Reizen Mark is a great Soviet opera singer, whose voice covered two and a half octaves, and who was subject to all bass parts without exception. The Guinness Book of Records was replenished thanks to his performance on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater at the age of 90, performing the part from Eugene Onegin.
Childhood
In the village of Zaitsevo near the major railway junction of Nikitovka in 1895 Reisen Mark was born. He was born into a large and friendly coal loader family with five children. Grandfather and grandmother lived with the family, but in a separate wing. Mother took care of everyone. The family was musical. Everyone knew how to play the mandolin, balalaika, guitar and accordion. It was a lot of fun in the evenings when this ensemble played.
Military youth
At 19, he was drafted into the army, as the country took part in the First World War. Mark was wounded twice, ended up in hospitals, received two military awards for his valor and courage - St. George's Crosses III and IV degrees. In the army, with the participation of the cornet Emelyanov, he sang to the accompaniment of the regimental band. It turned out so well that an orchestra of folk instruments was created in between fights. But such a rest between fights ended quickly. Active hostilities began inGalicia. After the first battle, Reisen Mark, seriously wounded, was sent to the hospital. After this injury, he was demobilized, and he left for Kharkov. He was 22 years old.
The path to music
After being treated at Reisen Hospital, Mark decided to become an engineer. To do this, he entered the Kharkov Institute, but after much persuasion from a friend, which caused only laughter (singer - is this a job for a man?), He began to study at the Kharkov Conservatory. His vocal teacher in 1917 was Federico Bugamelli, who left for his homeland a year later. He invited a talented student to Italy, promised to make him a star of world scenes.
Kharkov and Leningrad
But Reizen remained in Kharkov, and since 1921 he has been a soloist at the Kharkov Opera House. He sings the part of Pimen in Boris Godunov. Mark Reisen is constantly learning from both actors and conductors.
And in 1925 he sings already on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in Leningrad. He is considered the successor of the Russian singing tradition, coming from F. I. Chaliapin. Both in height and in voice, he, as they say, "came out." And the voice was unique: powerful, flexible, velvety, with a soft beautiful timbre. Reizen took a range from F of a large octave (a very low note) to A-flat first. The singer's diction was impeccable.
In Moscow
Such an artist could not be overlooked in the capital, and he was invited on tour. He performed at the Bolshoi in the opera "Prince Igor", in which he sang the main part. After that, he was invited to the government box, and the leader said, without accepting excuses, that nowMark Osipovich will work at the Bolshoi Theatre.
And although his family had a well-established life in Leningrad, they had to leave the place and urgently move to Moscow. Stalin's decision was the law for everyone, and Mark Osipovich Reizen was no exception. His biography is now forever connected with the Bolshoi Theater. Here he received three Stalin Prizes (1941, 1949, 1951), three Orders of Lenin (1937, 1951, 1976), the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1955), the Order of Friendship of Peoples (1985), the title of People's Artist of the USSR (1937). So the homeland recognized the merits of the singer.
Those who heard how Mark Reizen sings and plays, awards and prizes were considered justly deserved. In the Bolshoi Theater for twenty-five years of work, Mark Osipovich performed all the leading bass parts. Both the actors standing side by side with him on stage and the audience remembered the images created. Here is the insidious mocking Mephistopheles, a handsome man of handsome men, mockingly singing a serenade to Margarita. Here is sneaking and gradually revealing from the quietest piano to Basilio powerfully towering in praise of slander. Here is Susanin, a man from the people, capable of heroic defense of the motherland, whose drama was revealed by the singer, working a lot on this image. Full of dignity and nobility Gremin. Boris Godunov rushes about and suffers. But the most striking image - everyone says it with one voice - is Dositheus. This became possible thanks to the highest vocal and acting abilities of the singer. After all, even turning his back on the audience in this part, he filled the entire hall with his voiceconveyed all the nuances and shades of the character's feelings. The actor chose the make-up and costume for each part himself, using historical sources and not forgetting about his own individuality.
But each image has been improved with each new performance, because this is a long process and not limited to rehearsals before the premiere. And as a result, an image appeared before the astonished viewer, in which gestures, music, and voice merged into a single whole.
Concert activities
For a long time and with great interest, the actor worked in the pop genre. His repertoire was vast, including about one hundred and fifty romances by Russian and foreign performers. The stage is a special world where everything rests only on the performer, where there is no theatrical make-up and costume, faithful assistants on the stage. Piano, accompanist and performer one on one with the listener. And with each work it is necessary to reincarnate. Here Reizen Mark Osipovich sings Russian folk songs, and then lyrical romances. Here he can perform Dargomyzhsky's "Titular Counsellor" with humor.
Great skill and depth were present in Reisen's performance of solo parts in requiems by Mozart and Verdi, in the works of Beethoven. Touching these masterpieces is a great responsibility for the performer and a joy for the listener.
Mark Reizen passed away at the age of 97. His biography is the biography of a happy man - he loved his work, and the public loved him.
