Hrabova debuts in Washington via TWG Cultural Fund concert series (12/09/01)

Hrabova debuts in Washington via TWG Cultural Fund concert series

by Roman Ferencevych

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - For her Washington debut on Sunday, November 4, in the 2001-2002 Music Series sponsored by The Washington Group Cultural Fund, Ms. Hrabova chose to divide her renditions between classical operatic oeuvre and works by Ukrainian composers.

Arias by Puccini, Gounod, Rossini, Mozart and others were the perfect vehicle to demonstrate the beauty and resonant youthful strength of her voice.

Writing about Ms. Hrabova's performance in Verdi's "La Traviata" at the Dicapo Opera Theater John Freeman, senior editor and critic of Opera News (June 1999), described her talents thus: "The Ukrainian soprano looked, acted and sounded the part [of Violetta] with gripping sincerity ..., with the vibrant intensity of Licia Albanese ..."

The second part of Ms. Hrabova's recital comprised songs by Ukrainian composers. With great feeling and subtle emotion she rendered some old romances by Liudkevych ("Taina," lyrics by Oles), Sichynskyi's "Babyne Lito," Kropyvnytskyi's "Soloveiko" and works by Sonevytsky and Kytastyi, as well as folk songs arranged by Liatoshynskyi, Boichenko and Nadenenko.

The audience, compelling the singer to perform a few encores, enthusiastically received all renditions by Ms. Hrabova.

The great success of Ms. Hrabova's recital was in no small measure due also to the highly skillful efforts of her accompanist, pianist Earl Buys. As an interlude at Ms. Hrabova's concert, Mr. Buys performed Chopin's Harp Étude.

Ms. Hrabova is a graduate of the Lutsk Institute of Music and the Lysenko Graduate Institute of Music (formerly the Lviv Conservatory of Music). She has won numerous compeitions in Europe and the United States, and starred as Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor," Tchaikovsky's "Iolanta," Gilda in Verdi's "Rigoletto," Mimi and Musetta in Puccini's "La Bohème" while performing at the National Lyric Opera, Dicapo Opera Theater, Opera at Florham, Opera of the Hamptons, and the Liederkranz Opera Theater.

Ms. Hrabova's appearance in Alexandria was the second concert in the music series sponsored by The Washington Group Cultural Fund, which take place under the patronage of the Embassy of Ukraine.

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