People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1960), opera singer, composer, writer, publicist, public and cultural figure, reserve lieutenant colonel.
Biography
Serhiy Davidovych was born on March 14, 1921 in a large family in the village of Stary Kryvyn, Slavutsky district, Khmelnytskyi region. Ukraine. At school, Kozak was an active participant in festive concerts, evenings, and artistic amateur competitions. His first distinction was a trip to the Artek pioneer camp.
After graduating from Kryvynsk Secondary School, he entered the Kyiv Military School of Communications named after M. I. Kalinin. In the rank of lieutenant, he was appointed commander of a platoon of cadets of the Ulyanovsk Military School. In 1941, he was mobilized to the front. From the first to the last day, Serhii Davydovych was a participant in combat operations in the Second World War, awarded with orders. Participant of the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow on June 24, 1945. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
In 1947, he graduated from the Academy of the General Staff named after Frunze and enrolled as an adjunct at the academy. After leaving military service, he entered the Moscow State Conservatory named after PI Tchaikovsky by vocal class. After graduating with honors from the conservatory in 1950, he became a soloist of the T.G. Shevchenko Kyiv Opera and Ballet Theater.
1960–1973 — chairman of the Ukrainian SSR Music and Choral Society, 1982–1987 — artistic director of the Kyiv Philharmonic, 1982–1992 — teacher of the Kyiv Conservatory.
Serhii Davydovych lived in Kyiv. Married, had two daughters. Wife Galina Volodymyrivna. Svitlana's eldest daughter is a professor of pediatric oncology. Oleksandr's daughter worked as a translator at the English embassy in Ukraine, died in 1994 in a car accident. Serhiy Davydovich's niece Nadiya Dmytrivna Forsyuk lives in Stary Kryvyn.
Serhiy Kozak's grave at the Baikovo cemetery
He died on February 13, 1993. Buried at Baikovo Cemetery in Kyiv.
On February 18, 1993, the newspaper "Literary Ukraine" published the farewell words of the famous Ukrainian poet Vasyl Yukhimovych:
"Serhiy Davydovych Kozak, so needed by family, art, literature, music education, people and Ukraine, has passed away! A people's artist, a talented artist, about whom the soul cries out: "My friend! I wish there were more of you in the world!"
Hit the strings, sad kobzars and orchestra players, he took care of your revival long before the "perestroika"... Take him on his last journey, multi-voiced choirs of the national opera and conservatory! Farewell, brother and friend; to the unforgettable Serhii Davydovych!"
Art
Serhiy Kozak, possessing an academic baritone, during his time working at the T.G. Shevchenko Kyiv Opera and Ballet Theater, prepared and played more than 60 opera parts of the dramatic baritone of Ukrainian, Russian and world classics. The geography of the singer's tours is wide: Ukraine and other republics of the USSR, the USA, England, France, Canada, Finland, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Cuba, etc.
He writes music to the poems of prominent Ukrainian poets M. Rylskyi "Apples Ripe", P. Voronka "Let's go, beloved, to the forest", "Raven Horses", A. Malyshka "Farewell", "Three Oaks", S. Kryzhanivskyi "Birch "), creates the cantata "Thought about Ukraine".
In 1965, he published a collection of songs entitled "Ukrainian folk songs arranged for unaccompanied choir". Kozak created a number of poetic and prose works, which were published in separate editions. The poem "My Land, My Fate", which describes his childhood in the village of Stary Kryvyn, the poetic novel "Horyn", the poem "Song among Thunder", the biographical novel "I did not sleep, mother...". Serhiy Kozak also created literary portraits of artists-singers Mykhailo Hryshko, Ivan Kozlovskyi, and the famous choirmaster Mykola Veriovka.
As the head of the Musical and Choral Society of Ukraine, he made a lot of efforts to open more than 360 new music schools and create many musical groups, including helping to create a national orchestra of folk instruments, a men's choir named after L. Revutsky, a chamber choir named after Lyatoshinsky, a song ensemble and "Slavutich" dance in Dnipropetrovsk and others. With the participation of Serhiy Davydovych, kobzar and lyre arts were revived in Ukraine. At the beginning of the seventies, he defended Levko Dutkivskyi, the famous Ukrainian vocal-instrumental ensemble "Smerichka", which won the all-Union competition with Volodymyr Ivasyuk's songs in 1971-1972, against the attacks of officials.
In 1965, S. Kozak translated the libretto of J. Verdi's opera "Othello" into Ukrainian. This opera was staged at the Kyiv Opera, and the role of Iago was performed by S. Kozak himself
Repertoire
Ostap's part in M. Lysenko's opera "Taras Bulba (opera)".
Chuba's part in M. Lysenko's opera "Christmas Night (opera)".
The part of Aeneas in M. Lysenko's opera "Aeneid (opera)".
Sultan's party in S. Gulak-Artemovsky's opera "Zaporozhets over the Danube".
Horbenko's part in P. Maiboroda's opera "Arsenal (opera)".
The part of Rigoletto in D. Verdi's opera "Rigoletto".
Tomsky's part in P. Tchaikovsky's opera "The Queen of Spades (opera)".
The part of Gnat in K. Dankevich's opera "Nazar Stodol (opera)".
Party Monce in M. Lysenko's opera "Natalka Poltavka (opera)".
The part of B. Khmelnytskyi in K. Dankevich's opera "Bohdan Khmelnytskyi (opera)".
The part of T. Shevchenko in the opera "Taras Shevchenko (opera)" by H. Maiboroda.
Onegin's part in P. Tchaikovsky's opera "Eugene Onegin (opera)".
Igor's part in O. Borodin's opera "Prince Igor (opera)".
Awards
Order of the Red Star
Order of the Patriotic War
The title of People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1960)
Memorial plaque in honor of Serhiy Davydovich Kozak on the street. Khreshchatyk, 25 in Kyiv
Memory
Memorial plaque on the facade of the school in the village. Old Kryvyn.
A memorial plaque on the premises of the House of Culture of CJSC "Slavutskiy Kombinat" Budfarfor.
Memorial plaque on the facade of the house in Kyiv (25 Khreshchatyk St.), where he lived
A street in Khmelnytskyi is named after S. D. Kozak
