On October 28 and November 2, France hosted activities to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Feodor Chaliapin organized by the Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Permanent Delegation of the Russian Federation to UNESCO.
The legacy of “Tsar Bass” Feodor Chaliapin belongs to Russia and all of humanity. At the initiative of the Russian Federation supported by France, Italy, and Azerbaijan and proposed by the National Commission for UNESCO and the Permanent Delegation of the Russian Federation to UNESCO, the anniversary of the famous Russian bass was added to UNESCO International Days in 2023 in recognition of the global significance of his work.
Chaliapin’s 150th anniversary is a special date for the Gorky Institute of World Literature. Writer Gorky, after whom the Institute is named, was a close friend of Chaliapin. His personal archive contains correspondence with the singer, family photos, drawings by Chaliapin and his son Boris.
On October 28, the Jubilee International Conference dedicated to Chaliapin’s 150th anniversary was held at the estate of poet Pierre d’Arcangues near Biarritz. In the house where the great Russian artist used to relax with his family and friends, Marina Arias-Vihill, a leading researcher at the Gorky Archive at the Institute of World Literature, gave a lecture, shedding light on Chaliapin’s ties with France, his involvement in the Saisons Russes, and the opera Don Quixote written by French composer Jules Massenet for the Russian bass. D’Arcangues’ estate houses two portraits of Chaliapin by artist Sophie de Roberty. They were presented to the audience by the artist’s nephew, Alexandre de Miller de La Cerda, Honorary Vice Consul of Russia in Biarritz. Chaliapin’s self-portrait, which the singer presented to the estate’s owner, was also on display.
On November 2, on the premises of the Permanent Delegation of the Russian Federation to UNESCO in Paris, near the Salle Playel where Chaliapin used to perform, the Institute of World Literature together with the Permanent Delegation of the Russian Federation to UNESCO and the State Musical Pedagogical Institute named after Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov hosted a literary and musical evening “World Fame of Feodor Chaliapin.” Rinat Alyautdinov, Permanent Delegate of the Russian Federation to UNESCO, opened the evening.
The highlight of the evening was the international roundtable dedicated to Chaliapin’s legacy, moderated by Vadim Polonsky, Director of the Institute of World Literature and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The participants talked about Russian culture and music as an important part of the world heritage and emphasized the interplay between Russian, European, and Eastern cultures.
The exhibition “World Fame of Feodor Chaliapin” was opened, featuring rare documents, photos, and drawings from the Gorky Museum.
The evening also included a classical concert performed by Russian and French musicians. Representatives of Permanent Delegations to UNESCO and the diplomatic corps in Paris, Count Pierre Chérémeteff, Chairman of the Russian Musical Society in France, Alexandra Rachmaninoff-Conus, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s great-granddaughter, and fans of Feodor Chaliapin and Russian opera were in attendance.
The evening ended with awarding commemorative diplomas to the roundtable and concert participants.
Source: www.imli.ru