Ivan Rebroff

• Name — Ivan Rebroff • Birth Name — Hans Rolf Rippert • Born — 31 July 1931 • Birthplace — Berlin, Germany • Died — 27 February 2008 • Place of death — Frankfurt am Main, Germany • Genre — International music, folk music • Occupation — Singer • Years Active — 1967–2008

• Illustration — Rebroff performing in 2006 Rebroff was born on 31 July 1931 in Berlin (prematurely, he asserted, at seven months, on a train platform) as Hans Rolf Rippert to German parents. His parents were Paul Rippert, an engineer born in 1897 in Liebenwerda, and Luise Fenske, born in the city of Bromberg (now Bydgoszcz, Poland). He claimed Russian descent, and while often disputed, this has never been totally refuted. In a 1989 interview with Izvestia, he said "according to documents I am Ivan Pavlovich Rebroff".

He studied singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. Although his knowledge and pronunciation of Russian was imperfect, he became famous for singing Russian folk songs, but also performed opera, light classics and folk songs from many other countries. He was known on stage for his gusto. He performed over 6,000 concerts in his career, including a two-year seven-day-a-week stint at the Théâtre Marigny in Paris, singing and acting, among other greats, the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. When he was well into his seventies, Rebroff still performed 13 concerts in 21 days on an Australian tour. Rebroff described himself as international, the "connection between East and West". He was named an honorary citizen of the Greek Sporades island of Skopelos, his domicile. As well as being a singer, he was at least a reasonable violinist and keyboardist (he is pictured playing a church organ but may have also played the piano). Rebroff sang and was able to converse to a lesser or greater extent in several languages in addition to his native German; Russian, French, Italian, English, and Greek. He died aged 76 in Frankfurt on 27 February 2008, after a long illness. Four days after his death, his brother Horst Rippert, who is nine years his senior (and by his own unsubstantiated accounts shot down Antoine de Saint-Exupéry during World War II), claimed part of Rebroff's vast fortune.

Rebroff was gay, but did not share this widely.

• Festliche Weihnachten • Wunschkonzert • The Art of Ivan Rebroff • The Best of Russian Folk Songs Vol. 1 • The Best of Russian Folk Songs Vol. 2 • Erinnerungen an das letzte Jahrhundert • Weihnachten mit Ivan Rebroff • Die schönste Stimme Rußlands • Kosakenträume

Ivan Rebroff was recorded at birth as Hans Rolf Rippert. He also worked under the names Ivan Rebroff and Iwan Rebroff. The authorities additionally record the headings Hans Rippert, Hans-Rolf Rippert, Hans Rolf Rippert and Iwan Rebroff. His recorded language was German.

• Illustration — Rebroff performing in 2006 • 1967 • Volksweisen aus dem alten Russland (Folk Songs from Old Russia) • 1968 • Volksweisen aus dem alten Russland 2 (Folk Songs from Old Russia Volume II) • Original Russische Liebeslieder • Na Sdarowje (Iwan Rebroff Singt Weisen Von Vodka Und Wein) • Slawische Seele (Compilation album shared with Tatjana Iwanow and Dunja Rajter) • 1969 • Beim Klang der Balalaika, and in French Au son des Balalaikas • Favourites from Mother Russia • Abendglocken (compilation) • Russische Weihnacht mit Ivan Rebroff • Ivan Rebroff (includes "Lara's Theme" from Doctor Zhivago) • A Russian Christmas • Un Violon sur le toit (Original Paris Cast Album of Fiddler on the Roof) • Russische Party (live album) • Festliche Weihnacht (with Regensburger Domspatzen boys' choir) • A Festive Christmas (Festliche Weihnacht re-issue) • 1970 • Kosaken müssen reiten (German-language versions) • 1971 • The Best of Ivan Rebroff (compilation) • Somewhere My Love (English-language versions) • Ivan Rebroff Sing Vir Ons (South African album – Gold Disk Award) • Vir Jou Suid-Afrika (South African album) • Ivan Rebroff (Opera) • Kalinka (soundtrack from the 1971 film L'Homme qui vient de la nuit, German: Das Lied der Balalaika) • Mein Russland, du bist schön (German-language versions) • Starportrait (compilation) • Zwischen Donau und Don (with Dunja Rajter) • 1972 • Erinnerungen an Russland (Russian-language versions) • The Best of Ivan Rebroff Volume II (compilation) • Lieder der Welt (Folk songs from around the world) • 1973 • Mein altes Russland (lushly arranged Russian folk songs) • 25 Greatest Russian Melodies (compilation with Tatjana Iwanow (2 duets)) • 20 Greatest Hits (New Zealand compilation release) • 1974 • Russische Party 2 (live album) • Memories of Russia • 1975 • Ivan Rebroff at Carnegie Hall (live) • Reich' mir die Hand • Russische Lieder von Liebe und Tod (featuring Herbert Seidemann) • 1976 • Komm mit nach Hellas (German-language versions of Greek songs) • Die Fledermaus conducted by Carlos Kleiber – Deutsche Grammophon – with Hermann Prey, Júlia Várady, Lucia Popp, René Kollo, Bernd Weikl, Benno Kusche – Bavarian State Opera Chorus and Bavarian State Orchestra • 1977 • Mitternacht in Moskau (also known as Midnight in Moscow, with German and Russian versions) • 1979 • Ave Maria (Festliche Abendmusik Mit Ivan Rebroff) • Die Ivan Rebroff Versameling (compilation of South African tracks) • Midnight in Moscow (Russian-language version), in German Mitternacht in Moskau • 1980 • Zauber einer großen Stimme – 20 unvergängliche Welterfolge • Die schönsten Lieder dieser Welt (Ivan Rebroff singt 20 unvergängliche Melodien) • Katharina und Potemkin (TV musical/operetta) • The Ivan Rebroff Collection (compilation) • Der Zarewitsch (operetta) • 1981 • Melodien für Millionen (Ihr Wunschkonzert Mit Den Schönsten Liedern Der Welt) • 1982 • Ivan Rebroff (Signal record label release) • Zauber Grosse Stimmen (8xLP compilation featuring Alexandra) • 1983 • Taiga-Träume (Neue Lieder Und Geschichten Aus Dem Alten Rußland) • Russie Éternelle (French release) • Die Schönsten Melodien • 1984 • In Diesen Heiligen Hallen • 1985 • Live in Concert - Recitals 1968-1982 • Meine Lieblingsmelodien (Swiss compilation release) • Schenk Mir Einen Wodka Ein - 16 Seiner Großen Erfolge (compilation release) • 1986 • Ich Bete An Die Macht Der Liebe (Festliche Abendmusik Mit Ivan Rebroff Vol. II) • Ivan Rebroff Singt Heitere Klassik •...Und Friede Auf Erden • 1988 • Zauber Einer Großen Stimme (Seine Größten Welterfolge) • Zijn Grootste Successen (Dutch compilation release) • 1989 • Perestroika - Glasnost • The Best of Ivan Rebroff - Ses Plus Grands Succès (English/French release) • 1990 • The Very Best of Ivan Rebroff (BBC release) • Greatest Hits (CBS release) • Stationen Einer Karriere • 1991 • Ses Plus Grands Succès (French release of The Very Best of Ivan Rebroff) • The Very Best of Ivan Rebroff (Volume II) (BBC release) • 1992 • Die Krönung Einer Großen Karriere

• 1976 • Die Fledermaus conducted by Carlos Kleiber – Deutsche Grammophon – with Hermann Prey, Júlia Várady, Lucia Popp, René Kollo, Bernd Weikl, Benno Kusche – Bavarian State Opera Chorus and Bavarian State Orchestra • 1980 • Der Zarewitsch • 1986 • Ivan Rebroff Singt Heitere Klassik • 1990 • The Very Best of Ivan Rebroff • 1991 • The Very Best Of Ivan Rebroff (Volume II) • 1996 • Best of Ivan Rebroff • 2002 • Meine Reise um die Welt • The Great Ivan Rebroff • Ach Natascha • 2003 • Seine Größten Welterfolge • Golden Stars • 2004 • Around The World With Ivan Rebroff • 2005 • Stimme Aus Gold • 2006 • Ivan Rebroff – 75 Jahre (Meine Schönsten Lieder)