Fedor Chaliapin is a famous personality among opera music lovers not only in Russia but throughout the world. He is cited as an example to all those who would like to become a famous opera singer, as a person who had a unique hearing from nature, good vocal skills and high ability to work.
Short biography of Fedor Chaliapin
Fyodor Chaliapin was born in 1873 into a simple peasant family in Kazan, in his youth he was sent to study the craft of a shoemaker. He received his primary education at school and graduated from college in Kazan. Over the years, he was the soloist of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theaters, the latter he directed from 1918 to 1921. At one time he had a great influence on the development of opera singing, although, besides his main occupation, he was fond of painting, sculpture and sometimes acted in films.
He believed that his career began in 1890, when he first appeared among art lovers, playing a role in the opera Eugene Onegin.
The heyday of creativity came in 1899, when Chaliapin entered the imperial theaters, began to perform often, and after a couple of years went to the La Scala theater, where the whole world knew about him.
Chaliapin was married twice, first to the ballerina Iola Tornagi - six children were born in the marriage, but one of them died at the age of 4 years. And a little later, the singer became interested in Maria Petzold, and they had three children.
The memory of Chaliapin
Fedor Chaliapin has received over 10 different awards for his outstanding talent as a singer. Not only in Russia, but also in England, Italy and France, he was awarded the title of soloist of His Majesty.
In addition, 17 cities were named after him in Russian cities, an opera festival dedicated to him was held in Kazan, and a monument was erected. In addition to Kazan, the monument was erected in Ufa and Kirov. Fedor Chaliapin has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and several museums in Russia:
- The museum in Nizhny Novgorod, opened at school number 140, for the construction of which the Russian singer donated funds (the old building did not survive, it was rebuilt and expanded, but the memory remained).
- Museum in native Kazan. The institution stores more than 1700 things that are associated with the singer.
- The museum in Kislovodsk, or, in other words, the “Chaliapin’s dacha”, is an old mansion that he rented for his family for the summer.
- A museum in St. Petersburg or the singer’s apartment, where he lived for several years, where he dreamed of returning from France, leaving a lot of personal belongings, but where he never returned.
- Chaliapin Museum in Moscow, or his only own house.
The image of Fyodor Chaliapin in art can be seen in various paintings of different years, such as “Yakov Sverdlov” in 1940 and “Orlova and Aleksandrov” in 2014.
The well-known painting “Portrait of F. I. Chaliapin” was created in 1921 by the great artist B. M. Kustodiev.
Chaliapin House Museum in Moscow
In 1910, Chaliapin was able to purchase a house from the merchant Bazhenova, and this was his first and only house in Russia. The old mansion began to sparkle with new colors after Chaliapin’s wife, ballerina Iola Tornagi, made repairs in it. A gas and water pipeline was constructed in the house, bathrooms and a gazebo were built in the garden, in front of which a view of the Moscow River was opened.
A large family lived here, at the time of moving to this house Fedor Chaliapin had five children, and many guests always came to them.
A few years later, the house was nationalized, and the singer left the country, and for more than 60 years communal apartments were located in it. Only in 1978, the house was transferred to the museum complex, which took 8 long years to create the Chaliapin Museum and restore its former appearance, restoring the old atmosphere from photographs and memories of children.
Many things that belonged to Chaliapin were personally handed over by his children: a piano, wedding candles, a gramophone, photographs, concert costumes, for which they allocated a separate room. The museum also has a room where orders are exhibited, received in different countries for their merits, and a mourning brooch, which was created after the death of the singer. In addition to costumes, you can see various documents and photographs telling about the singer's performance on different stages.
You can come to the museum not only then to see the house, but also then to listen to the concerts that take place in the White Hall, where young performers and famous musicians perform, classical opera music sounds.
How to get and working hours
The Chaliapin Museum in Moscow is located at Novinsky Boulevard, building 25, and is open every day, except Mondays and Fridays, from 10:00 to 18:00, and on some days until 19:00.
It’s very easy to get to the museum’s house. You can walk from the Barrikadnaya / Krasnopresnenskaya metro station in 7 minutes, and the Trolleybus Stop B is also nearby.
The cost of a ticket for adults is 150 rubles. For discounted categories of citizens a discount is possible.
Everyone can personally visit the museum or take a guide for a sightseeing or thematic tour. You can book a tour by phone, e-mail or on site.
