Biography

Ivan Semyonovich Kozlovsky (Russian: Ива́н Семё́нович Козло́вский, Ukrainian: Іван Семенович Козловський, romanized: Ivan Semenovych Kozlovskyi); also referred to as Kozlovskiy or Kozlovskij; 24 March [O.S. 11 March] 1900 – 21 December 1993) was a Soviet lyric tenor and one of the most well known stars of Russian opera, as well a producer and director of his own opera company, and longtime teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. People's Artist of the USSR (1940) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1980). Ivan Kozlovsky was born in the village of Marianivka near Bila Tserkva, the Kiev Governorate, the Russian Empire (now in Ukraine), and began to sing at the age of seven in the choir of the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. He went on to study drama, piano and singing (with the famous soprano Olena Muravyova) at the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University. He also sang with his brother in Alexander Koshetz's choir in Kyiv. This instruction was cut short after two years, due to the outbreak of the civil war in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. Kozlovsky sang in a vocal quartet under the direction of O. Sveshnikov. His voice enabled him to join the army engineers, as a lead singer in a military band.

He made his operatic début in 1920 as Faust at the Poltava theatre, where he sang until 1923. He followed this with engagements at the Kharkiv opera in 1923-4, and the Yekaterinburg (then called Sverdlovsk) opera theatre in 1924-6, before becoming one of the leading tenors at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow from 1926 to 1954. He had a memorable audition at the Bolshoi in 1924, reportedly reaching the highest notes of the register with ease (throughout his career, he developed a reputation for singing the highest note possible and hanging onto it for the added adulation). At the Bolshoi, he came under the mentorship of Leonid Sobinov, the leading Russian tenor at the time. Kozlovsky went on to sing in over 50 operas as the leading tenor of the Bolshoi.

In 1938, Kozlovsky organized and directed a concert ensemble of opera singers, VTO Soviet Opera Ensemble, directing himself in Werther by Massenet and Orfeo ed Euridice by Gluck, among other productions. He was awarded the prestigious designation of People's Artist of the USSR in 1940.

Kozlovsky was well known to be a favorite singer of Joseph Stalin. Kozlovsky gained great renown throughout the Soviet Union, but was never allowed to leave its borders.

Kozlovsky had a friendly rivalry with Sergei Lemeshev, another opera singer immensely popular in Russia. They both often sang the same roles, and Russian opera lovers were divided into supporters of one or the other. The theatre lobby was a venue for scuffles between fans jokingly called the "lemeshistki" and the "kozlovityanki".

Kozlovsky married the popular actress Alexandra Herzig (1886–1964), who was 14 years older than he and much better known, causing the public to refer to him as "Herzig's husband". Later, when he attained greater fame, Herzig became known as "Kozlovsky’s wife". After his first marriage ended in divorce, Kozlovsky remarried, this time to an actress 14 years younger, Galina Sergeyeva. Sergeyeva played the female lead in the films Pyshka (Пышкa) ("Boule de Suif," 1934), Lyubov Alyony (Любoвь Aлёны) ("Alyona’s Love", 1934), and Vesennie dni (Весенние дни) ("Spring Days", 1934). They had two daughters; their marriage did not last long.