Lipkowska, Lydia (1882–1958)

Russian soprano whose career took her to many of the world's great stages. Born Lydia Marschner on June 6, 1882, in Babino, Bessarabia, Russia; died in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 22, 1958; married Georgi Baklanoff.

After studying at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Lydia Lipkowska made her debut at that city's Imperial Opera in 1908. An excellent actress who was graced with a pure, communicative voice, she became a favorite with audiences of the day. By 1909, she was singing in Paris, and appeared that same year in the United States at New York's Metropolitan Opera as well as in Boston. She made her Covent Garden debut in 1911 and in the fateful year of 1914 appeared in Monte Carlo in the first performances of Ponchielli's I Mori di Valenza. Within the span of those three years, Lipkowska made 29 recordings, many of which remain highly rated by modern critics of vocal artistry. After the Bolshevik Revolution, she emigrated in 1919 to France and resumed her career with Russian emigré opera troupes throughout Western Europe. In 1928–1929, she made an emotionally difficult return tour of the Soviet Union, after which she lived, and taught singing, in Rumania. Virginia Zeani was among her students.

In 1945, Lipkowska returned to France, then settled some years later in Lebanon, living and teaching in Beirut, where she died on March 22, 1958. Her large repertory included Lakmé, Lucia, and the role of Marfa in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride, as well as Tchaikovsky's Tatiana and Iolanta.

sources:

Levik, Sergei Iurevich. The Levik Memoirs: A Opera Singer's Notes. Translated by Edward Morgan. London: Symposium Records, 1995.

John Haag , Associate Professor of History, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia