Ivan Petrov
Born with a German name, Ivan Petrov assumed the role of quintessential Russian bass during the age between Mark Reizen and Alexander Pirogov and Evgeny Nesterenko, who followed a generation after. Endowed with a generous instrument -- solid, long-ranged, and refined -- Petrov attained first rank among the low-voiced singers at Moscow's Bolshoi and held his position for more than two decades. The onset of diabetes caused his retirement at age 50, but not before he had left an imposing recorded legacy. Petrov's family were naturalized Germans, resident in Russia under the name of Krause for several generations. His father had descended from a tradition of engineers and scientists, but singing, too, had been an integral aspect in the succeeding generations of the Krause family. After a childhood in Siberia during which he spent in his favorite pastimes of volleyball and football, Johann Krause moved with his parents to Moscow in 1936. The specter of German ambition overshadowed the Soviet Union at the time and those bearing German surnames were suspect. Hence, the family chose a new name and the teenager became known as Ivan Petrov. Through his studies at the Moscow Conservatory, Petrov's bass voice began growing noticeably in size and compass. At age 19, he was already working on arias of advanced difficulty; the following year, he was engaged by tenor Ivan Kozlovsky and the Moscow Philharmonic Society. He joined the ensemble in tours of operas presented in concert format. In 1941 alone, after his country was under attack by Germany, Petrov participated in many of the hundreds of performances given for soldiers both on front lines and recuperating in hospitals. In 1942, Petrov auditioned for the Bolshoi Theater and was engaged, becoming a member of the Soviet Union's most prestigious opera theater at the age of 22. In 1947, Petrov was a member of a delegation of young Russian artists sent to the First World Youth Festival in Prague and won a gold medal. Budapest, too, acknowledged his qualities as a singer when he appeared there in 1949. Despite the presence of more established basses, Petrov made himself known at the Bolshoi, first in small roles, soon thereafter in leading parts. By the 1950s, he had become one of the theater's leading artists. During his distinguished career at Russia's great theater, Petrov won several Stalin Prizes for his work in a repertory that came to embrace some two and a half dozen leading parts. Among his most acclaimed were Boris Godunov, Dosifei in Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina, Ruslan in Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmilla, Don Basilio, Kochubei in Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa, Méphistofélès in Gounod's Faust (his favorite), and King Philip in Verdi's Don Carlo. A recording of Verdi's Requiem conducted by Igor Markevitch (with soprano Galina Vishnevskaya) demonstrates Petrov's assured sense of Verdian line and dramatic intensity. In 1964, when singing Prince Igor with the Bolshoi at Milan's La Scala, Petrov was honored by the daughter of the famed Russian bass-baritone Feodor Chaliapin when she presented him with a ring her father wore for performances of Boris Godunov. By that time, Petrov had sung the part in venues far afield from his home theater, also offering his Gounod devil in numerous opera houses in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and Western Europe. In the years of his prime, the bass also won a positive reputation as a recitalist, appearing with his accompanist of three decades' association, Semyon Stuchevsky.
© TiVo
Discography
12 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Borodin: Prince Igor
Ivan Petrov, Tatiana Tugarinova, Vladimir Atlantov
Classical - Released by JSC Firma Melodiya on Dec 20, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: The Tale of Tsar Saltan
Ivan Petrov, Eugenia Smolenskaya, Vladimir Ivanovsky
Classical - Released by JSC Firma Melodiya on Jan 1, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: The Tale of Tsar Saltan [1953]
Ivan Petrov, Vladimir Ivanovski, Yevguenia Smolenskaya
Opera - Released by Classical Moments on Mar 4, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Lebendige Vergangenheit - Ivan Petrov
Classical - Released by Preiser Records on Apr 27, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin
Eugene Belov, Galina Vishnevskaya, Ivan Petrov
Classical - Released by Opera d'Oro on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beautiful AriasIvan Petrov
Classical - Released by RPDSP on Nov 22, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Upgrade Theme Number (Original Mix)
Miscellaneous - Released by Bloodstone Recordings on Sep 29, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Amnesia (Original Mix)
Trance - Released by Bloodstone Recordings on Feb 12, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hormones Of Love (Original Mix)
Trance - Released by Bloodstone Recordings on Nov 4, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mia (Original Mix)
Trance - Released by Bloodstone Recordings on Feb 24, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo