Lipkowski Lidia

About

Lidia Lipkovskaia, born Marșner on April 28, 1884, was a remarkable lyric coloratura soprano, originally from Bessarabia, who had a brilliant career in Russian and international opera. She studied at the "Mariinsk" Girls' Gymnasium in Kamianets-Podilskyi and at the Imperial Conservatory in Saint Petersburg (1903-1906), debuting in 1904 with the role of Gilda in Verdi's "Rigoletto." A soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre (1906-1908 and 1911-1913), she performed iconic roles such as Snegurochka in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera of the same name, Ludmila in Glinka's "Ruslan and Ludmila," Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin," and Marfa in Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Tsar's Bride," captivating audiences with her crystalline voice, capable of three octaves, and impeccable technique in Russian, French, German, and Italian. Her career extended to prestigious stages such as La Scala in Milan (intern 1906-1907), the Metropolitan Opera in New York (1909-1911), the Royal Opera House in London, the Opéra-Comique, and the Paris Opera, collaborating with great artists like Enrico Caruso, Fiodor Chaliapin, Leonid Sobinov, and Georges Baklanoff, her husband for a period. She participated in the world premiere of Ponchielli's opera "I mori di Valencia" in Monte Carlo (1914) and in Diaghilev's Russian Seasons in Paris. In the years 1927-1929, she gave 160 concerts in the USSR, including at the Leningrad Philharmonic, impressing with arias by Mozart, Rossini, Massenet, and Rimsky-Korsakov. After retiring in 1941, she taught singing at conservatories in Chișinău ("Unirea", 1937-1940; the State Conservatory, 1940-1941), Bucharest (1944-1950), Paris (1950-1953), and Beirut, nurturing talents such as Virginia Zeani, Leonid Boxan, and Tamara Ceban. Lidia Lipkovskaia's personal life was marked by the turmoil of the era: first married to Hriștofor Marșner, with whom she had a daughter, Ariadna (Aidenna), she divorced to pursue music, then married