Borys Hmyria

A ₴2 commemorative coin issued in 2003

Borys Romanovich Hmyria (Ukrainian: Борис Романович Гмиря; Russian: Борис Романович Гмыря; sometimes spelt as Gmyrya; born 1903 in Lebedyn—died 1969 in Kiev), PAU, was a Ukrainian basso cantante singer of opera and art song.

During World War II, he stayed in Nazi-occupied Poltava where he performed for the Germans. This kind of behavior was considered to be collaboration with enemy by the Soviet authorities, and Hmyria would have been imprisoned and executed[1] were it not for Joseph Stalin's intervention. Hmyria's partner, Valentina Ishchenko, was not so lucky and was exiled to Vorkuta.

A friend of Dmitry Shostakovich, Hmyria was asked by the composer to participate in the premiere of his Thirteenth Symphony as lead soloist. Hmyria refused for fear of political repercussions.[2]

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References

  1. ↑ Dmytro Hnatyuk, Dmitry Gordon (2003). "Dmytro Hnatyuk interview" ("Television production") (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  2. ↑ Wilson, Elizabeth, Shostakovich: A Life Remembered, Second Edition (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1994, 2006). ISBN 978-0-691-12886-3. Page 403


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