The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra heads on summer tour for the third time
From Paris through Warsaw, Gdynia, London, New York to Washington – the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra goes on tour for the third time, using music as a weapon to fight for the freedom of Ukraine.
The program features Ukrainian version of Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9,” emphasizing the importance of freedom and resistance to aggression on the bicentenary of the score. Each concert will begin with the song “Freedom,” composed especially for the ensemble by the renowned Ukrainian composer Victoria Poleva.
The soloists on the concert tour are: Olga Bezsmertna (soprano), Nataliia Kukhar (mezzo-soprano), Valentyn Dytiuk (tenor) and Andrii Kymach (bass-baritone).
The orchestra is led by Keri-Lynn Wilson, Canadian conductor with Ukrainian roots.
The concert at the Polish National Opera will be held twice: on July 14 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available on the website.
The upcoming tour marks the beginning of UFO’s collaboration with the Baltic Opera Festival. The orchestra will participate in two performances of Puccini’s “Turandot” (on stage July 20 and 25) in the scenery of the Forest Opera in Sopot. The ensemble will also perform in the Solidarity & Freedom Concert (July 23)) in the CRIST Shipyard in Gdynia.
The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra was established in 2022 by the Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera, in a gesture of solidarity with the victims of the war in Ukraine. Its members are refugees forced to seek safety outside their homeland following the outbreak of the war, Ukrainian musicians performing with European orchestras and instrumentalists playing in national bands.