Leonid Kharitonov (singer)

Leonid Mikhailovich Kharitonov (Леонид Михайлович Харитонов; 18 September 1933 – 19 September 2017) was a Soviet and Russian bass-baritone (баритональный бас) singer.

He was honored with People's Artist of the RSFSR and Honored Artist of RSFSR.

He was born in Golumet, Irkutsk Oblast, in 1933.

When his father went missing in World War II, his mother brought him up.

Between 1934 and 1942 he was at Cheremkhovo, and attended school number 25 from 1941 to 1942.

Back at Golumet he attended school from 1942 to 1945, and stayed at Golumet until 1947.

For a year from the age of 14 (from 1947 to 1948) he studied to be a welder in F.Z.O. and worked at a plant in Kuibysheva in the Irkutsk Oblast as a moulder and caster.

From 1948 to 1950 back in Golumet again, he worked in M.T.S. as an electric welder, meanwhile beginning to perform as a singer.

From 17 years old (1950/1951) he was a soloist at Irkutsk Philharmonic and finally was accepted by Moscow Conservatory from 1952 to 1955.

This was very difficult because as a Siberian he did not even have a matriculation certificate, but his strong singing voice spoke for him.

From 9 November 1953 to March 1965 he was a member of the choir in the Red Song and Dance Ensemble of the Soviet Army (later the Alexandrov Ensemble).

His place in the choir was always third from the right in the top row.

From 1953 to 1955 he served in both the Red Army and the choir.

From 1956 to 1959, while still with the choir, he studied at Gnessin State Musical College.

In the West he was noted for his 1965 video of The Song of the Volga Boatmen.

His first unofficial public performance as soloist was in the State Kremlin Palace on 18 March 1965.

On that day two good friends of his, cosmonauts Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov, traveled into space on the Voskhod 2.

During this mission, Leonov became the first human to walk in space.

Kharitonov's first official public performance as a soloist was on 22 April 1965.

In 1967 he was awarded Honoured Artist of Russia.

During the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, Kharitonov went on tour abroad to many different countries, including Czechoslovakia, England, Scotland, the United States, China and Australia.

He continued with the Ensemble until 1972 - so he was with them for nearly 20 years.

B.A. Alexandrov was proud of his soloist, and would often shake his hand or hug him publicly onstage after a performance.

Kharitonov sometimes sang duets, but only with Ivan Bukreev.

Kharitonov had only one singing teacher in his life: Evgeny Avgustovich Kanger, who taught no-one in the Ensemble but the leading soloists, including Evgeny Belyaev.

From 1972 to 1998 he was a soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic Society, and in 1986 was awarded People's Artist of the RSFSR.

Being a soloist for the Moscow Philharmonic meant that tours were arranged; he was given bookings by them; an accompanist was provided; but he could arrange his own bookings and pay for a different accompanist outside Moscow, and could accept tours offered by his own clients.

During this time, he performed frequently on radio and television.

On tour, he visited the entire country and appeared several times at the State Kremlin Palace concert hall.

He was considered the pride of Russia, and sang at concerts for the government and for foreign delegations.

From 1998 to 2006 he performed at various venues on a contract basis, giving concerts in Siberia, the German Embassy and Ilya Glazunov Gallery.

He was a friend of Anatoly Solovyanenko but they never sang a duet together.

Kharitonov never performed in theatrical opera, but sang operatic arias in concert performances.

Like many of the great Russian operatic singers of the Soviet era, this bass-baritone singer who was respected in Russia and who sang fully in the tradition of Chaliapin was largely unknown in the West.

This is because his career was overshadowed by the Cold War.

However his recordings continue to be re-released worldwide, and this may eventually serve to redress the balance, along with the recent increased exposure of Kharitonov on YouTube.

Utyos (Russian: Утёс)

One of Kharitonov's first solo performances, at age 32 after twelve years in the choir of the Ensemble, was a concert at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses attended by top government officials.

As a chorister he was aware of the primary function of the bass part.

Whether the part actually does so or not, its effect is to appear to provide a rhythmic and tonal foundation for the musical piece.