UDC 7.071.2
DOI: 10.36871/hon.202304217
Authors
Elena Yu. Sharma,
Мargarita О. Lelyanova,
Institute of Contemporary Art, Mosсow, 121309, Russian Federation
Abstract
The article highlights the activities of one of the leading Russian chamber singers of the first half of the twentieth century, Vera Iosifovna Dukhovskaya (1903–1982), who became widely known mainly to the ensemble with Mikhail Alekseevich Bikhter (1881–1947), which existed for about 12 years. An appeal to the periodical press of that time makes it possible to trace how reviews of the duo’s concerts changed as the Dukhovskaya-Bichter ensemble performed. While at first M. A. Bikhter played the leading role in their creative tandem, over time Vera Iosifovna, thanks to her extraordinary talent, reached individual heights of performing skill, which later allowed her to be called “an artist of a large chamber scale”. It is significant that one of the critics even cited her as an example to other singers as tirelessly searching, experimenting, asserting her genre and “her artistic individuality”. The study of the creative heritage of V. I. Dukhovskaya allows us to conclude that she was among the outstanding performers of the first half of the twentieth century, who made an invaluable contribution to the development of Russian chamber vocal art, which is clearly confirmed by the documents of the era and eyewitness testimonies. It is all the more surprising that today the singer has been almost forgotten, and her name is unfamiliar not only to a wide audience, but even to many specialists.
Keywords
Vera Dukhovskaya, Mikhail Bikhter, ensemble, chamber singing, concert stage, chamber vocal art
