Mikhail Shuisky

Mikhail Grigorievich Shuisky (Russian: Михаил Григорьевич Шуйский), (13 November [O.S. 1 November] 1883 – 11 September 1953) was a opera and concert singer. He sang leading baritone roles in Austria, Germany and Russia during his 40-year career. After his retirement from the stage, he taught singing.

He was born in Novogeorgievsk. He studied first at Saint Petersburg Conservatory, then at Vienna Conservatory from 1905 to 1909.

He sang leading roles at the Vienna Volksoper and the Landestheater Linz (where he was known as Michael Shuisky) and had signed long-term contracts to sing in Salzburg and Hamburg before the outbreak of the First World War. When war broke out, he returned to the Russian Empire, where he completed his career. He was a leading baritone in the Theatre of Opera and Drama in Saint Petersburg; Kiev Opera and Ballet Theatre; Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre; and the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre. Shuisky was made an Honored Artist of Russia in 1945 and received the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1946. He died in Perm shortly before his 70th birthday. A bust of Shuisky was displayed at an art exhibition in 1951 and is kept in the museum of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Biography Shuisky was born November 13, 1883, in Novogeorgievsk province of Kherson (now Kirovohrad region) in Ukraine. His family soon moved to Kremenchuk, Poltava province. As a child, he sang in the family circle and appeared in the children's choir at the main Cathedral in Kremenchuk.

In 1904, Shuisky graduated from the Kharkov Commercial College

Between 1951 and 1952 he wrote his memoirs, My Theatrical Memories, later archived at the Museum of the Opera and Ballet Theatre in Perm.

In 1951, a regional art exhibition displayed a bust of "M.G. Shuisky, Honored Artist of the RSFSR." The Sculpture is kept in the museum of the Opera and Ballet Theatre in Perm.

September 11, 1953, Shuisky died of a brain haemorrhage at age 69. He was buried in Yegoshikha Cemetery (Quarter X, Grave number 50) .

Tenor Ivan Kozlovsky had been one of Shuisky's students in Kiev. They maintained a lifelong friendship, and Kozlovsky took an active role in Shuisky's funeral.

Opera roles

Vienna Volksoper 1910 – Priest, The Magic Flute 1911 – Biterolf, Tannhäuser 1911 – Escamillo, Carmen

Landestheater Linz (1912–1913) Escamillo, Carmen Le Comte de Saint-Bris, Les Huguenots Nélusko, L'Africaine Don Pizarro Fidelio Amonasro, Aida Rigoletto, Rigoletto Otello, Otello Count di Luna, Il trovatore Renato, Un ballo in maschera Valentin, Faust Wotan, Die Walküre Biterolf, Tannhauser Beckmesser, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Theatre of Opera and Drama, Saint Petersburg 1914 – Escamillo, Carmen

Union of Theatre Workers of the Russian Federation, Kremenchuk 1917 Eugene Onegin, Eugene Onegin

Opera houses in Kiev, Kharkiv, and Odessa 1922 – Prince Igor, Prince Igor 1922 – Boris Godunov, Boris Godunov 1932 – Mazeppa, Mazeppa

Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre (1931–1949) Boris Godunov, Boris Godunov Rigoletto, Rigoletto Iago, Otello Escamillo, Carmen Scarpia, Tosca Prince Igor, Prince Igor Grigory Gryaznoy, The Tsar's Bride Demon, The Demon Mazeppa, Mazeppa Shaklovity, Khovanshchina Figaro, The Barber of Seville Germont, La traviata Tonio, Pagliacci Amonasro, Aida

Family

Yanina Pavlovska In 1905, Shuisky met Yanina Pavlovska in Vienna, where she had moved from Warsaw to study singing at the Academy of Art of the Song. They married in 1906 in St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Vienna.

In 1910 and in 1912, the couple participated together in concerts in Vienna and Yanina played the title role in "Aida" by Verdi. Critics wrote "Sir Michael Shuisky of the Municipal Theatre in Linz, in the role of Amonasro in "Aida", with his wife Yanina Shuisky performing as Aida, gave an outstanding vocal performance."

In 1917, in Kremenchug, Yanina played Tatiana in Eugene Onegin. A review of this performance stated, "Mrs. Shuisky gave a superb performance as a Tatiana. Mr. Shuisky was an excellent Onegin, with a big, beautiful, smooth voice in all registers. Appearance, manner, performance, all were immaculate. It was a great delight to listen to and watch M. Shuisky and Y. Shuisky as Onegin and Tatiana... " During the Civil War, Yanina Shuisky lost her voice and in the future could only sing in the choir.

From 1923 to 1932, she worked as a costume art designer and as a photographer at the Kiev Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre and from 1933 to 1939 as a costume designer and photographer at the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre. Their marriage lasted 34 years. Yanina Shuisky died in 1940 in Perm. She was buried in the Yegoshikha Cemetery with her husband.

Eugene Shuisky Son Eugene M. Shuisky was born in 1908 in Vienna, Austria. In 1931 he graduated from the painting department of the arts at the Ukrainian Academy of Arts in Kiev. In 1929, Shuisky was involved with his artwork in the second All-Ukrainian art exhibition of USSR People's Commissariat, which displayed in Odessa, Donetsk and Kharkov.

He worked as chief designer at the opera theater in Perm, Gorky and Saratov. Shiusky was a member of United Russian artists. He died in 1975 in Saratov.

Marina Shuisky Daughter Marina M. Shuisky was born in 1915 in Kremenchug. She graduated from medical school in Moscow. She worked as a pediatrician in Moscow, Perm, Ufa, Gorky, and Novosibirsk. In Novosibirsk, she worked as a pediatrician at a Children's Hospital and as a lecturer at the Medical Institute at the Department of Pediatrics. Shuisky died in Novosibirsk in 1975.