About the series
1886. Kazan. A father tries to find little Fedya a trade. But the boy fails as an apprentice or errand boy — he dreams only of music and theater... Arriving in the capital to conquer it without a kopeck to his name, young Fyodor doesn't miss the chance given to him to perform at a concert, and immediately wins over the audience with his powerful bass. But Fyodor Chaliapin's true talent is revealed at a private opera house — a new venture of the patron Savva Mamontov. The fame of the great Russian bass grows, and passions rage around him. The smitten Chaliapin marries the Italian ballerina Iola, who is ready to give up her own artistic career for him. But their happy family life is interrupted by a suddenly ignited affair with an admirer of his talent, Maria. His passion for Maria turns the great singer's life upside down. Torn between two women and two families, he cannot bring himself to leave either one. Chaliapin cannot imagine his life without children, without opera, without the sweeping Russian song. And without his homeland, love for which gives meaning to his entire life.