In a gesture of solidarity with the victims of the war in Ukraine, the Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera will assemble leading Ukrainian musicians into the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra for a European and American tour July 28–August 20, including stops in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, before culminating with concerts in New York and Washington, DC.

The orchestra will include recent refugees, Ukrainian members of European orchestras, and some of the top musicians of Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and elsewhere in Ukraine. The Ukraine Ministry of Culture is granting a special exemption to military-age, male members of orchestras inside the country to participate, allowing them to put down weapons and take up their instruments in a remarkable demonstration of the power of art over adversity.

Money raised from the tour will go to the ministry to support Ukrainian artists.

PROGRAMME:

Valentin Silvestrov

Symphony No. 7

Fryderyk Chopin

Piano Concerto No. 2

Ludwig van Beethoven

Fidelio, Leonora’s aria Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?

Johannes Brahms

Symphony No. 4

PERFORMERS:

Keri-Lynn Wilson conductor

Liudmyla Monastyrska soprano

Anna Fedorova piano

Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra (The musicians are drawn from the Kyiv National Opera, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra, and Kharkiv Opera, among other Ukrainian ensembles. Outside of Ukraine, players come from ensembles including the Tonkunstler Orchestra of Vienna, the Belgian National Orchestra, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra)