14 August, 8:00 PM
Main Stage

Journey to the Great River
(Scenes from the opera “Brother Li Bo… Friend Du Fu…” based on the mystery play by Oleh Lysheha)
Alla Zahaikevych’s opera “Brother Li Bo… Friend Du Fu…” is not a traditional musical drama, but rather a journey and a ritual.
It invites the listener to return to an original unity with the world, drawing inspiration from Eastern philosophy, which sees nature not as a backdrop to human life, but as its profound meaning and essence.
Today, this poetic universe receives a new musical life in Alla Zahaikevych’s opera, a work the composer has been developing for many years.

The concert will feature several completed scenes from the future opera, performed by the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra conducted by Natalia Ponomarchuk, renowned mezzo-soprano Yaryna – Oleksandra Turianska-Mellie (Ukraine/France), acclaimed bandura player Yelyzaveta Soloviova, and the composer herself — Alla Zahaikevych.
Voice, orchestra, bandura, and electronics create a space where music does not simply illustrate the text, but breathes together with it.
Here, alongside human characters, the Great Bumblebee, the Forest, and the River come alive, while the music leads the listener on a journey — from the human voice to the voice of nature, from the source to the Great River.
At the heart of the opera lies the mystery play of the same name by Oleh Lysheha (1949–2014), one of the most distinctive Ukrainian poets of the second half of the twentieth century.

He was called a poet-hermit, as he listened deeply to nature, silence, and the primordial rhythm of the world. For Lysheha, nature was not merely a subject of poetry, but a dialogue partner. The great poets Li Bo and Du Fu became the poet’s spiritual companions and interlocutors.This fascination with Eastern culture and philosophy became the source of the poetic world that Alla Zahaikevych brings to life through music today.
Performers
Kyiv Chamber Orchestra
Natalia Ponomarchuk, conductor
Yaryna – Oleksandra Turianska-Mellie, mezzo-soprano (Ukraine/France)
Yelyzaveta Soloviova, bandura
Alla Zahaikevych, electronics
Maryna Ryzhova, director
FREE ADMISSION
Admission is free with a valid entrance ticket to the Saint Sophia of Kyiv National Reserve (UAH 500 standard / UAH 250 concession).
Combat veterans are admitted free of charge and do not need to purchase an entrance ticket.