Zara Dolukhanova

Zara Dolukhanova
Born(1918-03-15)15 March 1918
Moscow, Soviet Union
Died4 December 2007(2007-12-04) (aged 89)
Moscow, Russia
AwardsOrder "For Merit to the Fatherland"
Lenin Prize
Stalin Prize

Zara Aleksandrovna Dolukhanova (Armenian: Զարուհի Դոլուխանյան, Russian: Зара Александровна Долуханова; 15 March 1918[1] – 4 December 2007) was a Soviet Armenian mezzo-soprano who achieved fame performing on many lauded radio broadcasts of operas and works from the concert repertoire during the 1940s through the 1960s. Although considered one of Soviet-era Russia's most accomplished opera singers, Dolukhanova made only a relatively small number of appearances on the actual opera stage and her fame rests primarily in her extensive work for radio and performances on the concert stage.[2]

Dolukhanova's voice was a rare coloratura-mezzo, of unique clarity and unusually wide range. Considered one of the great singers of the Soviet era, Dolukhanova was notable for her championing of the operas of Gioachino Rossini, drawing particular acclaim for her Isabella in L'italiana in Algeri and Angelina in La Cenerentola. She also performed a wide range of works from concert repertoire that encompassed most of the great Russian composers as well as numerous works by Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Meyerbeer. In 1966, she was awarded the Lenin Prize.[3][4]

  1. ^ Slonimsky, Nicolas; Baker, Theodore (1992). Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Eighth Edition. New York, New York: Schirmer Books.
  2. ^ "Obituaries: MLegendary Russian mezzo Zara Dolukhanova dies at eighty-nine; critic Alan Wagner; P.R. wizard Danny Newman; musicologist H. Wiley Hitchcock; producer Robert Schuler". Opera News. Vol. 72, no. 9. March 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  3. ^ LLC, Helix Consulting. "Zara Dolukhanova died". www.panorama.am.
  4. ^ "Умерла Зара Долуханян". armtown.com. 16 July 2011. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2022.