Alexander Antonovsky
Alexander Petrovich Antonovsky was a Russian bass singer. He was born in Chisinau on August 22, 1863 (September 3, new style); some sources give his birth year as 1864. His father was a collegiate councilor.
Antonovsky studied at a gymnasium in Chisinau, where he sang in the choir and attracted attention for his resonant, beautiful voice. From 1882 to 1886, he studied singing at the Moscow Conservatory with Giovanni Galvani. He studied stagecraft with I. Samarin and later I. Buldin.
He made his debut at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1886 as the Miller in Dargomyzhsky’s Rusalka. From 1900 to 1902, he sang at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and also performed at private theaters in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Moscow. His repertoire included about 50 roles, both dramatic and comic. In 1911, he took part in the first vocal competition tournament in Kharkiv. He made gramophone recordings for G&T in Russia in 1900.
Antonovsky left the opera stage at the age of 43 and returned to Chisinau, where he gave free singing lessons. From 1921, he directed the private Chisinau Conservatory and taught singing. His students included L. Boksan, N. N. Diduchenko, P. Calderaru, V. Semin, E. V. Ureke, and T. S. Cheban. He died in Chisinau on March 13, 1939.