Smirnov, Dmitri

Smirnov, Dmitri (Alexeievich) , outstanding Russian tenor; b. Moscow, Nov. 19, 1882; d. Riga, April 27, 1944. He sang in a church choir as a youth, then studied voice with Dodonov and others in Moscow. On Feb. 3, 1903, he made his debut as Gigi in Esposito’s Camorra at Moscow’s Hermitage Theater. In 1904 he was accepted as a member of the Bolshoi Theater there, but interrupted his career by traveling to Paris and Milan for further voice training. Returning to Moscow in 1906, he sang again at the Bolshoi Theater; from 1910 he appeared also with the Maryinsky Opera Theater in St. Petersburg. During the same period, he took part in the famous Russian Seasons in Paris. On Dec. 30, 1910, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. in the role of the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, remaining with the company until 1912; then sang with the Boston Opera (1911); after a tour of Latin America, he appeared at London’s Drury Lane (1914) and other European theaters. Although he lived mostly abroad, he revisited Russia in 1926 and 1928 as a guest artist. He later appeared mostly in solo recitals; was also active as a voice teacher; taught at the Athens Cons. and in Riga. In Russia he was regarded as one of the finest lyric tenors of his time, often compared to Caruso; as a bel canto singer, he was praised by Russian and European critics. Apart from the Russian repertoire, in which he excelled, he made a deep impression in such lyrico-dramatic roles as Faust, Don José, Canio, and Rodolfo.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire