Zankovetska Theater of Lviv embarks on first U.S. tour

CLEVELAND - The Maria Zankovetska Ukrainian State Academic Theater of Lviv has embarked on its first tour of Ukrainian communities in the U.S. with the staging of two Ukrainian operettas.

The troupe of 20 operatic performers will present "Sharika", libretto and music by long-time Cleveland resident/composer Yaroslav Barnych, performed on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the composer's birth, and "Natalka Poltavka", libretto by Ivan Kotliarevsky, with music by Mykola Lysenko, the most popular operetta in the Ukrainian repertoire.

The theater's attempt to stage Mr. Barnych's "Sharika" during the German occupation of Lviv during World War II, despite a ban by the authorities, resulted in the random arrest of a number of theater-goers prior to the performance and their execution in the theater square.

Mr. Barnych, composer, conductor and pedagogue, was born September 30, 1896, in the village of Balyntsi, Kolomyia county, western Ukraine. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1950. A long-time resident of Cleveland, he died on June 1, 1967.

A graduate of the Lviv Conservatory, Mr. Barnych worked as conductor at the Ukrainska Besida theater in Lviv (1917-1923) and the Prosvita theater in Uzhhorod (1923-1925). In 1939-1941 he conducted the Stanislaviv Symphony Orchestra, and in 1941-1944 he was named the conductor of the Lviv Opera. Among his works are operettas composed in the Viennese style: "Sharika," "Pryhody v Cherchi" and "Hutsulka Ksenia."

The Zankovetska tour opened in Chicago on May 23 with a performance of "Sharika," and in Cleveland on May 24 with a performance of "Natalka Poltavka."

The remainder of the tour schedule is the following:

• Rochester, N.Y. - Wednesday, May 28, "Sharika," St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church Auditorium, 940 Ridge Road E., 7 p.m.;
  
  
• Johnson City, N.Y. - Thursday, May 29, "Natalka Poltavka," Sacred Heart Ukrainian Catholic Church Auditorium, 230 Ukrainian Hill Road, 7 p.m.;
  
  
• Somerset, N.J. - Friday, May 30, "Natalka Poltavka," Ukrainian Orthodox Center, 135 Davidson Ave., 7:30 p.m.;
  
  
• Philadelphia - Saturday, May 31, "Sharika" and "Natalka Poltavka," Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Center, 700 Cedar Road, Jenkintown, Pa., at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively;
  
  
• Irvington, N.J. - Sunday, June 1, "Natalka Poltavka," Ukrainian National Home Auditorium, 140 Prospect Ave., 4 p.m.;
  
  
• Yonkers, N.Y. - Wednesday, June 4, "Natalka Poltavka," Ukrainian Cultural Center Auditorium, 301 Palisades Ave., 7 p.m.;
  
  
• Boston - Thursday, June 5, "Natalka Poltavka," St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church Auditorium, 24 Orchard Hill Road, Jamaica Plain, Mass., 7 p.m.;
  
  
• Uniondale, N.Y. - Friday, June 6, "Natalka Poltavka," Party Center, 226 Uniondale Ave., 7 p.m.;
  
  
• Warren, Mich. - Sunday, June 10, "Sharika," Fitzgerald High School Auditorium, Ryan Road and 9 Mile, 5 p.m.;
  
  
• Chicago - Wednesday, June 11, "Natalka Poltavka," Roberto Clemente High School Auditorium, 1147 Western Ave., 7 p.m.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 25, 1997, No. 21, Vol. LXV

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