The Ivan Kozlovsky “Spiritual Heritage” creative lounge of opera and ballet art was established 10 years ago. Kozlovsky was a famous tenor who was born in Ukraine and always maintained ties with his native land. Viacheslav Medvedev initiated and organized this difficult project. He is famous not only for his organizational skills but also his creative projects, like “Ancient Ball” and “Waltz, Waltz, Waltz.” Medvedev was a dancer in the Ensemble of Song and Dance, as well as the dancing ensembles of Ukrconcert, and the Yalta, Rivne and Kyiv Philharmonics. He also set up the Arabesque dancing ensemble.
The creative lounge held a concert called “10 Years among Friends.” Valentyna Matiushenko, the philharmonic hall soloist, piercingly sang Skoryk’s Melody in her own interpretation, accompanied by Borys Matviichuk’s flute. The key element was Denys Vyshnia and Kimiko Takaya’s performance; they are now soloists at the Tokyo Opera. They sang the folk song “Moon in the Sky” in Ukrainian and Japanese. Serhii Avdeiev received an ovation for his Mister X aria from the eponymous operetta. The wonderful trio of Hanna Labut, Olha Shvydka and Kostiantyn Trypolsky (soloists of the Organ and Chamber Music Hall) impressed the audience with “Oh, You, Girl…”. Yuri Avramchuk, Oleh Filipenko and Oleksandr Anishchenko pleased the public with a mix of Italian popular songs. Soloists from the National and Municipal Operas also performed arias and duets. Svitlana Dobronravova performed Leonora’s aria from The Power of Fate, one of the most difficult of Verdi’s arias. Oleksandr Melnychuk and Olena Kuldyrkaieva were very dramatic in their duet of Alfio and Santuzzi from Peasant Honor, as was Stepan’s Fitsych’s Jontek from the Polish opera Halka. One of the most lyrical pieces was Nemorino’s aria from The Elixir of Love by Mykola Shuliak. He performed “Black Eyebrows” in duet with his father Viktor Shuliak, the soloist of the Revutsky Capela. Mykola Koval’s “Epitalama” was a solemn and salutatory performance. The evening was crowned by the National Opera soloists Iryna Semerenko and Anzhelina Shvachka, who sang “Three Wells” a capella, followed by the romantic “Return to Sorrento.”
Towards the end of the evening the public was reminded of Kozlovsky incredible voice, touching their hearts and leaving an indelible trace.
