Mariia Yuryivna Stefiuk ( uk, Марія Юріївна Стефюк; born 16 July 1948) is a Ukrainian opera singer and music teacher who has been associated with the

National Opera of Ukraine The Kyiv Opera group was formally established in the summer of 1867, and is the third oldest in Ukraine, after Odessa Opera and Lviv Opera. The Kyiv Opera Company perform at the National Opera House of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko in ...

and the

Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine The Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music ( uk, Національна музична академія України імені П.І. Чайковського), formerly Kyiv Conservatory, is a national music tertiary academy in Kyiv, ...

. She began her career as a trainee singer at the Kyiv Opera and Ballet Theater in 1972, after being accepted into the institution's troupe before being made a soloist two years later. Stefiuk has recorded her works on physical media and has educated in the department of solo singing at the Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine since 2000. She has been appointed to the

Order of Princess Olga The Order of Princess Olga ( uk, Орден княгині Ольги) is a Ukrainian civil decoration, featuring Olga of Kiev and bestowed to women for "personal merits in state, production, scientific, educational, cultural, charity and other ...

, been made a

People's Artist of Ukraine People's Artist of Ukraine is an honorary and the highest title awarding to outstanding performing artists whose merits are exceptional in the sphere of the development of the performing arts (theatre, music, dance, circus, cinema, etc.). Establ ...

, a

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

, and received each of the

Lenin Komsomol Prize Lenin Komsomol Prize () was a Soviet annual award for the best works in science, engineering, literature or art carried out by young authors of age not exceeding 33 years. Komsomol was the abbreviated name of The Communist Union of Youth (Russia ...

, the

Shevchenko National Prize Shevchenko National Prize ( uk, Націона́льна пре́мія Украї́ни і́мені Тараса́ Шевче́нка; also ''Shevchenko Award'') is the highest state prize of Ukraine for works of culture and arts awarded since ...

, the

Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine The Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is a government award for many years of hard work, exemplary performance of official duties, personal contribution to economic, scientific, technical, socio-cultural, military, public a ...

and the

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds a ...

. Stefiuk was conferred the title of

Hero of Ukraine Hero of Ukraine (HOU; uk, Герой України, ''Heroi Ukrainy'') is the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma and as ...

with the Order of the State in 2008.

Early life

Stefiuk was born in the fourteenth house on Boichuka Street in the village of Rozhniv,

Kosiv Raion Kosiv Raion ( uk, Ко́сівський райо́н, translit=Kosiwśkyj rajon) is a raion (district) of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast of Ukraine. The city of Kosiv is the administrative center of the raion. Population: . Subdivisions On 18 July 2020 ...

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вська о́бласть, translit=Ivano-Frankivska oblast), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вщина), is an administrative divisions of Ukrain ...

on 16 July 1948. She is the oldest daughter of the salesperson Maria and Yury Stefiuk, and was named after both the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

and Mary's mother. Stefiuk was brought up learning Ukrainian songs, and developed her passion for singing, having had her sing on a non-professional basis. Having not received a formal musical education, she attended the conducting and choral faculty of the Snyatyn Cultural and Educational School between 1963 and 1967, and then went to the vocal faculty of the

Kyiv Conservatory Pyotr Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine ( uk, Національна музична академія України імені Петра Чайковського) or Kyiv Conservatory is a Ukrainian state institution of higher music e ...

under the tuition of from 1967 to 1972.

Career

Upon her graduation, she began her career as a trainee singer at the Kyiv Opera and Ballet Theater (today the

) following her acceptance into the troupe of the capital's opera theater from 1972 before she was made a soloist in 1974. Stefiuk's debut was in the role of

Marfa Marfa may refer to: Music * Marfa (instrument), an African percussion instrument * Marfa (music), celebratory music of the Hyderabadi Muslims Places * Márfa, a village in Baranya county, Hungary * Marfa, Chad * Marfa, Texas, a city in the hi ...

in the opera ''

The Tsar's Bride ''The Tsar's Bride'' (russian: Царская невеста, translit=Tsarskaja nevesta) is an historical verse drama in four acts by Lev Mei from 1849.Golub (1998, 951). Fifty years later Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov used the play as the basis for ...

'' by

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

. She has also performed the roles of Maryltsya in ''

Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (russian: «Тарас Бульба»; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons And ...

'' by

Mykola Lysenko Mykola Vitaliyovych Lysenko ( uk, Мико́ла Віта́лійович Ли́сенко; 22 March 1842 – 6 November 1912) was a List of Ukrainian composers, Ukrainian composer, pianist, conductor and ethnomusicologist of the late Romantic mus ...

, the new mermaid ''On the Water Nymph's Easter'' by

Mykola Leontovych Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (23 January 1921; ua, Микола Дмитрович Леонтович, link=no (); also Leontovich) was a Ukrainian composer, conductor, ethnomusicologist and teacher. His music was inspired by the Ukrainian ...

, Milusha in ''Yaroslav The Wise'' by

Heorhiy Maiboroda Heorhiy Ilarionovych Maiboroda, sometimes transcribed in English as Georgiy or Heorhy Maiboroda or Mayboroda (Ukrainian: Георгій Іларіонович Майборода; , in Pelekhivshchyna khutir, Kremenchuk County, Poltava Governorate, ...

, Antonida in ''

A Life for the Tsar ''A Life for the Tsar'' ( rus, "Жизнь за царя", italic=yes, Zhizn za tsarya ) is a "patriotic-heroic tragic opera" in four acts with an epilogue by Mikhail Glinka. During the Soviet era the opera was known under the name ''Ivan Susanin' ...

'' by

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 ...

, Violetta and Gilda in

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'', ''

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 cont ...

'', Rosina in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'' by

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

, Musetta in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

'' by

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

, Eurydice in ''

Orfeo ed Euridice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Orpheus, the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the ''azione teatrale'', mea ...

'' by

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

Marguerite de Valois Margaret of Valois (french: Marguerite, 14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615), popularly known as La Reine Margot, was a French princess of the Valois dynasty who became Queen of Navarre by marriage to Henry III of Navarre and then also Queen of France ...

in ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...

'' by

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

, Manon in the opera of the same name by

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...

, Lucia in ''

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 Lammermoor''. ...

'' by

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

, Leila in ''

Les pêcheurs de perles ' (''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in ...

'' by

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

, A Girl in '' Into the Storm'' by

Tikhon Khrennikov Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov (russian: Тихон Николаевич Хренников; – 14 August 2007) was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist, and General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers (1948–1991), who was also known ...

, Katerina Lvovna Izmailova in '' Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'' by

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

, Dunyasha in ''The Quiet Don'' by

Ivan Dzerzhinsky Ivan Ivanovich Dzerzhinsky (9 April 1909 – 18 January 1978) was a Soviet and Russian composer. The work for which he best known, his opera ''Quiet Flows the Don'' (''Tikhiy Don''), was more successful for its political potential than for any mu ...

, Zerlina in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

and Parasya in ''

The Fair at Sorochyntsi ''The Fair at Sorochyntsi'' (russian: Сорочинская ярмарка, ''Sorochinskaya yarmarka'', '' Sorochyntsi Fair'') is a comic opera in three acts by Modest Mussorgsky, composed between 1874 and 1880 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The compo ...

'' by

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

. She went on tour in countries such as Australia, Cuba, England, Germany, Japan and the United States among other countries. Stefiuk's works have been recorded on CDs, and she has also appeared on television films such as in the film-opera '' Natalka Poltavka''. She has recorded the works of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

Giulio Caccini Giulio Romolo Caccini (also Giulio Romano) (8 October 1551 – buried 10 December 1618) was an Italian composer, teacher, singer, instrumentalist and writer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the founders of the genre ...

Luigi Cherubini Luigi Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the gre ...

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

Mykola Kolessa Mykola Filaretovich Kolessa (6 December 1903 – 8 June 2006) was a Ukrainian composer and conductor, born in Sambir near Lviv. His father Filaret was a Ukrainian ethnomusicologist and composer and his cousin was the pianist Lubka Kolessa. ...

, Anatoliy Kos-Anatolsky,

, Mozart,

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

Levko Revutsky Levko "Lev" Mykolajovych Revutskyi (, russian: Лев Николаевич Ревуцкий; – 30 March 1977) was a Ukrainian composer, teacher, and activist. Amongst his students at the Lysenko Music Institute were the composers Arkady Fi ...

Yakiv Stepovy Yakiv Stepanovich Stepovy ( uk, Яків Степовий) (October 20, 1883 – November 4, 1921) was a Ukrainian composer, music teacher, and music critic. Stepovy was born Yakiv Yakymenko (Akimenko) in Kharkiv, in the Russian Empire (in presen ...

Kyrylo Stetsenko Kyrylo Hryhorovych Stetsenko ( ua, Кирило Григорович Стеценко; May 12, 1882 – April 29, 1922) was a prolific Ukrainian composer, conductor, critic, and teacher. Late in his life he became a Ukrainian Orthodox Priest an ...

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

and Verdi among others as well as performing Ukrainian folk songs. She took part in the 1986 Wiesbaden Music Festival and the 1987

Dresden Music Festival The Dresden Music Festival (German: Dresdner Musikfestspiele) is an annual music festival which takes place in Dresden, Germany in May and June. Although classical music, including contemporary classical music, forms the core of its performances, w ...

. Stefiuk has taught in the department of solo singing at the

since 2000. Such students she has taught include the operatic singer Oksana Dyka. From 2003, Stefiuk served as the chairperson of the jury of vocalists of the international competition named after Mykola Lysenko. She unsuccessful stood for election to the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

in the

2002 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 31 March 2002. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1976 The Our Ukraine bloc emerged as the largest faction in the Verkhovna Rada, winning 111 of the 447 seats ...

. Stefiuk became a member of the Supervisory Board of the

Odesa Opera and Ballet Theatre , logo_caption = Logo , image = Operniy-5.jpg , image_size = 270px , caption = Odesa Theatre of Opera and Ballet , address = Tchaikovsky Lane 1 , city = Odesa , country = , designation = Architectural Landmark , coordinates = , archite ...

in 2009, and she was on the from 2010 to 2016.

Awards

She was awarded the

and the

in 1979 and August 1985 respectively. Stefiuk won the

in 1982, and received the

three years later. She was given the

in July 1998 "For her significant personal contribution to the development of national art, high professional skill". That same month, Stefiuk was appointed to the Order of Princess Olga, 3rd Class "For a significant personal contribution to the development of culture and art of Ukraine". She was upgraded to the Order of Princess Olga, 2nd Class in September 2001 "For a significant personal contribution to the development of Ukrainian opera and ballet art, high professionalism". In January 2003, she was awarded the

by Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

"for a great contribution to the development of art and the strengthening of Russian-Ukrainian cultural ties." In the same year, Stefiuk was upgraded to the Order of Princess Olga, 1st Class "For a significant personal contribution to the development of Ukrainian culture and art, many years of creative activity and high performance skills". She was conferred the title of

with the Order of the State by Ukrainian president

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

in July 2008 "For a significant personal contribution to the development of Ukrainian culture and art, significant creative achievements and on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of the founding of the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stefiuk, Mariia 1948 births Living people People from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Kyiv Conservatory alumni Ukrainian operatic sopranos 20th-century Ukrainian women opera singers 21st-century Ukrainian women opera singers Soviet operatic sopranos Soviet women opera singers Ukrainian music educators Ukrainian women music educators Ukrainian folk singers Recipients of the title of People's Artists of Ukraine Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Princess Olga, 1st class Recipients of the Shevchenko National Prize Recipients of the title of Hero of Ukraine Recipients of the Order of State