The Day has recounted in detail how this opera came to be. It is staged by an energetic team consisting of the young stage director, Anatoliy Solovianenko, in collaboration with such distinguished veterans as conductor Ivan Hamkalo, production designer Maria Levytska, choirmaster Lev Venedyktov, and choreographer Aniko Rekhviashvili. The cast is also very impressive, including the company’s best soloists and the singers of the Children’s Opera Choir of the Podil House of Creativity (conducted by Natalia Nekhotiaeva). Nevertheless, it is too early to discuss the results of their efforts; the third or even the fourth performance is regarded as the true premiere because the first night is never safe from annoying misunderstandings. The production team did not have much time to prepare, but the premiere was still a success.
Without a doubt, the very fact of staging a modern Ukrainian opera has a tremendously positive potential. Modern works by our composers have not been staged at Ukrainian theaters for the last several years, so there is no corresponding creative tradition. Against this background the appearance of Moses has given birth to hopes. Collaboration with the composer (who is also the stage director and author of the libretto written together with B. Stelmakh and based on Ivan Franko’s poem “Moses”) certainly helped penetrate the essence of the music. However, the characteristics of the modern language of music present certain difficulties to academic vocalists, as does the combination of a biblical plot with the ambition to make the opera topical, modern, and attractive to the general public.
Among the pluses of this opera is that it is compact (two hours with an intermission), despite its intellectual power and philosophical depth. Because of the static character and philosophical profundity of the plot, which is defined by the very subject, it is devoid of the profitable and effective spectacle that attracts the viewer and as such guarantees 50 percent of success. The biblical theme is rather difficult to absorb because the opera, being laconic in form and at the same time full of content, does not include dynamic stage action. This specific set of traits, according to the producers, envisages a traditional approach to scenography. Indeed, quite a few techniques in the director’s interpretation of the material were identifiable. The appearance of the desert demon, Azazel, was accompanied by red lighting (although quite unexpectedly the red lights flashed before Jehovah’s words); banishing Moses, the choir members indicate the direction with their hands. The parallel between today’s Ukraine and the Israelites of Moses’s time is very topical. Moses is a legendary leader embodying the finest human traits: faith, selflessness, patriotism, and wisdom. Many years pass before he can lead his people to national self-determination and well- being, and he must endure countless ordeals. The stage set features a screen with a synchronized text running during part of the performance. At first it displayed Ivan Franko’s portrait as the author of the original work; in the second act the screen displayed scenes from documentaries illustrating dramatic events in the history of the Ukrainian state. This adds a journalistic touch to the interpretation of the opera, but at the same time produces a discordant note in its timeless, global sound. Topicality was also emphasized by the combination of colors; whether deliberately or not, in the scene with two negative characters (clad in blue and red) who are trying to convince Moses (dressed in white) about something, the Russian national colors symbolically emerge. Despite the historical and geographic distinctness of the opera, the audience’s unbiased impressions did not always correspond to the epic unfolding on stage; perhaps not coincidentally the costumes of the performers displayed motifs reminiscent of Slavic ones. Hi-tech mountains also lent a fresh, spectacular touch.
In order to make the performance scenically attractive, the production team tried to make the opera an even more synthetic, universal genre than it really is by introducing video and ballet. Ballet scenes always enliven action. However, in the context of the entire opera the choreographic fragments appeared isolated, owing to the pagan coloring, independent theme, and original wardrobe. (The choir observed these magical pagan activities indifferently.)
As for Moses, this timeless image is close to the Ukrainian listener by virtue of its musical and intonational resolution; in it appear the features of the characters, which embody the people, their aspirations for freedom, and love of their homeland. Moses, however, cuts a charismatic and authoritative figure whom the people followed, if one disregards all the nuances. After all, he is the hero, who is constantly on stage, yet he does not attract much attention. One has to rely on the awareness of the listener, who nevertheless must understand the idea and side with the truth.
Skoryk reaffirms his title as an acknowledged classic; his music for the opera house has range and dramatic tension. It has everything that should be there, and everything is convincing. Fragments marked by exotic Oriental coloration are organically combined with identifiable Ukrainian intonations. One can say that Skoryk, as a Ukrainian composer, emphasizes these semantic accents that can be applied to any epoch, in any country precisely by their recognizability. The scherzo episodes are as convincing as the effective dramatic culminations. This experienced and wise maestro brings to life pagan worship, the primordial wildness, lyricism, languor, and sarcasm with equal talent and mastery.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Mykola ZHULYNSKY, member of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine and director of the Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature:
“I am enchanted by Myroslav Skoryk’s music. He has written a great work. In the opera Moses the composer has succeeded in conveying the main idea, the mission of a national prophet who is serving his people at the cost of his own life, without swerving from the path even when some disagree with his actions. The choral scenes are excellent and they sound great. I also like Levytska’s sets. With her rocks and mountains reminding one of a labyrinth she portrays the 40-year long road of sufferings endured by the Israelites. Moses led his people through the desert for 40 years, but addressed the Jews from the top of a mountain and urged them to abandon Egyptian bondage. However, the use of the screen in the set design looks strange. The audience will draw parallels with the history of our people, with Ukraine; no prompting is needed. The symbolic image of Moses in Ivan Franko’s poem was created in order to convey the fate of the Ukrainian people through a classical world image. Incidentally, Franko was so ill he couldn’t even turn a page unaided, but he and his older son Andriy went to Halychyna to read the poem. His voice was quiet, but people listened attentively and many knew the poem and understood that Moses is a symbol. Franko’s poem called upon the people to awaken. People believed that years would pass and Ukraine would become a free country, and that its people would become a great nation. This idea is accurately conveyed by the composer in his opera. It is heard in the triumphant singing of the choir and in the grand image of Moses. Perhaps the performance lacks dynamism. I think the ballet scenes created by Aniko Rekhviashvili add to the spectacularity and enliven the opera. Still, there are too many static scenes and this should give the stage director, Anatoliy Solovianenko, some food for thought.”
Yuriy STANISHEVSKY, theater specialist and president of the Serge Lifar Ukrainian Dance Academy:
It’s great that the Kyiv theater has turned to the Ukrainian opera and the creativity of the prominent modern composer Myroslav Skoryk. He is an outstanding representative of the Ukrainian academic school, and he is upholding the traditions of his teacher, the legendary Borys Liatoshynsky. In his opera, Skoryk combines national vocal traditions (broad cantilena singing) with modern music, intonations, and harmony. Moses is a specific composition. It’s more on the oratorio than the operatic side, but the maestro did his best to propel the plot development, to create an internal conflict in the story, sharpen it emotionally, and I think he succeeded.
During the premiere the audience saw young artists performing. Among the successful performances I would name Moses (Serhiy Mahera), Abiram (Ihor Mokrenko), and Joshua (Dmytro Kuzmin). This is proof that in its performances the National Opera is trying organically to combine the potential of master performers and promising young artists with traditional solutions, and thus find new approaches to productions.
Maria Levytska’s set designs are unusual (Ivan Franko’s “Moses” is set in the desert and in the opera the setting is mountainous). That’s how the artist sees it. It is justified in the second act because a desperate Moses sets off to the mountains. For example, in the Lviv Opera the stage setting is a desert on which the cast is crowded. We have mountains and many-tiered structures, so the choir can sing from various locations on stage, and this makes the voices sound better. The pyrotechnical smoke creates the illusion of mist in which the Israelites are looking for the road to freedom, dreaming of reaching the Promised Land alive. I think that Anatoliy Solovianenko may be congratulated for doing a great job as the stage director. Despite his youth, he shows a very serious attitude to his work (he has defended a Ph.D. thesis on Iryna Molostova’s creativity). Staging Moses was a very difficult task. This opera lacks action, but the performance has dynamism. I think that the use of a screen showing scenes from Ukrainian history (in the prologue and in the second act) is interesting; it links the different epochs. Aniko Rekhviashvili’s choreography makes the performance more dynamic. The ballet master uses the expressive language of dance. She choreographed a spectacular duet in the scene where the golden calf is being worshipped (soloists Tetiana Andreieva and Volodymyr Ivashchenko). Rekhviashvili has her own special language of choreography. She uses plasticity that reminds one of Fokine and Balanchine.
The orchestra conducted by Ivan Hamkalo (in the first act) and the composer (Skoryk took over in the second act) is beyond all praise. Lev Venedyktov’s choir gave a brilliant performance. I think the opera was a success. It’s a very good thing that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism decided to organize the National Opera’s concert tour of Ukraine in conjunction with Ivan Franko’s jubilee, so a number of listeners familiarized themselves with this opera.
Yuriy ZILBERMAN, music critic and director general of the Horowitz International Competition:
I liked the performance; the excellent choir, Myroslav Skoryk’s awe-inspiring music, and the great dramatic and vocal performance of the bass Serhiy Mahera. Above all I enjoyed the music and singing, so I paid little attention to the stage sets. I have to admit I didn’t like the screen and the documentary scenes. You don’t have to spoon-feed the audience. They will draw parallels with our country anyway. Franko’s poetic text and the libretto by Stelmakh and Skoryk make philosophical sense and the polyphonic music only underlines it. I, for one, will see this performance several times, because the first time you grasp the opera as a whole, but it has lots of nuances. I want to hear every note, every word.
