Sandunova, Elizaveta Semyonovna

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Sandunova, Elizaveta Semyonovna

Sandunova, Elizaveta Semyonovna , prominent Russian mezzo-soprano who was known as Uranova ; b. St. Petersburg, c. 1772; d. Moscow, Dec. 3, 1826. She was a student of Martín y Soler, Paisiello, and Sarti in St. Petersburg. In 1790 she made her operatic debut in Martin y Soler’s Arbore di Diana in St. Petersburg, and then sang at the imperial theaters there from 1791 to 1794. She took the professional name of Uranova by order of Catherine II in honor of the discovery of the planet Uranus. After marrying the actor Sila Sandunov in 1794, they appeared together at the Petrovsky Theater in Moscow. They were divorced in 1810 and in 1813 Uranova returned to St. Petersburg, where she made frequent appearances until her retirement from the stage in 1823.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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