The outstanding Russian opera singer Sergey Lemeshev, whose biography is filled with work, fame, love, lived an interesting, eventful life. His path is the path of a purposeful person. Despite obstacles, he was able to develop his gift and reach heights. Lyric tenor Lemeshev is one of the best domestic singers of the 20th century.
Childhood and family
Lemeshev Sergey Yakovlevich, whose biography began in the most ordinary way, without foreshadowing anything outstanding, was born on June 27, 1902 (according to the old style) in the village of Old Knyazevo, Tver province. There was a legend in the family of a peasant, Yakov Lemeshev, that their surname came from the nickname of the ancestor, who found an iron share in the field, which at that time was a great success, and became very rich after that. But this did not affect the affluence of Sergei’s parents.
Jacob secretly married the girl Akulin and therefore was left without a parental blessing and without an inheritance. Jacob worked in the city for a long time to feed his family, but he died early when Sergey was only 10 years old. Akulina was left alone in her arms with the sons of the weather. Everyone in the family was very musical, had good voices, but singing was never seen in the village as a serious occupation.
From childhood, Sergey worked hard to help his mother, who worked as a breakdown in a manor house. From the age of 7, the boy began to go to school, and the teacher often praised him, advising his mother to send him to study in the city. When Sergei turned 12, she followed the advice and sent her son and her brother to Petrograd. There Lemeshev studied shoemaking and enthusiastically watched the life of the capital, he visited the circus, the theater, but his career as a shoemaker was prevented by the coup of the 17th year, after which the young man had to return to the Tver province.
Gaining a calling
An example of a man who stubbornly walked towards his vocation is Sergey Lemeshev. The biography for the children of this singer can be a telling example of the stubborn pursuit of his dream. He showed a craving for singing when he was little, he went to the forest for firewood, mushrooms and berries, and there he sang with pleasure. Lemesheva’s mother also had a good voice, with an unusual timbre; she often sang folk sad songs, which Sergei loved forever. Once, he and his brother, who also had a good voice, already as young men, grazed horses in the field and sang songs with might and main. An engineer Nikolai Kvashnin drove by, who approached them and said: "Yes, you are a tenor! Come to my wife to study." The elder brother Alexei did not take this venture seriously, and Sergei took advantage of the offer and began to comprehend the basics of vocals. Also at this time he begins to read a lot, get acquainted with world culture, thanks to the intelligent Kvashnins family.
Years of study
The first lessons were given to him with great difficulty. Lemeshev recalled that it was very difficult for him to give vocal technique, but he firmly decided to become a singer and worked hard. Later, while studying at a craft school, he studies musical notation, continues to learn voice control. When he was 17 years old, the future singer traveled on foot to Tver at 37 miles to sing on the stage of a local club, and the next day he went the same back. In 1920, he received a referral from the Komsomol to study at the conservatory. In 1921 he entered the Moscow Conservatory, in the class of the famous professor N. Paradise. In this educational institution at that time, many famous masters taught. The first lesson showed that Lemeshev had big problems with voice-over; he had very weak voice and breathing skills. Therefore, he had to study very hard. In his final year, he is simultaneously engaged in an opera studio at the Bolshoi Theater under the direction of K. Stanislavsky. It was there that he first performed Lensky’s aria from Eugene Onegin by P. Tchaikovsky. At the final exam from the conservatory, Lemeshev brilliantly plays the parts of Vodemon from Iolanta and Lensky from Eugene Onegin.
Professional way
In 1926, Lemeshev Sergey Yakovlevich, whose biography was now forever associated with opera, begins his professional career. Times were not easy, but the singer rushed with interest to a new life. He goes to serve in the Sverdlovsk Opera House, but worked there for only a year. After that, Lemeshev goes to Harbin, where he is the soloist of the Russian Opera at the Sino-Eastern Railway. In 1929, he again changed his place of residence, now he is the soloist of the Tiflis Opera. In these theaters Lemeshev gained experience, gained some fame.
The Bolshoi Theatre
In 1931, tenors were invited to test performances at the Bolshoi Theater. To listen, he chose the part of Berendey from Snegurochka and Gerald from Lakme. The performance of the first aria already decided his fate, the lyrical tenor and the endless artistic charm opened his way to the main theater of the country. Lemeshev Sergey Yakovlevich, whose biography for many years will be associated with the Bolshoi, is rapidly gaining popularity. He has formed a whole army of fans who relentlessly follow him everywhere, showered with flowers and declare their love. His vocal style was distinguished not only by the voice of an amazing timbre, but also by the deep content of the performance. He was a very soulful and charming singer, which ensured him such success. As a soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, Lemeshev worked for 25 years, he performed all parts written for his voice, and left a bright mark in the history of domestic opera.
Repertoire and famous parties
All the best tenor parts found their place in Lemeshev’s repertoire. He sang more than 30 operas, 23 outstanding performances with him for many years were in the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater. The most famous, his "company" party, was Lensky. In it, in its entirety, the inner content and artistry of the singer was revealed. In total, Lemeshev performed this part 501 times, and each time it was a dizzying success. Also, the fame of his talent was composed by such operas as “The Snow Maiden”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Bohemia”, “La Traviata”.
The outstanding tenor Sergey Lemeshev, whose biography is closely related to opera, also performed many folk songs and romances. His performance was distinguished by cordiality, which penetrated the listener's soul and conquered him forever.
Lemeshev and Kozlovsky
At the Bolshoi Theater, Lemeshev had a serious rival - Ivan Kozlovsky. Both were lyrical tenors, both had great fame and popularity, and, naturally, a rivalry arose between them, which was greatly fueled by the confrontation of the fan clubs of the singers. Fans constantly competed with each other, sometimes it even came to clashes. Both singers performed the same parts and sought to “re-sing” an opponent. This is especially noticeable in the performance of the Lensky party. Each of the singers turned out to have their own character: more mocking and harsh in Kozlovsky, more lyrical and soulful in Lemeshev. By the number and speed of receiving awards, Kozlovsky clearly overtook Lemeshev, but he managed to work much longer on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. Lemeshev Sergey Yakovlevich, whose photo often appeared in newspapers and magazines, had a greater number of fans due to the fact that his appearance was more attractive to women. In 1958, the great rival tenors took to the stage together on the anniversary of O. Chekhova-Knipper.
Director's work
In 1951, the opera director Sergei Lemeshev also appeared in the country; he made his debut with the production of La Traviata at the Leningrad Small Opera House. Already at the end of his vocal career on the stage of the Bolshoi, he staged the opera Werther by J. Massenet and performed the title part himself. The opera director Sergei Lemeshev, whose biography is still nevertheless connected with vocals, was distinguished by his special ability to “reveal” the beauty of the voice of soloists and his own special one. In Werther, he was able to demonstrate the uniqueness of his talent.
Life outside the Big
While still working as a soloist at the Bolshoi Theater, Lemeshev began to engage in directing and pedagogy. Since 1951, for ten years, he led the vocal group at the Moscow Conservatory, and headed the department of opera training.
In 1940, Lemeshev appeared before the audience in the cinema, he starred in the film "Musical History" in the role of a taxi driver Petya Govorkov. For several years he led music programs on All-Union Radio. In the early 60s, the singer took part in the creation of television versions of opera performances "Dubrovsky", "Demon", "Eugene Onegin".
In 1968, Lemeshev published an autobiographical book, The Way to Art, in which he talked about how difficult he was given fame and success. And of course, throughout his life he gave many concerts, performing not only the opera repertoire, but also pop songs of Soviet composers.
Awards
Sergey Yakovlevich received many awards in his life. At the age of 35 he became the Honored Artist of the RSFSR, at 48 - the People's Artist of the USSR. He was awarded the Stalin Prize for achievements in vocal art, had three Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Badge of Honor, and many medals, including for work in campaign teams in wartime. But he never received the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, unlike I. Kozlovsky, which he secretly regretted.
Memory
Opera singer Lemeshev Sergey has remained in Russian culture in many recordings, and videos of his performances, which are watched by students of conservatories and opera lovers, have also been preserved. Unfortunately, the country reveres little of the memory of its national heritage. So, in honor of Lemeshev, only a music school is named in one of the districts of Moscow.
Personal life
Lemeshev Sergey, whose personal life became a real legend, very early showed his magical effect on the female sex. At the age of 15 he met Grushenka, whom he wanted to marry. A year later, the daughter of his first benefactors Kvashnins passionately fell in love with himself. Galina Kvashnina was ready to secretly marry Sergey, but her father categorically forbade them to see each other. But the whole subsequent life, she loved the singer, dedicated poetry to him.
Lemeshev Sergey, whose personal life was extremely stormy, was officially married five times. The singer’s first wife was Natalia Sokolova, the daughter of conservative professor Lemeshev, but the relationship quickly broke up.
The second wife Alisa Korneva-Bagrin-Kamenskaya was several years older than the singer, he was very educated and taught a young man from the province secular manners, developed his aesthetic taste. But this marriage did not last long, unable to withstand many cheating tenor, Alice left him.
The singer’s third wife was actress Lyubov Vazer, but once she returned from the tour, she found Lemesheva with a new lady - and this was the end of the marriage.
The fourth wife of the tenor was his stage partner, opera singer Irina Maslennikova. From this marriage, Lemeshev had a daughter, Maria, who also became a singer.
Only the fifth marriage of Lemeshev became long. With Vera Nikolaevna Kudryavtseva, an outstanding opera singer, they lived happily 25 years, and after the death of the tenor, she did a lot to preserve and popularize his creative heritage.
The singer died on June 26, 1977, is buried in the Novodevichy cemetery.
Interesting Facts
Lemeshev Sergey, whose life facts are striking in the scope of his creative talent, is known not only as an opera performer, he performed all hundred of P. Tchaikovsky’s romances, of which five vocal programs of the singer were formed.
Fans of the tenor became the reason for the emergence of a new word in the musical sphere, they were called "cheeses." The origin of the word is due to the fact that the fans who were guarding the singer near his house ran to bask in the Cheese shop. Subsequently, this word began to mean all fans of opera singers.
In 1978, an asteroid appeared with the name "4561 Lemeshev Sergey." Interesting facts from the singer’s life are often associated with his pathological concern for his health. He categorically did not want to go outside in the rain, afraid of catching a cold. He also never sang in the halls where the cleaners had just washed the floor, believing that the humidity would be bad for his voice.