CLEVELAND – The Maria Zankovetska Theater based in Lviv is one of Ukraine’s most distinguished and respected cultural institutions. Starting April 1 at the Ukrainian Catholic Seminary in Stamford, Conn., and ending April 10 at the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center in Jenkintown, Pa., near Philadelphia, the group will be on tour presenting the classic Ukrainian operetta, “Natalka Poltavka.”
In between, the Zankovetska Theater will be in New York on April 2, Lindenhurst, N.Y., on April 3, Detroit on April 7, Chicago on April 8 and Cleveland on April 9. (See the ad in The Ukrainian Weekly for details or visit the website www.zankovetskaUSAtour2016.com.)
The Zankovetska Theater’s production of “Natalka Poltavka,” directed by Taras Shevchenko Prize laureate Fedir Stryhun, is based on the 1819 play by Ivan Kotliarevsky. A theatrical standard and one of the first literary works to use the modern Ukrainian language, it tells the story of star-crossed lovers in the Ukrainian countryside during a time of serfdom and Russian tsarist rule.
“Natalka Poltavka” became a renowned operetta when Ukraine’s premier composer Mykola Lysenko in 1889 composed an overture, wrote orchestral accompaniments to the folk songs and dances in the original play, produced background music and transformed songs into arias.
The collaboration of Kotliarevsky and Lysenko over a two-generational divide is an extraordinary story in and of itself. The resulting operetta will bring the Zankovetska Theater production of “Natalka Poltavka” to an American audience for the first time.
“Natalka Poltavka’s” theme evokes the George Gershwin classic, “Porgy and Bess” and Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” both of which depict a marginalized culture in America, mirroring the marginalized Ukrainian culture in 19th century tsarist Russia. Only in the case of “Natalka Poltavka” there’s a happy ending. Although it helps, you don’t have to understand Ukrainian to enjoy the operetta, any more than you have to know German to appreciate “The Merry Widow.”
The Maria Zankovetska National Drama Theater tour offers audiences a unique experience. In 2002, the government of Ukraine granted the group an official status as a National Academic Drama Theater. And indeed it is, presenting a repertoire of some 30 plays from the classic Ukrainian (including “Natalka Poltavka) to Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” Chekov’s “Uncle Vanya” and original contemporary plays.
The Maria Zankovetsky National Drama Theater, in existence now for a century, represents the very best of Ukraine’s vibrant art scene. Americans of Ukrainian descent, as well as others interested in Ukraine, now have the opportunity to experience this unique cultural ensemble here in the U.S.