Semen Stepanovych Hulak-Artemovsky ( uk, Семен Степанович Гулак-Артемовський, also referred to as Semyon Gulak-Artemovsky and Artemovs’kyj) ( – ), was a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

opera composer, singer (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the ...

), actor, and

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

who lived and worked in

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

. He is known mainly for his

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a n ...

Zaporozhets za Dunayem ''Zaporozhets za Dunayem'' ( uk, Запорожець за Дунаєм, translated as ''A Zaporozhian (Cossack) Beyond the Danube'', also referred to as ''Cossacks in Exile'') is a Ukrainian comic opera with spoken dialogue in three acts with ...

'' (''A Zaporozhian (

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

) Beyond the Danube''), as well as for his dramatic talent and his powerful, rich

voice. He was the nephew of the poet Petro Hulak-Artemovsky and a close friend of

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukrainian poet, wr ...

Biography

Hulak-Artemovsky was born in Horodyshche,

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate, r=Kievskaya guberniya; uk, Київська губернія, Kyivska huberniia (, ) was an administrative division of the Russian Empire from 1796 to 1919 and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1919 to 1925. It wa ...

(today in independent

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

) to the family of a priest, and went on to study at the Kiev Theological Seminary from 1835 to 1838. Having gained the attention of

Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, link=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka., mʲɪxɐˈil ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recogni ...

, at the age of twenty five Semen was brought to the capital of the empire,

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, in 1838 to receive vocal training directly from Glinka, as well as entry into the Imperial Chapel Choir. The following year, Hulak-Artemovsky left to continue his studies in Italy. Towards the end of his stay in that country, he began performing opera in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

. Upon his return to St. Petersburg in 1842, Hulak-Artemovsky became a soloist of the Imperial Opera at the

Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre The Saint Petersburg Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre (The Big Stone Theatre of Saint Petersburg, russian: Большой Каменный Театр) was a theatre in Saint Petersburg. It was built in 1783 to Antonio Rinaldi's Neoclassical ...

, a position he held for 22 years. In 1852 and 1853 he sang roles in

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Sa ...

's first two operas, ''

Dmitry Donskoy Saint Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy ( rus, Дми́трий Ива́нович Донско́й, Dmítriy Ivanovich Donskóy, also known as Dimitrii or Demetrius), or Dmitry of the Don, sometimes referred to simply as Dmitry (12 October 1350 – 1 ...

'' and '' Fomka the Fool''. Hulak-Artemovsky performed at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

in Moscow from 1864 to 1865. He performed over fifty operatic roles during his career, including Ruslan in Glinka's ''Ruslan and Lyudmila'', Masetto in Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; Köchel catalogue, K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The rake (stock character), Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Pon ...

'', as well as Antonio and Lord Ashton in Donizetti's ''Linda di Chamounix'' and ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...

''. A composer of operas, as well as vocal and instrumental music, Hulak-Artemovsky composed his seminal work ''Zaporozhets za Dunayem'' in 1864, after completing the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...

in 1862. His friendship with

began in the fall of 1838, after a chance meeting in St. Petersburg. The lifelong friendship continued during Shevchenko's incarceration and subsequent release, and was said to have strongly influenced Hulak-Artemovsky's view of the world. He dedicated his song ''A Maple Tree Stands Over The River'' ( uk, Стоїть явір над вoдoю, translit. ''Stoyit' yavir nad vodoyu'') to Shevchenko. Hulak-Artemovsky died at the age of 60 in Moscow.

Operas

*''Ukrainian Wedding'' ( uk, Українcькe Beciлля, translit. ''Ukrayins’ke vesillya'', translit. ''Ukrainskaya svad'ba'') was first performed in 1851, with Hulak-Artemovsky in the role of the father-in-law. *''Ivan Kupala Eve'' ( uk, Hiч на Iвaна Kyпaлa, translit. ''Nich na Ivana Kupala'', translit. ''Noch' nakanune Ivana Kupala'') was first performed in 1852 *''

'' ( uk, Запорожець за Дунаєм, translated as ''A Zaporozhian (

) Beyond the Danube'', also referred to as ''Cossacks in Exile'') was premiered in St. Petersburg, with Hulak-Artemovsky in the role of Karas'.

References

*Kaufman, Leonid (Лeoнiд Kayфмaн) (1962). ''С.С. Гулак-Артемовський (S.S. Hulak-Artemovsky)'', Art. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hulak-Artemovsky, Semen 1813 births 1873 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Ukrainian male actors 19th-century male opera singers from the Russian Empire 19th-century Ukrainian dramatists and playwrights Composers from the Russian Empire Male classical composers Ukrainian opera composers Opera librettists Operatic baritones People from Horodyshche People from Kiev Governorate Ukrainian classical composers Ukrainian dramatists and playwrights Ukrainian male stage actors Ukrainian opera singers

Biography

Operas

External links

References