On the day of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Chaliapin, February 13, an eight-episode biopic dedicated to him starts on the Rossiya channel and in the Okko online cinema. Opevtse previously wrote monographs, filmed documentaries, but he was honored with a biography in feature films only now. “Izvestia” found out how the descendants see the great artist.
At the beginning of the last century, there was an anecdote about Chaliapin: “There are three miracles in the Mother See: the Tsar Cannon, the Tsar Bell and the Tsar Bass.” Fedor Ivanovich confirmed this national title with his whole life, full of grandiose accomplishments and tragic losses.
In the 1900s, Chaliapin was a popular idol. Stately, blue-eyed, fair-haired, living unrestrainedly and widely, he personified the concept of “Russian people”. The audience burst into his performances and concerts.
Around the star of Chaliapin, a whole constellation of iconic people of Russian culture is burning: Vsevolzhsky, Mamontov, Telyakovsky, Lentovsky, Vrubel, Serov, Kachalov, Rachmaninov … It could not have been otherwise in this film. Relationships between celebrities are shown to be zealous but respectful.
Without much worries, Chaliapin lives in two families. With his first wife, Italian Iola Tornaghi, he had an industrial affair. Maria Smolnikova as Iola is the highlight of the film.
Chaliapin sings in the voice of Ildar Abdrazakov. In addition, Ildar partly directed his scenes himself. As the director of the film, Yegor Anashkin, said, the singer, after watching the final cut, decided to re-sing some of the arias.
Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article at 10:00:
The most Russian Fedor: what the series “Chaliapin” told about