Prompted by Father and Assisted by Pope

Lviv’s Krushelnytska Opera and Ballet Theater hosted the international premiere of Myroslav Skoryk’s opera, Moses, coinciding with Pope John Paul II’s visit to Ukraine. Of course, the performance was attended by numerous foreign guests and turned out a very special event, as the opera was blessed by the Vicar of Christ and the whole project was financed by the Vatican for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine.

The author and composer believes that the opera broaches an international subject, addressing all nations and peoples, especially those struggling for independence and building their nation states. Like the characters of Ivan Franko’s poem (the libretto, written by Bohdan Stelmakh, is based on it), Ukraine is also trying to set course in the stormy sea of inner and outer problems. Now it surges ahead, then takes a sharp turn. Life situations and personae repeat themselves although they were Moses’ chimeras. The poem was written in 1905, yet it seems to reflect current realities. Also, Mr. Skoryk does not want his opera to be regarded in a political context only.

WRITTEN ON THREE CONTINENTS

“I had the idea of Moses long ago,” admits the composer. “It was prompted by my father. He was a trained historian. However, various circumstances prevented its fruition, so when Tadei Eder, manager of the Kyiv Opera, suggested I compose Moses for them I agreed. It took two years and there were problems with sponsors; without them and material assistance staging an opera is very difficult these days. Eder knocked on all the doors, he even spoke to Cardinal Lubomyr Huzar, then second-in-command and now head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and the clergyman forwarded our letter to the Pope. John Paul II liked the idea of an opera based on a biblical subject.

“And you know, at times it seemed that Moses would be my swan song. It turned out that I wrote the opera on three continents. I started in Lviv and then continued in America, and later in faraway Australia. I must admit that I was considerably more productive abroad, for no one got in my way. I finished Moses and rehearsals started a week later. We had the dress rehearsal in May, so you can see that we worked very fast. I hope that the Lviv company will tour Kyiv and Moses will be on the repertoire. At the moment, we have offers from US and Israeli impresarios.

“Some critics say I didn’t manage to compose an opera to commemorate the Lviv Opera’s centennial. The management did not specify any memorial dates, and I have a bad character; I live and wait for inspiration to come, unless there is someone pressing me. Incidentally, it was decided to time the Moses premiere to coincide with the pontifical visit after the date had been officially announced, so I just sat and quickly finished writing the music.”

SEQUEL

“ Moses broaches one of the most relevant of all subjects; it is about a leader and a people and their relationships. This has always been to the point. Ivan Franko’s poem is primarily philosophical, lacking dramatic scenes, so Bohdan Stelmakh worked on his libretto and I on music to figure out an appropriate style. We had to produce a performance interesting to watch and listen to. My task was to convey Franko’s poetic nuances in music. 250 persons worked on the project, meaning almost the entire company cast, and the total number of people involved was 2,000. Oksana Zinchenko’s wardrobe and stage props created by Tadei and his brother Mykhailo Ryndzak bring us back to the thirteenth century BC and help the cast convey the message. Moses is not a mythical character. He was a real man, and the Bible gives a detailed account of his life story, particularly when he led the Jews out of Egypt. This historic event took place under Pharaoh Ramses II. Moses founded Jewish monotheism, later adopted by many peoples all over the world. As a prophet, he is revered by Christians, Jews, and Moslems. Moses embodies human wisdom. Led by him, the Jews overcame all hardships and surmounted all obstacles. We have had similar leaders in our history: Kyiv Rus’ Princes Yaroslav the Wise or Danylo of Halych. Thus our choice of Ivan Franko’s poem was no coincidence.”

Numerous other operatic composers have turned to Moses, among them, of course, Rossini’s Moses in Egypt. It was a huge success and stayed on the repertories of the leading Italian and French companies for a very long time. It was in that opera that the composer first introduced two bass parts for Moses and the pharaoh, thus opening a new theatrical character for this type of voice. Ever since bass parts have been written for kings, leaders, chiefs, and palatines. Another Moses was composed in 1905 by Giacomo Orefis, a teacher the Milan Conservatory of Music. Arnold Schoenberg, a classic of modernism, began writing his Moses und Aron in 1931. It was staged posthumously in the United States (1957).

Myroslav Skoryk says he likes the way Zbigniew Chszanowski staged the Lviv production. The Polish director knows Ukrainian culture well, and he succeeded in conveying to the finest overtones of the composition. Every part is performed by two singers, except the title one. Moses is played by Oleksandr Hromysh. A very serious role requiring vocal skill and dramatic identification. “Of course, I would like the best Ukrainian singers to be on the cast,” says the composer. “I imagine that Moses would embellish Anatoly Kocherha’s repertoire, but he is bound by contracts abroad and visits Ukraine very seldom. And of course, inviting the operatic star to Lviv would cost us a fortune.”

Myroslav Skoryk hopes that not just one but several tunes from the opera will become famous. “Writing music, I made complete musical numbers and I think that the arias turned out well. Some may become popular if broadcast often enough. I do hope that the public will like my opera and it will have a long life in the repertory.”

HARD TO LIVE ON A CONSERVATORY PROFESSOR’S SALARY

The composer admits that he is not in the best financial shape. Practically there are no commissions, and he has to find other sources of income. Yet he does not complain, because composers writing serious music are all in approximately the same situation in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world. One way or another they have to work in other creative fields. Skoryk is no exception. He teaches at the Lviv Conservatory, conducts master classes, and goes on concert tours abroad. He has many pupils, some have made their names (e.g., Ivan Karabyts, Yevhen Stankovych, Vadym Ilyin, Oleh Kyva, and the younger ones: Hanna Havrylets, Volodymyr Zubytsky, Oleksandr Kozarenko, and Viktor Stepurko).

Yevhen Stankovych, also a composer, refers to Myroslav Skoryk as a doyen of Ukrainian music, adding that “He made himself known as a creative personality very early. Unlike many other maestros, he is still active. His every work is interesting for both experts and the public. He has been composing for more than four decades and yet retains a tremendous creative potential. Over the past several years has combined teaching composition at the Conservatory and working as deputy head of the Ukrainian studies chair. He often goes on concert tours outside Ukraine, playing the piano and conducting composer soirees. He is very energetic. We met in 1968 and it marked a turning point in my life. I was in my fourth year at Kyiv Conservatory when my professor Borys Liatoshynsky died tragically. I had to decide how to complete my study and what major to choose. Together with Oswald Balakauskas (currently a noted European composer) we applied for enrolled in Myroslav Skoryk’s class. I never regretted the decision. I think that there have been two teachers in my life: Liatoshynsky and Skoryk. Myroslav Skoryk was a young man at the time but already had a reputation as a composer. I would say that he was a specific teacher. We were about the same age, so our classes were kept in a democratic spirit. He knew how to encourage one with a couple of words and was even-tempered. Most importantly, he taught me to be critical about my own accomplishments.”

Despite a tight teaching schedule, Myroslav Skoryk tours a great deal. “The diaspora in America is perhaps stronger than in Australia,” he says. “Yes, they are still interested in their Ukrainian roots, but they also have their own problems; several generations have risen [since the first Ukrainian settlers], and people of the last one have never visited Ukraine and some even don’t know Ukrainian. The only thing Ukrainian about them is their parentage. It is difficult to work as a composer there, because you have to be on strange turf. It is easier for a singer, for he can perform different songs. I write music based on our national heritage and I haven’t noticed foreign audiences showing a keen interest in foreign music.”

INITIALLY REFUSING TO WRITE MUSIC FOR SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS

As we talked I could not but ask the maestro about his music for Paradzhanov’s Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, the more so that the film marked a turning point in Ukrainian cinematography.

“Thinking back, I see not only Paradzhanov, but also Ivan Mykolaichuk with his leading role as Ivan Plaiychuk. It was the young actor’s debut. He was still a student, yet watching him behind the camera made a great impression. The young man was apparently in his element. He was very handsome and pleasant. We often met, although I can’t say that we were friends. I tried to follow his career, and I also think that we have no other talent like his in contemporary Ukrainian film.

“Serhiy Paradzhanov was a very special individual and had a keen sense of music. He came to Lviv, went to the local radio station and asked to listen to music by Lviv composers. He listened to a lot of tapes and then said he wanted Skoryk for his film. After he told me the plot I said no at first, I was busy with other projects at the time, but Paradzhanov went on talking and finally convinced me. Working on the film was very interesting and most importantly the result turned out excellent. It is a precious creative and folklore production. Apart from my music, the soundtrack contains many original folk renditions. At the time the Dovzhenko Studios could afford expeditions and we traveled and recorded Carpathian folk music and songs.

“When I have to write music for a movie, I start by reading the script very carefully, and then I have ideas. I write music simultaneously. I regularly visit the shooting site and rehearsals, so that I can feel the atmosphere.”

The composer’s large portfolio includes symphony and instrumental pieces, music for plays and pop numbers. In the mid-1960s, he wrote the ballet Stonemasons based on Ivan Franko’s verse. In 1978, he finished and orchestrated Mykola Leontovych’s opera Thursday of Pentecost Week.

“I’d rather call Stonemasons a symphonic poem. The ballet was staged at the Lviv Opera by Anatoly Shekera, an excellent choreographer,” recalls Skoryk. He made it an epic and I must say that he was keenly aware of Franko’s verse and succeeded in conveying it in the language of dance. Regrettably, few stage directors can manage serious compositions. As for Leontovych’s unfinished opera, the idea was on many composers’ minds and they offered their versions. Well, mine was accepted. I’d worked with the composer’s archives, studied his manuscripts and orchestrated Thursday... to keep the original style. It was staged at the Kyiv Opera and I think it turned out well. Too bad it’s no longer in the repertoire, but there is a tape in the National Radio archives.”

MELODY CAN COME SUDDENLY

“Music entered my life even as a small boy,” muses Myroslav Skoryk. “I was six, and I tried to compose music on the piano. My parents took me to a specialist, it was in 1945. We have a celebrity in our family history. My grandmother’s sister was Solomiya Krushelnytska. So they took me to her and I started playing and then stopped and said I won’t play the piano, because it was off key. Krushelnytska smiled and said I had a perfect ear for music. You see, singers have their pianos tuned a bit lower, so they don’t have to strain their vocal glands in a high key. Well, she told my parents to send me to music school, and I had a good teacher who encouraged my composing endeavors.”

Myroslav Skoryk told me he likes good music varying in style and then let me in on a little secret that what he likes most is silence. It is in silence that a melody can suddenly come to you. They say Skoryk is a Ukrainian classic. Every time he hears it he smiles sadly.

“In this country you have to die first and then they will praise you. A composer is said to be classic only after posterity can really appreciate his heritage. I am not disturbed by such epithets. Every composition comes the hard way. You write and you are not sure that your work will be popular. For example, my Melody became a hit, but I never suspected that it would when working on it. I like experimenting, but in Moses my task was simple and complex at the same time. I want this opera to be popular. I kept its style modern but adhered to classical canons.

“Composing music is a strictly individual process; every composer does it in his own way. A melody can come suddenly, at any moment, even in your sleep. When you spend a long time working on a big project you become so engrossed, it’s always on your mind, whatever else you may be doing at the moment. With me, an interesting tune can suddenly play in my mind, I memorize it, then go home and write it down. I think that being able to compose music and apply one’s talent is what you call happiness.”