IN MEMORIAM: Martha Kulchytsky-Andriuk, Ukrainian community activist, opera singer (06/08/03)

IN MEMORIAM: Martha Kulchytsky-Andriuk, Ukrainian community activist, opera singer

by Yuriy Kulchytsky

PARMA, Ohio - Martha Kulchytsky-Andriuk (1935-2003) was born to and surrounded by music: her mother, Stefania, performed in the renowned Blavatsky Troupe in Lviv, her father, Yaroslav, had a beautiful tenor voice. At a very early age she took piano lessons.

Yet, the congenial atmosphere was soon broken by the clouds of World War II. Her father, a teacher, was arrested by the Bolsheviks in 1939 and executed in 1943. Her mother died in 1942 of typhoid. Together with her brother, Yuri, young Martha was left at the mercy of turbulent events and good members of the family, two maternal aunts and themselves only teenagers.

As the furious Eastern front moved westward, so did Martha, her aunts and her brother. Having escaped the Reds, they ended up in a displaced persons camp in Berchtesgaden. Circumstances forced the aunts to send the two orphans to a relative in America, where they hoped to eventually retrieve them. The relative, advanced in age, placed Martha and Yuri in the St. Basil Ukrainian Orphanage in Philadelphia.

When the aunts arrived in America, as promised they took the children from the orphanage and life began to appear more normal. Music could be heard again as Martha practiced her piano daily.

Of course, financially life was difficult. Both orphans were sent to attend St. Michael's School and had to work cleaning the cafeteria tables and floors as payment for their tuition. The cost of private voice instructors and Cleveland Institute of Music lessons kept Ms. Kulchytsky busy working as a secretary by day, and practicing and studying by night. Yet she was no novice - while still in Germany she had performed in "Koza Dereza," and later in Cleveland as Cio-Cio San in "Madame Butterfly."

In 1959, our "Butterfly" married her "Lt. Pinkerton," - Capt. Wasyl Andriuk. Their blissful years were interrupted by the Cuban Missile Crisis and fear of a nuclear war. Her husband was called into service, leaving her with two sons in hospitable Texas. But as the winds of the Cold War dissipated and with the return of her husband, life resumed as before, and the couple had a third son.

After settling in Washington, Ms. Andriuk taught a Ukrainian kindergarten class. She devoted her time to the Ukrainian community, the Church and Plast Ukrainian Scouting organization, in which all her sons were active. Devoted to her art, Ms. Kulchytsky-Andriuk would use every occasion to improve it. Her home was a song without end. She belonged to prestigious symphony clubs, opera societies and schools, participated in competitions and operas, operettas and plays.

Her mastery of complete operas included "Madama Butterfly," "La Traviata," "Rigoletto," "Lucia de Lammermoor," and Norma. In her repertoire were found famous arias from "La Bohéme," "Tosca," "Marriage of Figaro," and the mad scene from "Ombra Lepere," about which Martha's reviewer wrote, "...would all madness were as enjoyable as her performance of this aria." Martha also performed lighter songs from "Porgy and Bess," and Steven Foster, which, according to a reviewer, displayed her, "... lovely, gracious warmth." The reviewer noted also that when she sang the Victor Herbert lyrics, " 'I want to be a prima donna; I want to shine upon the stage,' "she truly did."

Ms. Kulchytsky-Andriuk's Ukrainian repertoire was enormous. She was especially concerned with preserving and performing the songs that touched everyone, and especially her Ukrainian heart. Countless concerts, benefits and church events saw her perform to standing ovations. As a member of the Lysenko Opera Company, she performed the leading role of Odarka in "Zaporzhets za Dunaiem." Her beloved opera, "Madama Butterfly," translated into Ukrainian, was also performed by her.

But there was yet another side to the deceased. Ms. Kulchytsky-Andriuk, raised in the turmoil of war, remained untouched by the terrible events that surrounded her formative years. She often proudly declared, "We survived." She did much more than that. But she was lively, humorous, playful, kind and generous.

Her generosity extended to anonymously sponsoring a new orphan every year, serving as a camp counselor for sick children in Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Summer Camp. She served as vice-president of the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, and gave countless concerts and benefits on its behalf.

Believing in the Ukrainian community, the Andriuks donated $10,000 each to the Harvard Ukrainian Studies Fund, the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund and Holy Family Shrine in Washington.

Ms. Kulchytsky-Andriuk's death on April 7, although premature, was made easier by the love expressed by her sons, Oleh, Mark and Andrew, who during her illness were her constant companions. She was laid to rest beside her husband in Washington.

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