Ivan Melnikov (baritone)

Ivan Aleksandrovich Melnikov (Russian: Иван Александрович Мельников) (March 4, 1832 – July 8, 1906) was a Russian baritone opera singer.

Ivan Melnikov, 1890s

Early years and training

Melnikov was trained as a choirboy in his youth. In 1861, he began studying with Gavriil Lomakin, and participated from 1862 until 1866 in the Free Music School concerts conducted by Lomakin. Melnikov continued his studies in Milan with a master of bel canto, E. Repetto.[1]

Career

In 1867, Melnikov made a triumphant St. Petersburg debut at Mariinsky Theatre, performing the role of Riccardo in Bellini's I puritani. Melnikov appeared regularly at the Mariinsky, in both foreign and Russian roles, and was the first interpreter of more than dozen roles in Russian opera. Melnikov sang in every opera by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky except for Iolanta, creating roles in four of Tchaikovsky's operas: Prince Vyazminsky in The Oprichnik (1874), Devil in Cherevichki (1886), Prince Kurlyatev in The Enchantress (1887), and Tomsky in The Queen of Spades (1890).[1]

Notable roles
Melnikov as Tsar Boris in Boris Godunov (1874)
Melnikov in the title role of William Ratcliff (1869)

Notes and references
  1. Macy, Laura Williams. The Grove Book of Opera Singers pp. 316-317. Oxford University Press: New York, 2008


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