Vladimir Rosing

Vladimir Sergeyevich Rosing (Russian: Владимир Серге́евич Розинг) (January 23 [O.S. January 11] 1890 – November 24, 1963), aka Val Rosing, was a Russian-born operatic tenor and stage director who spent most of his professional career in England and the United States. In his formative years he experienced the last gasp of the Golden Age of Opera, and subsequently dedicated himself through his singing and directing into breathing new life into opera's outworn mannerisms and methods.

Rosing was considered by many to rank as a singer and performer of the quality of Feodor Chaliapin. In his book The Perfect Wagnerite George Bernard Shaw called Chaliapin and Vladimir Rosing "the two most extraordinary singers of the 20th century."

Vladimir Rosing's recordings are best known for his performances of Russian art songs by composers such as Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Tcherepnin, Alexander Gretchaninov, Alexander Borodin and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He was the very first singer to record a song by Igor Stravinsky: Akahito from Three Japanese Songs.

As a stage director, Rosing championed the cause of opera in English, and he attempted to build permanent national opera companies in the United States and England. He directed opera performances "with such acumen and freshness of approach that some writers were tempted to speak of him as a second Reinhardt."

Rosing created his own system of stage movement and acting for singers that proved very effective in his own productions and that he also taught to a new generation of performers.

Read more about his war experiences and professional life ...