The power of art triumphs over tyranny in Kyiv
• Amid missile attacks, locals cherish the National Opera of Ukraine
There is a rich historical tradition of live theatrical performances associated with wartime. George II, the last British monarch to lead troops in battle at Dettingen in 1743, had this commemorated by Handel in his work, Dettingen Te Deum, as well as victory in that war in Music for the Royal Fireworks.
London’s West End theatres stayed open during German bombing in World War 2, though air raids were announced, letting theatre goers decide whether to head to the bomb shelters. Most stayed.
So it is that National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv carry on through war with Russia, including missile attacks that are accepted as part of daily life. Locals cherish these performances. The fact that they take place at all is an assertion of civilised values and the importance of beauty at a time of violent destruction.
Performances are at the grand Kyiv Opera House, opened in 1901 and built in neoRenaissance style, with ornate, Viennese modern interior. It does not require much imagination to conceive the country’s historical continuity in opera and ballet.
War and tragedy and high art are not strange bedfellows in Ukraine, they had been trading places throughout a tumultuous 20th century and, now, an equally dramatic new one that promises to define the country’s future as either an open democracy or another shady, post-Soviet Russian satellite state.
The national academies of opera and ballet are mounting a large and varied winter season in Kyiv. SA opera goers, accustomed to the Johannesburg Opera Company or Cape Town Opera, which will have a handful of classic opera or ballet productions in a given year, should be prepared for what is a huge repertoire that involves 57 different productions this season — of which 19 were mounted in the month of February alone. Locals take their theatre seriously.
The current season includes everything from La Traviata, Aida, Carmen and Faust to Pinocchio and Puss in Boots, the latter being full operas but allowing a playful element of children’s pantomime. Weekend matinee performances are well attended by families with young opera goers.
More intriguing and unique are local productions based on Ukraine’s literary and folkloric history. This includes An Evening on a Farmstead in Dikanka, loosely based on short stories from Gogol, a local son, and Zaporozhian Beyond the Danube, a comedy involving a famous Ukrainian Cossack kingdom 200 years ago, existing uneasily between Imperial Russia and the Ottoman empire. How little times have changed in Ukraine.
TOO DANGEROUS
There are active opera companies elsewhere, playing from the grand, historical opera houses in Odesa and Lviv, as well as smaller cities all over the country. Kharkiv had to close its opera house at the outset of the war, when it was damaged after the city was nearly captured by Russian forces. It is still too dangerous to operate the old theatre — Kharkiv is 20km from the Russian border and is regularly hit by missiles — though in November it began playing from the bombproof basement.
What separates good opera from something more distinguished is the degree to which it can meld the combination of costumes and special effects, drama (tragedy or comedy), dance and voice. Combining these elements should create a multidimensional experience
— the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That must involve a good and understandable story, matched with arias that push the narrative forward, while the music must be expressive and memorable. Above all, the singing must be beautiful, involving vocalists capable of delivering powerful and subtle performances. The staging and costumes need to be effective.
Altogether, these elements must deliver an emotive impact — the audience needs to be moved. This happens through successful collaboration between the theatre director, the orchestra, choreographer, onstage singers and dancers, and the production team.
The National Opera of Ukraine delivers an uplifting experience on all these levels. Visitors are spoilt for accomplished performance. Teams with depth of talent stand behind these productions together with top-rank performers, including new ones emerging from Ukraine’s opera and ballet schools, among them the excellent Kyiv State Choreographic College.
The war has crossed the fourth wall of theatre; some of the Kyiv theatre’s own members have volunteered for military service. Already one, the famous and much-loved dancer and choreographer, Oleksandr Shapoval, has died in battle.
Missile attacks periodically interrupt performances. Air-raid sirens sound several times a day in Kyiv and most — but not all — end with an all clear. Many locals have come to ignore them and get on with life.
This point was lost on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, during shuttle diplomacy to Kyiv in 2023, who concluded that the lack of local response to air-raid sirens meant the event was being faked. No retraction has been offered for this statement. Independent media confirmed three civilians were injured in that attack. To his credit, Ramaphosa acknowledged this in his subsequent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
FLED ABROAD
WAR AND HIGH ART ARE NOT STRANGE BEDFELLOWS IN UKRAINE. THEY TRADED PLACES THROUGHOUT THE 20TH CENTURY
MISSILE ATTACKS PERIODICALLY INTERRUPT PERFORMANCES. AIR-RAID SIRENS SOUND SEVERAL TIMES A DAY IN KYIV
Hundreds of ballet and opera performers have fled abroad since the start of the war, some being accommodated through partner schools in Europe and North America. The national ballet’s own complement has fallen from 150 to 100. It is touring Canada, under the show title Nadiya, meaning “hope” in Ukrainian, and intended, it says, to celebrate “art and beauty over tyranny and destruction”.
Opera and ballet involve beauty and sophistication in pure form, and are synonymous with high culture, of which Ukraine boasts a remarkable bounty.
Even as a city living the tragedy of war, Kyiv remains a civil and compelling place. Foreign visitors will gaze at the architectural splendour and encounter a people unfailingly helpful and polite. There are few homeless and no harsh street vibe. Musicians busking provide a beautiful accompaniment.
Though war weariness has set in, this is carried with dignity and civilised values, in other words, that is something worth fighting for.