Ru
EnA. Selitsky
Grigori Valliano: materials for a biography. An artistic image in appraisals of contemporaries. Article five
Grigori Valliano (1830–1888) entered the history of the theatre, mainly as an entrepreneur, the head of the Rostov troupe, which became the first operetta theatre in Russia. However, throughout his creative life, for at least a quarter of a century, he appeared on stage as an actor, playing diverse roles in performances of different genres. The article attempts to reconstruct the artistic image of Valliano. The material to be publishing in more than ten newspapers and magazines appeared from the 1860s to the 1880s in Rostov, Taganrog, Novocherkassk, Vladikavkaz, Moscow, St. Petersburg, as well as a few memoirs of theatrical figures. The identified sources have never been described in such a volume before and are being introduced into research use for the first time.
The collected value judgments are grouped as follows. First, the characteristics are generalized, related to the figure of the artist as such and based on more or less long-term observations of contemporaries. Subsequently there are responses to performances in certain plays, which, in turn, are divided into approving and critical ones. Opinions are very dissimilar, even to the exact opposite. The guideline in analysis of them is the repeated motives of statements made independently of each other in different years in different cities, that is, the invariants of estimates. Valliano’s comedic talent was recognized by the absolute majority of authors; good luck awaited him in other roles too.
The responses of contemporaries indicate that actor’s hand of Valliano has evolved, the artist got rid of shocking antics, having come to a greater purity of style.
The final conclusion: Valliano is a talented artist in the second half of the 19th century, mainly in supporting roles. Among operetta performers, he stood out not only on the provincial, but also on the metropolitan stage.
Key words
operetta in pre-revolutionary Russia, musical and theatrical review, figures of the musical theatre in the South of Russia, acting roles in operetta, comic buff.
For citation
Selitsky A. Grigori Valliano: materials for a biography. An artistic image in appraisals of contemporaries. Article five. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2025. No. 3. Pp. 5–14.
