Ivan Alchevsky - Sadko's Aria

Ivan Alchevsky (1876-1917) was born in in Kharkov to a prosperous and artistic family.  His father Oleksiy was a famed industrialist and banker, his mother Krystyna, a renowned teacher and pedagogue and his sister Krystia was a celebrated poet.  Alchevsky showed early promise as a musician and studied violin and voice with his brother Grigori, a renowned poet, composer, voice teacher and singer.  In 1901, the elder Alchevsky committed suicide following the failure of his business, plunging the family into bankruptcy.  The trauma of his father's tragic death and his family's subsequent poverty put Ivan into a depression which would affect him for the rest of his life.  The young man left the University of Kharkov (where he was studying science) and began to exploit his musical talents to help ease his family's financial burden.  He traveled to St. Petersburg and was accepted into the Mariinsky Theatre in the fall of 1901.  Following further periods of study in Paris (with legendary tenor Jean de Reszke), Alchevsky reemerged on the opera scene and became a leading tenor with Paris Opera, The Bolshoi Opera, Hammerstein's Manhattan Opera, Covent Garden Opera and others.  His repertoire was vast, ranging from Tchaikovsky to Wagner.  Author and critic Michael Scott's account of the tenor suffering a mental breakdown and spending his final months in a mental institution are grossly exaggerated.  In reality, it was Alchevsky's work ethic that led to his untimely demise.  The tenor was passionate about bringing opera to the Russian provinces and organized several tours of theatrical and concert productions.  It was during one of these rural tours that Alchevsky met his end.  Months of a grueling schedule, too little sleep, the pressure of organizing to mention the risk of death during the early days of the Russian too much for the beloved Ukrainian.  On April 26, 1917, the physically and mentally exhausted Alchevsky was stricken (probably with a heart attack) while on tour in the town of Baku.  His colleagues transported him to the nearest hospital but the forty year old tenor could not be saved. Alchevsky's entire recorded output consists of a mere eight sides, all recorded for G&T in St. Petersburg in 1903.  Although the twenty-six year old tenor is in fine form, it seems a shame that he never made recordings as a more mature and seasoned artist.