Description: Verso autographed and inscribed 3" x 5" postcard photograph in the Soviet style as the Duke of Mantua in "Rigoletto", March 26, 1935. Kozlovsky was a singer very much in the vein of Tito Schipa. A natural, but not pretty lyric tenor voice but used with such skill and bel canto technique that he overcame the nasally sound he produced to become one of the Soviet Union's premiere opera stars during his lifetime. (Unlike Schipa, Kozlovsky possessed a high C.) His professor Elena Muravyova, a former Mariinsky and Bolshoi coloratura soprano. Muravyova studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Alexandrova Kochetova and later with Sigrid Arnoldson. Both Murayova and Kochetova were well grounded in the Bel Canto. Kochetova was a pupil of castrato Girolamo Crescentini's Gustav Teschner, who further studied with Johann Mix who was a pupil of castrato Vincenzo Caselli. She also studied with baritone Giorgio Ronconi; so bel canto and ornamentation which were key to Kozlovsky's career were steeped within his teachers. Kozlovsky wrote about Murayova in his autobiography: Muravyova unmistakably determined what facets this or that voice should sparkle, how to help it find its unique form.........Elena Aleksandrovna, meanwhile, has never been a dictator: she did not force people to sing as she sang herself. But if a person left the correct sound position, she could always tell what his mistake was. Kozlovsky took what was imparted to him to heart and his recordings show elegant trills and ornamentation no Russian singer had used to any consequence since the first few years of the 20th Century. Kozlovsky was drafted into the Russian Army in 1920 where he remained until 1923. Whilst he was stationed in Poltava, he sung in several operas at the local theatre. In 1924 he joined the State Opera in Kharkov for a year, moving to the State Opera in Sverdlovsk for the 1925-1926 season. He was offered a contract by the Bolshoi in 1926 where he made his debut as Alfredo in "La Traviata". This youthful photograph dates to that time, but signed thirty two years later. One crease as seen in the scan. We have chosen the two recordings below very carefully to show his expert ornamentation, trills, portamento and cultured diminuendo. No one sings like this anymore. Harmonie Autographs and Music, IncAppraiser and Music AntiquarianNew York, NY All Autographs Guaranteed Authentic!
Price: 200 USD
Location: New York, New York
End Time: 2025-01-11T20:21:59.000Z
Shipping Cost: 9 USD
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Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Modified Item: No
Country/Region of Manufacture: Russian Federation
Original/Reproduction: Original
Autograph Authentication: Harmonie Autographs and Music, Inc.
Signed: Yes
Industry: Music
