Chaliapin in Abramtsevo was shown as Don Quixote and Grozny

At the exhibition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the singer, a number of exhibits are shown for the first time

An exhibition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Fyodor Chaliapin has opened at the Abramtsevo Museum-Reserve. The project dedicated to the anniversary of the legendary bass was named “Masks of Time”. It encoded a link to Fyodor Ivanovich’s autobiographical book “Mask and Soul” and his mastery of reincarnation, which the artist was famous for. The exposition includes exhibits that have never been shown before. Among them – a sketch from one of the fans – a poor student who made his way to his concerts in secret.

The estate “Abramtsevo” played a special role in the fate of Fyodor Chaliapin. He often came here to visit his patron Savva Mamontov, the founder of the Russian Private Opera. Chaliapin resigned from the St. Petersburg Opera Company to sing with Mamontov. For four seasons of performances in a private opera, Chaliapin gained wide popularity. Here his stage talent was revealed. In Abramtsevo, opera artists and artists close to Mamontov often gathered in the summer: they rested and rehearsed, staged home performances in the open air and argued about the path of Russian art. It was here that Fyodor Chaliapin met Sergei Rachmaninov, who became one of his closest friends. The exposition contains the composer’s autograph, which has not been shown before. Among other exhibits that have not previously appeared in museum exhibitions, there is a sketch from a fan that Chaliapin received in Kiev in 1902, its author is a “bunny”: a poor student who made his way to concerts secretly, without a ticket.

The exhibition, which occupies two halls, demonstrates sculptures, paintings, graphics, decorative and applied arts, artistic photographs, books and manuscripts from various museum collections. There is, for example, a sculptural portrait of a young Chaliapin created by Savva Mamontov, as well as a bust of the artist in the image of Ivan the Terrible by the sculptor Parr Daniele (1910s).

Of particular interest, according to experts, are the details of Chaliapin’s costume for the part of Boris Godunov from Mussorgsky’s opera of the same name: a feryaz and two bracers made of golden eyes. These things were created for the performance, which premiered at the Russian Private Opera in 1898.

In addition, at the exhibition you can see two films with the participation of Fedor Ivanovich. One is silent, called “Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible”, filmed by director Ivanov-Gai in 1915. The second is sound, Don Quixote, 1933, directed by Georg Pabst. The video allows you to appreciate the skill of reincarnation of Chaliapin, for which the famous bass was famous.