Skoryk and Chmyr to appear in presentation based on the opera "Moisei" (09/07/03)

Skoryk and Chmyr to appear in presentation based on the opera "Moisei"

by Ika Koznarska Casanova

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Myroslav Skoryk, one of Ukraine's prominent contemporary composers, and baritone Oleh Chmyr, formerly principal artist with opera houses in Ukraine, Russia and Poland and currently professor of voice in New Jersey - will present a program featuring arias from Maestro Skoryk's opera "Moisei" (Moses) as well as piano works and songs by the composer.

After their first appearance held as part of Music and Art Center of Greene County's "Music at the Grazhda" summer concert series in Jewett, N.Y., on August 30, Messrs. Skoryk and Chmyr will appear at the following venues: Monday, September 8 - Embassy of Ukraine, 3350 M. St. N.W., Washington, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, September 13 - Swedenborg Chapel, 50 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass., 8 p.m., in a concert sponsored jointly by the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute and St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Jamiaca Plain, Mass.; Saturday, September 20 - St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, Sanford Avenue, Newark, N.J., 6:30 p.m.

Maestro Skoryk's opera, which had its premiere at the Solomiya Krushelnytska Opera and Ballet State Academic Theater in Lviv on June 23, 2001, constituted an important event in the cultural life of Ukraine. The work was written to celebrate the centenary of the Lviv Opera House and was performed as part of the festivities held in conjunction with the June visit of Pope John Paul II to Ukraine. The work was subsequently staged in Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk. This June the opera was staged in Poland at the National Opera Theater in Warsaw to critical acclaim.

In the United States, "Moisei" was introduced to the American public by Joe McLellan, classical music critic emeritus of The Washington Post, in a review titled "A New Opera for A Nation in Search of Itself" (July 20, 2001).

Maestro Skoryk's opera is based on a well-known eponymous poem by the early 20th century Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko who draws on the biblical narrative of Moses, the Hebrew lawgiver and prophet, and the travails of leading his people, the Israelites, out of bondage in Egypt to the edge of Canaan, himself not living to enter the Promised Land. Franko draws on the universal theme of the liberation of a people to evoke Ukraine's struggle for national liberation.

Maestro Skoryk's work, the first opera to be written after Ukraine's independence, revisits the eternal themes inherent in the biblical story, illuminating the work's relevance to Ukraine's contemporary situation.

* * *

Maestro Skoryk is the author of a diverse and impressive oeuvre. Known primarily for his orchestral and chamber music written in the contemporary mode of expression, his music often draws from the rich wellspring of Ukrainian folklore. In addition to symphonic and instrumental music, Maestro Skoryk has written a musical ballet based on Franko's poem - "Kameniari" (Stonecutters), cantatas for choir and orchestra, numerous vocal art songs and romances. He also writes jazz and popular music and has written the score for some 40 films and 30 stage productions.

A professor at both the Lviv and Kyiv conservatories, Maestro Skoryk has helped nurture an entire generation of composers in Ukraine, among them Yevhen Stankovych, Ivan Karabyts, Oleh Kyva, Vadym Ilyin, Hanna Havrylets, Volodymyr Zubytskyi, and Volodymyr Stepurko. A native of Lviv, Maestro Skoryk studied at the Lviv Conservatory with the renowned Ukrainian composer Stanyslav Liudkevych, and with Roman Simovych and Adam Soltys. He holds a doctoral degree from the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied with the celebrated Dmitri Kabalevsky.

Maestro Skoryk is recipient of Ukraine's Taras Shevchenko National Award (1987).

* * *

A principal artist with the Ekaterinburg Opera in Russia since 1984, as well as with the Lviv and Wroclaw (Poland) opera companies, Mr. Chmyr has performed in opera and concert tours in France, Spain, Germany, Denmark and Norway.

He studied at the Lviv and Moscow conservatories and was professor at the Lviv and Mussorgsky (Ekaterinberg) conservatories.

Since coming to the United States, his performances have included appearances at New York's Merkin Hall (1997), the Newport International Stars Festival (1996), as well as at Carnegie Hall in the New York Grand Opera Gala "Stars of Tomorrow" concert (1995).

A talented chamber singer with an extensive repertoire, his solo concert "European Vocal Miniatures," held at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall in May 2000, featured a repertoire of Western European as well as Ukrainian, Polish and Russian composers. An eponymous CD was released that same year.

Last summer, Mr. Chmyr completed a successful concert tour in Ukraine which included performances with the National Symphony and the National Philharmonic orchestras.

Mr. Chmyr's most recent appearance was with the New Jersey State Opera in Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci," in a production held this winter at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J.

* * *

For additional information concerning the concerts please call the following: in Washington, (202) 399-2977; in Boston, (617) 522-9858; in Newark, (973) 993-8090.

The opera "Moisei" is available as a two-set compact disc. It will be available for purchase at the concerts for the price of $25; orders may also be placed by calling (973) 509-9453.

| Home Page |