Sergei Lemeshev 1902-1977

I love this guy!!!! He is one of my five all-time favorite tenors, of those I never saw live. I find the Russian "high vocal placement' so appealing, Here he sings (In Russian) arias from:

Fra Diavolo, Huguenots, Martha, Luisa Miller, Lohengrin, Faust, Mignon, Roussalka (Dargomijsky),

The Demon (Rubenstein), Onegin (act one), May Night (2 arias), Onegin (Kooda,kooda), Pique Dame

Here is some material I fouind interesting about "rivalry."                         (71 Min.)

Lemeshev-mania

Lemeshev’s talent, artistry, acting skills and conspicuous charm very quickly made him a public idol. Almost all his performances during the 1930s and 1940s were accompanied by crowds of fans followed him through the streets, spending days and nights near his house. [1]

While Lemeshev was one of the leading tenors of the Bolshoi Theatre, he was admired by female fans, who were jokingly called "lemeshistki." The theatre lobby was a venue for scuffles between the "lemeshistki" and the "kozlovityanki" (female fans of Lemeshev's rival Ivan Kozlovsky).[2]

Additionally, the film "The Musical Story" (1941) [3] in which he played the main role, brought him the Stalin prize, and even more widespread furore and fame all over the USSR.