Ukrainian, Soviet opera singer. Yury Stepanovych's unique voice was characterized as a "heroic tenor." During forty-three years of active theatrical activity, he collaborated with such celebrities as Maria Zankovetska, Fyodor Shalyapin, played on the same stage with all the leading figures of Ukrainian opera art of that time.
Biography
He was born on March 12 (March 24), 1888 in Kharkov in a shoemaker's family with many children (half of the 12 children died). He worked together with his father in the workshop.
In 1906, he joined O. Sukhodolskyi's traveling troupe as a choir singer.
From that moment, exciting and difficult work began in traveling theater groups that did not have their own premises and worked while touring the empire. Here Yurii Stepanovych made friends, met his wife, got to know all corners of the country, gained experience and "received vaccination" from dry academicism, which was often suffered by well-to-do actors of respectable theaters.
At the invitation of S. Zimin, in 1912 Kyporenko-Domansky stayed (after the tour of D. Haydamaka's troupe) in Moscow and signed a contract with the private opera theater of a Moscow entrepreneur. Cooperation lasted until 1917. Here, the singer added to his repertoire parts from the works of classical European and Russian composers, such as: Verdi, Puccini, Gunot, Wagner, Meyerbeer, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and others.
Until 1916, he took lessons from Prof. Lapinsky, free of charge, at the latter's invitation.
For some time after the October coup, Y. Kyporenko-Domansky worked in the nationalized theater under the direction of F. Komisarzhevsky. In 1919, the director of the theater emigrated, which was followed by two difficult seasons in the "deep" - Saratov and Rostov-on-Don. After them, the return to Kharkiv was really desired.
In Ukraine, extremely intense work begins in the capital, Odesa, Kyiv (1922—1941). These are both premieres and constant invitations on tour. Mr. Yurii spends only three seasons outside the Kharkiv-Odesa-Kyiv triangle: one in Siberia, one in Georgia and the last one in Italy.
According to the testimony of Melitina Lozynska, the soloist of the Odesa Opera, in the mid-1930s, the Italian teacher Carlo Barrera consulted Odesa singers, including Yuri Kyporenko-Domanskyi. When asked about Yuriy Stepanovich Barrer's voice, he answered as follows: "He does not have a dramatic, but a unique, rare voice - a heroic tenor." And he added: "There are no such things in modern Italy."
After the attack by Germany and its allies on the Soviet Union, Kyporenko-Domansky and other actors were sent to Tbilisi, where they performed both in the opera and at symphony concerts (concerts for the front fund and for the benefit of the families of fallen soldiers).
The grave of Yuri Kyporenko-Domanskyi
In 1942, the "Ukrainian group" in the Georgian capital honored the memory of the composer Mykola Lysenko (100 years since his birthday). Artists of both nations took part in the concert.
In the spring of 1944, Mr. Yuriy returned to Kyiv with other artists.
Participated in concerts in the locations of combat units.
He ended his active work at the Kyiv Opera in the spring of 1949 with the premiere production of Ivan Susanin.
He worked at the Kyiv Conservatory, periodically performed at group and solo concerts, episodic performances on the stages of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa, Sverdlovsk, etc.
He died at the age of 67 on August 6, 1955. Buried in Kyiv at Baikovo cemetery.
Critics compared the voice of Kyporenko-Domansky with the voices of A. Mazini, F. Tamanyo, and I. Yershov. His repertoire consisted of 116 parts. Some of his recordings are included in the anthology "Golden Voices of Ukraine" (1970).
Surprisingly, Kyporenko-Domansky's work was not promoted in the USSR. He did not have enough (for an artist of this level) recordings and radio appearances, the gramophone records made in Germany in 1945 were never reissued.
Creative path
Seasons Theater troupe Geography of performances Roles (only new) and performances
1906—1908 troupe of O. Sukhodolsky Andriy, Zaporozhets by the Danube; Petro, Natalka-Poltavka; Levko, Drowned
1908—1909 troupe of I. Shatkivsky Volga, Siberia, Far East
1909—1910 troupe of P. Saksagansky Hrytsko, Sorochynskyi fair; Yontek, Galka; Homa Brutus, Vii; Andriy, Kateryna
1910 troupe T. Kolisnichenko Odesa, Kyiv played with M. Kropyvnytskyi in the plays Nevolnyk and Poshilys u durna
1910—1912 troupe of D. Haydamaki Warsaw, Moscow
1912—1917 S. Zimin Theater Moscow Sobinin, Ivan Susanin; Radames, Aida; Impostor, Boris Godunov; Faust; Charles VII, Maid of Orleans
1917—1919 Theater of the Council of Workers' Deputies Moscow Lohengrin; Orestes, Oresteia
1919—1921 Saratov Volga Opera
1922—1923, 1924 Kharkiv Opera Kharkiv, Kyiv Herman, Queen of Spades; Samson, Samson and Delilah
1923—1924 National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko Kyiv Tannhäuser; Raoul, Huguenots; Canio, Spiders
1924 Odesa Opera Odesa Othello; Cavaradossi, Tosca; John of Leyden, the Prophet; Sadko
1924—1925 Sverdlovsk Opera Sverdlovsk Jose, Carmen; Andriy, Mazepa
1925—1926 Tiflis Opera of Tbilisi
1926—1927, 1928—1931 Odesa Opera Odesa, Kharkiv Genaroh, Necklace of the Madonna; Khlopusha, Eagle riot; Andriy, Taras Bulba; Calaf, Turandot; Maxim Berkut, Golden Hoop; Godun, Rift
1932—1939 Kharkiv Opera House Kharkiv, Moscow Zinovy, The Apple Captive; Davydov, Raised virgin land; Matyushenko, Battleship Potemkin; Absalom, Absalom and Eteri
1939—1941 National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko Kyiv Pavlo, Perekop; Lenka, In the storm
1941—1944 Tbilisi Opera Tbilisi, Yerevan participation in concerts, in particular, for the 100th anniversary of M. Lysenko
1944—1949 National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko Kyiv concert performances in Europe: Yugoslavia, Austria, Berlin
Awards
Honored (1932) and People's (1936) Artist of the Ukrainian SSR.
Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR (?).
Awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1948, 1951).
Curiosities
Father, Yury Kyporenko, Stepan Pavlovich, was endowed with a wonderful tenor and sang in the choir of Kharkiv Annunciation Cathedral. The younger sister, Tatyana, also became an opera actress.
He studied at the Kharkiv Music School for only one year, and was expelled due to non-payment of tuition fees.
Kyporenko-Domansky performed more than a hundred performances in the role of Othello, while he had a long and happy marriage with the former actress of Dmytro Haydamaka's troupe.
Yuriy Stepanovych received the second half of the surname "Domansky" from his wife Polina Oleksandrivna. Having no children of their own, the couple raised their adopted son and took care of their grandchildren.
Yuri Kyporenko became one of the first Soviet singers who studied abroad at the expense of the state (1927–1928, La Scala theater)
