Antkiv Bohdan Mykhailovych (14 January 1915, Ostrov, now Ternopil district, Ternopil region - 22 December 1998, Lviv) - Ukrainian actor, playwright, composer, conductor, Honoured Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (since 1952).
Father of Zynoviy-Bohdan Antkiv, Yuriy Antkiv, brother of Mykhailo Antkiv.
His father was a self-taught village conductor, head of the village amateur choir and theatre. He gained his first skills under the tutelage of his father on the island stage.
In 1935-1936, he completed a 6-month correspondence conducting course in Lviv; he led a choir in his native village, which sang in the church and at various festivals and concerts, as well as a drama club, mandolin and brass orchestra. Even the village priest, Father Hlukhovetskyi, sang in the choir. The performance level of the groups was quite high, as evidenced by the fact that with the permission of the church bishop, the brass band was allowed to play in the church of Ostrov village during Christmas and Easter holidays.
The Polish authorities did not like the activities of Prosvita, which educated nationally conscious Ukrainians. Therefore, the authorities evicted Bohdan Antkiv, as an active member of Prosvita, to the Carpathian village of Horokholyn, Bohorodchany district, Stanisławów province. While working in the Maslosoyuz (a cooperative credit union), he directed the choirs (adult male and mixed children's) of the Prosvita reading room.
Maria Karalash (born in 1922), a member of the choir at the time, recalls: "My father brought me to the Prosvita reading room in the upper part of the village when I was 14 years old, and I became a member of the Sokoliata youth organisation choir. The choir was named after Taras Shevchenko. We performed concerts in the villages of Horokholyna-Lis, Hrabovets, Starunia, Dibrova, Horokholyna-Dolishnia. The choir's repertoire consisted of Ukrainian folk songs, rifle songs, and songs based on Taras Shevchenko's lyrics. We took part in performances directed and written by Bohdan Antkiv."
In 1934-1936, he staged Taras Shevchenko's poems "The Witch", "The Centurion", and "Petrus", which were staged by amateur groups in the Ternopil region.
In 1939, after the annexation of Western Ukraine, Prosvita was closed and the choir ceased to exist.
In 1940-1941, Bohdan Antkiv sang in the choral chapel at the Ternopil Regional Philharmonic. From 1941 to 1944, he directed a village choir and a drama group in his native village of Ostrov. In 1942, the choir of Ostrov village took part in the regional competition in Lviv dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Mykola Lysenko's birth.
From 1944 to 1948, Bohdan Antkiv worked as a choirmaster at the Ivan Franko Ternopil Drama Theatre. Ternopil was severely destroyed during the war, so the theatre worked in Chortkiv, Ternopil region.
From the memoirs of his son Yurii: "Once an actor who played the main role in the play Oh, Don't Go, Hrytsia, to the Party fell ill. There was no understudy, and my father agreed to replace him. Having played the role brilliantly, my father was enrolled in the troupe and since then he combined the profession of an actor with the profession of a choirmaster."
In 1948, the theatre was transferred to Ternopil and became known as the Taras Shevchenko Ternopil Music and Drama Theatre. Bohdan Antkiv worked there until 1963, performing heroic and romantic roles. From 1950 to 1958, he wrote music for the theatre's performances. In 1952, Bohdan Antkiv was awarded the title of Honoured Artist of Ukraine. From 1963 to 1964, Bohdan Antkiv conducted the student ensemble "Cheremosh".
From September 1963 until the last days of his life, Bohdan Antkiv worked at the Lviv Academic Theatre named after Maria Zankovetska. He moved to the city of Lviv because of the need to promote better education for his sons to realise their talents. According to Fedir Stryhun, the party's regional committee bureau passed a resolution obliging Antkov to return. As a result of his collaboration with Iryna Wilde, a staging of the novel The Richynski Sisters was performed on stage. This play had a long life, was the theatre's business card on tour, it was performed more than 400 times, and Iryna Wilde came to every performance.
At the M. Zankovetska Theatre, the artist staged the works "At the Break of Night", "The Edge of the Beaten Path", "Unexpected Encounters" (all in collaboration with Roman Ivanychuk), "Flag Carriers" by Oles Honchar (in collaboration with S. Danchenko), the trilogy "Motria" by Bohdan Lepkyi, etc.
He was buried at the Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv.
Theatre activity
worked at the Lviv State Academic Ukrainian Drama Theatre named after Maria Zankovetska
roles in performances (Krechynskyi's Wedding)
author of staging (The Richynsky Sisters, Baturyn)
author of music for performances.
He created the images of Hnat Karyi (Nazar Stodolya, Ternopil Regional Music and Drama Theatre named after Taras Shevchenko, 1948) and Honta (Haydamaky by Shevchenko, Lviv Ukrainian Drama Theatre named after Maria Zankovetska, 1963).
In performances based on Taras Shevchenko's works, he played the roles of Mark (I. Togobochnyi's Mother for Hire, Chortkiv Theatre, 1945), Nedobytyi (Mark Kropyvnytskyi's Slave, 1961, Ternopil), Kraibida (M. Zarudnyi's Marina, 1965, Lviv Ukrainian Drama Theatre named after Maria Zankovetska). He performed readings of Taras Shevchenko's works.
Author of music for performances of the Ternopil Regional Music and Drama Theatre (1950-1958):
"Oh, Don't Go, Hrytsia" by M. Starytskyi,
"People of Goodwill" by G. Mdivani,
"Spring Stream" by Z. Prokopenko,
"The Director by S. Alyoshin,
"Starry Nights by V. Vakulenko,
"The Wild Head" by B. Mintz,
"Nalyvaiko by V. Hrypych and V. Serpkov after I. Le and others.
He staged prose works:
"Separation" by I. Tsyupa (1961);
"At the Break of Night" (1964),
"The Edge of the Beaten Path" (1966),
"Unexpected Encounters by R. Ivanychuk,
"Flag Carriers" by O. Honchar (1975; all - co-authors),
"Motrya" by B. Lepkyi (1994), etc.
He is the author of music for romances, choruses and songs.
He translated plays: "Summer in Noan" by J. Ivashkevych, "A Man" by H. Zapolska, and "The Frog" by H. Zapolska.
