Upcoming shows
Opera in 2 acts
Beginning: 11.09.2022 - 15:00
Completion: 17:25
Sung in Ukrainian
Zaporozhian Beyond The Danube
The setting takes place at the beginning of the 19th century on the lands that at that time belonged to Turkey.
Libretto by Semen Hulak-Artemovskiy.
Musical edition and orchestration by Myroslav Skoryk.
Stage edition by Anatoliy Solovyanenko.
The premiere on the Kyiv stage took place on February 28th, 2015.
- Chief Conductor:
- Mykola DIADIURA
- Production Director:
- Anatoliy SOLOVIANENKO
- Scenographer:
- Maria LEVYTSKA
- Choirmasters:
- Denys KRUTKO
- Directors who lead the performance:
- Viktoriia KOVNIR
- Dar’ia IAROVA
- Iryna IAROVA
- Prompters:
- Nataliia GONTSOVSKA
- Roman BUDZIAK
SUMMARY
Act 1
The shore of the Danube under Turkish possession. The yard of the Cossack Ivan Karas.
Oksana, Karas’ adopted daughter, yearns for her native land. She is waiting for her beloved Cossack Andrii, who must cross the Danube tonight and deliver important news from Ukraine.
Karas returns home. He, like other Cossacks, dreams of breaking free from Turkish captivity. Together with his friends, he discusses a plan to escape to his native land. Of course, they also drank a glass.
Odarka appears. Karas tries to avoid meeting with his cantankerous wife and wants to hide. But he fails. A quarrel erupts between the spouses.
In the yard of Ivan Karas appears the Sultan, dressed in regular Turkish clothes. He decided to discover the plans and thoughts of the Cossacks. From a conversation with Karas, he learns that he really wants to see the Sultan and talk about the discontent of the Cossacks with life in captivity.
The Sultan promises to give the Cossack such an opportunity. To celebrate, Karas wants to drink to his guest’s health and runs into the house for a glass. The Sultan orders his servant Selikh-aha, a lord from his retinue, to invite Karas to the palace.
Karas comes back. Selikh-aha gives him Turkish clothes and comes up with a Turkish name, under which Karas can freely enter the palace.
A Ukrainian song is playing, reminding all of their native homeland. Young people have fun walking about. Turkish guards appear and the street instantly becomes empty.
Oksana leaves the house. She is not pleased with the festivities; she is worried about the fate of her beloved Andrii. Waiting for her desired moment of their meeting, she sings of her feelings for him. Finally, Andrii appears. Both swear fidelity and try to secretly escape from Turkish captivity, but are ambushed.
Act 2
Odarka along with her neighbors recalls a carefree youth.
Karas returns satisfied - in the palace he met with the Sultan and told him the truth of the life of the Cossacks and that they would not continue to obey the Turkish authorities.
Seeing Odarka, he decides to play a trick on her, pretending to be a Turk. Frightened in earnest, the woman thinks that Ivan is crazy. Karas declares his intention to part with her, marry a Turkish woman, and start a harem.
A Turkish guard appears on the square, led by the imam Ibrahim-Ali. They lead the caught fugitives - Oksana and Andrii. The imam informs those present that he has appeared with the firman - the decree of the Sultan, according to which he orders to collect all the Cossacks and find Ivan Karas among them. All are in suspense.
The imam reads the decree of the Sultan. The Cossacks are allowed to return to their homeland, and the fugitives Oksana and Andrii are granted pardon. All are filled with joy.
The Cossacks glorify their homeland.
With a prayer they prepare to return to their native Ukraine.
The story is based on a historical event: when the Zaporizhian Sich was overwhelmed by the Russian army, the Zaporizhian Cossacks and their families headed across the Danube River to the apparently safe haven of the Ottoman Empire (this area is now part of Romania) and established the Danube Sich (see Zaporozhian Host: Russian rule).
The comedy arises from the efforts made by a Cossack clan to adjust to their new home, and from the eccentric behaviour of an amorous Turkish Sultan. The plot revolves around a chance encounter between Ivan Karas, an old Dnieper Cossack and the Turkish Sultan travelling incognito, resulting in permission for all the "Cossacks beyond the Danube" to resettle on Imperial Russian land, back in Ukraine.
"Комсомольская правда в Украине":
Портал Міністерства культури України - про прем’єру опери "Запорожець за Дунаєм":
http://mincult.kmu.gov.ua/mincult/uk/publish/article/395494
http://mincult.kmu.gov.ua/mincult/uk/publish/article/395494
24 канал:
"Закінчення вистави і вихід на сцену всіх артистів і постановників, зал зустрічав оваціями і стоячи..."
Газета "2000":
"На голубом Дунае казаки гуляли. 28 февраля на сцене Национальной оперы предстала новая редакция жемчужины украинской классики."
Інформаційний портал "Голос України":
"У цьому театрі завжди приділяли особливу увагу українському репертуару."
Газета "День":
"Оновлений «Запорожець за Дунаєм» — динамічний і яскравий."
