Concerts of Ukrainian musicians who fled the war will take place in New York this summer

As another gesture of solidarity with the victims of the war in Ukraine, the Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera will bring together leading Ukrainian musicians as part of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra for a tour of Europe and America from July 28 to August 20. Concerts will be held in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. The culmination will be concerts in New York and Washington, DC. The tour is organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Ministry of Culture. The Metropolitan Opera.

The orchestra will include recent refugees, Ukrainian members of European orchestras, as well as the best musicians from Kyiv, Lvov, Kharkov, Odessa and other regions of Ukraine. The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine supports the project. Handles organizational issues to allow male musicians to lay down their arms and take their instruments, demonstrating the power of art over adversity.

The money raised from ticket sales will go to support Ukrainian artists. Donations can be made at the Ministry of Culture at https://donate.arts.gov.ua/en .

Led by Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, the orchestra will perform a program that will include the Seventh Symphony by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Ukrainian virtuoso Anna Fedorova, and Brahms's Fourth Symphony or Dvorak's Ninth Symphony.

Leading Ukrainian soprano Lyudmila Monastyrskaya, who will perform the title role of Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera this spring, will also sing Leonora's great aria “Abscheulicher!” from Beethoven's Fidelio. It is a hymn to humanity and the world in the face of violence and cruelty.

The musicians of the orchestra will gather in Warsaw on July 18 for intensive rehearsals led by Maestro Wilson to form an ensemble. After that, on July 28, a concert-opening will take place in the Polish capital at the Wielki Theater - the Polish National Opera. The artist's accommodation and performance are paid for by generous funding from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland, under the leadership of Minister Piotr Glinski. The tour will continue with stops at the BBC Proms on 31 July for a TV appearance; Munich 1 August; the Chorégies d'Orange festival in France on August 2; Berlin Konzerthaus 4 August; Edinburgh International Festival on 6 August; Snape Maltings in England on August 8; Amsterdam Festival Concertgebouw 11 August; and the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie on 13 August. The orchestra will travel to New York on August 16 for concerts at Lincoln Center on August 18 and 19. It will then depart for its final destination, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on August 20.

Musicians are invited from the Kyiv National Opera, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kharkov Opera and other Ukrainian groups. Outside of Ukraine, musicians perform in such ensembles as the Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra, the Belgian National Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

On the subject: The Metropolitan Opera organized a concert in support of Ukraine: you can listen to it for free

The Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera have played a leading role in the cultural world in confronting Russian aggression in Ukraine and in expressing support for the victims of the war. The Metropolitan Opera was one of the first arts organizations to hold a charity concert for Ukraine on March 14, which attracted worldwide attention. The Polish National Opera harbors refugees from Ukraine and holds its own charity concerts in support of its besieged neighbor.

In a joint statement, Peter Gelb, CEO of the Met, and Waldemar Dabrowski, director of the Wielki Theatre, Polish National Opera, said: “Music can be a powerful weapon against oppression. This tour is designed to protect Ukrainian art and its brave artists fighting for the freedom of their country.”

Maestro Wilson, who grew up in Winnipeg, home to the largest Ukrainian population in North America, conceived the idea for the orchestra. “I wanted to bring together the best orchestral musicians in Ukraine in a proud display of artistic unity,” she said. – This tour is an expression of love for your Motherland. It is in honor of those who died and suffered so much.”

Minister of Culture of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko expressed his gratitude to the Metropolitan Opera and the Polish Opera. “Today, culture shows itself in a completely new way. It can also be "soft power" that helps heal wounds. And not just figuratively,” he said. – This Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra tour can help not only raise funds to support Ukrainian artists. It will show the world the diversity and uniqueness of Ukrainian music and Ukrainian performers.” He added: “Ukrainian culture is distinctive and deserves to be in the spotlight abroad. We thank our foreign colleagues for organizing the tour.”

Ticket information will be announced later.