Monument to Anatoly Solovyanenko
Donetsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine
Description:
In the city of Donetsk there is a monument to Anatoly Solovyanenko – the famous opera tenor, People’s Artist of the USSR. The monument was inaugurated on May 31, 2002 within the framework of the IV International Festival "Golden Skif". It is located in a beautiful square next to the Donetsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, which was subsequently named after Anatoly Solovyanenko.
Among many participants in the competition for the best project of the monument, the winner was the sculptor Alexander Skorykh.
The monument displays the figure of Alexander Solovyanenkov in the concert costume of the Duke, in full height, at the moment when he performs an aria from the opera by Giuseppe Verdi “Rigoletto”, this role became the debut for the artist on the stage of the Donetsk theater. The Spaniards, seeing Solovyanenko in the image of the Duke, nicknamed him “Shakhtar Duke”, so this nickname was assigned to the singer.
The pedestal stands on a round shape, based on cylinders, symbolizing theatrical columns. The monument strikes with its brilliance, as it is cast from bronze, covered with gold leaf. It's 3.5 meters high.