Mykhailo Starytsky

Mykhailo Petrovych Starytsky (Ukrainian: Михайло Петрович Старицький; 14 December 1840 – 27 April 1904), in English Michael Starycky,^{[citation needed]} was a Ukrainian writer, poet, and playwright.^[1]

Mykhailo Starytsky
Born	14 December 1840
Died	27 April 1904(1904-04-27) (aged 63)
Nationality	Ukrainian
Occupation(s)	Writer, poet, playwright
Notable work	Librettos for Ukrainian folk operas, poems, novels

Biography

He was born in a family of retired cavalry officers (Rittmeister) Petro Starytsky and Anastasia Lysenko. He was a cousin of the famous Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko and father-in-law of Ivan Steshenko.

He was orphaned early in life and raised by Lysenko's father so that he could supply much of the information for the composer's biography. Starytsky wrote librettos, songs, stories, dramas, and poems. Later in life, Starytsky worked with Lysenko, collecting Ukrainian folk songs and transforming them into plays and operas for which Starytsky wrote the librettos (including Taras Bulba, an adaptation of the novel by Gogol). He eventually switched from writing scripts for theatre to writing books. Starytsky is currently remembered for his work with Lysenko, as well as his later poetry and novels. He was buried at Baikove Cemetery in Kyiv.

Works

Monument to heroes of Starytsky's play in central Kyiv

Starytskyi is widely known for his 1883 comical play "Chasing two hares" (Ukrainian: За двома зайцями), which was created on the base of an 1875 short story written by Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky. A film adaptation of the play premiered in 1961 becoming one of the most popular Ukrainian movies of the Soviet era. A monument to its heroes has been installed near Andriivskyi Descent in Kyiv, where main elements of the plot take place.