On October 24, ARTE will present The Mothers of Kherson, an opera, and a documentary exploring the circumstances that inspired its creation. The special presentation will air on Saturday, October 24, at 11:10 p.m. on ARTE and will also be available on arte.tv from October 24.
Conducted by Maestro Wilson, the opera is a co-production between the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Polish National Opera (Teatr Wielki), where it received its staged premiere on October 16.
Rather than portraying the women of Kherson as mythologised heroines, Ukrainian composer Maxim Kolomiiets adopts a restrained musical language rooted in Ukrainian musical traditions, even encorporating a few traditional folk songs. Eschewing unnecessary complexity, his music reflects the unadorned realities of the lives at the heart of the opera. The libretto, written by American playwright George Brant, draws on numerous interviews with mothers, grandmothers and young people who have since returned home. On stage, a children's choir embodies the children who were forcibly taken away.
The accompanying documentary follows people whose lives have been profoundly shaped by the war and who have become closely involved in the opera's creation. Among them are Ukrainian documentary filmmaker Sasha Andrusyk; composer Maxim Kolomiiets, who is currently living in exile in Leipzig; and singer Mariia Udovenko, who was forced to bring members of her family to safety in Poland.
The film also brings to light the personal accounts that underpin the opera's libretto. One of these is the story of Yulia Radzevilova and her son, Maxim, who was twelve years old at the time. In an effort to shield him from the attacks on Kherson, Yulia sent him to a summer camp in Crimea. However, he was not permitted to return. Following an arduous journey, she eventually succeeded in bringing her son home. At a preview performance in Kyiv, mother and son witness their own experience re-enacted on the grand stage, transforming their deeply personal ordeal into a work of collective remembrance.
