Issay Aleksandrovich Dobroven

Issay Aleksandrovich Dobroven (Nizhny Novgorod, 1891 - Oslo, 1953), also known as Ishok Israelevich Barabeichik, was a Russian conductor who built much of his career in Europe and the United States. His hallmark was the Russian repertoire.

He made his debut as a pianist at the age of five and studied in Moscow with Igumnov and Taneyev, completing his training in Vienna with Leopold Godowsky. After leaving Russia following the Revolution, he settled in Germany, where in 1922 he conducted Boris Godunov at the Dresden Staatsoper. He held posts in Berlin, Dresden, Sofia, San Francisco and at the Hungarian State Opera, and was a guest conductor in Minneapolis, New York and Philadelphia.

On the outbreak of war he moved to Oslo, where he acquired Norwegian citizenship, and in 1940 he went on to Sweden. In 1949 he conducted and staged a notable series of Russian operas at La Scala. His last operatic production was a revival of Boris Godunov at Covent Garden, between December 1952 and January 1953. He composed piano concertos and pieces for solo piano.