Lullaby for Mariupol brings Ukrainian new music theater stars Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko to Finland

In October 2022, a new version of Lullaby for Mariupol by Opera Aperta will be created in collaboration with students from the Global Music Department of the Sibelius Academy, University of the Art Helsinki, in cooperation with the Espoo City Theatre and MiklagardArts.

Darina Rodionova

Ukrainian Roman Grygoriv (b.1984) and Illia Razumeiko (b.1989) are the founders of Opera Aperta, a new music theater laboratory that has attracted great international attention. They are also the founders and directors of the international PORTO FRANKO -festival. Chornobyldorf (premiered in 2020) was among other things selected among the six best opera and musical theater performances in the Music Theater Now competition.

Dedicated to all victims of Russian aggression

On February 24, Russia openly invaded Ukraine, continuing its war against the Ukrainian people. Mariupol, which since 2014 has been a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, has become a brutal example of a tragedy and humanitarian catastrophe. On February 22, back then in peaceful Kyiv, Ukrainian composers Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko composed a piece for microtonal bandura called “Mariupol”. On the 21st day of the invasion and inhuman destruction of Ukraine, they performed “Mariupol” in the form of a 7-hour composition installation on March 16. The broadcast was streamed from VEZHA TV and Radio Company studio in Ivano-Frankivsk, where composers relocated.

In May 2022, with the artists of Opera Aperta, the piece was transformed into a concert video-vocal-instrumental performance, “Lullaby for Mariupol”, that combines microtonal string instruments with traditional Ukrainian Lullabies from different regions of the country.

In October 2022, a new version of Lullaby for Mariupol by Opera Aperta will be created in collaboration with students from the Global Music Department of the Sibelius Academy. The artistic outcome of this collaborative work will be presented at Global Fest, on the 16th of December 2022, with an intercultural ensemble consisting of students from the Global Music Department and musicians from Ukraine. The performance in December will be dedicated to all victims of Russian aggression.

This project aims to strengthen intercultural artistic dialogue and collaboration and engages with questions such as: what is the role of the arts in a situation like this, and what is our role in times of war and suffering?

In December, a new version of Lullaby for Mariupol, a collaborative work with students from Sibelius Academy will be presented at Global Fest.