Semyon Hulak-Artemovsky

Semen Stepanovich Hulak-Artemovsky (Ukrainian: Семен Степанович Гулак-Артемовський, also referred to as Semyon Gulak-Artemovsky and Artemovs’kyj) (February 16 [O.S. February 4] 1813 – April 17 [O.S. April 5] 1873), was a Ukrainian opera composer, singer (baritone), actor, and dramatist who lived and worked in Imperial Russia. He is known mainly for his comic opera Zaporozhets za Dunayem (A Zaporozhian (Cossack) Beyond the Danube), as well as for his dramatic talent and his powerful, rich baritone voice. He was the nephew of the poet Petro Hulak-Artemovsky and a close friend of Taras Shevchenko.