Zara Dolukhanova 1918-2007
The legendary mezzo-soprano of the Russian Soviet period, Zara Dolukhanova, died last week at the age of 89. Though she excelled in brilliant Rossini roles in the opera house, her greatest success was as a recitalist. Dolukhanova's broad repertoire included music from arie antiche to Prokofiev and Stravinsky; unusually for Soviet-era singers, she often included Lieder by German composers such as Schumann and Wolf in her programs. She was one of the first major Soviet stars to appear in the United States, making her debut at Carnegie Hall in 1959. In the later years of her career, she made a successful transition to the soprano range; however, she is best remembered for the warmth and elegance of her mezzo-soprano in a series of studio recordings
made in the 1950s.Zara Dolukhanova sings "Oh! quand je dors."
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9:38 PM
14 Comments:
she sounds "Russian" before the iron curtian was lifted...in other words, good voice and NO TECHNIQUE
One of my favorite voices of all time. Sharon, couldn't you at least allow the woman a brief moment of reverie before criticizing her?
Sharon, that is *very* foolish.
Go listen to ZD's 1954` live recital, of a difficulty on a par with Steber's 1958 Carnegie show, and see what you say then. She had plenty of technique. Great dynamic control, for one thing, much more precise coloratura than most on her era and spectacular Russian diction.
Nor was Zara Dolukhanova Russian- she was Armenian, like her brother-in-law and fellow great technician Pavel Lisitsian.
I am not sure she actually sang any Rossini role in the opera house- my understanding was that after 2-3 years of the initial Siebels and such, she was a concert and radio singer.
But she certainly recorded CENERENTOLA and did a concert or broadcast of SEMIRAMDE.
No Technique? This is not true.
Try to listen to her Rossini recordings : Cenerentola (where she sing even a cabaletta from La donna del lago - Oh quante lagrime), Italiana in Algeri, Semiramide. When you have no technique you can't sing like Dolukhanova, that was a true Belcanto singer.
She had an outstanding technique! There were often issues in the top of the register where it lacked warmth and vibrato and often was shallow - but she was always on pitch, and despite her tendency to sustain high notes for eternities and sing what would be considered now stylistically incorrect cadenzas at the end of each Rossini aria - one cannot ignore the fact that this woman was a master of her art!! I happen to love her for all these idiosyncracies (I will not call them faults because I do not think they are necessarily bad).
I have quite a few of her recordings and I must say that one of the most impressive things that she has done is her interpolation of a High C at the end of "O don fatale" - it works and I often wish really good mezzo's with great acuti would interpolate it once in a while.
She is also one of the most expressive Eastern-European artists I have come across.
Brava Zara! Thank you so much for all of your wonderful inspiritations - as a complete artist, and certainly as a revolutionary in a Rossini renaissance! RIP
One of Dolukhanova's frequent collaborators, Nina Svetlanova (now a prominent piano teacher in New York), has lovingly maintained a website about her colleague for many years:
http://www.ninasvetlanova.com/Doloukhanova/ZaraDoloukhanova.html
SHARON doesn't know what the hell "she's" talking about - this example alone shows fantastic technical ability.
Thanks for this Cieca - I didn't know of this woman's singing, and now I'll search out everything I can find. Just great.
I had not previously heard of Zara Dolukhanova and thought this was a lovely recording. That is difficult song and it definitely takes chops to pull it off as well as she did. I must confess that I was - for a second - thrown when I didn't hear the French my ear was expecting - but I adjusted. A beautiful recording! May she rest in peace.
Zarukhi Dolukhanian Russian and without technique? What utter nonsense. The woman was splendid. The Cenerentola is available from the German label LINE CLASSICS which seems to burn its CDs on PC-like devices but has an amazing choice of opera. Here is a
link (you would never find it via the search machine).
I am so sorry that I offended everyone by my remarks about Zara's technique. In my own defense I must say that I had been experimenting with a new drug when I wrote that blog and my perceptions were slightly distorted. Mea Culpa.
She looks like Rachel Dratch from SNL.
Is it possible to download the song from the JW Media Player? I can't seem to figure it out, and I'd love to keep this.
the first time i encountered her, she was billed as a contralto, which i never understood why. the voice sounded too mellow and light to be a contralto. and then she went and recorded things like "Casta Diva" (bringing to mind marian anderson and ewa podles, who i believe both recorded this aria)... she was one of a kind for sure.
I'm ebarrassed to admit I've never heard (of) Dulakhova before, but ... wow, just .... wow.
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