Nikolai Figner
Nikolai Nikolaevich Figner (Николай Николаевич Фигнер) was a Russian
lyrical-dramatic tenor, born on 9/21 February 1857 at Nikiforovka, near Kazan',
Russia.
After studying in Saint Petersburg and Naples, he toured widely in Europe
and Latin America, before becoming lead tenor at the Mariinskii Theatre in Saint
Petersburg from 1887 to 1907. Here he performed at the premieres of Tchaikovsky's
operas The Queen of Spades and
Iolanta, in the roles of Herman
and Vaudemont respectively. In both cases Tchaikovsky wrote additional numbers
at the tenor's request. Figner also gave notable performances as Lenskii in
Evgenii Onegin and Andrei in
The Oprichnik. Tchaikovsky's
set of Six Romances, Op. 73 (1893)
is dedicated to Nikolai Figner.
From 1910 to 1915 Figner directed and sang with the Narodnii Dom (Народний
дом) opera company in Saint Petersburg.
Nikolai Figner died on 13 December 1918 at Kiev, aged 61.
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