Opera diva Yelena Obraztsova to sing Wednesday May 24 in Kyiv
n dance companies, Balletto di Toscano, will have two performances of the ballet “Mediterranea” on May 21-22 at Kyiv's Lesya Ukrainka Theater.
The company was founded and directed by Cristina Bozzolini in the city of Florence 13 years ago. Balletto di Toscano, despite its contemporary expressionistic style, follows the academic traditions of the classics. It also works with the new generation of Italian choreographers and composers, such as Virgilio Sieni, Gianfranco Paoluzi, Massimo Moricone and Mauro Bigonzetti, who staged “Mediterranea.”
This performance is a kind of ode to the Mediterranean Sea as the Great Mother of ancient cultures and even entire historical epochs.
Mediterranea. Lesya Ukrainka Theater. May 21-22, 7 p.m. Tickets Hr 10-Hr 50.
Yelena Obraztsova to sing
Those who missed a chance to see famous Russian opera diva Yelena Obraztsova in Roman Viktyuk's recent performance will have another chance to see her at Kyiv's Opera House on May 24.
Obraztsova has a beautiful mezzo soprano voice and sings in the best theaters in Europe. In Kyiv Obraztsova will sing works of Francis Poulenc, Erik Satie and Kurt Weill.
Many devoted fans may not recognize Yelena Obraztsova, who lost 21 kilos in order to play in Viktyuk's recent performance “Prima Donna.” She said it was not too difficult because she was really excited to play love. Obraztsova's debut as a drama actress was a big hit in Kyiv in March. Still, most Kyivans see Obraztsova in her traditional role – a classical singer.
Yelena Obraztsova. National Opera. May 24, 7 p.m. Tickets Hr 50-Hr 600.
Bashmet, Moskvy
at National Opera
Russian Yuriy Bashmet is probably one of the few viola players in the world who holds regular solo concerts. He managed to convince everyone that the viola should not be secondary, but the central role in the orchestra.
About 20 years ago, Yuriy Bashmet won an International Viola Contest in Munich and performed a dozen successful concerts all over Europe. Thus he started his solo career. A few years ago he was asked to conduct the Moscow Youth Symphony Orchestra on a tour to France. Though Bashmet didn't have any experience in conducting, he agreed to do it anyway. Shortly after this concert, Bashmet founded his own orchestra, “Solisty Moskvy,” which became extremely popular in Russia and abroad.
Bashmet thinks that the viola is an elite mystic instrument because it appeared earlier than the violin or cello. He bought his first viola after graduating from the conservatory and hasn't parted with it since.
Yuriy Bashmet and Solisty Moskvy Orchestra. National Opera. May 25, 7 p.m. Tickets Hr 50-Hr 500.
Auction of art
More than 70 works by some notable artists of the mid-19th and early-20th centuries will be auctioned off May 20 at the Andriyivsky Uzviz Exhibit Center. Besides a group of Ukrainian landscape classicists, the biggest names are renowned Russian landscape painter Isaac Levitan; Soviet-era artist, spy and charismatic personality Mykola Gluschenko; and famous primitivist and peasant Maria Prymachenko, who allegedly has never left her native village.
The head of the exhibit center, art historian and critic Oleksandr Brei is one of Ukraine's leading specialists in 19th- and early 20th-century painting. He also owns one of the world's biggest private collections of Ukrainian and Russian art of the period.
This auction is the ninth held by the center since its creation in 1993. Before each auction, the center publishes a catalogue of art offered for sale. A catalogue costs Hr 90. If you are planning to bid, you need to buy a catalogue because the lots put out at the auction contain no names of authors or paintings, only the numbers.
To take part in the auction, call the center in advance. Also, to view works before the auction, visit the exhibit at the center on May 19th.
“Ukrainian and Russian masters of the 19th-20th Century,” auction. May 20, 1 p.m. Exhibit Center at 3 Andriyivsky uzviz, 416-1237, 416-2254. Free admission to the exhibit, but those who want to participate in the auction, need to pre-register.
