Program offers glimpse into art of opera (01/02/05)

Program offers glimpse into art of opera

by Chrystia Fedynsky

WARREN, Mich. - On Sunday afternoon, November 28, 2004, the Detroit area community rounded out the holiday weekend with some food for the spirit. Those who gathered at the Carpathia Hall in the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Warren, Mich., were treated to a rare insider's glimpse into the art of opera.

The event was sponsored by the Ukrainian Arts Society. In her opening remarks, Maria Lisowsky, president, mentioned that the second part of the program would be dedicated to the 65th birthday celebration of Maestro Myroslav Skoryk and reminded the audience that he was no stranger to Detroit as the society had previously sponsored his 60th birthday celebration.

The first part of the program would be a presentation of Maestro Skoryk's opera "Moisei" as staged by the Lviv State Theater of Opera and Ballet. Included were a video viewing of highlights of the Lviv production, as well as a live performance of selected arias, sung by renowned baritone Oleh Chmyr.

The program was made especially noteworthy due to the personal observations of the composer. Before playing the video of the opera, Mr. Skoryk spoke extensively on background of how an opera comes into being. He gave a first hand sketch of the whole creative process from the original inspiration through obtaining sponsors and financial backing, on through all steps of the final staging. He also spoke of his initial apprehension in taking the production on tour to Poland, and of the subsequent critical and popular acclaim with which it was received there.

After the video, Mr. Skoryk took questions from the audience and further commented on specific performances and other staging aspects of the Lviv production. When asked about any new works in progress, he assured the audience he has no lack of ideas. The chief obstacle to new productions is financial. He already has a ballet score ready as soon as backing can be found. The ballet is based on Solomea Krushelnytska, whose voice so captivated Puccini that he wrote the role of the biblical "Salome" for her.

Currently, in Ukraine theatrical costs are modest by world standards, he explained. A total of about 200,000 hrv (about $40,000 U.S.) would cover a full production in the Lviv Theater.

After a few words to set the scene, Maestro Skoryk sat down at the piano and accompanied Mr. Chmyr as he performed a few arias in the role of Moses and a few arias in the role of Datan.

Following a brief intermission, the program took on a more lighthearted tone. Maestro Skoryk returned to the piano to perform several of his own compositions. He was then joined by Mr. Chmyr, who sang several Ukrainian folk songs as arranged and accompanied by Maestro Skoryk.

The audience thoroughly enjoyed the program and would not let the guests leave without an encore. For those who wished to retain more than memories of the opera "Moisei," a CD was available for purchase.

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