Mikhail Antonovich Rostovtsev (22 October 1872, Taganrog – 19 April 1948, Moscow) was a Russian and Soviet

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, opera and operetta singer, stage actor and film actor. He was made an Honored Artist of the Republic (1927) and an

Honored Artist of the RSFSR Honored Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Zasluzhenny artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achievements in the ...

(1936).

Life

He was the eighteenth child of a Jewish watchmaker and from 1881 onwards lived and went to school in Rostov-on-Don. He sang in the Lyubetskii (Rostov-on-Don) synagogue choir for nine years and from 1884 onwards was an opera dancer. He joined various popular music ensembles from 1888 onwards before taking the stage name Protsenko. From 1890 to 1894 he performed in the Ukrainian troupes led by Derkach and Kropyvnytskyi. He later appeared in Kharkov, from 1897 in Moscow and from 1900 in Saint Petersburg. He also set up his own troupe, which toured the Russian Empire. He made his operetta debut in 1901 with the stage name Rostovtsev. Up until 1919 he appeared in major operetta ensembles in Vladivostok, Moscow and Saint Petersburg as well as singing in

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or ...

s From 1923 onwards he performed at the Maly Petrograd State Academic Theatre ( MALEGOT ) and GATOB, where he was a master in musical comedy and improvisation. He also appeared in several films such as '' His Excellency'' (1928), ''

Lieutenant Kijé Lieutenant Kijé or Kizhe (russian: Пору́чик Киже́, translit. Poruchik Kizhe), originally Kizh (Киж), is a fictional character in an anecdote about the reign of Emperor Paul I of Russia, in which the cover up of a transcript ...

'' (1934), '' Late for a Date'' (1936) (all produced by

Belgoskino Belarusfilm ( be, Беларусьфільм) is the main film studio of Belarus. History Belarusfilm, under the name ''Belgoskino'' was founded in 1924. In 1928, the ''Soviet Belarus'' studio (''Савецкая Беларусь'') was founded ...

), '' In the Name of Life'' (1947) and ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' (1947) and served with hospital and fighting units during World War II. In a theater in Moscow Mikhail (Alexander) Rostovtsev played the lead role in the play titled "Jesus in fur". His role had him reading two verses of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew from the New Testament of the Bible. Despite the prompter telling him to stop Mikhail (Alexander) Rostovtsev read the whole sermon then stopped. Making the sign of the cross in the Orthodox manner, and said "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom." (Luke 23:42), and left the stage. The Communist disposed of him.Richard Wurmbrand "Reaching Towards The Heights" ISBN 0-310-35471-4

References

External links

Akademic (Russian language site) biography of RostovtsevFilmhub Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rostovtstev, Mikhail 1872 births 1948 deaths Basses from the Russian Empire Opera singers from the Russian Empire Soviet male opera singers Male actors from the Russian Empire Soviet male stage actors Soviet male film actors Operatic basses Jewish Russian actors