Anatoliy Mokrenko
Anatoliy Yuriyovych Mokrenko (January 22, 1933 – March 24, 2020) was a Ukrainian operatic baritone, the director of the National Opera of Ukraine, and a professor at the Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine. Born in the Sumy region, he studied engineering geology at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, graduating in 1956, and studied singing at the Kyiv State Conservatory, finishing in 1963.
From 1968 to 1996 he was a soloist with the National Opera of Ukraine, performing around 40 leading roles and touring internationally. He appeared in recordings and on radio and television, and took part in the world premiere of Heorhiy Maiboroda’s Yaroslav Mudriy in 1975 (recorded in 1982). In 1978 he participated in a Prokofiev recording of Ivan the Terrible conducted by Riccardo Muti. He also acted in films, including a 1980 Russian adaptation of Lucia di Lammermoor.
Mokrenko led the National Opera of Ukraine as general and artistic director from 1991 to 1999. In 1992 he brought Ukrainian performances to Paris as part of a showcase, with Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina and Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa. He worked to promote Ukrainian operas and new works, aiming to stage four Ukrainian operas each season. The company toured internationally, including a 1995 Spoleto Festival appearance with the National Ballet.
He taught at the music academy and founded a yearly children’s choir competition in Ukraine called “Sing Along,” serving as chair and juror. Anatoliy Mokrenko died on March 24, 2020. He was honored as a People’s Artist of the USSR (1976) and received the Shevchenko National Prize (1978), along with other awards such as the Order of Friendship of Peoples and the orders of Yaroslav the Wise and Vladimir the Great.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:09 (CET).