Ioakim Viktorovich Tartakov

Born 1860, in Odessa; died Jan. 23, 1923, in Petrograd. Russian Soviet baritone and operatic stage director. Honored Artist of the Republic (1923).

Tartakov graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1881 from the class of K. Everardi and sang in provincial opera houses. From 1882 to 1884 and from 1894 to 1923 he was a soloist with the Mariinskii Theater in St. Petersburg. Beginning in 1909, he was also principal director of the Mariinskii Theater.

Tartakov was noted for his velvety yet powerful voice, his sincere acting, and his stage presence. He sang the title roles in Rubinstein’s The Demon, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and Verdi’s Rigoletto; lago in Verdi’s Otello; and Tonio in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci. He also performed P. I. Tchaikovsky’s art songs in concert. From 1920 to 1923 he was a professor at the Petrograd Conservatory.