Tamara Milashkina
Тамара Милашкина
Milashkina and Viktor Nechipaylo in
Verdi's Falstaff, 1962
Born
Tamara Andreyevna Mirnenko

(1934-09-13)13 September 1934
Astrakhan
Died10 January 2024(2024-01-10) (aged 89)
Vienna, Austria
EducationMoscow Conservatory
OccupationOperatic soprano
Organization
SpouseVladimir Atlantov
Website

Tamara Andreyevna Milashkina, née Mirnenko (Russian: Тамара Андреевна Милашкина (Мирненко); 13 September 1934 – 10 January 2024) was a Soviet and Russian lyric and dramatic soprano. A member of the Bolshoi Theatre from 1958 to 1989, she also appeared at La Scala in Milan, throughout Europe and at the Metropolitan Opera. She focused on roles such as Tchaikovsky's Lisa in Pique Dame and Tatiana in Eugene Onegin.

Life and career

Tamara Andreyevna Mirnenko was born in Astrakhan on 13 September 1934.[1][2] She first worked as a librarian.[1] Although she he had little musical training, she applied for studies at the Moscow Conservatory and was accepted due to the natural quality of her colourful voice.[3] She studied there with Elena Katulskaya. In 1956 she received the Gold medal of the International Youth Festival.[4] She became a member of the Bolshoi Opera in 1958[4] while still studying,[3] making her official debut as Tatiana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin;[1][4] she remained one of the leading sopranos until 1989.[4] Her roles included Lisa in Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame, Katharina in Shebalin's The Taming of the Shrew, Liubka in Prokofiev's Semyon Kotko, Fevroniya in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya, Verdi's Leonora in Il trovatore and Aida, and Puccini's Tosca.[2] Her Russian repertoire also included Yaroslavna in Borodin's Prince Igor, the Tsarina in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Natasha in Prokofief's War and Peace, Maria in Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa; another Italian role was Elisabetta in Verdi's Don Carlos.[1][4]

She studied further at the opera studio of La Scala in Milan in 1961/62, where she appeared in 1962 as Lidia in Verdi's La battaglia di Legnano,[1][4] conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni, as the first Soviet soprano.[5] In Bolshoi productions, she performed there also in 1964 as both Lisa in Pique Dame and Natasha in War and Peace, alongside Juri Mazurok as Prince Bolkonsky, and Alexander Vedernikov as General Kutusov.[6] She returned in 1973 as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin and in Prince Igor.

She appeared at the Vienna State Opera from 1971 first as Lisa, with great success,[1] later also as Leonora, Tosca, Aida and Elisabetta.[7] She performed as Tatiana at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1974,[5] She appeared as a guest at other leading opera houses of Europe, for example at the Greek National Opera as Leonora in Il trovatore and Lisa in 1974 and as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin in 1976.[4] She toured extensively with the Bolshoi, including to the Metropolitan Opera in 1975[5] for Eugene Onegin and Pique Dame; she performed alongside her husband, tenor Vladimir Atlantov, Onegin conducted by Fuat Mansurov[8] and Pique Dame conducted by Yuri Simonov.[9]

In 1973, she received the title People's Artist of the USSR,[1][2][4] and the Glinka State Prize in 1982.[4]

Milashkina recorded extensively for Melodiya[4] including the 1974 recording of her most famous role, Lisa in The Queen of Spades, opposite Atlantov, with Bolshoi forces conducted by Mark Ermler.[10] She recorded Tosca the same year, again with Atlantov and conducted by Ermler; a reviewer noted that she was a "thrilling if unsubtle singer" who lived the role, summarising: "hers is a Tosca to rank with some of the finest".[11] In 1979 she recorded Eugene Onegin, with Yuri Mazurok in the title role and again Atlantov and Ermler; a reviewer wrote that she was "clearly an intelligent artist and compensates for her occasional lack of vocal allure by her identification with a role which suits her voice type".[12]

Personal life

Milashkina was married to the tenor Vladimir Atlantov;[1] they had a daughter, Lara, born in 1963.[13] After her retirement from the Bolshoi, they lived in Austria.[14]

Tamara Milashkina died in Vienna on 10 January 2024, at the age of 89.[14][15]

Videos

  • Rimsky-Korsakov: Sadko (Arkhipova, Atlantov; Simonov, Pokrovsky, 1980) [live] VAI[16]
  • Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame (Obraztsova, Atlantov, Mazurok; Simonov, Bartov, 1983) [live] Kultur[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kutsch, K. J.; Riemens, Leo (2012). "Milaschkina, Tamara". Großes Sängerlexikon (in German) (4th ed.). De Gruyter. pp. 1324–3125. ISBN 978-3-59-844088-5.
  2. 1 2 3 "Tamara Milashkina". The Free Dictionary. 13 September 1934. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Tamara Milashkina". Soviet Life. Embassy of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics in the USA. 1986. p. 39. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Tamara Milashkina". Greek National Opera. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Bagnoli, Giorgio. Tamara Milashkina. La Scala Encyclopedia. p. 254. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  6. ↑ "Milan Dazzled by Bolshoi". The New York Times. 22 November 1964. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  7. ↑ "Vorstellungen mit Tamara Milaschkina". Vienna State Opera. 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  8. ↑ Schonberg, Harald C. (28 June 1975). "Opera: Bolshoi Adds New Dimension to 'Onegin'". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Schonberg, Harald C. (4 July 1975). "Bolshoi 'Pique Dame' Is the Real Thing". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "The Queen of Spades by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky performed in Russian". www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk.
  11. ↑ Levine, Robert (4 July 1975). "Tosca À La Russe–Exciting, If Noisy". classicstoday.com. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Moore, Ralph (February 2018). "Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) / Eugene Onegin". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "Vladimir Andreevich Atlantov". historicaltenors.net. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  14. 1 2 "title = Die Volkskünstlerin der UdSSR, Tamara Milaschkina, starb im 90. Lebensjahr". Pravda (in German). 11 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024. {{cite news}}: Missing pipe in: |title= (help)
  15. ↑ "Ушла из жизни Тамара Милашкина". classicalmusicnews.ru (in Russian). 10 January 2024.
  16. ↑ "Sadko Atlantov, Milashkina, Arkhipova (Bolshoi 1980) (DVD)". vaimusic.com. 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  17. ↑ Horowitz, Joe (24 December 2019). ""Pique Dame" at the Met — and at the Bolshoi". artsjournal.com. Retrieved 15 January 2024.

Further reading

  • Who's Who in Opera, edited by Maria F. Rich, Arno Press, 1976.
  • The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia, edited by David Hamilton, Simon & Schuster, 1987; ISBN 0-671-61732-X
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