Modest Menzinsky

Born: 1875
Died: 1935
Ukranian tenor.

Son of a Russian-orthodox priest. First he studied theology at the university of Lvov (Lwów). He studied singing with Walery Wysocki in Lwów and continued his education from 1899 to 1903 with Julius Stockhausen in Frankfurt a. M. He made his debut in 1901 at the Opernhaus of Frankfurt a. M. as Lyonel in ‘’Martha’’. In the 1902-1904 seasons he sang at the Stadttheater in Elberfeld. From 1904 to 1910 he was a member of the Royal Opera in Stockholm. Here he sang in 1905 or in 1907 in the premières of R. Wagner’s ‘’Siegfried’’ and “Götterdämmerung”. In the 1910-1926 seasons he was engaged by the Opernhaus in Cologne. He made successful guest appearances in Vienna (Hofoper) and London (Covent Garden). On 11. 2. 1909 he appeared at the Opernhaus in Lwów (Lvov) in the premiere of the opera “Boleslaw Smialy” (“Boleslaw der Mutige”) by Lubomir Rózycki. On 27. 3. 1924 he sang also at the Opernhaus in Cologne in the premiere of Fr. Schreker’s ‘’Irrelohe’’. In 1926 he retired from the stage and for the last time appeared in Cologne as Eleazar in ‘’La Juive’’ by Halévy. Since 1926 he lived in Stockholm where he still gave concerts and been active as a vocal pedagogue.