By Olga Fyodorova
… On March 28, 1994, the Tretyakov Picture Gallery was playing host to
a small exhibition of 32 paintings from a private collection bequeathed
by its late owner to this world-renowned museum.
And a veritable constellation it was where paintings by little known artists
easily blended with the Big Masters resulting in a truly fascinating collection
of exquisite and tasteful artwork.
Asked by the stunned visitors about the name of the man who had donated
those wonderful works, the museum attendants said: “The famous opera singer
Panteleimon Nortsov,” their voice low with ill-concealed respect and admiration.
Nortsov’s portrait was also part of the exposition with Nikolai Sokolov
portraying the great singer resplendent in tales and full stage makeup.
Nortsov was shown sitting, cross legged, in an ancient arm chair, his chiseled
features, the high brow and amazingly beautiful hands easily betraying
the aristocratic aloofness of his nature…
Despite his noble appearance, however, Panteleimon Nortsov was anything
but the blue-blood nobleman he looked. Born into a large family of impoverished
peasants in Ukraine, Panteleimon, then a nine year old boy, was invited
to join a children’s choir in Kiev – much to the relief of his parents
who were happy to see their son well fed and clothed. Before long, Panteleimon
was earning enough money to help his family.
Because the choir only performed on weekends, the boy had ample time for
other studies. Working hard, he eventually entered the very best gymnasium
the city could offer.
His voice maturing all the time, Panteleimon then studied with one of the
best teachers around preparing for his conservatory exams. Starting
off as a tenor, the young man eventually matured to boast a richly textured
baritone. Singing several leading baritone parts at the conservatory’s
opera studio, he started also working on a program of chamber music.
One day in 1925, when Panteleimon was in his last year at the Conservatory,
the famous Russian stage director Konstantin Sanislavsky dropped in when
they were having an examination and impressed by Nortsov’s singing, advised
the young man to go to Moscow. “They need good baritones at the Bolshoi,”
he said.
In Moscow Nortsov was quickly admitted to the Bolshoi opera but only sung
one tiny part there in a whole year.
Realizing that he would thus forget singing at all, Panteleimon returned
to Kiev, signed up with the local opera company and was immediately heaped
with work singing Valentine in Faust, Germon in La Traviata and Escamillo
in Carmen in a single year. His biggest success, however, was the part
of Yevgeny Onegin in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s opera of the same name where he
once even partnered on stage with the Bolshoi’s venerable tenor Leonid
Sobinov.
“You’re going to the Bolshoi with me tomorrow!” Sobinov told him straight
away after hearing his singing.
“I have already sung there,” Nortsov smiled and related his sad experience
of singing at the Bolshoi.
“This will never happen again!” Sobinov assured him. “They’ve just appointed
me the Bolshoi’s director and I’d love having you there… You are singing
a week from now…”
Joining Russia’s oldest music theater in 1927, Panteleimon Nortsov worked
there for nearly 30 years singing 35 lead baritone parts, including his
all-time favorite, Onegin, whom he performed a staggering 600 times!
He combined his regular dates at the Bolshoi with a busy touring schedule,
his virtually endless chamber repertoire always taking in new songs each
lovingly honed with painstaking attention to detail.
Nortsov was never a fan of recording sessions and neither did he like singing
for the radio. He needed the very special feel of the live audience, the
feedback he was getting from his listeners, their applause. The moment
he faced the microphone, though, the thrill and inspiration were gone and
his very voice became cold, as if bereaved of life… And still, those rare
recordings are the only chance we have to appreciate the singer’s exceptional
talent…
Retiring when he was not yet sixty, Panteleimon Nortsov started teaching
at the Gnessins’ Music College in Moscow finding solace working with young
singers.
By then his art collection was finally in place giving full credit to his
longtime affection with paintings he once was too poor to afford…
Nortsov bought his first canvas when he was already a well-paid lead singer
at the Bolshoi and he later spent all his money expanding his collection.
An avid connoisseur of Russian and only Russian paintings, Nortsov was
drawing his inspiration from the peaceful landscapes and glimpses of everyday
life whose heartwarming atmosphere he then translated on whatever he sang
on stage…
Falling just three months short of his 94th birthday, Panteleimon Nortsov
remained lucid until his very last moment… “My paintings keep me alive,
he said, and when I’m gone, they will keep others happy too…”
He had exactly these “others” in mind, when he donated his entire
collection to the Tretyakov Gallery, which is one of the most popular museums
in Russia. Moreover, as a real gentleman, he tried hard not to publicize
his big-hearted largesse…
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