Olenina-Dalheim, Mariia

Born Sept. 19 (Oct. 1), 1869, in the village of Istomino, Riazan’ Province; died Aug. 26, 1970, in Moscow. Russian mezzo-soprano chamber singer.

Olenina studied under Iu. F. Platonova, A. N. Molas, and other teachers and in 1891 made her debut as a chamber singer in Moscow at a concert of the Kerzin Circle of Lovers of Russian Music. She was an outstanding performer and popularizer of vocal compositions by the composers of the New Russian School of Music, particularly those of M. P. Mussorgsky. In 1908 she and her husband, Pierre d’Alheim—French writer, translator of the lyrics to Mussorgsky’s songs into French, and author of a book about Mussorgsky—organized the House of Song in Moscow with the goal of promoting vocal chamber music. In 1918, Olenina-d’Alheim took up residence in Paris, where she continued giving concerts. In 1959 she returned to the USSR.