Iurii Stepanovich Kiporenko-Damanskii

Born Mar. 12 (24), 1888, in Kharkov; died Aug. 6, 1955, in Kiev. Soviet Ukrainian singer (dramatic tenor); People’s Artist of the USSR (1936). Member of the CPSU (1946).

Kiporenko-Damanskii studied singing in Moscow from 1911 to 1916. He perfected his art in Milan, Italy in 1927. He performed in musical and dramatic troupes between 1907 and 1913. From 1913 to 1938 he sang in the opera theaters of Moscow, Kiev, and Tbilisi. In 1938 he became a soloist with the Ukrainian Theater of Opera and Ballet in Kiev.

Kiporenko-Damanskii’s best roles included Sobinin in Glinka’s Ivan Susanin (State Prize of the USSR, 1949), German in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, Sadko in Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera of the same name, Andrii in Lysenko’s Taras Bulba, José in Bizet’s Carmen, and Radames and Otello in Verdi’s Aida and Otello, respectively. In addition, Kiporenko Damanskii performed in concert. In 1948 he began teaching at the Kiev Conservatory (beginning in 1952 as a docent). He was awarded two orders.