United States Various – ‘For Ukraine: A concert of Remembrance and Hope’: Golda Schultz (soprano), Emily D’Angelo (mezzo-soprano), Dmytro Popov (tenor), Vladyslav Buialskyi (bass-baritone), Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus / Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor). Metropolitan Opera House, New York, 24.2.2023. (RP)
Verbytsky – National Anthem of Ukraine
Mozart – Requiem in D minor, Okay.626
Beethoven – Symphony No.5 in C minor, Op.67
Silvestrov – ‘Prayer for Ukraine’
The Metropolitan Opera commemorated the primary anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with ‘For Ukraine: A concert of Remembrance and Hope’. Produced in affiliation with Lincoln Center and the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nation, it was broadcast dwell on the Met’s varied media channels and all tickets have been USD $50. Patriotism, affordability and two of the most well-liked works within the classical canon, carried out by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, mixed to create an artistically and emotionally rewarding expertise, in addition to a sold-out home.
The Ukrainian flag was beamed on the facade of the opera home and dominated the Met’s stage. In the home, it solid a somber, reflective temper that was evident the second one entered the corridor. The solely phrases spoken have been these by Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, who greeted the viewers on a pre-taped message through which she thanked the Met and Americans for his or her ongoing help of the Ukrainian folks.
The live performance opened with the singing of the Ukrainian National Anthem, a track that has turn into immediately recognizable to many prior to now yr. Tenor Dmytro Popov and bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi, each of whom are Ukrainian, sang a verse as a duet. During the ultimate bows, they appeared on stage draped of their nation’s flag.
Nézet-Séguin programmed two emotionally highly effective works, Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, to commemorate the battle’s onset. The Mozart served as a prayer for salvation and for individuals who have died within the battle.
The Fifth Symphony, in distinction, is a celebration of the heroic, composed at a time when revolution and battle enveloped Europe and Beethoven was going through the prospect of deafness. Nézet-Séguin and the Met Orchestra reworked it right into a triumphant hymn of victory.
Soprano Golda Schultz, mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, Popov and Buialskyi have been the soloists within the Mozart. Exceptional artists all, they nonetheless have been outshone by the Met Chorus. One seldom hears a refrain so superb sing the work. The thundering sound of the boys within the opening measures of the ‘Confutatis’ was wondrous, however much more so was the shimmering sound of the ladies singing ‘Voca me cum benedictus’ a couple of moments later.
The Mozart additionally afforded the chance to listen to the Met’s Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ. Restored through the summer season of 2022, the instrument, which has almost 1,300 pipes, was put in through the building of the ‘New Met’ within the mid-Sixties. The Met is the one certainly one of New York City’s main live performance halls with an precise pipe organ, which is a uncommon discover in opera homes.
Nézet-Séguin has immersed himself in Beethoven in recent times – full cycles of the symphonies with the Philadelphia Orchestra in each Philadelphia and New York, in addition to a recording with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. With the Met Orchestra, he achieved an emotional depth within the Fifth Symphony that was actually as a result of context through which it was being carried out. If the Mozart had been the refrain’s alternative to shine, the Beethoven was the identical for the orchestra.
Under regular circumstances, the live performance would have ended with Beethoven’s triumphant strains resounding by the corridor and the following roar of the viewers. That certainly did transpire, however these usually are not regular occasions. The Met Chorus reappeared on stage to sing Valentin Silvestrov’s ‘Prayer for Ukraine’. The eighty-five-year-old composer lived in Kyiv from 1970 to 2022 however now resides in Berlin.
‘Prayer for Ukraine’ was written in 2014 in response to the Maidan Uprising in November of the prior yr. Over 100 folks died in clashes with the federal government after taking to the streets to protest then-president Viktor Yanukovych’s alternative to not signal an settlement that may have built-in the nation extra carefully with the European Union. A month after protests started, Yanukovych fled the nation, parliament voted to oust him and new elections have been held.
The textual content of ‘Prayer for Ukraine’ reads ‘Lord, protect the Ukraine. Give us power, faith and hope’. Seldom rising above a whisper, the luminous sound of the Met’s sopranos hovered above the wordless accompaniment of the opposite sections. It was as haunting because it was pretty.
Rick Perdian