Nezhdanova, Antonina (1873–1950)

views updated

Nezhdanova, Antonina (1873–1950)

Russian soprano. Name variations: Antonia Vasilievna Nezhdanova. Born 1873 in Krivaya Balka, near Odessa, Russia; died 1950; attended Moscow Conservatory, where she studied under Umberto Masetti; m. Nikolai Golovanov (conductor), 1920s.

One of the great singers of imperial Russia, made debut in Moscow in Glinka's A Life for the Tsar (1902) and was immediately engaged by the Bolshoi; throughout 30-year career, mostly in Russia, sang much of the high repertoire: Gilda, Lakmá, Juliette, Frau Fluth in The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Queen of the Night, Queen Marguerite in Les Huguenots, Ophálie, and Zerlina in Fra Diavolo; also sang the Russian repertoire, as well as such dramatic roles as Desdemona and Tosca; had Ukrainian roots and a sizable repertory of folksongs from Ukraine.

See also Women in World History.