[aaus-list] FW: Orange Revolution Project

[Laada Bilaniuk]

Dear Ukrainian Studies list, 

 

Please see the message below about working with composer Igor Keller on an
opera about the Orange Revolution.  I suggested that this list is probably
the best place to find someone with the necessary knowledge and skills.
Please contact him directly if you can help.

 

Regards,

Laada Bilaniuk

 

From: Igor Keller [mailto:oybaba at hotmail.com] 
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 12:23 AM
To: bilaniuk at u.washington.edu
Subject: Orange Revolution Project

 

Hello Laada,
My name is Igor Keller.  I'm a composer here in Seattle interested in
turning some of the events of Ukraine's Orange Revolution into a musical
drama.  I dropped in on Galya Diment yesterday (she's a former teacher of
mine) and she recommended emailing you.  I'm looking for a librettist who
has a good sense of the operatic genre as well as excellent Ukrainian and
Russian skills.  I realize that this is a rather challenging project; the
timing of events was rather drawn out, some of the protagonists were not at
all sympathetic characters and the political landscape of Ukraine is quite
complex.  I'm looking for composite experiences to make this a story about
individuals living in a society that holds them in such contempt that it
casts aside their wishes for a pre-determined result.  I want to capture the
outrage and the excitement that took place on the Maidan, and I'd also like
to touch upon the fact that the revolution ultimately failed in a number of
areas.  As a rough model, I'd like to use Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in
terms of scope and tone.

My problem in crafting a story is that the more I read about the events of
2004-5, the more complex they become and the more political history of the
1990s comes into play.  I'm looking for someone who can simplify the
situation and make this piece of history come alive.  If you can think of
anybody with such an ability, please let me know.  And if you have any
further questions about anything, I'd be happy to answer them.  Any
assistance you could lend would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks very much.

All the best,
Igor Keller   

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.brama.com/pipermail/aaus-list/attachments/20090306/7562545a/attachment.html