Today, on the birthday of the Russian opera singer and People's Artist of the USSR, Antonina Nezhdanova, a new selection of musical masterpieces performed by the talented singer is posted in the museum Phonothèque.

Ivan Kozlovsky called her a "Stradivarius violin" and said, "You are our tuning fork". Stanislavski exclaimed, "Well, Antonina Vasilievna, you're not a woman - you're Orpheus in a skirt!"
Antonina Nezhdanova sang at the same stage with Enrico Caruso and Fyodor Chaliapin; Bernard Shaw considered her "the best creation of nature"; Sergei Rachmaninoff dedicated his famous "Vocalize" to the singer, and when Antonina asked him why is it without words, he replied, "Your voice expresses everything better than words". She drew rave reviews from everyone she met.

As Nezhdanova once recalled, when she first stepped onto the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre, they brought her a huge basket of roses and a little note, "May your life journey be strewn with scarlet roses". And so it happened: fate not only favored her, but also paved her life path with flowers. Antonina Nezhdanova conquered with her talent not only Moscow and St Petersburg, but also all of Europe. She toured abroad, admiring Italy, hence choosing Soviet Russia. Here she was married to the eminent conductor Nikolai Golovanov and their family union lasted for thirty-two years. Together they made a triumphant tour through Western Europe and the Baltics, where her husband accompanied her in solo recitals.
The leaders of the state and people of name were among the admirers of the singer vocal talent.

She had her heart in sharind knowledge and skills with her students -- from 1936, she taught at the Stanislavsky Opera Studio first and then at the Moscow Conservatory, and she even wrote a book of memoirs in which she shared her thoughts and ideas about the art of singing.

For a full biography of the Russian opera singer Antonina Nezhdanova, see the column Authors.