Mikhail Vasilyevich Bocharov (, 2 November 187229 April 1936) was an opera singer from the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. Vocally speaking, he is best described as a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

. He graduated from

Kyiv University The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (; also known as Kyiv University, Shevchenko University, or KNU) is a public university in Kyiv, Ukraine. The university is the third-oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and ...

as a lawyer. He then studied singing with Everardi and Petza at the Kyiv Music College, and graduated in 1898. He continued his education in Italy. Bocharov sang in Kiev opera since 1900, then sang in Moscow ( Zimin Opera),

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

and other cities. He was awarded the

honorary title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

Meritorious Artist Merited Artist, Honored Artist, etc., is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Russian Federation, Union Republics, and autonomous republics, also in some other Eastern Bloc states, as well as in a number of post-Soviet states. In Russian language ...

of Russia in 1925. From 1932 onwards he sang mostly in concerts. He had a voice of a great range and cultivation. His roles include: Escamillo in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'', Figaro in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'', Beckmesser in ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'', Gryaznoi in '' The Tsar's Bride'', Ivan-Korolevich in '' Kashchey the Immortal'', Kochubey in ''

Mazeppa Mazepa or Mazeppa is the surname of Ivan Mazepa, a Ukrainian hetman made famous worldwide by a poem by Lord Byron. It may refer to: Artistic works Poems * Mazeppa (poem), "Mazeppa" (poem) (1819), a dramatic poem by Lord Byron * "Mazeppa", a poem b ...

'', Onegin, Demon, and

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

, as well as various others.

Bibliography

* Shampanier A. (Шампаньер А. – editor and publisher), ''Russian Theater'' iev, 1905 pp. 53–54. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bocharov, Mikhail Vasilyevich 1872 births 1936 deaths Musicians from Saint Petersburg Male opera singers from the Russian Empire Soviet opera singers University of Kyiv, Law faculty alumni R. Glier Kyiv Institute of Music alumni