Feodor Chaliapin Sr.

Feodor Chaliapin Sr. was born on Feb 13, 1873 in Russia. Feodor Chaliapin Sr.'s big-screen debut came with Don Quixote directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst in 1933, strarring Don Quixote (as Feodor Chaliapine).

Feodor Chaliapin Sr. was born on February 13, 1873, in Omet Tawi, near Kazan, Russia. His childhood was full of suffering, hunger, and humiliation. From the age of 10-16, he was working jobs at river ports, restaurants, and tried acting on stage with various Russian provincial troupes. In 1890, Chaliapin was hired to sing in a choir at the Semenov-Samarsky private theatre in Ufa. There he began singing solo parts. In 1891, he toured Russia with the Dergach Opera. In 1892, he settled in Tiflis (Tbilisi), because he found a good teacher, Usatov, who gave Chaliapin free professional opera training for one year. He also sang at the St. Aleksandr Nevsky Cathedral in Tbilisi during the years 1892-1893.