NEW YORK – This fall Mariana Sadovska traveled with artists of the Yara Arts Group to the villages of the Donetsk region near Volnovakha, where they recorded Ukrainian folk songs, and witnessed the ritual of the dressing of the bride and the making of a korovai wedding bread. The vitality of the ancient songs they recorded stands in harsh contrast to the reality of the war that the villagers experience.
That juxtaposition is presented in “The Night is Just Beginning” through the songs Ms. Sadovska composed based on the poetry of Serhiy Zhadan and Lyuba Yakimchuk. Julian Kytasty will be joining Ms. Sadovska on stage, singing and performing on the bandura, a traditional Ukrainian instrument. The performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, December 16 and 17, at 7:30 p.m. at The Ukrainian Museum.
Since the early 1990s Ms. Sadovska has traveled to the villages of Ukraine collecting ancient ritual songs. She sings archaic midsummer night invocations, wedding songs and emigrant chants, and also creates her own compositions that blend traditional music with unique innovative approaches.
Born in Lviv, Ms. Sadovska trained as a classical pianist at Lviv’s National Music Academy and joined the Les Kurbas Theater, one of Ukraine’s leading theater companies. She worked with Yara Arts Group on “In the Light” (1991), “Song Tree” (2000) and “Kupala” (2002), as well as numerous Yara festivals and Kupala events in the Gardens of New York.
Both Mr. Zhadan and Ms. Yakimchuk are from the Luhansk region, the scene of the current crisis in Ukraine.
Mr. Zhadan is the most popular writer in Ukraine today. His work speaks to the disillusionment, difficulties and ironies of life. His readings fill large auditoriums and he fronts the Kharkiv rock group the Dogs. Mr. Zhadan was born in Starobilsk, and lives in Kharkiv. He often travels to the frontlines and performs throughout eastern Ukraine.
Ms. Yakimchuk is a poet, screenwriter and journalist. She is the author of the poetry collections “Apricots of Donbas” (2015) and “Like FASHION” (2009) and also works with musicians. She lives in Kyiv, but was born in Pervomaisk in the Luhansk region.
“The Night is Just Beginning” is directed by Virlana Tkacz, the artistic director of Yara Arts Group, a resident company at La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York. Projections are by Waldemart Klyuzko, who was nominated for a New York Innovative Theater Award for Yara’s “Raven.” He traveled as part of Yara’s research expedition with war photographer Evgeniy Maloletka to Volnovakha this fall.
Yara’s “The Night is Just Beginning” was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the numerous friends of Yara Arts Group.
Seating for this event is limited; to purchase tickets online – at $25, or $20 for seniors and students – go to
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/concert-the-night-is-just-beginning-with-mariana-sadovska-tickets-29662515382. If you don’t purchase online in time, call 212-228-0110 on the day of the event to ask about ticket availability.