The New York Metropolitan Opera are hosting a concert for Ukraine, dedicated to the people affected by the Russian invasion. With a well-known programme of highly charged, emotional pieces of music, the performance of For Ukraine: A Concert of Remembrance and Hope looks certain to be a memorable night.
For Ukraine: A Concert of Remembrance and Hope
On 24th February at 7pm, the Metropolitan Opera presents a concert to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, in association with Lincoln Center and the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations. The company’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, will lead the Met Orchestra and Chorus in a program of Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. In announcing the special concert, which will be broadcast on the radio, Peter Gelb, the Met’s Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager, said:
“Mozart’s Requiem is to remember the innocent victims of the war, and Beethoven’s Fifth is in anticipation of the victory to come.”
Mr. Gelb noted that during World War II, the symphony’s celebrated opening chords became a symbol of victory for the Allied cause, especially when frequently repeated by the BBC during broadcasts. And Beethoven himself, he noted, was a champion of liberty and resistance to oppression.
Met Music Director Yannick Nézet–Séguin said:
“I am proud to lead the great Met Orchestra and Chorus as we continue to use music, an instrument of peace and healing, to show support for the people of Ukraine as they continue their quest for peace and an end to this war.”
Maestro Nézet–Séguin also conducted a concert on behalf of Ukraine at the Met last March, shortly after the invasion. The piece written by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov will close the concert.
On Feb 24, at 7PM, the Metropolitan Opera presents “For Ukraine: A Concert of Remembrance and Hope” to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Tickets are $50 and go on sale Wed, Feb 1, at 12PM ET.
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— Metropolitan Opera (@MetOpera) January 20, 2023
Performing the Requiem, the soloists will be soprano Golda Schultz, who this season at the Met sang the role of Adina in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore; mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo; tenor Dmytro Popov, who sings Alfredo in the run of Verdi’s La Traviata beginning March 4; and bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi, a member of the company’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Both Popov and Buialskyi are Ukrainian.
Concert Programme
Ukrainian National Anthem
By Mykhailo Verbytsky
Requiem, K. 626
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Soloists: Golda Schultz, Emily D’Angelo, Dmytro Popov, and Vladyslav Buialskyi
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op.67
By Ludwig van Beethoven
“Prayer for Ukraine”
By Valentin Silvestrov
Support for Ukraine
The performance will coincide with commemorative events at the United Nations, and the audience is expected to include members of the international diplomatic community. The Metropolitan Opera has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its struggle for survival. It produced one of the first concerts for the nation’s benefit shortly after the Russian invasion and helped organize the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, composed of musicians inside and outside the country, which toured Europe and the United States last summer.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, said:
“This is a concert in celebration of Ukrainian resilience and hope. The Metropolitan Opera was among the first to show solidarity with Ukraine, its people, culture, and artists, and it has continued to do so throughout the past year of this tragic invasion. We’re proud to work with the Met to promote a just peace. All wars come to an end, but we will always remember who was with us from the first, most difficult, moments.”
To support relief efforts in Ukraine, please visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine website.
Tickets go on sale on Wednesday 1st February at 12pm Eastern Time and are priced at $50 although ticked buyers are encouraged to make donations to Ukraine. The concert will also be broadcast live via radio.
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