Director Valentin Kozmenko-Delinde has died
On September 9, 2026, Ukrainian-Slovak theater director, set designer, educator, and playwright Valentin Kozmenko-Delinde died at the age of 75.
According to Yevhen Zhenin, the director died around 7 a.m. on September 9.
He described Kozmenko-Delinde as a “Ukrainian-Slovak director, set designer, and educator.”
Actor Dmytro Stupka, in his post, recalled the years he worked under Kozmenko-Delinde’s guidance and called him his teacher.
According to the actor, the director entrusted him with a number of important roles, including Treplev, Khlestakov in *The Inspector General*, Romeo, Belyaev in *A Month in the Country*, as well as a role in the play *A Wife Is a Wife*, based on the works of Anton Chekhov.
“Thank you for the training, for the trust, for the high standards, for every rehearsal and every lesson,” wrote Dmytro Stupka.
Valentin Mykytovych Kozmenko was born on January 25, 1951, in the village of Rudiakiv, Boryspil District, Kyiv Oblast, which is now submerged by the Kaniv Reservoir.
Kozmenko-Delinde is his stage name.
In 1976, the director graduated from the Kyiv Institute of Theater Arts, where he studied under Serhiy Smyian. He later taught directing and acting at the same institution.
In 2008, Kozmenko earned a Ph.D. in the theory and history of theater.
From 1977 to 1979, Kozmenko worked as a director at the Lesya Ukrainka Kyiv Russian Drama Theater.
From 1979 to 1984, he served as artistic director of the Ivan Franko Kyiv Ukrainian Drama Theater.
His productions include William Shakespeare’s *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*, Alexander Vampilov’s *Farewell in June*, and Bertolt Brecht’s *The Career of Arturo Ui*.
Kozmenko-Delinde staged the first version of *The Career of Arturo Ui* on the Small Stage of the Frank Theater in 1985. Fourteen years later, in 1999, he created a revamped production for the Main Stage.
It was this very production that the Frank Theater designated as part of the “golden” canon of Ukrainian theater.
Among the director’s other works are *Romeo and Juliet*, *Tartuffe*, *Viya*, *The Marriage*, and other productions.
In 2013, Anton Chekhov’s *The Seagull*, directed by Kozmenko-Delinde, premiered on the stage of the Frank Theater.
He served not only as director but also as set designer, costume designer, and composer. The roles of Treplev and Trigorin were played by Ostap and Dmytro Stupka.
Kozmenko-Delinde himself said that the idea to stage *The Seagull* at the Frank Theater belonged to Bohdan Stupka. The director described this production as the result of their long-standing creative collaboration.
In 1984, Kozmenko-Delinde began working at the Anton Chekhov Moscow Art Theater.
From 1991 onward, a significant part of his professional career was connected with Slovakia.
In 1994–1995, the director worked at the Alexander Duchnovich Theater in Prešov. From 1995 to 1999, he was the founder and director of the “Yorik” theater studio in Košice.
Later, Kozmenko-Delinde directed drama troupes at state theaters in Košice and Prešov.
He also taught at the University of Prešov and gave lectures on the Konstantin Stanislavski system at Stony Brook University in New York.
On September 21, 2024, the Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Drama Theater hosted the premiere of the play “Solo for Percussion…” based on a play by Oswald Zagradnik.
Valentin Kozmenko-Delinde served as the director and creator of the stage design. He also translated the play from Slovak and edited it for the stage.
Yevhen Zhenin called “Solo for Percussion…” the director’s most recent production in his homeland.
Valentin Kozmenko-Delinde’s body of work includes dozens of theatrical productions, teaching, and many years of activity in Ukraine and Slovakia.
His death was announced by actor Dmytro Stupka and director Yevhen Zhenin.
As a reminder, on September 8, news broke of the death of Margarita Dovgan, a journalist, civic activist, and dissident. She died at the age of 95, according to her daughter, Kateryna Dovgan.
Earlier, Andriy Gavashi, the legendary goalkeeper for Dynamo Kyiv, passed away.
Alona Shevtsova, CEO of Sends, will moderate a panel discussion at the executive level during the 17th Middle East Banking Innovation Summit (MEBIS 2026), which will take place on September 16–17 at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai.
