VIKTORIYA LUKIANETS:I PRAY TO GOD FOR HEALTH AND A BIT OF LUCK

Ms. Lukianets kindly agreed to an interview after one of the rehearsals. She looked her usual charming self: a graceful petite woman with movingly childlike eyes, dynamite emotionality and an innate joy of creation touching a nerve in the most "battle-hardened" musicians in the pit. She is very natural and relaxed on stage, perfectly self-confident and with a strong, genuinely feminine presence. She never conquers her audience. She does not have to. She leaves her viewers and listeners the freedom of a choice which is invariably in favor of the beauty and harmony radiated by this remarkable woman.

Q: You are incredibly hard-working and your ability to learn a part in any language within 7-10 days is legendary. How do you manage it?

A: Today's performers live at a maddening pace and total immersion is the only way to survive. My schedule is such that I may sing in Vienna one day and in New York City the next with completely  different parts in different operas. If I stop for even a moment I may very well find myself falling overboard. On one hand this is bad because there is a continuous mental and nervous strain and no time to let my vocal chords rest, but on the other it is also good because there is constant progress and the results are obvious. But the physical strain is tremendous. I must say that performing in Kyiv turned out to be much easier.

Q: Is the repertoire you brought this time your standard one or did you make it specially for Kyiv?

A: I made it specially for this tour, including Mozart's vocal concertos, knowing that I would be singing with the Chamber Orchestra and Roman Kaufman who is a very subtle musician. I prepared several Mozart pieces for voice and orchestra. Singing Mozart is always a very special occasion. My music teachers said that a woman singer who can handle Mozart can handle any other composer. To me, singing his works is like reciting The Lord's Prayer to a very devout believer. I am happy I can return to this repertoire, as I have practically no such opportunity in the West, where I sing mostly Donizetti and Bellini.

My latest part this season was also from Donizetti, the sixth such rendition. I acted as a woman once very famous at Louis XIII's court and the cast included singers from Spain, Korea and Mexico, countries which often produce phenomenal voices. Regrettably, fewer singers come from Italy, which was firmly established as the best school of European opera three hundred years ago.

Q: Did you have any professional training anywhere after studying under Irina Arkhipova and leaving for permanent residence in the West?

A: Now let me clear something up. Irina Arkhipova never taught me. She heard me at a Glinka vocal contest in 1987 and said, "You are ready as a singer." Later, she helped me through to the big stage, giving a reference for the Mozart contest. She also took me with her on concert tours to Sverdlovsk, Astrakhan, Leningrad and Moscow. "No one knows you, well, not yet. But you will sing with me, they will notice you and you can take it from there," she would tell me. She, of all people, knew that a young singer had to be helped along at first, to be shown for what she was really worth. But she did not teach me. In fact no one did after I graduated from the Conservatory, but no one believes when I say so.

Q: Which composers are now dominant at the Vienna State Opera?

A: Wagner and Mozart, of course. These are the two pillars supporting the repertoire. They stage all of Wagner and Mozart. But I play Woglinda only in the first and fourth parts of Wagner's tetralogy of music dramas, Der Ring des Nibelungen. Of course, I perform all of Mozart's coloratura pieces, but I don't think I can bring myself to play Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute again, I'm so tired of it!

Q: Which operatic parts do you prefer?

A: Melodramatic ones, when my heroine falls in love, is happy and is then made to suffer. Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, Violetta in La Traviata and Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor are all true female characters I am rather fond of.

I am not averse to purely dramatic roles, like Puccini's Tosca or Tchaikovsky's Lisa in The Queen of Spades. It's just that I am not ready to sing them, not yet. I have been offered Desdemona's part in Verdi's Othello. I am sure that such operatic parts will not be good for my voice. After all, I am 31 and I want to continue with my coloratura soprano repertoire.

Q: How popular are Russian classical operas in the West?

A: Good question. They know or care very little about Russian operas, except such ever-popular works as Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades or by Mussorgsky. Too bad there are no parts for me there. You can imagine how much I miss Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden or The Czar's Betrothed and Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmila.

Q: It stands to logic that they don't know much about Ukrainian music there, either, or do they? Do you have any Ukrainian classical pieces in your Western repertoire?

A: Actually, there are two genuinely Ukrainian operas: Hulak-Artemovsky's A Cossack Beyond the Danube and Lysenko's Natalka Poltavka, which sound as charming as Ukrainian folk songs. I love singing Ukrainian folk songs and I must tell you that they are always received with an ovation. I often hear voices in the audience: "O, como Italiano, como Italiano!" meaning "Oh, just like Italian!" I always sing a cappella and try to select little-known pieces. I always try to find something new. I can't always sing Gilda or Violetta, these parts pall. I am never content with what I have long mastered. I want to continue learning new parts.

Q: A prima donna of your caliber is perhaps in a position to interpret an operatic part her own way, or is this still the directing conductor's prerogative? In other words, can you dictate your rules of the game?

A: Not dictate, but suggest, I can. You see, in the West creative communication, contacts are totally different. The greater an actor's talent and repute, the less of a thing he or she makes of this. No pomp or pretenses. Even superstars like Donna Sutherland, Monserrat Caballe or Maria Callas are so tactful and cultured they would never prevail upon anyone with their ideas. Or take Luciano Pavarotti. He is a fantastically industrious man and every hour he prays to God not to withhold His grace. In a word, we never dictate any rules, we just try to cooperate. As a rule, everyone is calm, friendly and most importantly, considerate during a rehearsal. Loutish behavior is strictly taboo. I have enjoyed working with my Western colleagues.

Q: What about your daughter? Is she planning a vocal career?

A: She is a very good painter and is enrolled in an art high school. She also plays the piano and will soon start studying seven (sic) languages. My cherished dream is to give Darusia a good education so she will never have to ask for a job to make ends meet.

Q: Is there anything special that helps you live through troublesome periods in your life?

A: Yes, three words: Faith, Hope and Love. Have faith, hope for the best and love everyone and everything around you. I prey to our Lord for health and a bit of luck, and I will be able to take care of the rest.