Dmitri Nabokov

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For the former ice hockey player, see Dmitri Nabokov (ice hockey).

Dmitri Vladimirovich Nabokov (

translator. Born in Berlin, he was the only child of Russian parents: author Vladimir Nabokov and his wife Véra; they emigrated to the United States from France in 1940. He later was naturalized. In his later years, Nabokov translated many of his father's works into other languages, and served as the executor of his father's literary estate
.

Early life and education

Dmitri Nabokov was born on May 10, 1934, in

lepidoptery at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology. When his father took a teaching job at Cornell University, Dmitri lived with his parents in Ithaca, New York
.

In 1951, Nabokov entered

Longy School of Music. Nabokov joined the U.S. Army as an instructor in military Russian and as an assistant to a chaplain.[4]

Career

Nabokov translated many of his father's works, including novels, stories, plays, poems, lectures, and letters, into several languages. One of his first translations, from Russian to English, was Invitation to a Beheading, under his father's supervision. In 1986, Dmitri published his posthumous translation of a novella by his father that was previously unknown to the public. The Enchanter (Volshebnik), written in Russian in 1939, was deemed "a dead scrap" by his father and thought to have been destroyed. The novella has some similarities to Lolita. Consequently, it has been described as the Ur-Lolita ("The Original Lolita"), a precursor to Nabokov's best-known work, but Dmitri did not agree with this assessment.[5]

Dmitri collaborated with his father on a translation of Mikhail Lermontov's novel, A Hero of Our Time.[6]

In 1961, Nabokov made his operatic début by winning the

Gran Teatre del Liceu with the soprano Montserrat Caballé and the tenor Giacomo Aragall.[8]

In 1968, Nabokov was cast in the movie Una jena in cassaforte (A Hyena in a Safe), directed by Cesare Canevari. The film was shot at Villa Toeplitz, in Varese.[9] The cast also included Maria Luisa Geisberger, Ben Salvador, Alex Morrison, Karina Kar, Cristina Gaioni, and Otto Tinard.

In Switzerland in 1980, Nabokov, also a semi-professional

racecar driver, was driving a competition-model Ferrari 308 GTB when he crashed on the A9 motorway near Chexbres. He suffered third-degree burns over 40% of his body, and fractured his neck. Nabokov has said that he temporarily died: "[I am] enticed by a bright light at the far end of the classic tunnel, but restrain myself at the last instant when I think of those who care for me and of important things I must still do."[10]
The injuries suffered in the crash effectively ended his operatic career.

As executor of his father's literary estate, Nabokov wrestled for 30 years over whether to publish his father's final manuscript, The Original of Laura.[11] It was published by Knopf on November 16, 2009.

In celebration of Vladimir Nabokov's centenary in 1999, Dmitri appeared as his father in Terry Quinn's Dear Bunny, Dear Volodya, a dramatic reading based on the personal letters between Nabokov and literary and social critic

William F. Buckley. Performances took place in New York City, Paris, Mainz, and Ithaca
.

Dmitri Nabokov published his own writings under a pen name that he never revealed.[12]

Later life and death

Despite "an active, colorful love life",[13] Dmitri was a lifelong bachelor and had no children.

In his later years, he lived in Palm Beach, Florida and Montreux, Switzerland. He died in Vevey, Switzerland on February 23, 2012.[14][15]

Notes

  1. ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (February 25, 2012). "Dmitri Nabokov, Steward of Father's Literary Legacy, Dies at 77". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Dmitri Nabokov, dernier gardien des secrets de son père, est mort". Le Monde. 2012-02-27. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  3. ^ "I Will Sing When You’re All Dead", The Morning News, November 8, 2008. Link to Article
  4. ^ "Nabokov Carries on Father's Legacy," The Harvard Crimson, 6 August 2005. Link to Article
  5. ^ Nabokov, Dmitri. "On a Book Entitled The Enchanter". The Enchanter 1986: 85, 107, 109.
  6. ^ Lermontov, Mikhail (1841). A Hero of Our Time. Translated by Vladimir Nabokov, in collaboration with Dmitri Nabokov (1958 ed.). Anchor Books.
  7. ^ "La Bohème Discography." OperaGlass. 08 Dec 2003. 20 Aug 2006 Link to Article
  8. ^ "Dmitri Nabokov Interview with JOYCE." NABOKV-L. 10 November 2003. Link to Article
  9. ^ Comune di Varese (June 2018). "Progetto di valorizzazione del Parco di Villa Toeplitz". comune.varese.it. Rotary Club Varese Verbano. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  10. ^ Halpern, Daniel, editor, Our Private Lives: Journals, Notebooks, and Diaries, The Ecco Press, 1998, p. 318.
  11. ^ Rosenbaum, Ron (February 27, 2008). "Dmitri Nabokov turns to his dead father for advice on whether to burn the author's last, unpublished manuscript". Slate. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  12. ^ Swaim, Don (14 October 1986). "Audio Interview with Dmitri Nabokov" (Podcast). Wired for Books. Event occurs at 32:00. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  13. ISBN 0-691-06797-X
    . Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  14. ^ Obituary at NRC.nl
  15. ^ Been there - Obituaries (Harvard Class of 1955) Archived September 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

External links

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