Roster of Ukrainian performers headed by Slobodyanik helps celebrate anniversary of Morristown theater (09/19/04)

Roster of Ukrainian performers headed by Slobodyanik helps celebrate anniversary of Morristown theater

by Ika Koznarska Casanova

MORRISTOWN, N.J. - A gala concert featuring pianists Alexander Slobodyanik and Laryssa Krupa, and opera soloists Oksana Krovytska, soprano and Oleh Chmyr, baritone, will be held as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Morristown Community Theater. The concert will take place Wednesday, September 29, at the Community Theater, 100 South St., at 8 p.m.

Mr. Slobodyanik and Ms. Krupa are featured in the opening night celebrations as co-founders of the Morris International Festival of the Arts (MIFA), which reopened the Community Theater in historic Morristown in 1994.

The concert program will feature the New Jersey premiere of Alexander Tchaikovsky's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, featuring duo pianists Mr. Slobodyanik and Ms. Krupa, as well as a selection of works by Peter Tchaikovsky, including "Capriccio Italien" and selections from "Eugene Onegin," Piano Concerto No. 1 and the Fourth Symphony.

Featured also will be the Morris Festival Orchestra, under the direction of Robert Luther, music director and principal conductor of the Bangkok Opera and Dance Festival and of the State Orchestra of Moldova, and permanent guest conductor of the Kirov Opera and Ballet.

As co-founder and artistic director of the Morris International Festival of the Arts (1994-1997), Mr. Slobodyanik - a world-renowned pianist from the former Soviet Union - established the festival in Morristown (where he and his wife reside) in order to reopen a concert theater for area arts organizations and as a home for future international festivals. At its highly acclaimed gala opening concert in September 1994, Mr. Slobodyanik performed as soloist with St. Petersburg's Kirov Orchestra, under the direction of Valery Gergiev. On September 29, Mr. Slobodyanik returns 10 years to the exact date of the original opening night as piano soloist.

As artistic director of MIFA, Mr. Slobodyanik engaged world-renowned musicians and artists who participated in the festival's programs, among them Vladimir Feltsman, Joseph Kalichstein, Peter Serkin, Yuri Bashmet, Maxim Vengerov, Gidon Kremer, Viktor Tretyakov, Luba Kazarnovskaya, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Soloists, U.S. Military Academy Concert Band, St. Petersburg Ice Ballet and special guests Nobel Prize laureate poet Joseph Brodsky and poet Evgeni Yevtushenko. The festival also included art exhibits of works by Ernst Neizvestny and Mikhail Chemiakin, and master classes by visiting artists.

The success of the festival's master classes led to the establishment of a piano studio for advanced students in preparation for concerts and competitions. Many of Mr. Slobodyanik's students have gone on to win top prizes at competitions, among them Amanda von Goetz and Danylo Shleykov, both first-prize winners, New Jersey Symphony; and Michael Berkovsky, first-prize winner at the Jakob Fliere international piano competition.

Since taking up residence in the United States, Mr. Slobodyanik has continued to concertize as a soloist and chamber musician and as a guest at international music festivals. He teaches annually at the special summer piano program at the State University of New York, New Paltz. Currently he is visiting professor of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, and on the faculty of Montclair State University.

Ms. Krupa, a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, is a member of the music faculty of the County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J. Apart from solo recitals and chamber ensemble performances, she performs two-piano repertoire with her husband at such venues as the Australian International Chamber Music Festival, New Paltz Piano Summer and Merkin Concert Hall in New York City.

Ms. Krovytska, a New York City Opera diva whose recent engagements included a return to NYCO as Liu in "Turandot" for her ninth consecutive season, made her debut this past spring with the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow where she sang the leading role of Renata in the Prokofiev opera "The Fiery Angel."

Additional recent concert performances included Dvorak's "Spectre's Bride" with the Netherland Radio Symphony Orchestra under Eri Klas at the Concertgebouw, and a recording of "Spectre's Bride" with Zdenek Macal and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra released on Delos Records.

Her international engagements have included performances with the Casals Festival, Santiago Opera, Opera de Bellas Artes in Mexico, Opera de Monte Carlo and the Opern Air Festival in Austria.

This fall Ms. Krovytska will appear in Miami with the Florida Grand Opera in a role that brought her high critical acclaim as "Madama Butterfly." This winter she sings Senta in Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" with the Alaska Opera and Amelia in Verdi's "Masked Ball" with the Kansas City Opera.

Mr. Chmyr, an internationally accomplished singer of operatic roles and vocal chamber music, has performed as a principal artist with the Ekaterinburg Opera in Russia, as well as with the Lviv (Ukraine) and Wroclaw (Poland) opera companies.

Currently he is a soloist with the New Jersey State Opera, where he was featued in "Pagliacci" (February 2003) and in "Lucia di Lammermoor" (2004).

As chamber singer, Mr. Chmyr's extensive repertory includes German lieder, as well as vocal works of Western European, Russian and Ukrainian composers. His CD "European Vocal Miniatures" was released in 2000.

Apart from concertizing throughout the United States, Mr. Chmyr's past performances have included a concert tour in Europe and Ukraine (2002) and the collaboration with Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk in the presentation of the U.S. premiere of the opera "Moisei" (Moses) (2003).

Mr. Chmyr is professor of voice at the County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J.

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Tickets, at $45, $55 and $65, are avilable at www.communitythearenj.org or at the box office, (973) 539-8008. Groups of 10 or more are entitled to substantial discounts; student tickets, $10. Premium seats, i.e., the first 15 rows, are not discounted. For additional information, including discounts, call the box office.

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Mr. Slobodyanik and Ms. Krupa will be guests of honor at the Community Theater's Starlight Ball, a benefit gala forming part of the annual fund drive, to be held at Headquarters Plaza Hotel on October 30.

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