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The Russian soprano, Irène Kedroff, was the daughter of the Russian bass Nikolai Kedroff and soprano Sophia Gladkaya, both sang in the period around 1910 for several years at the St. Petersburg Opera. A son of the couple, Nikolai Kedroff Jr. was, at times married with the famous Russian soprano Natalie Wetchor (b 1903), one daughter became an actress and appeared later at New York's Broadway in musicals.
The Kedroff family emigrated after the October Revolution to Paris and then in a perverted Russian emigre intellectual circles and the circle around the composer Nadia Boulanger. In Paris, members of the family formed a vocal quartet named the Kedroff Quartet, which was headed by Nikolai Kedroff Jr., and in which Irène Kedroff was the soprano soloist. The alto was Natalia Kedroff (b 1906?), her cousin (daughter of her uncle Constantine Kedroff, who was also a singer). The quartet appeared in Paris as well as on tours and concerts and was especially successful with its recordings. They worked for HMV already electrically recorded discs, including duets with Irène and Natalia Kedroff. There are also images of the Kedroff Quartet on a Pathé recording, for which, however, the manufacturer is not specified on the label. The Kedroff Quartet (in alternating cast) appeared until long after World War II. Irène Kedroff also sang in a vocal quartet together with Comtesse Marie-Blanche de Polignac, the tenor Hugues Cuénod and the bass Doda Conrad. Recordings by this quartet are available on HMV. |
