Halyna Yablonska, a People's Artist of Ukraine, has died at the age of 98 following a long illness, theatre critic and Honoured Art Worker of Ukraine Vasyl Nevolov announced on Facebook.
Nevolov wrote that her exhausted heart stopped beating in the 99th year of her life. He described her as a great artist and patriot, a full holder of the Order of Princess Olga, a laureate of the Maria Zankovetska Prize, the Bronek Prize and the Kyiv Art Prize named after Ambrosii Buchma, and honorary head of the international project and competition "Taras Shevchenko Unites Nations."
He called her a native of Ivano-Frankivsk with seventy years of creative work behind her, and referred to her as "the not-lonely Lonely Lady," a nod to one of her best known stage roles.
Nevolov said that in her final decades, Yablonska's greatest joy and heaviest creative burden had been the Heroic Theatre "Memory," which she founded and nurtured, along with the Shevchenko Unites Nations project.
He said it was astonishing how this selflessly devoted woman always found the time, health, wisdom, talent and kindness for everything she did. He thanked her on behalf of the theatre community and said her memory would be as bright and enduring as the legacy she left behind.
Early life and career
Yablonska was born on 2 January 1928 in Uman, a city in central Ukraine. Her mother was an actress and her stepfather an actor and director. She first appeared on stage at the age of six, playing a small role as a boy.
At age 8, she was cast as Topsy in a production of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" at the Vinnytsia State Theatre.
Before joining the Ivan Franko Theatre in 1951, Yablonska performed at theatres in Proskuriv, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Vinnytsia and Dnipro. Her first director at the Franko Theatre was the legendary Ambrosii Buchma. She studied under Buchma and was a contemporary of other major figures of Ukrainian theatre, including Hnat Yura, Nataliya Uzhviy and Nonna Koperzhynska.
A record-setting stage career
Yablonska became the senior member of the troupe at Ukraine's National Ivan Franko Theatre in Kyiv, one of the country's oldest and most prominent drama theatres. She continued performing well into old age, only stepping back from productions in the final two years of her life.
She was entered into the National Register of Records of Ukraine for the longest period of stage performance. Among her signature roles was the lead, Olesia Bohdanivna, in the play "The Lonely Lady," which reached its hundredth performance in February 2020.
Over her decades at the Franko Theatre, Yablonska played dozens of roles, including Halia in "Nazar Stodolia," Regina in "Crossed Paths," Nastia in "Stolen Happiness," Lady Macduff in "Macbeth," Olha Franko in "The Mystery of Being" and Olesia Bohdanivna in "The Lonely Lady."
Other work and honours
Yablonska founded and led the International League "Mothers and Sisters of Young Ukraine," and in 2007, on her initiative, the Heroic Theatre "Memory" was established. She also performed solo programmes and worked in radio and television.
She was named an Honoured Artist of the Ukrainian SSR in 1960 and a People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR in 1982. She was also a full holder of the Order of Princess Olga, one of Ukraine's state honours for women.
Recent losses in Ukraine's arts community
Yablonska's death follows other recent losses among Ukrainian performers. UNIAN previously reported that musician and actor Kostiantyn Slobodeniuk of the Chernihiv Youth Theatre was killed at the front at age 43. He had mobilised in May 2024, and his farewell ceremony was held on 15 September in Chernihiv.
UNIAN also reported the death of musician Vitalii Kapranov of the Kyiv punk band Kvitkis, who served with the National Guard's 1st Corps Azov and was killed while defending Ukraine.
