Ukrainian composers break into the Ukrainian scene: a review of the new season’s music premieres

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September is the month of the start of new seasons in large and small operas and philharmonics. And this is also the time of the announcement of the prime ministers. UP.Zhyttia’s music columnist Natalka Pysanka analyzes the latest programs of classical music in the Ukrainian scenes of Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Odesa, Rivne (yes, Rivne) and states: Ukrainian music will burst into them and into your life. There will be works commissioned by theaters from modern Ukrainian composers, as well as works once forgotten and eventually found. In the collateral photo: the premiere of the opera “The Cunning Fox”, written by the composer Ivan Nebesny based on Ivan Franko’s poem “The Fox Nikita” at the Dnipro Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet on September 16, 2023. Kyiv The National Philharmonic of Ukraine sets the tone for the all-Ukrainian trend of returning works by Ukrainian composers to Ukrainian stages. She opened the season with the premiere of the symphonic work “Rubicon” by the modern Ukrainian composer Serhiy Pilyutikov, written on the order of the chief conductor of the Philharmonic, Mykola Dyadyura. Polish pianist Szymon Nering also performed at the concert, who surprised everyone with an encore performance of “Elegy” by Mykola Lysenko. On September 17, another unusual event took place: visitors to the Philharmonic Hall heard for the first time a new version of the Second Symphony by the well-known Ukrainian composer Borys Lyatoshynskyi, translated for 2 pianos in 8 hands. The opening of the work and the translation of the music was made by the composer, musicologist Hleb Fareniuk. This is the 160th jubilee season for this institution and it is full of world premieres by Ukrainian composers: these will be works by Valentin Sylvestrov, Yevhen Stankovych, Igor Shcherbakov, Oleksiy Skrypnyk. On October 1, a concert of the “Kyiv Space” cycle will be held here for the 60th anniversary of the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra under the baton of conductor Natalia Ponomarchuk. The works of Leonid Grabovskyi, Valentin Sylvestrov, Valentin Bibik, Yevhen Stankovich and Vitaly Gubarenko will be performed. October 31 – the premiere of the children’s opera “Brundibar” by Hans Krasa. The new season of the National Philharmonic is also rich in the festival: September 30 – October 8: KyivMuzikFest-2023; November 12-18: KyivBaroqueFest “Galant Europe”; December 1-3: International Festival of Guitar Music; March 25-31, 2024: The first SYMPHO KIDS FEST for children from 2 to 16 years of age. Concert on September 17 at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. Music by Richard Wagner and Boris Lyatoshynskyi for two eight-handed pianos. Performed by Maria Klymenko, Oleksandr Oliynyk, Maksym Shadko and Hleb Fareniuk. Kyiv Opera (Kyiv Municipal Theater of Opera and Ballet for Children and Youth) opened the season with the musical “Pinocchio” by the young Ukrainian composer Borys Sevastyanov. The author of the libretto is Dmytro Todoryuk. On September 15, 16 and 17, there were three premiere showings of the play with completely sold-out tickets. This is a bright show of the Broadway level, which captivates with the charisma and voices of the performers, thoughtful direction and scenography, but above all, with its soulfulness. I hope that such a practice, as in the case of the Kyiv Opera – a competition among Ukrainian composers to write musical performances – will become permanent for Ukrainian theaters. The intrigue of the Kyiv Opera is the staging of a new ballet, the name of which has not yet been announced, but the director-artistic director of the theater Petro Kachanov shared information about the upcoming premiere exclusively for UP.Zhyttia. It will be Anatoly Kos-Anatolskyi’s ballet “Soychine Krilo” based on Ivan Franko’s novella. The Lviv Opera House, where this ballet was staged back in the 1950s, provided the only found score for the production. Therefore, on December 25, the Kyiv Opera plans to start a new Christmas story with the premiere of the ballet “Soychine Krylo”. Also, the Kyiv Opera continues the series of concerts “Romance in shelter” – in the basement of the theater, equipped for the stage, for which it finds new pearls of Ukrainian song lyrics. And it is worth reminding about the uniqueness of this theater in the Ukrainian dimension: world-famous operas (for example, “Romeo and Juliet” by Charles Gounod or “Bohème” by Giacomo Puccini) are performed here in a masterful Ukrainian translation. The premiere of the musical “Pinocchio” on September 15 at the Kyiv Opera. Photo from the theater’s Facebook. The National Opera of Ukraine approached the trend for Ukrainian works with extreme caution: on October 29 and 30, the theater is scheduled to premiere the children’s opera “Puss in Boots” by composer Yuriy Shevchenko. For guaranteed success, they invited the star director Oksana Taranenko, known for her vivid productions of the opera “Kateryna” by Oleksandr Rodin at the Odesa Opera and the updated “Zaporozhets za Danube” by Semen Gulak-Artemovsky at the Lviv Opera. At the end of the season, Natsopera has planned the premiere of the opera “The Troubadour” by Giuseppe Verdi, staged by Vitaly Palchikov, the chief director of the Kyiv Opera. The premiere of the musical “Pinocchio” on September 15 at the Kyiv Opera. Photo from the theater’s Facebook. Great news for fans of Broadway musicals: the National Operetta of Ukraine has received a license to show the legendary musical “Chicago” by John Kander, so a big premiere awaits Ukrainian audiences! In the new theater season, performances of the musical “The Sound of Music” by Richard Rogers and Andrew Lipp’s “The Addams Family”, beloved by many viewers, will resume. And be sure to visit the Ukrainian adventure musical “Tigrolovi” – the brightest production of the last season at the National Operetta. The next showing is tomorrow, September 22. The musical “Tigrolovi” in the National Operetta. Photo from the theater’s Facebook At the end of November, Operetta will once again host the Opera Aperta laboratory and their archaeological opera “Chornobildorf” by the composers Roman Hryhoriv and Ilya Razumeik. The laboratory will then take Chornobildorf to New York for screenings at the LaMama Theater and the Prototype Festival. Opera Aperta is also preparing a premiere for next year. There is already a name “Gaia-24. Opera del Mondo”, but, as Ilya Razumeyko says, “so far, everything about it is vague”. Read also: “The Russians will not hide from us anymore”: a conversation with the composers of Opera Aperta about the European triumph of Ukrainian modern opera Fans of modern choreography may be interested in the premiere of the ballet MHOTF (“My House on Two Legs”) from the composer’s Insha Dance Company modern dance theater Viktor Rekal and director Ilya Miroshnichenko. The play focuses on a bodily reflection on home, its physical and spiritual significance for those who were forced to leave it. On October 21, director Radu Poklitaru will present the premiere of the ballet “DISCRIMINATION” by “Kyiv Modern-Ballet” to the music of George Frideric Handel and Valentin Sylvestrov. Lviv Ballet premieres will be the main highlight of the season at the Lviv National Opera. On September 23 and 24, the premiere of the updated ballet “Caution in Vain” (music by Peter Hertel, Adolf Adan, Ferdinand Herold) will take place. This is already the third reading of one of the oldest plays in the repertoire of the Lviv Opera. The focus is on lovers who, despite class inequality, choose the right to their love. October 14 – theatrical oratorio “War Psalm” by Yevgeny Stankovych. December 2 and 3 – the key event of the season – the premiere of the ballet “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” (music by Ivan Nebesny, libretto by Vasyl Vovkun, choreography by Artem Shoshin). Artists from Ukraine and Lithuania were involved in the production. And at the end of the season, the Lviv Opera prepared the premiere of one of the most beautiful and tragic operas of the 20th century – “Dialogues of the Carmelites” by Francis Poulenc. This will be the second cooperation of the season with the Lithuanian scenographer Arvidas Buynauskas. In the new season, the Lviv Organ Hall will continue the “Historical Concerts” series, during which little-known and forgotten works of Ukrainian classics will be played on stage. In particular, on October 6, the reconstruction of Sydor Vorobkevich’s opera “Olga” will take place. October 14 – another concert from the “historical” series. The Luhansk Symphony Orchestra will perform the music for the ballet “Eupraxia” by the Ukrainian composer of the 20th century Oleksandr Kanershtein and the premiere – the symphony “Tree of Dreams” by the composer and conductor Ivan Ostapovich in the Organ Hall. From October 19 to November 10, the annual Lviv International Organ Festival will be held in the Lviv Organ Hall. In addition to Ukrainian organists, musicians from Germany and Poland have been invited to it. On December 14, the Organ Hall together with the Kharkiv University of Arts will present the project “Music of Iron and Concrete”, where the works of young Kharkiv composers will be performed. In the Lviv Philharmonic this fall, attention is traditionally focused on the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Contrasts”. This year, the program includes 14 events of the 10-day marathon (from September 29 to October 8). Well-known musicians from Ukraine will perform, as well as invited guests from Poland and Germany. At the opening of the festival, you will be able to hear the music of seven modern Ukrainian composers at once. On September 30, only Valentina Sylvestrova’s music will be heard, and on October 7 – Valentina Bibik. In the concert on October 1 “Dialogue with Skoryk”, the premieres of the works of laureates of the Myroslav Skoryk All-Ukrainian Competition for Composers will be performed. Odesa Odesa National Opera, despite constant shelling in the summer, started its new season on August 4. And a few days ago, the VIII International Festival “Velvet Season at the Odesa Opera”, which consisted of 16 events, ended. On October 1, the Odesa Opera will begin the “educational” season with the artistic program for children “Journey of a Little Musician”. This project allows you to get to know the theater in an interactive way. Rehearsals of the ballet “La Folia” to the music of Oleksandr Rodin and directed by Oleksiy Sklyarenko will begin in October. The revival of the opera “The Maid-Mrs” (director-producer Oksana Taranenko) is planned for November. In the spring, we expect the premiere of the opera “Don Pasquale” by Gaetano Donizetti, directed by Linas Zaikauskas. “New Music of Ukraine” will continue throughout the season at the Odesa Opera. He invites contemporary Ukrainian composers to collaborate and holds concerts dedicated to outstanding Ukrainian composers. Concerts-meetings with Oleksandr Rodin and Zoltan Almashi have already taken place, mono-concerts of works by Ivan Nebesny, Myroslav Volynskyi, Vitaliy Gubarenko are being prepared. Dnipro Opera Theater of the front-line city started its 50th theater season on September 16 with the premiere of the opera “Cunning Fox” by Ivan Nebesny. The composer wrote this opera based on Ivan Franko’s fairy tale at the request of the Lviv Opera. The premiere took place in Lviv in 2020, and now the team of the Lviv Opera helped their colleagues from Dnipro to put on a production on their stage. The Dnipropetrovsk Philharmonic opened its season on September 15. At the opening concert, in particular, the premiere of Maksym Kolomiyets’ Double Violin Concerto “Four Rivers on a Melting Candle” was played. And the day before, it became known that the Metropolitan Opera will stage an opera by Maxim Kolomiyets based on a libretto by George Brant about the abduction of Ukrainian children by the Russians. Opera “Cunning Fox” on the stage of the Dnipro Opera House. Photo from the theater’s Facebook page

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