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MOSES IN LVIV: SKORYK OPERA TO PREMIERE |
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MOSES IN LVIV: SKORYK OPERA TO PREMIERE Ivan Franko's "Moisei" (Moses) has been acclaimed by eminent
Slavic linguist, philologist and literary critic George Y. Shevelov as
"....standing at the entryway to a Ukrainian 'Faust' and knocking
at the doors leading to the 'Divine Comedy.'" It is a profound work,
revealing The primate of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, championed this ambitious project with the support of the major archbishop's chancery of Lviv and also was instrumental in obtaining financial backing from the Vatican. Franko's "Moisei" is demanding of the reader, but it is also richly rewarding. The poet considers Moses to be the "most grandiose persona of ancient human history and an endless source of inspiration." The book of Exodus begins with his birth into slavery and his adoption by the Pharaoh's daughter. Moses is later depicted as the murderer of an Egyptian guard, as the shepherd to whom Yehova reveals Himself, and ultimately, as the liberator who leads the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt to the edge of Canaan, after wandering in the desert for 40 years. Franko chose only the final tragic hours in Moses' life to depict the
aging patriarch vainly attempting to lead his nation into the Promised
Land, which is so near. The 20 "Songs" episodes) probe the spiritual
struggles of "the meekest man on the fact of the earth." Symbols One example is the three temptations of Moses by the desert demon Azazel:
at first, doubt whether Moses is truly serving God; then a maternal appeal
to spare himself needless agonies, finally, the terrible certainty that
his people will suffer future wars and misery. His There were no antecedents to Franko's poem, and it was quickly translated into many foreign languages. It is a pity that a work with such deep sincerity and philosophical content is not known more widely. One of the most intriguing aspects of the poem is that the characters of Yehova, Azazel the demon, Datan, Aviron (Aron) and others may be perceived as the internal voices of one man, Moses. Dialogues either with the divinity or the tempter are essentially conversations within one's own soul. These themes are developed by Franko as "extended moments" of psychological insight. One such powerful moment occurs after Moses once again warns his people about pride and rebelliousness against God's will. Suddenly he is no longer judge or prophet. "The ancient heart of the prophet trembled, Would he always pass judgement? If you could but see, o Israel, O, my child and my people, Franko also provides colorful and evocative settings. In the first scene,
the wandering Israelites have been sleeping in the same ravine for days
on end, as if in suspended animation under the hot desert sun. The stillness
in the air is reflected in the spiritual Clearly, Franko's poem contains many elements to inspire a dramatic
musical treatment and it was fascinating to imagine how it could be developed
into a stage work. In Lviv and Kharkiv I had conducted several standard
operas in beautiful translations by Maksym Rylskyi (which deserve to be
compiled and published). And I have also had the opportunity to Maestro Skoryk told me he had long wished to set Franko's "Moisei" as an oratorio or opera. My first question was: How could a contemporary composer treat an archaic story? Mr. Skoryk replied that he tried to create a "feeling of antiquity." Interestingly, he also colored certain sections of the score with Ukrainian intonations. (This is not so surprising as Franko's poem is itself a synthesis of old Hebraic themes and contemporary expressions.) Several other composers had also written operas on this subject. Rossini's "Mose in Egitto" (1819) was essentially a traditional Italian opera with some "religious" overtones. Schoenberg's "Moses and Aron" (1932) was a unique approach to the unimaginable abstraction of God and was composed in the language of the composer's 12-tone technique. Unfortunately, Maestro Skoryk's music for "Moisei" was not available for me to see at this time. But I wondered how Mr. Skoryk approached Franko's verse, which although flexible and elastic, still has a consistency in rhyme and metric patterns. This brought to mind one of the great partnerships in opera: Mozart and his librettist, Lorenzo de Ponte. Cherubino's aria "Voi che sapete" from "le nozze di Figaro" is a good example. Looking solely at the balanced verses of the Italian text, one could never guess the free-flowing music. How does a composer remain true to the original poetry and yet not get locked into a symmetrical structure? Maestro Skoryk explained that the text presented some challenges. With
his co-librettist, poet Bohdan Stelmach, the composer carefully chose
and arranged all the poetry used in the opera. Just as the relatively
brief Biblical references served as an inspiration and a point of departure
for Franko, so also the poetry was a starting point for the musical forms
that evolved for Mr. Skoryk. When the music demanded, the composer repeated
words and phases or varied the order of the original text. The vocal parts
developed into solo arias, Because of the intimate and static nature of the theme, Maestro Skoryk
added a scene with the dance before the golden calf to end the first act.
The instrumentation is for standard-sized orchestra, but every effort
has been made to have the words clearly understandable. Librettos will
be printed, and it is the composer's hope that his opera will inspire
wider Mr. Skoryk feels a special affinity towards Franko and has set some
of his other works to Even though this is his first opera, Maestro Skoryk is a practical man
of the theater and took into account the specific acoustics of the Lviv
Opera stage and the individual qualities of the Lviv soloists. The general
director of the Lviv Opera, Tadey Eder, was an enthusiastic initiator
and supporter of this project. This production of "Moisei" will
also celebrate the The title role, to be sung by bass Oleksander Hromysh, is the most extensive
and richly drawn character in the opera. The demon Azazel will be a tenor
role, with Aviron and Datan as baritones. Other solos include Yohaveda
(mezzo), Lia (soprano), Yehoshua (tenor) and "the author" (baritone).
The stage director is Zbigniew Krzanowski, currently with the Peremyhshl
Theater, and the set designers are the brothers Tadey and Roman Ryndzak.
The premiere performance is planned for June 23. Some of his notable compositions include the "Carpathian"
Concerto for Orchestra, music for the film "Shadows of Forgotten
Ancestors," concertos for piano, violin, and cello, plus numerous
vocal and chamber pieces. An indication of his wide interests is the jazz
influence in his Second Violin Sonata and other recent works. He has also
undertaken revisions of two
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