First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska attended the world premiere of the concert version of the opera Mothers of Kherson at the National Opera of Ukraine.
The opera tells the story of two mothers from Kherson who set out on a journey of more than 4,000 kilometers through several countries and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to save their daughters, who are being held on the Crimean Peninsula. It is based on the real testimonies of women who brought their children back from Russian occupation.
The concert version of the opera is the first public presentation of the work, co-commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Polish National Opera in Warsaw.
The opera was conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson. The project also featured the orchestra and chorus of the National Opera of Ukraine, the Children’s Choir of the M. V. Lysenko Kyiv State Music Lyceum, and the Kyiv Camerata ensemble.
Before the premiere, the First Lady met with Keri-Lynn Wilson and General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York Peter Gelb.
“I am grateful to everyone involved for bringing global attention to this truly painful issue. Russia has abducted and deported more than 20,000 children, and only 2,223 have so far been returned through the efforts of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children. The more people know about this and join the effort to save them, the greater the chances that the children will return home and be reunited with their loved ones,” Olena Zelenska said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined the meeting. Keri-Lynn Wilson presented the Head of State with a vinyl record – a newly released recording with the National Ensemble of Soloists “Kyiv Camerata.”
The First Lady emphasized that this visit by the artists and the premiere of the opera took place on a difficult date for Ukraine – the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the aggressor state has killed at least 707 children in Ukraine.
“The voices of Ukrainian children, mothers, and families must be heard around the world as testimony and as a verdict on Russian crimes, as a step toward and an affirmation of justice,” Olena Zelenska concluded.