Our Opera of the Week is streamed from Lviv, Ukraine – available now
OperaAfter a ban by the Soviet authorities, Ukrainian composer Yevhen Stankovych’s opera-ballet When the Fern Blooms finally premiered at the Lviv National Opera in 2017.
Unique in its genre, this impressive performance combines millennia-old folk traditions with an expressive musical language, choral singing and contemporary choreography set against spectacular scenery. Soloists: Nina Matviienko and Mykhailo Malafii conducted by Volodymyr Sirenko and directed by Vasyl Vovkun. Supported by Lviv National Opera Orchestra, Lviv National Opera Ballet and Lviv National Opera Chorus. First shown on slippedisc.com courtesy of OperaVision.
Here is the link to the opera:
If political circumstances are left aside for a moment, this trailer looks and sounds like terrible kitsch.
So do selected moments from most other operas if you really want to be unfair.
@John Borstlap. Have you EVER anything to say that’s not incredibly obnoxious and offensive? Stankovych was a very talented composer, as shown by the series on Marco Polo.
Yes, I particularly enjoy his 4th Symphony (“Lirica”). I met Maestro Stankovych 4 decades ago in Warszawa after a performance, asked him to send me the score, he did, & I sadly never got around to programing it during this lifetime.
Once home to a flourishing Jewish culture scene, Ukraine is where Klezmer music and the Hasidic movement were born, as well as many Yiddish writers and poets. And in the 19th century, Jews also played a significant role in the development of commerce and industry, especially in Kiev, Odessa and Kharkov.
HT Jewish Unpacked
What does “HT Jewish Unpacked” mean? I’m sure it’s clear to you, since you authored it. It’s not to me, and I’ll bet I’m not the only one.
Thanks for asking
https://jewishunpacked.com/
It’s like a cross between “Le Sacre du Printemps”, Mel Brooks and “The Big Lebowski”.