The Ukrainian Opera "Chornobyldorf" Will be Showcased in New York
As part of the Prototype Festival, a performing arts event in New York, USA, there will be eight performances of the Ukrainian live opera (archaeological opera) 'Chornobyldorf,' composed by Roman Hryhoriv and Illia Razumeiko.
The Opera announced this on their website.
"Chornobyldorf" is a truly captivating synthetic performance that attempts to reinterpret the post-apocalypse through international research-cultural and artistic experience.
It is a multi-layered cultural project that combines live opera (archaeological opera), virtual reality (real virtuality opera), an anthropological museum, and the Institute of Chornobyldorf culture.
The 'opera' intertwines numerous rituals, visual messages, movements, and sounds that offer the audience a unique immersive experience.
"Chornobyldorf" was created in 2020. The plot revolves around people who survived a series of devastating catastrophes and find themselves in a post-apocalyptic world.
The heroes wander among the ruins of nuclear power plants, abandoned temples, theaters, galleries, and schools, seeking to recreate the lost civilization through archaeological performance rituals – "universal symbols and signs that are ultimately misinterpreted and gradually dissolve in the white noise of nature".
The music playing a special role in the performance is based on the integration of folklore material from the Dnipro-Danube basin, Ukraine, combined with deconstructed quotes from the classical-romantic era.
The title of the opera 'Chornobyldorf' is a combination of the names of two cities – Ukrainian Chornobyl, where the nuclear power plant exploded in 1986, and Austrian Zwentendorf, where a nuclear power plant was also built but never put into operation due to local population protests.
It is worth noting that the Ukrainian opera "Chornobyldorf" has entered the top six best operas and music-theatrical performances according to the Music Theatre Now Network, and The Times in the UK has called it 'a modern Ukrainian masterpiece everyone needs to see.'
The performances will take place in New York on January 11, 13-15, and from January 18-21, 2024.
The Prototype is an annual festival of performative arts held in New York, USA.
Earlier this year, 'Chornobyldorf' was also presented at the Theater Der Welt event in Frankfurt.