Maksakova Astrakhan Biography

This is how he recalls her debut in the Bolshoi Theater in the role of Amneeris. Maksakova was born in Astrakhan, and there she made the first difficult successes as a singer. The time was difficult - the beginning of the century, the music with the girl was engaged little and, probably, not professionally. But she was lucky: in the Astrakhan Theater, she met a man who made a singer out of her, became her mentor, teacher and husband.

She was eighteen. She was beginning in the troupe. His name was Maximilian Karlovich Maksakov. He himself was a singer, and dreamed of a big theater. In Astrakhan, he lost his wife. And when he recovered from grief, suddenly completely unexpectedly, he married again. Three years passed, - and Maria Petrovna received an invitation to sing at the Bolshoi Theater. She fell into a wonderful constellation: at that time Obukhov and Nezhdanov, Barsov and Lemeshev worked there.

After recognition on this scene, you can no longer be afraid for your fate. Moreover, next to her was a person like Maksakov. And when she returned home, he was no longer alive. The life of Maria Petrovna was not easy. But the beginning of an artistic fate was especially difficult. This is what the singer writes in her memoirs. I recall the cold, windy winter.

Astrakhan was preparing for the rebuke of the White Guards who covered the city with a ring of a blockade. Nevertheless, in the evening the theaters were crowded.

The main contingent of the audience was armed people with red bandages on their sleeves. With what greed, with what amazing attention, with what ardor they met us, artists. However, the romances, which formed the basis of the Maksakova’s repertoire at the Music School, soon gave way to the opera arias. This is how it happened. Studying at the school, Maksakova understood that her voice was very low.

Her teacher, Alexandra Nikolaevna Smolenskaya, advised to leave the old repertoire so far and work out only by exercises. But, returning from the exercises to the romances and the Aryans, she was surprised: the voice now seemed to be squeaky, and the upper notes still did not sound in any way. There you will learn to sing. Maksakova was lucky: immediately after listening, she was enrolled in the opera troupe of the Astrakhan Theater.

And natural curiosity helped her notice the slightest acting tricks. So, drilling holes in the scenery, she hid behind the scene during the performance and watched the gait of the singers. The first exit of the heroine seemed especially important to her. The role of Lyubasha was her beloved - she loved this heroine even more than Carmen or Marfu. The very special page of Maksakova’s biography is associated with the image of Carmen.

In this role, Maksakova enjoyed incredible success. At tour concerts, I had to give three times more performances than planned.