THE WORLD-FAMOUS ORIGINAL
Don Cossack Chorus Serge Jaroff
Nicolai Bessalov
1954
With Olhovy and Jaroff, 1955
1955
1956
1959
1959
Nicolai Bessalov (Íèêîëàé Ðîìàíîâè÷ Áåññàëîâ) (aka Nykola Bessaliw). 189? Russian Empire - May 12, 1978, Netherlands. He sang as a lower tenor, occasionally also as a baritone. Bessalov was stocky, with large eyes and bushy eyebrows.
Clips from the movie „Alle Tage ist kein Sonntag“, 1959
He was a member of the choir only for a short time (5-6 years). On the Japan tour in 1956 he is shown on choir photos.
Nicolai Bessalov was involved in the German feature films „Ja, ja die Liebe in Tirol“ from 1955, „Das Donkosakenlied“ from 1956 and „Alle Tage ist kein Sonntag“ from 1959. In the latter he can be seen briefly in two close-ups: in scene 1:15 until 1:21 and 4:15 untill 4:26 in the far left corner in the presented clip.
The soloist on the wooden bridge in scene 0:40 to 2:34 in the song „The red Sarafan“ is not a member of the Don Cossack Choir, but the German actor Dietmar Schonherr (1926-2014.) In the film, however, this song is sung by Basile Bolotine (falsetto voice):
In Tokyo as Choir Member, 1956
Bessalov is no longer present in the choir in the WDR television concerts (German television) 1963-1969 and in the movie from 1971.
The widow of choir member Michail Minsky, Irina Jacoba wrote in 2012:
I've sung with him, he also has the church choir of the Russian Orthodox Church in Den Haag (Netherlands) conducted.
We are about to make a CD, where his daughter sings. She still lives.
Yes, my husband (Michail Minsky) has also conducted the oeral cossack choir for two years.
Paycheck from Serge Jaroff, 1956
...Years later, however, the existence of the choir was increasingly threatened by the age of its members. In this situation, Nikolai Romanovich Bessalov, who had previously sung in other Cossack choirs, decided to try to revive the tradition. In 1974 he began to carry on the tradition of the Ural Cossacks in the Netherlands, and Scholuch officially presented him with all the insignia of the regiment and the associated rights. The Ural Cossack Choir was also allowed to wear the regimental coat of arms.Bessalov died in 1978, and Scholuch a year later.1
