Opera in Kharkov

This theatre opened in Kharkov in 1925. A privately owned opera house had existed in the city from 1880. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries its company included such fine singers as N. A. Bol’shakov, A. P. Bonachich, I. V. Ershov, and N. I. Zabela-Vrubel’. In 1918 the newly formed People’s Opera gave performances. In 1920, the Russian State Opera was established. Russian and foreign classics were staged by the theater’s company, which included the conductors A. M. Pazovskii, I. O. Palitsyn, and L. P. Shteinberg, the directors N. N. Bogoliubov and V. D. Man-zii, the stage designers A. G. Petritskii and A. V. Khvostenko-Khvostov, and the singers M. I. Donets, I. S. Kozlovskii, M. I. Litvinenko-Vol’gemut, M. O. Reizen, and P. I. Tsesevich.

Over the years the theater’s productions have featured the outstanding singers A. Z. Levitskaia, I. L. Bronzov, B. V. Butkov, V. N. Budnevich, and T. N. Burtseva and the ballet soloists O. M. Shirai, N. V. Vinogradova, Ia. A. Dodin, O. A. Baikova, L. P. Kamyshnikova, E. I. Barannik, and V. I. Gudimenko. The theater has been well served by the conductors E. V. Dushchenko, I. A. Zak, A. A. Liudmilin, L. F. Khudolei, and I. S. Shtei-man, the directors M. V. Avakh, Iu. I. Ivanov, L. N. Kukolev, Iu. N. Lekov, and V. M. Skliarenko”, the choreographers M. V. Arnaudova, V. V. Boichenko, N. V. Danilova, I. K. Kovtunov, N. N. Koriagin, V. K. Litvinenko, V. N. Nikitin, A. I. Pantykin, and M. L. Satunovskii, and the stage designers I. S. Nazarov and D. P. Ovcharenko.

In 1977 the theater’s leading singers were People’s Artists of the USSR N. F. Manoilo and E. I. Chervoniuk, People’s Artists of the Ukrainian SSR V. F. Arkanova and L. V. Popova, and Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR L. B. Sergienko. Its ballet soloists included People’s Artists of the Ukrainian SSR S. I. Kolyvanova and T. K. Popesku. The principal conductor was Honored Art Worker of the Ukrainian SSR A. V. Kalabukhin: the principal director, Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR V. A. Lukashev; the principal choreographer, M. M. Gaziev; the principal chorus director, Honored Art Worker of the Ukrainian SSR E. A. Konopleva; and the principal stage designer, People’s Artist of the Ukrainian SSR L. S. Bratchenko.