Khromchenko was born on November 21 (December 4), 1907 in the small Ukrainian town Zlatopol. Khromchenko displayed his vocal
gifts as a boy in the choir of a local synagogue.
He subsequently trained at the Kyiv Lysenko Conservatory (1929–1932) in the class of Mikhail M. Engel-Kron,
before pursuing postgraduate studies at the Moscow Conservatory (1932–1935), under the guidance of Ksenia Dorliak,
mother of soprano Nina Dorliak.
In 1933, he was a prize-winner (alongside the young Emil Gilels in the piano category) in the first AlI-Union Musical Competition.
The following year, even before finishing his course at the conservatory, he was engaged as a soloist by the Bolshoj.
Over the years, he was to establish himself as a much-loved artist within the Soviet Union, widely appreciated as a concert
performer as well as on the opera stage.
Khromchenko was one of the leading tenors at the Bolshoj Theater.
He remained in the shadows of Sergej Lemeshev and Ivan
Kozlovskyj.
Between 1934 and 1957, he made over 500 appearances on the stage of the
Bolshoj in some twenty leading roles of the lyric tenor repertoire, such as: Lenskij, Bajan, Sinodal,
Vladimir Igorevich, Indian Guest, Simpleton, Duca, Almaviva, Faust, Alfredo, Berendej, Gérald, ...
After retiring from the Bolshoj Theater, Khromchenko remained a highly popular performer in recitals and radio, being
particularly noted for his performances of Russian romances.
He began teaching at the
Gnessin Institute in 1961, and also published a book on vocal method. He taught at the Gnesin until 1992, becoming a professor in
1982. In 1992 he was offered a position at the
Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem, where he taught for eight years.
In 2000, Khromchenko
returned to Moscow and was delighted to meet his first great-grandson. He died in his house in
Moscow on January 20, 2002 at the age of 94.
Reference 1
Reference 2
Reference 3: Melodija liner notes