Yuliy Meitus (Yuliy Meitus).

Yuliy Meitus

Born on January 28, 1903 in the city of Elisavetgrad (now Kirovograd). In 1931 he graduated from the Kharkov Institute of Music and Theater in the composition class of Professor S. S. Bogatyrev.

Meitus, together with V. Rybalchenko and M. Tietz, wrote the opera Perekop (1939, performed on the stages of the Kyiv, Kharkov and Voroshilovgrad opera theaters) and the opera Gaidamaki. In 1943, the composer created the opera “Abadan” (written together with A. Kuliev). It was staged by the Turkmen Opera and Ballet Theater in Ashgabat. It is followed by the opera “Leyli and Majnun” (written together with D. Ovezov), performed in 1946 also in Ashgabat.

In 1945, the composer created the first version of the opera The Young Guard based on the novel of the same name by A. Fadeev. In this edition, the opera was staged at the Kyiv Opera and Ballet Theater in 1947.

In subsequent years, Meitus did not stop working on the opera, and in 1950 The Young Guard in a new version was staged in the city of Stalino (now Donetsk), as well as in Leningrad, on the stage of the Maly Opera Theatre. For this opera, the composer was awarded the Stalin Prize.