Slobodskaya, Oda

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Slobodskaya, Oda

Slobodskaya, Oda , esteemed Russian soprano; b. Vilnius, Dec. 10, 1888; d. London, July 29, 1970. She studied at the St. Petersburg Cons. She made her operatic debut as Lisa in The Queen of Spades at the Maryinsky Theater there in 1917. She also sang the regular repertoire there, including the roles of Marguerite in Faust and Aida. She emigrated in 1922; sang in Paris, at La Scala in Milan, and in Buenos Aires; eventually settled in London; sang Venus in Tannhäuser at Covent Garden in 1932. She developed an active career in England, establishing herself as an authoritative interpreter of Russian songs in recital; she also joined the faculty of the Guildhall School of Music and proved a sympathetic and effective voice teacher.

Bibliography

M. Leonard, S.: A Biography of O. S.(London, 1978).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire