its stage. Arriving at the Bolshoi in 1959, Andjaparidze remained the theater's number one tenor until his departure in 1970. His exceptionally beautiful voice, striking stage presence, and fiery temperament all immediately propelled Andjaparidze through the top ranks and made him into the sole and inimitable master of the tenor domain. Bolshoi directors eagerly assigned him to the key repertoire productions that would make vocalists' dreams - Carmen, Aida, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Boris Godunov, Iolanthe. He also sang the lead roles in the most significant theater premiers of the time, ones like Faust, Don Carlo and The Queen of Spades. His constant partners on the Moscow stage included such great Russian opera singers as Irina Arkhipova, Galina Vishnevskaya,
Tamara Milashkina Tamara Andreyevna Milashkina (born 13 September 1934) is a Russian lyric and dramatic soprano. Born in Astrakhan, she studied with , and became a member of the Bolshoi Opera in 1958, where she remained one of the leading sopranos until 1989. Th ...
, Pavel Lisitsian and Ivan Petrov, among others. According to many contemporaries, he reached the height of his Italian repertoire when performing Radames in Verdi's '' Aida'' - never before or after Andjaparidze had anyone seen such a brilliant Radames on the Moscow opera scene. Andjaparidze's most lasting work during his Moscow period, one that won him international acclaim, came in the role of Hermann in Tchaikovsky's ''The Queen of Spades''. A Bolshoi tour performance of this opera at the La Scala in 1964, left one Italian newspaper to remark: "Zurab Andjaparidze was a revelation for the Milanese public. This singer has a strong, sonorous and even voice that concedes nothing to the most revered singers of the Italian opera stage." Back in Georgia, Andjaparidze performed a multifaceted repertoire at the Tbilisi State Opera that included a large variety of Georgian operas - Abesalom and Eteri, Daisi, and Latavra by Paliashvili, Taktakishvili's Mindia, Lagidze's Lela, and other works. He also created memorable characters of Otello and Canio that still resonate on the Tbilisi Theater stage to this day. The tenor once even served as the theater's director, although according to his daughter, renowned pianist
Eteri Andjaparidze Eteri Andjaparidze (born September 15, 1956) is a Georgian / American pianist and music professor. Early life Born on September 15, 1956, to a family of musicians in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, Andjaparidze received her first piano lessons fr ...
, his heart was never really into this work. "He was never too drawn to administrative assignments," she says. "After all, all his subordinates were also his friends, and he never felt comfortable 'directing' his friends." Andjaparidze also did some teaching, first as Professor at the Tbilisi Conservatory and then as Head of the Musical Theater Department at the Tbilisi Theater Institute. The memory of the "Soviet Franco Corelli" (as he was once dubbed by the Italian press) today lives on in the memories of his colleagues, enthusiastic admirers of his great talent, and - perhaps few in number but remarkable in artistic value - recordings of Russian, Italian and Georgian operas.Tenore Zurab Andjaparidze
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External links


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andjaparidze, Zurab 1928 births 1997 deaths Soviet male opera singers 20th-century male opera singers from Georgia (country) People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour