Rusnak, Orest

Rusnak, Orest [Руснак, Орест; stage name: Rudolph Gerlach], b 27 July 1895 in Dubivtsi, Bukovyna, d 23 January 1960 in Munich. Opera and concert singer (tenor). In 1923 he graduated from the Prague Conservatory in the class of E. Fuchs; he also studied in Milan. From 1924 he appeared in Prague, Vienna, and (mainly) Germany, and from 1929 he made frequent tours in Central Ukraine and Western Ukraine. Among his roles were Fernando in G. Donizetti's La Favorita, Arnold in G. Rossini's William Tell, Manrico in G. Verdi's Il Trovatore, Lionel in F. von Flotow's Martha, Chapela in A. Adam's Le Postillon de Longjumeau, Cavarodossi in G. Puccini's Tosca, and Rodolfo in his La Bohème. In concert he performed art songs and folk song arrangements by Mykola Lysenko and other Ukrainian composers. In the 1930s he recorded for the German Elektrola label. His biography, by Ivan Novosivsky, was published in New York (1971).

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]