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Dnipropetrovsk Opera Theater Why Mozart and Puccini? This seems like a rather odd pairing. Partly because none of the works selected have ever been performed in Ukraine before! But mostly be cause they are good opera. Furthermore, everyone in Ukraine seems to go for the "belt it out" type of operas. The "finesse" operas are seldom appreci ated. There is also a tendency to ape the heavy Russian repertoire and the esthetics associated with it. There is a real need for Ukrainian opera com panies to perform more graceful works. And the works we will be performing are. Cosi fan tutte is one of Mozart’s best works and was Richard Strauss' favorite. It’s a wonderful and insightful human comedy. Suor Angelica is a heartbreaking lyrical drama about the miracle of forgiveness; Gianni Schicchi, one of the most sparkling come dies in Italian opera, is a story of greed and just deserts. All three probe what is best and worst in human nature, but do so with a delicate elegance that is neither preachy nor syrupy. You mentioned, in a recent press release, that Ukrainian musicians and singers often are forced to work in less than ideal conditions. What are some examples of the limitations they face? They are used and abused as a cheap source of labor by many Italian, German, and other producers and conductors. They endure long and uncomfortable bus rides, work in terrible outdoor arenas, rehearse for months with crazy and incompetent conduc tors— all because they get promised a payoff of a couple of thousand Euros for a two-month tour through Western Europe. In a sense, it can be called “the age of jackals”—they are feeding on Ukrainian performers. Another problem is the “voluntary” exodus of young students and professionals looking for higher paying jobs in Poland or Germany or elsewhere. Who is working with you on the translations and how challenging has the process been? The poet I worked with was Nazar Fedorak from Lviv. Absolutely wonderful and we worked very quickly together. We finished the Puccinis in record time; the Mozart took months of back-breaking work via emails. The reasons we ended up translat ing certain phrases the way we did could fill a book and make for fascinating reading! The translations themselves were incredibly intricate and took much careful thought and many revisions. I am really proud of our final product. One of the most re warding parts of my work was to sing it through and know I was the first person on earth to hear Mozart or Puccini in our new poetic translation! Eventually we want to publish a first edition of the piano-vocal score. What about the American artistic staff of stage directors and designers that are helping to pro duce the operas? How are they helping? This is a great opportunity for an emerging Eastern European opera company to work with, and learn from, American professionals.
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