Mei-Figner, Medea (1859–1952)

Italian soprano, best remembered for her close association with Tchaikovsky . Born Zoraide Amedea in Florence, Italy, in 1859; died on July 8, 1952, in Paris; married Nikolay Figner (a tenor), in 1889 (divorced 1904).

Sang in Italy, Spain, Russia and South America; performed at the St. Petersburg Opera (1887–1912); selected by Tchaikovsky to create Lisa in The Queen of Spades ; remained in Russia and taught after her retirement (1923).

Although Medea Mei-Figner was Italian, she spent most of her career in Russia after she appeared in St. Petersburg in 1887. She accompanied Nikolay Figner and then married him in 1889. Mei-Figner soon became a member of the Imperial Opera where she created four important Russian roles—Lisa in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades and the title role in his Iolanta, and Mascha in Napravnik's Dubrovsky and Francesca in his Francesca da Rimini. For many years, her interpretation of these roles remained preeminent. Mei-Figner and her husband were a tremendous box-office draw, and after their divorce in 1904 they continued to perform together until his retirement in 1907. Mei-Figner made several recordings in the winter of 1901 in St. Petersburg. She recorded again for Pathé in 1903 and for Columbia in 1904, and although she retired in 1923, Mei-Figner was persuaded to record again in 1929. Her close association with Tchaikovsky and her interpretation of Lisa in The Queen of Spades make her work especially important. Despite her long sojourn in Russia, Mei-Figner's style was unmistakably Italian. After remaining in Russia for many years, she eventually returned to Paris where she died in 1952.

John Haag , Athens Georgia