The tour was part of the Ukraine Now and Forever project.
Kharkiv National Opera and Ballet Theater named after Mykola Lysenko – East Opera, triumphantly ended the tour #StandWithUkraine in the Republic of Lithuania, which took place within the project Ukraine Now and Forever . According to the press service of the theater, from the very beginning of the large-scale invasion of Russia, the East Opera tried not to stop its activities and not to lose touch with the audience.
The center of Kharkiv was damaged, the management of the theater emphasizes that no one can break them. East Opera will be waiting for its employees who joined the Armed Forces and Terrorism, and those who were forced to leave the city.
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Yes, the first project of the theater “East Opera” was launched – to the hero city of Kharkiv! ” – a series of concerts in the city's bomb shelters under the direction of conductor, Honored Artist of Ukraine Yuriy Yakovenko and artists and musicians who remained in Kharkiv.
tour of Lithuania, to which she went a troupe of 220 people (plus 30 children of the staff of the East Opera, even with pets that could not be left in Kharkov) led by General Director-Artistic Director – Oleg Orischenko, Chief Conductor – Dmitry Morozov and Chief Director Armen Kaloyan. Igor Toulozov, the first deputy general director of the East Opera, remained to defend the theater.
This tour was called the “European Way”, because today our country, experiencing the most difficult stage in its recent history, continues to move towards Europe. And this movement is common with other European nations.
An important part of the tour were concerts, which presented a wide panorama of Ukrainian music: from the work of the founders of professional music, which has become a real classic and to modern authors. Most of these works have their roots in the foundations of national melody. Some of them became a real revelation for the European audience, such as Vyacheslav Samofalov's “Ave Maria” for soloists, choir, orchestra and organ , which was performed at the opening of the tour in Klaipeda Cathedral on May 1, others – as , for example, “Shchedryk” – has long been known throughout the world.
The majestic and tragic “Requiem” by V.-A. Mozart, which sounded in the finale of the tour in the Cathedral – Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Vladislav , May 9. It honored the fallen heroes of the war and innocent peaceful Ukrainians who died and continue to die from the Russian invasion in Kharkov, Mariupol, Chernihiv, Bucha, Borodyanka, Okhtyrka, Izyum and many other cities and villages of Ukraine. The concert was also attended by a member of the Seimas Committee of the Republic of Lithuania Vytautas Juosapaitis and the Director General of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater Jonas Sakalauskas.
In the finale of almost every gala concert or performance of this tour, artists with their children came out and carried the flags of Ukraine and Lithuania.
