Dumka’s French Triumph

The Dumka Choral Cappella has returned from France after appearing in the eighth international classical music festival. That night conducting was Philipp Bender and solo were performed by Maria Noel Cros (soprano), Catherine Carden (mezzo soprano), Alain Vostin (bass), Patrick Garaita (tenor), and Dumka singers. The international project proved a great success. According to Dumka’s artistic director Yevhen Savchuk, the choir not only captivated the exacting audience of the Claude Debussy Hall of Columns (at the famous Cannes Palace, venue of international film festivals) with Verdi’s Requiem, but also won the press. Le Figaro wrote that the Ukrainian performers were the gem of the festival.

Another triumph was scored in Toulon, at the Music Moments Festival, together with Ukraine’s National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Volodymyr Syrenko. After the last chords of the Polovetsian Dances in Borodin’s Prince Igor died away the ceiling of the Neptune Palace seemed to cave in with ovation. The traditionally prim audience went wild, shouting encore. And encore they did. It was quite some time before the singers and musicians were allowed to leave the stage.

In Pushkin’s words, from the ship straight to a ball was how Dumka appeared at the Shevchenko memorial evening on March 9 at the National Opera in Kyiv. They will travel next to Poland.