Sandunova [ne Fyodorova], Yelizaveta

Semyonovna[Uranova]
(b St Petersburg, 1772 or 30 Aug/10 Sept 1777; d Moscow, 21
Nov/3 Dec 1826). Russian mezzo-soprano. Her professional
name, Uranova, was adopted by command of Catherine II, after
the planet Uranus, discovered in 1781. She studied in St
Petersburg with Paisiello, Sarti and Martn y Soler, in whose
opera Larbore di Diana she made her dbut at the Hermitage
Theatre in 1790. In 1791 she was engaged as a singer at the
Imperial Theatres, where she was extremely popular. With her
husband, the actor Sila Nikolayevich Sandunov, she worked from
1794 in the Petrovsky Theatre, Moscow; but they were divorced in
1810 and in 1813 Sandunova returned to St Petersburg, where
she performed frequently until her retirement in 1823. Renowned
for her wide-ranging and expressive voice, she was one of the
finest operatic singers of the early 19th century and took leading
roles in numerous operas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MooserA
T.N. Livanova: Russkaya muzkal'naya kul'tura XVIII
veka [Russian musical culture of the 18th century], ii
(Moscow, 1953)
GEOFFREY NORRIS