Feodor Chaliapin : In questa tomba oscura (Beethoven) : 1921 and 1927 : New restorations

The text of In questa tomba oscura (In this dark tomb) was written by Italian poet, resident in Vienna, Giuseppe Carpani (1752 to 1825). It was set to music by Beethoven in 1808. Feodor Chaliapin made the first of these two great recordings, using the acoustic (pre-electric) process on 12th October 1921. The second was made by the far superior electrical process on 17th June 1927. 0:06 1921 recording 3:22 1927 recording Feodor Chaliapin (1873 to 1938) was born into a peasant family in Kazan and began his career at the Imperial Opera in Saint Petersburg in 1894. He made his La Scala debut in 1901 and Metropolitan Opera debut in 1907. He supported the 1917 Russian Revolution but was subsequently unhappy with the harshness of the new Soviet Regime and permanently left Russia in 1921. He lived for much of his life in France and he died in Paris in 1938. His remains were transferred from Paris to Moscow in 1984.