Nikolaj Rostovskij

Born Nokhim Abramovich Frumson in Rostov-on-Don on 25 March 1873 into a Jewish merchant family, he studied medicine in Kiev, and worked as a dentist for several years.

He then studied voice with Evgenij Rjadnov in Rostov-on-Don and made his debut as Éléazar, no less, at the Mariinskij in 1902. Soon, he perfected his voice in Paris with Lhérie and Sbriglia. Upon return to Russia in 1904, he sang in Kiev, at the Narodnij Dom in St. Petersburg, and from 1907 to 1909 at the Bolshoj. Next, he was in Kazan, and from 1911 to 1920 again at the Mariinskij.

In 1918, he was the founder and first director of the Rimskij-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, where he died on the 25 July 1949.

Reference for the biographical information.
Source for the picture: Yuri Bernikov's fantastic website Russian Records.

I wish to thank Richard J. Venezia for the recording.