Ukrainian singer (baritone), Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (since 1930).
Biography.
He studied at the Music and Drama School named after M. Lysenko (1912-1914, class of V. Astafieva), a student of Professor O. Muravyova, graduated from the Kyiv Conservatory (1916, class of V. Tsvetkov).
In 1917-18 he was a soloist of the Kazan Opera, in 1918-20, 1921-22 - of the Odesa Opera, in 1920-21 - of the Rostov Opera, in 1923-24 - of the S. Zimin Opera (Moscow). Zimin (Moscow), 1924-25 - Sverdlovsk, 1925-26 - Kyiv, 1922-23, 1927-51 - Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theaters. Husband of the singer of the Kharkiv State Metropolitan Opera Kateryna Mykolaivna Kopiova (1895-1930).
Vocal and directorial achievements
Possessed a rather strong and beautiful voice with a wide range, which allowed him to sing even bass parts.
Roles: Ostap (Lysenko's Taras Bulba), Igor (Borodin's Prince Igor), Susanin (Glinka's Life of the Tsar), Demon, Windex (Rubinstein's Demon, Nero), Onegin, Mazepa (Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Mazepa), Gryaznoy (The Tsar's Bride by Rimsky-Korsakov), Melnik (The Mermaid by Dargomyzhsky), Escamillo (Carmen by Bizet), St. Brie (Les Huguenots by Meyerbeer), Tell (William Tell by Rossini), Amonasro (Aida by Verdi).
Famous partners: Kopyova K., Guzhova V., Kyporenko-Domansky Y., Litvinenko-Volgemut M., Patorzhynsky I., Levitskaya A., Reisen M.
In No. 2 of the Theater Decade of 1934, p. 4, there is a review by Y. Zhehal of the opera Carmen at the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theater (staged by Lypytsky, designed by Khvostov, actors - Levytska, Budnevych, Kyporenko-Domansky).
Conductors: L. Steinberg, A. Pazovsky, V. Tolba, V. Piradov.
In concerts, he performed romances by Ukrainian composers, in particular Mykola Lysenko, based on poems by the poet. In 1912, he recorded several Ukrainian folk songs at the Polish company "Sirena" ("Without You, Olesya", "Oh, Don't Make Noise, Puddle", "Oh, I'm Unhappy", "The Sun is Low", etc.)
Since 1940, he has been a director, and since 1946 - the chief director of the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theater (now the Mykola Lysenko Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater). In 1945, he staged M. Verikivsky's opera "The Hireling" based on the same name by Taras Shevchenko at the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theater named after Mykola Lysenko.
He directed the performances: "The Hireling" by M. Verikivsky (1945), "Carmen" by J. Bizet (1947), "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov (1949), "Into the Storm" by T. Khrennykov (1950), "Mazepa" and "The Queen of Spades" by P. Tchaikovsky (both 1951).
Artistic director of the Chernivtsi Philharmonic (1951-1957) (now the Dmytro Hnatiuk Chernivtsi Regional Philharmonic).
In the late 20s of the twentieth century, the couple of singers of the Kharkiv State Opera, baritone V.G. Budnevych (1889-1957) and mezzo-soprano K.M. Kopiova (1895-1930), became the idols of Kharkiv physicist and avid theatergoer Kyrylo Myloslavskyi, to whose work he devoted several of his albums and pages in his monograph dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theater (1965).
