Solomon Khromchenko


Solomon Markovich Khromchenko was a Russian and Jewish tenor singer.
His vocal gift was first recognized as he was a boy in the choir of a local synagogue. Later, he was a chorister of the "Yevokans" choir. He studied at the Kiev Conservatory under Mikhail Engel-Kron, and at the Moscow Conservatory, under Xenia Dorliak. In 1933 he was among the winners of the First AlI-Union Musical Competition in vocal category in the former USSR. Khromchenko was among the leading tenors of the Bolshoi Theatre.
During World War II Khromchenko gave over a thousand concerts for Soviet troops. He was included into the selected group of Soviet performers to participate in the Kremlin concert of Victory Celebration in May 1945. In the Bolshoi he performed over twenty roles of the lyric tenor repertoire: Lensky, the Indian Guest, Bayan, Vladimir, Sinodal, Duke of Mantua, Count Almaviva, Faust etc. He was teaching at the Gnessin Institute since 1961. From 1992 to 2000, he was professor at Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem, Israel. He authored a handbook on vocal coaching.