Vera Liutse & Vasily Damaev

as Mimi & Rodolfo in "La Boheme" by Puccini

Vera Lutse
(Vera Vladimirova de Luce)
1879-1977
Russian Soprano

Studied with her mother, an opera singer Sofia Konarskaya in Warsaw and had great success at the Opera House of Warsaw since 1900's. In 1907 she guested in Italy under the name Vera de Luza, but was involved in the same year at the Zimin Private Opera in Moscow. Here she created for Moscow the role of Butterfly in “Madama Butterfly” by Puccini. She stayed until 1913 at the Zimin Opera and then gave guest performances at various opera houses in Russia, especially in Odessa and Kharkov. Starring in her extensive stage repertoire as Rosina in "Barber of Seville" by Rossini , Juliette in "Roméo et Juliette" by Gounod, Mimi in "La Bohème" by Puccini and the Antonida in "Life for the Tsar" ( "Ivan Susanin") by Glinka. From 1920 she worked as a teacher, and since 1934 worked as a lecturer at the Gnesin Conservatory Moscow..

Vassili Petrovich Damaev
1878-1932
Russian Tenor
Sang in a church choir as a boy. From 1903 to 1905 he studied in Moscow .Became a member of Zimin’s Operain in 1906, Debut as the Pretender in “Boris Godunov” by Moussorgsky in 1908 at Moscow singing with several Moscow opera companies, including the Bolshoi opera, He toured the Russian provinces from 1908-1910 In the seasons of 1909,1911 and 1913 he sang in the Russian opera seasons at Paris , London and Italy He retired in 1922 Roles Pretender in “Boris Godunov” by Moussorgsky . Andrej in “Khovanshchina” by Moussorgsky , Tucha in “Maid of Pskov” by Rimsky-Korsakov , Levko in “May Night” by Rimsky-Korsakov , Sadko in “Sadko” by Rimsky-Korsakov ,Sobinon in “A life of the Tsar” by Glink and Andrei in “Mazeppa” by Tchaikovsky