May the Footlights Shine

The National Opera’s luxurious audience was packed with students — future musicians, dancers, choreographers, stage directors — filling even the passages in the gallery. The occasion was very special, actually a dual one: the long-anticipated season opening and the building’s centennial.

A stationary opera house is considered to have been established in Kyiv in 1867, but the structure burned down in 1896. The new one was built in 1901 (designed by W. Schreter). From then on Kyivans could enjoy the beautiful interior and excellent acoustics of what was correctly believed one of the best operas in Europe and the world.

Peter Tchaikovsky visited the Kyiv Opera three times, in 1874, 1889, and 1890, to attend his premieres. Rachmaninoff and Rimsky-Korsakov even took part in the staging of their compositions.

Among the celebrated singers appearing on its stage were Nezhdanova, Sobinov, Chaliapin, Hmyria, Patorzhynsky, Ohnevy, Rudenko, Myroshnychenko, Mokrenko, Hnatiuk, and Solovyanenko. Also ballet stars Kalynovska, Kovtun, Tayakina, Smorhachova, to mention only a few.

Traditionally, every season opens with Mykola Lysenko’s famous Ukrainian opera Taras Bulba. On that festive occasion the gala concert started with the opera’s overture brilliantly performed by the National Opera’s orchestra starring the noted Ukrainian and European conductor Volodymyr Kozhukhar. His merits in Ukrainian operatic art can hardly be overstated. His talent, exacting professionalism, and profound musical erudition produced a number of spectacular renditions admired by Kyiv and numerous European audiences. Each is marked by an original creative concept, sparkling interpretation, and masterful execution. What one notices about each performance is first of all the flawless orchestration and organization uniting many people on, below, and back of the stage: soloists, choir, orchestra, stage hands, electricians, et al.

This time the audience was stunned by the dramatic strength of Svitlana Dobronravova’s prayer from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. Her talent was discovered quite recently and now she is a singer of world renown. Svitlana’s professional level won her the title role in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1934; revised as Katerina Izmailova, 1963), meaning she had to measure up to the requirements imposed by Mstislav Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya. The premiere was a triumph at the theater of Colon in Buenos Aires.

Back to the gala concert, another spectacular number was Werther’s Arioso from Massenet’s title opera, performed by Mykhailo Didyk in his penetratingly romantic manner. His incredibly beautiful tenor and head-spinning operatic career are worth entering in the Guinness Book of Records (in the nomination of speed climb to the musical Olympus). Last season, he went on many concert tours abroad. Kyiv audiences are looking forward to his return.

Olha Nahorna, another name among the Ukrainian capital’s vocal stars, appeared at the concert with a faultless rendition of Linda’s cavatina from Donicetti’s Linda di Chamounix. Over the past several years her voice has acquired new warm timbre overtones, adding ever so nicely to the singer’s innate virtuosity.

And, of course, the tenor trio (this genre appeared and asserted itself on the Kyiv stage courtesy of trendsetters Pavarotti, Domingo, and Carreras): Oleksandr Hurets, Oleksandr Diachenko, and Andriy Romanenko who, apart from classical pieces, sang the undyingly captivating Ukrainian folk song, “Black Eyebrows, Hazel Eyes.” And the dramatic touch to the performance — kneeling in the finale — sparked an ovation.

Other celebrated Kyiv singers — Liudmyla Yurchenko, Mykola Koval, Oleksandr Vostriakov, Valentyn Pyvovarov, Roman Maiboroda, Mariya Stefiuk — gladdened the audience with well-known operatic hits. The brothers Petro and Pavlo Pryimachenko were their usual inspired selves in folk songs.

Tetiana Onysimova and Anzhelina Shvachka, rising operatic stars, showed new facets of their talent. Rosina’s aria from Rossini’s Barber of Seville, given Anzhelina’s captivating virtuosity, caused many in the audience study poster outside the theater after the concert, looking for the opera (previously not included in the repertoire, for reasons best known to the management).

That night Olha Mykytenko and Lidiya Zabiliasta never appeared on stage, although they were on the concert program, but the audience received a very pleasant surprise: Viktoriya Lukyanets with a scene from Verdi’s La Traviata. Her excitingly refined Violetta was also openly romantically impassioned, and that passion at times became so strong one feared the poor girl would break down. The singer’s characteristic plasticity and stage presence instantly brought back the Lukyanets everybody knew and loved, and her beautiful emerald dress allowed everyone to admire her flawless form. It is also true, however, that many in the audience wished the gifted singer had shown new creative attainments or at least an updated repertoire.

The ballet part of the concert included classical and modern extravaganzas: scenes from ballets by Tchaikovsky and Minkus effectively contrasted by Carl Weber’s Vision of a Rose (Tetiana Biletska and London’s Royal National Theatre soloist Ivan Putrov) and Brehovych’s Elegy with its erotically saturated plasticity (Iryna Brodska and Dmytro Kliavyn).

A small furor was caused by Olena Filipieva and Maksym Motkov with their brilliant rendition of Astor Piazolla’s Tango. The open expressiveness of the choreographic interpretation of the famous music by the celebrated composer was faultlessly performed by the excellent dancer. Their perfect professionalism was closer to the ideal than ever before.

A conspicuous place in the concert program was allocated for the instrumental numbers. The audience temperamentally applauded the Trumpeters Guild Ensemble (conducted by Canada’s Steve Shennet), and Vladimir Antonov’s Flutist Ensemble. The performance of the Virtuosi Parade percussion group directed by Aleksandr Blinov was extraordinary. The white-gloved musicians demonstrated a rare sample of “quiet” virtuosity and refined style, playing Strauss’s Pizzicato Polka.

One cannot but point out the overall direction of the concert (Dmytro Hnatiuk and Volodymyr Behma) as well as stage design (Mariya Levytska), deserving all possible praise. But there were also many gaffs by emcee Olha Sumska. Unfortunately, even after renovation the theater offers no technical opportunity to view the excellent musicians of the orchestra (like by lifting the orchestra out of the pit, as practiced by many companies across the world).

The audience was surprised to watch several ballet numbers accompanied by a soundtrack.

Naturally, such shortcomings could not spoil the general impression of the concert: inspired, dynamic, and colorful.