Immerse yourself in an interesting virtual trip to the Kozlovsky museum! Here you will find unforgettable impressions and discoveries. Click the start button and go on!
Entrance to the territory of the museum-manor
The flowering trail to the museum
Old well, yard of the manor
Entrance to the museum, the pedestal of Kozlovsky
The museum
The house
Garden
Park
Cost of the river
After the death of the renowned tenor, the idea arose to establish a museum in the singer’s parental home. Thus, the museum’s history began on March 11, 1994, with the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 160 "On Honoring the Memory of I. S. Kozlovskyi." The museum was established in the house where Ivan Semenovych was born and spent his childhood, and to which he returned many times. He intended to live here, preserving the spirit of his homeland. The cottage was meant to represent the musical world of the great singer, offering the opportunity to listen to or perform musical works — evidence of his ascent to the musical Olympus. The "Memorial Museum-Estate of I. S. Kozlovskyi" is an architectural, ethnographic, and historical-cultural asset.
Since 1995, the museum has been enriched with exhibits and began welcoming its first visitors. Ivan Semenovych’s daughter, Anastasiia Ivanivna, donated the maestro’s personal belongings, postcards, photos, and vinyl records to the museum. The residents of Maryanivka village actively participated in collecting materials and exhibits for the museum, contributing household items from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A key role in organizing and establishing the museum was played by Pavlo Petrovych Bokhniak, director of the Maryanivka Children’s Music School.
The museum complex also includes a memorial park with intersecting alleys, designed by Ivan Semenovych together with architect Yakiv Drutskyi in the 1960s.
Ivan Semenovych Kozlovskyi was a brilliant son of Ukraine, whose life and work serve as an example of devoted service to shaping the human soul — the soul of the people — through the eternal truth and harmony of the folk song, which he elevated to a level of global resonance as a sacred treasure.
Ivan Semenovych Kozlovskyi was born on March 24, 1900, in the village of Maryanivka, now part of the Bila Tserkva District in Kyiv Region, and passed away on December 21, 1993, in Moscow. He was an opera and concert chamber singer (lyric tenor), People's Artist of the USSR (1940), and People's Artist of Ukraine (1993).
In 1918–1919, he studied at the Kyiv Music and Drama Institute (class of O. Muraviova). For a time, he sang in the choir of O. Koshyts in Kyiv. During the Civil War, he led musical activities in his army unit stationed in Poltava and sang in a vocal quartet under the direction of O. Sveshnikov. In 1922, he debuted in the role of Faust (*Faust* by Gounod) at the Poltava Opera, where he performed until 1923. From 1923 to 1924, he was a soloist at the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theatre, and from 1924 to 1926, at the Sverdlovsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet. In 1926, he was invited to the Bolshoi Theatre, where he sang until 1954.
He possessed an extraordinarily beautiful voice with a bright silvery timbre and wide range, with a free upper register. Kozlovskyi’s artistry was marked by emotional expressiveness, sincerity, lightness and warmth of tone, masterful stage transformation, and exquisite phrasing.
Ivan Kozlovskyi’s operatic repertoire included around 50 roles. His portrayal of the Holy Fool in Mussorgsky’s opera *Boris Godunov* stands out for its psychological depth and stage perfection. Kozlovskyi was one of the finest chamber singers of the 20th century. His performances of works by foreign composers — Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Liszt — were artistically unique.
I. S. Kozlovskyi was the founder and artistic director of the Opera Concert Ensemble (1939–1940). He staged operas such as *Werther* by Massenet, *Orfeo ed Euridice* by Gluck, *Pagliacci* by Leoncavallo, and others. His aim was to create an opera-concert with intense dramatic action.
A brilliant connoisseur of Ukrainian music, Kozlovskyi actively promoted the works of Lysenko, Stepovyi, Stetsenko, Arkas, Hulak-Artemovskyi, and Ukrainian folk songs. In 1924, he sang the role of Jontek (*Halka* by Moniuszko) in Ukrainian. In 1940, he staged *Kateryna* by Arkas with the Opera Ensemble, and in 1954, he produced *Natalka Poltavka* by Lysenko, performing the leading roles himself.
He received USSR State Prizes: in 1941 for achievements in theatrical vocal art and in 1949 for his portrayal of the Holy Fool. He was also awarded the State Prize of the Ukrainian SSR in 1990.
In his native village of Maryanivka (Kyiv Region), he opened a music school at his own expense in the 1970s.
He recorded 22 Ukrainian folk songs on vinyl, as well as numerous romances and arias from operas by Ukrainian and foreign composers.
He was the author of memoirs about Ukrainian singers such as O. Petrusenko, M. Donets, P. Tsesevych, M. Mykysha, B. Hmyria, and others.
In 1995, in the village of Maryanivka, Vasylkiv District, on the homeland of the great singer and largely in accordance with I. S. Kozlovskyi’s own vision, a Memorial Museum-Estate was established, pursuant to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of March 11, 1994, No. 160 "On Honoring the Memory of I. S. Kozlovskyi." Ivan Semenovych’s estate is a historical monument from the late 19th to early 20th century, listed in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine as an object of national cultural heritage by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of September 3, 2009, No. 928.
This room is a true journey through time, allowing visitors to feel the spirit of the era — from childhood years in picturesque Maryanivka to grand opera stages. The exhibition features rare photographs, personal belongings, and household items from the singer’s youth.
Here, visitors get to know Ivan Semenovych as a mischievous little boy with a natural gift for singing from a very young age. Although he lived in his native Maryanivka only until the age of 8, his longing for home was so strong that he would escape from school in Kyiv to return to his family house. Here he listened to the willow tree by the river, heard his father sing, and tended horses.
The room preserves memories of the thorny path to the grand theatre — his studies with Olena Muraviova, army service, theatre internship, marriage to Oleksandra Hertsegh, auditions, and finally earning the title of soloist. The Bolshoi Theatre accepted him but never allowed him to relax — a challenging and complex period of life in Moscow, which he endured with dignity and proved himself to be a great opera singer.
The handwritten and musical legacy of Ivan Kozlovskyi is preserved in this room — a true treasury of the great maestro’s memory. It holds his personal sheet music, manuscripts, concert posters, unique letters, and photographs that tell the story of the singer’s brilliant artistic journey.
It also reflects the Maryanivka period, which began in the 1970s, when the now-famous opera singer returned to his native home. Here, he organized a children's music school, cared for it, and brought in instruments. Recalling his own childhood, he declared that every village child is a potential genius, and that every child from Maryanivka could one day perform on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre.
Ivan Semenovych arranged the estate and created a place for a family burial site, where he ultimately was not laid to rest. And throughout this time, he continued to perform in concerts — until his strength finally left him.
An authentic Ukrainian house that has preserved its original walls in their historical condition. It was donated to the museum by Anastasiia, the daughter of Ivan Kozlovsky, with the involvement of Artur Umanskyi. Inside its walls are housed artworks created during the "Maryanivka Pastoral" plein air event — a gathering of artists held on the museum grounds to mark the 110th anniversary of Ivan Semenovych Kozlovsky’s birth.
Ivan Semenovych planted the apple orchard with the help of his friends to create a living tribute to Oleksandr Dovzhenko.
It is a place where one can feel the spirit of his creativity, reflect on Ukraine's fate, and enjoy the harmony of nature—something he cherished deeply.
The museum complex also includes a park, designed by Ivan Semenovych together with architect Yakiv Drutskyi in the 1960s. It was in this very place that the singer wished to be buried — a request that, sadly, was never fulfilled.
