Leonid Pylypovych Savransky (28 April 1876, Tagancha - 11 September 1966, Moscow) was an opera (lyric and dramatic baritone), operetta, concert singer and vocal teacher. People's Artist of the RSFSR (since 1934). Husband of the singer L. Stavrovska.
Biography.
He was born on 16 (28 April) 1876 in the town of Taganchi, Kaniv district, Kyiv province (now Kaniv district, Cherkasy region) in the family of a surveyor. From the age of eight he lived in Kyiv. In 1894-1899, he studied at Kyiv University (Faculty of Natural Sciences) and worked as an accountant at the State Bank until 1902. As a student, he sang in a choir. In 1900-1903, he studied singing at the Kyiv Music School (class of M. Zotova).
He made his debut on the opera stage in Kyiv in 1902 in the roles of Eugene Onegin (in the opera of the same name by P. Tchaikovsky) and Janusz (in "Pebbles" by S. Moniuszko). In 1903-1908 he sang in the opera houses of Bialystok, Irkutsk, Zhytomyr, Chisinau, Kyiv, Odesa (Italian Opera, 1906), St. Petersburg (1907, together with M. Battistini, T. Ruffo, L. Cavalieri), Kharkiv, Kazan (1909), Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinoslav, Riga, Helsingfors (now Helsinki). In 1907, he made his debut in the role of the Demon (an opera of the same name by A. Rubinstein) at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg (he was not accepted into the company).
In 1908-1912 he sang on the stage of the St. Petersburg People's House. From 1912 to 1946 (with a break of several years: in 1919 he was transferred to the company of the Petrograd Mariinsky Theatre) he was a soloist at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow (he made his debut in the role of Valentin in Faust by Gounod). He toured frequently: in Kislovodsk (1909), Rybinsk, Kharkiv (1916), Nizhny Novgorod and other cities.
In 1946, he taught singing at the Frunze Military Academy, in 1948-1954 - at the Moscow Conservatoire (since 1952 he was a professor), and later worked with young singers in amateur performances.
Among his students: V. Y. Agafonov, B. Artikov, I. K. Arkhipova, S. D. Kozak (1945-1950), and Zh.
He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1937, 1951).
He died on 11 September 1966 in Moscow.
Creativity
Leonid Savransky had a smooth, sonorous, expressive voice of a beautiful "bright metallic" timbre, easily overcoming tessitura difficulties. The performance was distinguished by emotional expression, which was also manifested in the plastic image. According to the artist himself, his mastery of plasticity was given to him by his work in operetta. At first, he performed in lyrical, then mainly in dramatic roles, in which his talent as an actor and singer was most fully revealed. His repertoire included 90 roles.
The first performer of the parts:
Kornyliya Yakovleva (Stepan Razin by P. Triodin, 1925);
Boris Godunov (opera of the same name by Mussorgsky, edited and arranged by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, 1927);
in St. Petersburg - Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin ("Anna Karenina" by E. I. Granelli, 1912);
at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow:
Gonza (The Tale of Tsar Saltan by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, 1913);
Grigory Gryazny (The Tsar's Bride by Rimsky-Korsakov, 1916);
Scarpia (Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, 1930).
The best parts:
Grigory Gryazny (The Tsar's Bride by Rimsky-Korsakov);
Boris Godunov (opera of the same name by Mussorgsky);
Prince Igor (opera of the same name by A. Borodin);
Kirill Troekurov (Dubrovsky by E. Nadezhdaev);
Myzgyr (The Snow Maiden by N. Rimsky-Korsakov);
Vasyl Kochubey (Mazepa by Tchaikovsky, since 1917);
Amonasro (Aida by Giuseppe Verdi);
Rigoletto (opera of the same name by Giuseppe Verdi);
Scarpia (Tosca by Giacomo Puccini).
Second parts:
Ruslan (Ruslan and Lyudmila by Nikolai Glinka);
Rangoni (Boris Godunov by M. Mussorgsky);
Shaklovyty (Khovanshchina by M. Mussorgsky);
Fyodor Poyarok (The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, 1926);
Prince Yelets (The Queen of Spades by P. Tchaikovsky);
Count of Tomsk (The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky);
Ebn Hakia (Iolanta by Tchaikovsky);
Sin Sin Gu/The Innkeeper (The Son of the Mandarin by C. Cui);
Aleko (opera of the same name by Sergei Rachmaninoff);
Johann (Ole of Nordland by M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, 1928);
Escamillo (Carmen by Bizet, 1922);
Albert (Werther by J. Massenet);
Figaro (The Barber of Seville by G. Rossini);
Georges Germont (La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi);
Iago (Otello by Giuseppe Verdi);
Scarpia (Tosca by G. Puccini);
Tonio and Silvio (La Pagliacci by R. Leoncavallo);
Telramund (Lohengrin by Wagner, 1923);
Svengali (Trilby by O. Yurasovsky).
Partners: K. E. Antarova, O. V. Bogdanovich, D. Golovin, K. G. Derzhinskaya, A. Y. Dobrovolskaya, E. Yu. Matova, O. G. Mosin, A. V. Nezhdanova, P. M. Nortsov, N. A. Obukhova, M. M. Ozerov, O. Okuneva, O. R. Pavlova, V. R. Petrov, F. Petrova, O. Pirogov, O. Podolska, G. Stravinsky, M. Ferrari, M. Figner, N. Khanaev, P. Tsesevych, F. Chaliapin, F. Ernst, S. Yudin.
He sang under the direction of M. Golovanov, E. Granelli, M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, E. Cooper, F. Otsep (1914), A. Pazovsky (1924), V. Savich, V. Suk, L. Steinberg. He collaborated with the director V. Lossky.
He performed a lot in concerts (including for workers at factories and plants). The singer's chamber repertoire included works by foreign and Russian composers and folk songs.
He recorded on gramophone records (14 pieces) in St. Petersburg (Gramophone, 1905, 1907; Favorit, 1910; RAOG, 1912).
