Bogomir Korsov
Russian baritone and opera artist of German descent (b. 19 February/3 March 1843 in Saint Petersburg; d. 1920 in Tiflis), born Gottfried Göring (Готтфрид Геринг), but known onstage as Bogomir Bogomirovich Korsov (Богомир Богомирович Корсов).
After studying in Saint Petersburg with Luigi Piccioli, Korsov made his stage debut in Turin in 1868. From 1869 he was a member of the Mariinsky Theatre company in the Russian capital, moving to the Bolshoi in Moscow the following year, where he remained until 1905. In Moscow he premiered the roles of Vyazminsky in The Oprichnik (1878) and the title role in Mazepa (1884) — Tchaikovsky supplying additional numbers in both operas specially at Korsov's request — as well as the Devil in Cherevichki (1887), and Tomsky in The Queen of Spades (1890).
Dedications
Tchaikovsky dedicated two of his songs to Bogomir Korsov:
- No Response, Or Word, Or Greeting — No. 5 of the Six Romances, Op. 28 (1875)
- On the Golden Cornfields — No. 2 of the Six Romances, Op. 57 (1884)
Correspondence with Tchaikovsky
22 letters from Tchaikovsky to Bogomir Korsov have survived, dating from 1874 to 1891, all of which have been translated into English on this website:
- Letter 355 – 17/29 July 1874, from Nizy
- Letter 919 – 22 September/4 October 1878, from Moscow
- Letter 928 – late September/early October 1878, from Moscow
- Letter 933 – 7/19 October 1878, from Moscow
- Letter 2398 – 12/24 December 1883, from Moscow
- Letter 2399 – 13/25 December 1883, from Moscow
- Letter 2422 – 4/16 February 1884, from Moscow
- Letter 2564 – 8/20 October 1884, from Saint Petersburg
- Letter 2634b – 1884–1887 (?), from Moscow
- Letter 3165 – 28 January/9 February 1887, from Moscow
- Letter 3169a – January or February 1887 (?), from Moscow
- Letter 3191 – 1/13 March 1887, from Saint Petersburg
- Letter 3245 – 28 April/10 May 1887, from Maydanovo
- Letter 3256 – 13/25 May 1887, from Saint Petersburg
- Letter 4282b – 1890-1893 (?), from Moscow
- Letter 4424 – 25 June/7 July 1891, from Maydanovo
- Letter 4474 – 12/24 September 1891 , from Maydanovo
- Letter 4476 – 15/27 September 1891, from Maydanovo
- Letter 4486 – 28 September/10 October 1891, from Maydanovo
- Letter 4550 – 14/26 November 1891, from Maydanovo
- Letter 4558 – 18/30 November 1891, from Maydanovo
- Letter 4561 – 20 November/2 December 1891, from Maydanovo
15 letters from Korsov to the composer, dating from 1887 to 1892, are preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin (a4, Nos. 1793–1807).
