Feodosiya Velinskaya
Russian operatic soprano (b. 1858; d. 1929), born Feodosiya Nikolayevna Ushakova; (Феодосия Николаевна Ушакова); known on stage as Feodosiya Nikitichna Velinskaya (Феодосия Никитична Велинская).
Although lacking a professional musical education, Velinskaya made her stage debut in Kiev in 1871 as Marguerite in Gounod's Faust. After spending two years in Kharkov (1875–76), she became a soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg (1877–87), before making guest appearances at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. From 1895, Velinskaya was a soloist at the Panayevsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, where she spent twelve years before touring the Russian provinces. César Cui rated her talents very highly.
Correspondence with Tchaikovsky
One letter from Tchaikovsky to Feodosiya Velinskaya has survived, dating from 1887, and has been translated into English on this website:
- Letter 3414 – 20 November/2 December 1887, from Maydanovo
One letter from Feodosiya Velinskaya to the composer, dating from November 1887, is preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin (a4, No. 405).
