Mikhail Zlatopolsky

Mikhail (Motja Moiseevich) Zlatopolsky (Russian: Михаил Златопольский; 1934-2001) was a Russian folk, and choir singer possessing an extremely rare low-ranging oktavist voice. Zlatopolsky was listed as the lowest bass in the world with a documented low note of E♭1.

Zlatopolsky was born to a Jewish family in Tashkent. After the Russian Revolution, when Orthodox singing moved into the category of marginal employment, the number of basso profondos sharply declined. Soviet oktavists enjoyed intense demand during the Brezhnev era. Moscow choirs outbid each other for Zlatopolsky as the star player. Zlatopolsky's place was employed by the Union Radio Choir, but he also performed with a number of Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches, and at times a synagogue. Zlatopolsky began singing with Yurlov's choir, and later participated in Valery Polyansky's recording of Grechaninov's Seven Days of Passion with the State Symphony Capella of Russia. Zlatopolsky recorded with the Don Cossacks of Russia Moscow Festival Ensamble under Marcel Verhoeff. He also can be heard singing Sviridov's Songs of Kursk with the Moscow State Chamber Choir under Vladimir Minin.

Besides his musical career, Zlatopolsky also worked as an actor on several Russian films and TV shows, often playing the part of a Russian Orthodox priest. Although these parts were mostly small, his most prominent roles were in Yemelyan Pugachev (1978), Three Years (1980), We are Not Crowned in the Church (1982), and Storm over Russia (1992).

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