Excerpts of Skoryk's "Moisei" presented at Embassy of Ukraine in Washington (09/21/03)

Excerpts of Skoryk's "Moisei" presented at Embassy of Ukraine in Washington

by Yaro Bihun
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - Since its premiere in Lviv in 2001, Myroslav Skoryk's opera "Moisei" (Moses) has been staged in only two other cities, in Kyiv and Warsaw, and very few aficionados of Ukrainian classical music here are familiar with the work.

On September 8 they had a chance to get at least a hint of what the opera looks and sounds like when the composer himself introduced the work at a concert evening at the Embassy of Ukraine with the help of baritone Oleh Chmyr and a video recording of the first performance.

The event, which also served to mark the composer's 65th birthday, was held in conjunction with the Embassy's celebration of the 12th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.

In the first half of the program, Mr. Chmyr, accompanied by Mr. Skoryk on the piano, sang five short arias from the opera, three as Moses and two as his antagonist, Datan, which was followed by three video excerpts of the opera's prologue, ballet and epilogue. Mr. Skoryk introduced and provided the context for each piece.

The second half of the concert was devoted to Mr. Skoryk's other works: piano pieces, among them his widely popular "Melodiya," and "Hanterski Vizerunky," jazzy musical images of Hunter, N.Y., which were performed by the composer, and a few songs based on folk melodies performed by Mr. Chmyr.

This was not the first time Mr. Skoryk's works have been performed in Washington, nor was it his first personal appearance here. Over the past five years a number of his compositions have been performed by Ukrainian artists and ensembles in The Washington Group Cultural Fund concert series and have received good reviews in the press. In 1998 the fund hosted his 60th anniversary concert, with the Leontovych String Quarter, pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky and the composer himself at the piano.

Mr. Chmyr, who had performed leading operatic roles in Ukraine, Russia and Poland, now teaches voice in New Jersey and most recently has appeared in the New Jersey State Opera production of Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci."

With Ambassador Kostyantyn Gryshchenko recalled to Kyiv to become Ukraine's new foreign affairs minister, the evening was opened by his deputy, and now acting chief of mission, Volodymyr Yatsenkivskyi. Also on hand to greet the artists and guests was Natalia Gryshchenko, the former ambassador's wife, who had not yet left for Ukraine.

The concert was followed by a reception.

The evening was not without a few drawbacks and glitches, which served to detract from what would otherwise have been a uniquely enjoyable event.

The Embassy's piano developed a sticking hammer mechanism early in the concert, which Mr. Skoryk had to attend to on more than one occasion, as well as a noisy pedal. And - as the composer apologized before and after its showing - the quality of the video, which was projected onto a small, old and yellowed screen, did not do the opera justice.

The professionally recorded two-CD album of the opera, however, more than made up for what was lacking in the evening's program, as those who purchased the CD became aware. The same is true for Oleh Chmyr's CD, "European Vocal Miniatures," with pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky accompanying, which includes art songs by Schubert, Schumann, Mahler, Chopin and other composers rarely, if ever, recorded by Ukrainian artists. Unfortunately, judging by the stacks of CDs left at the conclusion of the reception, not too many guests availed themselves of this opportunity.

The Washington concert was the second of four scheduled appearances by Messrs. Skoryk and Chmyr, which began August 30 at the Grazhda in Jewett, N.Y. Subsequent concerts were also scheduled in Cambridge, Mass., and Newark, N.J.

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