Melnikov, Ivan (Alexandrovich)
Melnikov, Ivan (Alexandrovich)
Melnikov, Ivan (Alexandrovich), noted Russian baritone; b. St. Petersburg, March 4, 1832; d. there, July 8, 1906. He was a choirboy in school. He was engaged in trade, and for a time served as inspector of Volga boats; he began to study seriously late in life; took lessons with Lomakin (1862); then went to Italy, where he studied with Repetto. He made his operatic debut as Riccardo in I Puritani in St. Petersburg (Oct. 6, 1867), where he sang regularly until his farewell performance in Prince Igor in 1890; then taught voice. He created the title role in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov (St. Petersburg, Feb. 8, 1874). He was particularly esteemed for his portrayals of roles in operas by Glinka, Borodin, and Tchaikovsky.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire