Petrov O.A., (1807-1878), singer

Categories / Art/Music, Theatre/Personalia
PETROV Osip Afanasievich (1807-1878, St. Petersburg), performed in operas (bass), operettas, and dramas, chamber singer and teacher. Husband of A.Y. Petrova-Vorobyeva. Studied rudiments of music under kapellmeister Bekhman. From 1826 acted in various provincial troops. In 1830 invited to join the Petersburg Opera's at the Bolshoy Theatre, later renamed the Circus Theatre (mid-1850s), then the Mariinsky Theatre (1860-78). Performed mainly bass roles for Russian and foreign repertoire. Improved his singing under the supervision of K.A. Cavos, starting with the role of Sarastro in The Magic Flute by W.A. Mozart. Worked on his vocal technique, refinement of voice (which had phenomenal strength and width of range), and on his acting skills (under the guidance of actor Y.G. Bryansky, and with the occasional help of V.V. Samoylov and I.M. Sosnitsky). The breaking point in his career was the acquaintance in 1835 with M.I. Glinka, who wrote his theatrical works with Petrov's capabilities in mind (Ivan Susanin, Ruslan, Farlaf). The variety of heroic, comic, slap-stick, and lyrical roles - in all 130 opera roles from all over the world - testifies to his acting and singing abilities. Petrov laid the base for the Russian Opera's school of acting. He was the first to perform the roles of the Miller (The Water-Nymph) and Leporello (The Stone Guest), both operas by A.S. Dargomizhsky; Ivan the Terrible (The Maid of Pskov by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov); and Varlaam (Boris Godunov by M.P. Mussorgsky). He was a subtle interpreter of romances by Glinka, Dargomizhsky, Mussorgsky, A.G. Rubinstein, P. I. Tchaikovsky. Originally buried at Smolenskoe Orthodox Cemetery, his ashes were moved to the Necropolis of Artists in 1936.

References: Ласточкина Е. П. Осип Петров. М.; Л., 1950; Гозенпуд А. А. Музыкальный театр в России от истоков до Глинки: Очерк. Л., 1959; Его же. Русский оперный театр XIX века, 1836-1856. Л., 1969.

E. V. Tretyakova. Bekhman
Bryansky Yakov Grigorievich
Cavos Caterino Albertovich
Dargomyzhsky Alexander Sergeevich
Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus
Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich
Petrov Osip Afanasievich
Petrova-Vorobyeva Anna Yakovlevna
Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolay Andreevich
Rubinstein Anton Grigorievich
Samoylov Vasily Vasilievich
Sosnitsky Ivan Ivanovich
Tchaikovsky Peter Ilyich
Гозенпуд А. А. Русский оперный театр XIX века, 1836-1856. Л., 1969
Ласточкина Е. П. Осип Петров. М.; Л., 1950
Гозенпуд А. А. Музыкальный театр в России от истоков до Глинки: Очерк. Л., 1959 Mariinsky Theatre
Necropolis of Artists