Reizen, Mark (Osipovich)

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Reizen, Mark (Osipovich)

Reizen, Mark (Osipovich) , notable Russian bass; b. Zaytsevo, July 3, 1895; d. Moscow, Nov. 25, 1992. He was a pupil of Bugamelli at the Kharkov Cons. In 1921 he made his operatic debut as Pimen at the Kharkov Opera. After singing at the Kirov Theater in Leningrad (1925–30), he was a principal member of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow (1930–54). As a guest artist, he sang with the Paris Opéra, the Berlin State Opera, the Dresden State Opera et al.; also toured widely as a concert artist. In 1985 he returned to the Bolshoi Theater to celebrate his 90th birthday, appearing as Gremin in Evgeny Onegin. He publ. a vol. of autobiographical notes (Moscow, 1980). Reizen possessed a voice of remarkable beauty, ably complemented by his assured stage deportment. Among his finest portrayals were Mozart’s Don Basilio, Gounod’s Méphistophélès, Boris Godunov, Philip II, Dosifey, and Ivan Susanin.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire