ORA SPEI
A charity concert for Ukraine
Basic information
The State Opera
“I wanted it to sound like a quiet and bright prayer for Ukraine to the whole world,” said Yuriy Shevchenko about his piece We Are.
Ora spei is a musical message of solidarity with and hope for Ukraine. The charity concert’s central motif is the brief opening piece We Are, an arrangement of the Ukrainian national anthem, “Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished”, the Ukrainian composer Yuriy Shevchenko wrote shortly after the Russian invasion of his country on 24 February 2022. Following the formation of the USSR, the national anthem was banned by the Soviet regime, only to be revived during the glasnost of the 1980s.
Cast
- 2023-2024
Creatives
The concert is divided into two parts, with the first one featuring arias from operas by Bedřich Smetana, Giuseppe Verdi, Jules Massenet, Gaetano Donizetti and Giacomo Puccini. The second part of the programme will afford a revelatory insight into the known and unknown past and present of Ukrainian music. Works by major Ukrainian composers – Yuryi Shevchenko, Mykola Lysenko, Semen Hulak-Artemovsky, Yakiv Stepovy, Yuliy Meitus, Klimentiy Dominchen, Myroslav Skoryk and Anatoliy Kos-Anatolsky – will be performed by eight Ukrainian singers, performing in Ukraine as well as abroad, some of whom will be appearing in the Czech Republic for the very first time
Programme:
Yuryi Shevchenko: We are
Bedřich Smetana: Bohové věční (Libuše, Libuše)
Sofia Soloviy
Giuseppe Verdi: O Carlo, ascolta – Io morrò (Rodrigo, Don Carlo)
Stepan Drobit
Bedřich Smetana: Jak je mi (Milada, Dalibor)
Valentina Pluzhnikova
Jules Massenet: Va! Laisse couler mes larmes (Charlotte, Werther)
Iryna Zhytynska
Giuseppe Verdi: Che mai veggio... Infelice! E tuo credevi (Silva, Ernani)
Sergii Magera
Giuseppe Verdi: Patria opressa (Macbeth)
Giuseppe Verdi: O figli, o figli miei! Ah, la paterna mano (Macduff, Macbeth)
Valentyn Dytyuk
Giacomo Puccini: Senza mamma (Angelica, Suor Angelica)
Sofia Soloviy
Jules Massenet: Ah! Tout est bien fini – O souverain, ô juge, ô père (Rodrigo, Le Cid)
Denys Pivnitskyi
Gaetano Donizetti: Ah! tardai troppo – O luce di quest'anima (Linda, Linda di Chamounix)
Tetiana Zhuravel
Pietro Mascagni: Regina coeli (Santuzza & Mamma Lucia, Cavalleria rusticana)
Valentina Pluzhnikova & Iryna Zhytynska
Interval
Yakiv Stepovy: Prelude in Memory of Taras Shevchenko
Klimentiy Dominchen: Carpathian Dance
Mykola Lysenko: When Two Lovers Part
Denys Pivnitskyi & Stepan Drobit
Semen Hulak-Artemovsky: Scene and duet of Oksana and Andriy from the opera Across the Danube from Zaporizhzhia
Valentyn Dytyuk & Valentina Pluzhnikova
Yuliy Meitus: Anna’s aria from the opera The Stolen Happiness
Sofia Soloviy
Mykola Lysenko: Ostap’s aria from the opera Taras Bulba
Stepan Drobit
Anatoliy Kos-Anatolsky: Alas, off now for the Mountains
Tetiana Zhuravel
Anatoliy Kos-Anatolsky: Ah, Nutseed Maid
Sergii Magera
I Know I’am a Sinner
Ukrainian folk song
Iryna Zhytynska
Mykola Lysenko: Taras Bulba, overture
Myroslav Skoryk: A Melody
Sofia Soloviy
Mykola Lysenko, Ivan Nebesnyi: A Prayer for Ukraine
arrangement for eight solo voices, chorus and orchestra
The benefit concert for Ukraine will be held at the State Opera in Prague, designed by Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer. The same famous architects also created the Odessa opera house, helmed at one time by Andriy Yurkevych, the current music director of Prague’s State Opera. The Odessa opera scene, before and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, will be the focus of an exhibition of photographs by the internationally renowned Odessa artist Dmitry Skvortsov.
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Practical information
Where to buy tickets
The National Theatre sells tickets up to 6 months in advance. On 1 October at 9am we selling tickets for performances of Drama, Ballet, Opera and Laterna magika until the end of March 2024.
When purchasing online, you can get an e-ticket. You can pick up printed tickets in person at the box offices of the National Theatre.
What to wear?
By their appearance, attire and behaviour, the audience is obliged to adhere to the accustomed practice expected from them when attending a theatre performance.
Parking at the State opera
While visiting the State Opera, you can take the slip road on Wilsonova street from the left lane close to the State Opera building to the Parking Centrum above-ground garage. The parking fee is 40 CZK/h.
Buffets at the State Opera
No waiting. For your benefit, please pre-order your food and beverages at the bar to minimize waiting in the queue!
Menu (PDF, 60 kB)