Lyudmyla Volodymyrivna Yurchenko (February 14, 1943, Kharkiv - February 15, 2026, Kyiv) - Ukrainian singer (mezzo-soprano).
Biography
Graduated from the Kyiv Conservatory (1969, class of Professor R. Razumova).
Soloist of the Kyiv Opera and Ballet Theater.
One of the few opera singers who flawlessly combine stage performance with music. A graduate of the Kyiv Conservatory, since 1969 - at the Kyiv Opera and Ballet Theater, she performed for 35 years. Her repertoire includes more than 30 opera parts. With a range of 2.5 octaves, she performs the part of Konchakovna in Prince Igor by O. Borodin with equal confidence in extremely low tones, and easily switches to almost soprano in the parts of Eboli in Don Carlos by G. Verdi, or Fenena in Nabucco by G. Verdi.
Lyudmila Yurchenko was born in Kharkiv, spent her childhood in Poltava. There she became involved in music, graduated from a music school and a technical school of light industry in Poltava, specializing in electric motor tester. She worked at the Poltava plant "Electrodvigun".
Music eventually won. "It wasn't easy or simple. I arrived, submitted my documents, and everything was fine. And before the exam, the admissions committee told me: "You only worked for two years after college, but you need to work for three. So, go home and work for another year." I burst into tears! Someone suggested that I contact the Council of Ministers - the department of light industry, to take a leave of absence. As soon as I entered, I started crying. The whole department came together and asked what happened? I told them that I had a voice, but they weren't letting me study. Then one woman said: "We already had a similar case with Anatoly Solovyanenko! We allowed him to go to study then!" In the end, they gave me the necessary paper. I passed the exams to the conservatory successfully."
She died on February 15, 2026.
The roles are:
Nastya (Taras Bulba by M. Lysenko),
Gemma (Yaroslav the Wise by G. Mayboroda),
Yokhavedda (Moses by M. Skoryka),
Marfa and Marina (Khovanshchina and Boris Godunov by M. Mussorgsky),
Lyubasha (The Tsar's Bride by M. Rimsky-Korsakov),
Konchakivna (Prince Igor by O. Borodin),
Ioanna (The Maid of Orleans by P. Tchaikovsky),
Polina, Milovzor, Countess (The Queen of Spades by P. Tchaikovsky),
Lyubov Kochubey (Mazepa by P. Tchaikovsky),
Princess Clarice (The Love for Three Oranges by S. Prokofiev),
Akhrosimova (War and Peace by S. Prokofiev),
Leonora (The Favorite by G. Donizetti),
Amneris (Aida by G. Verdi),
Azuchena ("Il trovatore" by G. Verdi),
Eboli ("Don Kalos" by G. Verdi),
Fenena ("Nabucco" by G. Verdi),
Maddalena ("Rigoletto" by G. Verdi)
The Duchess ("Sister Angelica" by G. Puccini),
Slippa ("La Gioconda" by A. Ponchielli
Orpheus ("Orpheus and Eurydice" by K. Gluck),
Dalilah ("Samson and Delilah" by C. Saint-Saëns),
Charlotte ("Werther" by J. Massenet),
Carmen (opera of the same name by J. Bizet) and others.
She is also known as a chamber singer, in particular, a performer of works by Bach, Handel, Schubert, Glinka, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Liszt, Grieg, Massenet, Bizet, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, M. Lysenko, Lyatoshynsky, Mayboroda.
Honors and awards
1971 - laureate of the All-Union Glinka Vocal Competition in Vilnius (third prize).
1975 - laureate of the International Singers Competition in Barcelona (first prize).
1982 - People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR.
2001 - awarded the Order of Princess Olga, third degree.
2004 - laureate of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize for vocal parts in opera performances (1999-2003).
