Solovyanenko was born on September 25th, 1932 in Donetsk
into a miner family.
From his earliest age, Solovyanenko was raised in an atmosphere of Russian and
Ukrainian music.
Interest for opera came later, when Solovyanenko got acquainted with
the well-known Ukrainian singer Oleksandr Korobejchenko,
who discovered his talent.
From 1950, Solovyanenko took singing lessons with Korobejchenko, while
continuing to study at the polytechnic institute that he finished in 1954.
After completion of the polytechnic institute,
he worked as instructor of descriptive geometry in the department of engineering drafting.
In 1962, Solovyanenko was recognized by a jury in a competition
for national talents in Kiev for his interpretation, voice, and ease in the top notes,
and was accepted
as a trainee by the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre T. G. Shevchenko in Kiev.
He made his debut in Rigoletto on November 22nd, 1963.
He was sent to Milan for further studies, where he
studied with maestro Barra. Over the next years, he continued to improve his interpretation and the style of his lyrical tenor voice.
Solovyanenko ranked third in the competition Naples against all.
The song Serate a Mosca (which is nothing else than Podmoskovnye vechera) was on the Italian hit parade in
1965, after he had recorded it for Ricordi,
as well as Scorre il Volga.
Back home, he remained a member of the Kiev opera theater, for a total of thirty years (1965–95).
In the 1977/78 season, Solovyanenko sang twelve performances
at the Metropolitan Opera. He toured the USA, Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, Japan, Australia,
Czechoslovakia, the GDR, Belgium, Mongolia, Japan, Australia, Cuba and Canada.
Solovyanenko sang 18 roles: Vladimir Igorevich, Lenskij, Alfredo, Andrij (Zaporozhets za Dunajem),
Faust, Nadir, Rodolfo, Duca, Manrico, des Grieux, Turiddu, Edgardo, Cavaradossi, Grigorij... He also sang many concerts
with works by Russian, Ukrainian and foreign composers.
In 1990, Solovyanenko took part in a concert with 14 world famous tenors, dedicated
to the 100th birthday of Gigli at the Arena di Verona. The concert was
issued on CD. All in all, he made 18 records (arias, romances, lieder).
Solovyanenko had a heart attack while sleeping and died on July 29th, 1999 in Kozyn near Kiev.
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