Item #949 [THE BOOK INSCRIBED BY THE FOUNDER OF ISRAELI OPERA TO CHALIAPIN] Evreiskiy teatr v Palestine [i.e. The Hebrew Theatre in Palestine]. M. Golinkin.

[THE BOOK INSCRIBED BY THE FOUNDER OF ISRAELI OPERA TO CHALIAPIN] Evreiskiy teatr v Palestine [i.e. The Hebrew Theatre in Palestine]

Odessa: Kinaret, [1920s]. Item #949

Printed wrappers, the spine is restored. Otherwise very good.

A completely unrecorded brochure by the pioneer of Jewish opera inscribed by him to Fyodor Chaliapin on the front wrapper: ‘‘To Fiodor Ivanovich Chaliapin from devoted M. Golinkin’’.
Mordekhai Golinkin (1885-1963) is considered the first one who started to direct operas in Hebrew. In his childhood in Odessa he was a member of the chorus in the local synagogue, after that he has studied in the conservatory in Warsaw. In 1896-1911 he directed different operas in Kiev, Kharkiv, Tiflis, Kazan, Saratov and in 1911 he met Chaliapin during his spell in Saint Petersburg. Chaliapin has asked Mariinsky theater to accept Golinkin as a director there, but his request was denied because of Golinkin’s faith. In 1917 Golinkin has published an article ‘The Temple of Art in Eretz Yisrael’ where he has stated that it’s impossible to imagine the rebirth of the land of Israel without the national art, including the opera sang in Hebrew. He has formed the Jewish chamber ensemble ‘‘Zimra’’ that was performing all over Russia.
Chaliapin was a great supporter of Golinkin’s ideas and has performed Hatikvah together with the ensemble.
Soon after the revolution Golinkin was offered the post of the main conductor at Mariinsky but he declined and moved to Odessa where he decided to wait for the opportunity to go to Israel. That opportunity came in 1923 and he moved to Tel-Aviv. He started his own opera which performed ‘Traviata’ in Hebrew in Tel-Aviv in September of 1923. Later he has conducted operas in Tel-Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and found ‘The Israeli Opera company’. In 1928 he has seen Chaliapin again in New York and Chaliapin asked him to come to Paris and become the head of the Russian Opera in Paris, but Golinkin has turned that offer down.
Many of Golinkin’s efforts were abrupt because of the lack of money for the projects, but he kept on performing through the 1930s and the 1940s. In 1940 he had conducted the opera ‘La Juive’ by Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy.
Golinkin also has been responsible for creating the first Israeli Symphonic Orchestra in 1923.
His 1927 book ‘The Temple of the Arts’ became the classical for the development of the arts in Israel.

Not in the Worldcat or any other electronic catalogues.

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