One of the active members of the Ukrainian Society named after Kvitka-Osnovianenko was the opera singer Ivan Vasilyevich Bondarenko. Little is known about him, and the information that does exist, unfortunately, cannot be considered reliable. He was born in 1875 into a working-class family and worked at the Kharkiv Locomotive Plant. Ivan studied singing at the Kharkiv Music School (in the class of the renowned teacher Federico Bugamelli). From 1906 to 1909, he performed on Moscow’s opera stages at the Solodovnikov Theater and the Zimin Opera. Soon after, Bondarenko returned to Kharkiv and worked in his hometown from 1911 to 1915. Together with another singer, Ivan Alchevsky (son of Alexei Alchevsky), he performed at concerts in Kharkiv, where he sang Ukrainian folk songs as well as romances by Mykola Lysenko and Yakov Stepovoy. Ivan Bondarenko was known for his wide vocal range.

In 1909, the French record label Pathé Records recorded Ivan Bondarenko as he performed Ukrainian folk songs accompanied by the bandura. Fortunately, these unique recordings have been preserved and digitized. A few years ago, Ukrainian internet users discovered the recordings in the vast virtual archives of the French National Library. Kharkiv Maniashnyi offers you the opportunity to listen to the voice of this remarkable singer (we’ve combined the recordings into one). These recordings are over 106 years old—they may well be among the earliest recordings of any Kharkiv performer ever made.

Unfortunately, the fate of Ivan Bondarenko is lost in the turmoil of the 1917 Revolution. But the sound of his voice has been preserved.