Mikhail Rostovtsev (actor)

Mikhail Antonovich Rostovtsev (22 October 1872 – 19 April 1948, Moscow) was a Russian and Soviet bass, opera and operetta singer, stage actor and film actor. He was made an Honored Artist of the Republic (1927) and an Honored Artist of the RSFSR ( 1936 ).

He was the eighteenth child of a Jewish watchmaker and from 1881 onwards lived and went to school in Rostov-on-Don. He sang in the Lyubetskii (Rostov-on-Don) synagogue choir for nine years and from 1884 onwards was an opera dancer.

He joined various popular music ensembles from 1888 onwards before taking the stage name Protsenko. From 1890 to 1894 he performed in the Ukrainian troupes led by Derkach and Kropivnitskogo. He later appeared in Kharkov, from 1897 in Moscow and from 1900 in Saint Petersburg. He also set up his own troupe, which toured the Russian Empire. He made his operetta debut in 1901 with the stage name Rostovtsev. Up until 1919 he appeared in major operetta ensembles in Vladivostok, Moscow and Saint Petersburg as well as singing in cabarets

From 1923 onwards he performed at the Maly Petrograd State Academic Theatre ( MALEGOT ) and GATOB, where he was a master in musical comedy and improvisation. He also appeared in several films such as His Excellency (1928), Lieutenant Kijé (1934), Late for a Date (1936), In the Name of Life (1947) and Cinderella (1947) and served with hospital and fighting units during World War Two.

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