Each person’s life is a unique story, sometimes tragic, sometimes ordinary. The life story of the singer Belenitsyna is bright as a flash, and little known to the people of Zhytomyr. The story of Belenitsyna is an opportunity to create an idea of the cultural life of our city in the past

In the 1950s, with the assistance and recommendations of the former Volyn governor Rimsky-Korsakov, the father of the famous composer, Ivan Belenitsyn, a state councilor, came to Zhytomyr.
In the capital of the province, he received the post of official on special assignments under the governor. Belenitsyn served skillfully and faithfully, as an incentive he received a plot of land for the arrangement of the estate. At that time, the place provided was in the village of Kroshnya and was far from the center of Zhytomyr.
Belenitsyn himself chose a place among a small grove, with a lake in the middle. The taste was good, and over time, with the help of local architects, he built a beautiful house, which successfully fit into the park. Both the house and the park have survived to this day, but have lost their original appearance. Now it is part of the territory of the Agrotechnical College on Pokrovska Street. It is interesting that over time, the owners of the Belenitsyn estate became famous people in Zhytomyr – the family of patrons and entrepreneurs Arshenevsky.
The Belenitsyns moved to a new apartment, celebrated their housewarming, and continued a measured bureaucratic life. To decorate the everyday monotony, as it was then established, arranged dinner parties, theatrical evenings with dancing, singing, walking in the park and other entertainments.
Ivan Belenitsyn’s circle of acquaintances was large: fellow officials, local nobles, landowners, and officers of military units stationed in Zhytomyr. Guests gladly accepted the invitation, each with their own preferences: the one likes a hearty meal, other dances or walks in the park. Men were probably attracted to a special reason that outweighed others.
Ivan Belenitsyn had two beautiful daughters. The eldest Sophia was 22 at the time, and the youngest Lyubov was 20. The girls were well-mannered, naturally had a talent for singing, and were educated at the Catherine Institute of Noble Girls in St. Petersburg.
Here they perfected their gift with rehearsals and lessons with famous composers and musicians. The father of the future singers made efforts to develop their musical and vocal talents. Thanks to his friendly relations with composers O. Dargomyzhsky and M. Glinka, the daughters from the beginning had wonderful teachers and mentors, who in turn highly valued their abilities. Contemporaries say that Lyubov Belenitsyna learned to play the piano and then sing. Due to her exceptional talent, O. Dargomyzhsky considered her the best interpreter of his works. And Glinka, especially for her and for her performance, wrote music.
Later, Sophia, Princess Golitsyna after the second marriage, remained a talented amateur singer, and her younger sister went to study in Florence and soon began performing professionally on stage as a pianist and performer of opera arias by Italian and French composers. She was a great success and in the late 1850s already toured the cities of Europe. She was applauded by Vienna, Warsaw, Paris, and Rome.
Each time returning to her father’s estate, Lyubov lived in Zhytomyr for a long time, took an active part in the theatrical and musical environment. Her talent, acquired skills and activity had a great influence on the cultural life of the city. She often performed at charity concerts as a singer and pianist with her own expressive compositions, which completely won the hearts of listeners, gave master classes to those who wanted to, shared her experience. When Belenitsyna performed in the theater, the hall was filled to the brim. Her success was undeniable and grew each time, gaining new fans.
The best words about Lyubov’s work were the words of composer Oleksandr Serov (father of the famous artist Valentin Serov): «It is not enough to listen to her: you have to listen and see her. All the musicality of her soul is transmitted by the shades of a playful face, fantastically airy, elusive in shape. As there is always something seductively sad in her image, so in her voice there are always tears, sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden».
Belenitsyna’s talent was appreciated by famous musicians and composers Modest Mussorgsky, Alexander Borodin. Miliy Balakirev, a famous composer-conductor, an outstanding pianist, accompanied Lyubov at her solo concerts. Newspapers of the time wrote about the singer: «Her voice sounds like pure silver.» It became part of the musical and theatrical life of Europe.
It is unknown how Belenitsyna’s life would have turned out if she had not met Major General Mykola Karmalin, the chief of staff of the 3rd Army Corps, during her visit to Zhytomyr in the early 1860s. Appointed to office in 1859, he was prominent in the city, took an active part in state and public affairs, led a secular life, attended aristocratic events, theater. Karmalin knew Belenitsyna-singer, admired her talent, attended concerts in St. Petersburg, and when fate brought him together with a woman in Zhytomyr, he declared his love and proposed marriage. The couple was good: both successful, the 37-year-old general and the 27-year-old singer, but Karmalin’s rapid career ended his wife’s stage career and theatrical life. In 1862, Karmalin was appointed quartermaster general of the Caucasian Army. His position unofficially reached the level of deputy governor of the tsar in the Caucasus. The high status of her husband did not allow Lyubov to continue her vocal, musical and theatrical life.
Belenitsyna-Karmalina dedicated her work to the development of education and culture in the Kuban. She was the chairman of the board of the Women’s Charitable Society, a member of the board of the Mariinsky School.
A women’s primary school named after her was opened on her initiative. Karmalina spent the last period of her life in St. Petersburg on the estate of her daughter – Kobrino. The talented woman from Zhytomyr wrote memoirs about her stage life, musicians, composers, organized music evenings, supported beginner vocalists.