UNESCO Artist Makarenko’s ambitious project: to bring Bortnyansky’s *Creon* back to European stages

For the first time in the Ukrainian capital, a theatrical production of the opera *Creon* by the Ukrainian composer Dmytro Bortniansky will be staged: the premiere is scheduled for 3 September at the National Music Academy of Ukraine and is dedicated to the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.

On 17 August, an open rehearsal took place, during which the organisers and participants spoke about the creative vision and reinterpretation of the work, which had been considered lost for 250 years.

I first saw the priceless scores of *Creon* in 2023; they had been found in Portugal. It was then that I realised that this opera – the first work by a very young Ukrainian composer – must be staged in Ukraine, and then it must be seen by the world, returning to the stages of Europe where it was first performed in 1776 — that is the ambitious goal we have set ourselves. This work is about freedom and the strength of spirit of a people who overthrow a tyrant. Interestingly, Bortniansky himself reinterpreted and modernised Sophocles’s well-known plot, and even introduced elements of Romanticism into the music – elements that would only become relevant in Europe at that time several decades later, — noted the conductor and stage director, creator of this contemporary interpretation of the opera, and UNESCO Artist for Peace, Herman Makarenko.

The project is of great importance to Ukrainian culture: for the first time in 250 years since it was written, this opera will be performed on the stage of our Academy, says the project’s co-organiser, Rector of the National Music Academy of Ukraine, Academician of the Academy of Arts of Ukraine and Professor Maksym Tymoshenko. ‘We are bringing these unrivalled Ukrainian composers back to the world, and for our students this is an opportunity to be part of a legendary project – an unforgettable experience,’ emphasised Maksym Tymoshenko.

At the time when Bortniansky lived and composed, only in freedom-loving Venice could such an opera have been staged. After all, this was a period of absolute monarchies in Europe and autocracy in the Russian Empire. At the same time, it was the eve of the Great French Revolution, when Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau and other philosophers and poets were at work, shaping the manifesto of freedom and democracy. The opera *Creon* by the 25-year-old Dmitry Bortnyansky became the musical component of this manifesto,’ notes the project’s co-organiser, Professor Mykola Prodanchuk, director of the L. I. Medved Research Centre under the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

He is convinced that Bortniansky could not have returned to Russia with a work so dangerous to the autocracy. It is likely that this very circumstance was the reason why the score of *Creon* disappeared for a full 250 years. It is possible that the composer himself preserved and safely hid his manuscript.

Perhaps Bortniansky intended for his opera to be presented to humanity in the 21st century, in an independent Ukraine — ‘in a free, new family’ — notes Mykola Prodanchuk.

As the conductor and director emphasised, the musical material of *Creon* is extremely complex, and the fact that the production in Kyiv is being staged in a record-breaking short time — four months — presents a challenge for the organisers and performers. According to Herman Makarenko, overall, for the project to bring Bortniansky’s opera back to the world between 2024 and 2026, a strong team of Ukrainian artists and musicians has been assembled, enabling the 250-year-old opera to be given a new, contemporary sound in Ukraine.

The opera is written in the Viennese classical style, which is considered one of the most difficult to perform; therefore, the skill and high professional standard of the National Presidential Orchestra of Ukraine made it possible to stage the production in Kyiv under extremely difficult conditions and within a tight timeframe.

A particular challenge was finding soloists whose roles require mastery of extremely complex vocal techniques and the ability to convey the emotional tension and drama so characteristic of Bortniansky’s work. The role of Antigone is performed by Olga Fomicheva, People’s Artist of Ukraine and soloist at the T. G. Shevchenko National Opera of Ukraine. The role of Creon is sung by Sergei Bortnik, a soloist with the National Philharmonic of Ukraine and winner of international competitions. No less complex are the choral parts, performed by the National Honoured Academic Capella of Ukraine ‘Dumka’.

I believe that all the artistic forces of our country, including the National Chapel of Ukraine ‘Dumka’, must work hard to revive our culture — to restore the names of its outstanding representatives across all art forms and genres. This is needed first and foremost by us — Ukraine. It is a major undertaking and a task for all of us. At the same time, working on creating today’s creative output is also a huge task that still lies ahead, — emphasises Yevhen Savchuk, Director-General and Artistic Director of the National Honoured Academic Choir of Ukraine ‘Dumka’, People’s Artist of Ukraine, Academician of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts, and Hero of Ukraine.

When asked whether this project has prospects on the world stage, Yevhen Savchuk noted that everything depends, first and foremost, on the quality of the project, the overall standard of performance, the presentation of the musical material, and the work of all the components: the orchestra, the choir, the soloists, the conductor, the director and all the elements that make up an opera production.

And then there’s good publicity, adequate funding and so on. Only then can it make a claim on the global market, — the General Director of the ‘Dumka’ Choral Ensemble is convinced.

The project ‘The Return of Dmitry Bortnyansky’s First Opera, *Creon*, to the World’ began in 2024: the work was first staged in Ukraine whilst a full-scale war was already underway. Specifically, the first concert performance took place in November 2024, followed by the theatrical premiere in Chernivtsi in October 2025.

This is a joint international project to mark the 250th anniversary of the opera, carried out with the support of the National Music Academy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture, the L. I. Medved Scientific Centre, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and under the patronage of UNESCO. The project is dedicated to the anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.

Another significant event took place on the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day: a group of leading Ukrainian artists and musicians, led by conductor Herman Makarenko, completed the first studio recording of the opera *Creon*. The album, released by Toccata Classics, is now available on all global streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Deezer and others.

International distribution was handled by the global leader, Naxos Records. Thus, for the first time since independence, a Ukrainian opera has been released as a studio recording on CD and made available to connoisseurs from various countries, which is important for establishing Ukraine’s cultural tradition on the world stage.

As Herman Makarenko explained, the recording took place under extremely difficult conditions — during power cuts, without heating, and each aria took three to four times longer to record than usual. Yet the Ukrainian artists succeeded and received high praise for the quality of the recording from their international partners.

Note: the opera *Creon* is based on Sophocles’ tragedy *Antigone* and serves as a manifesto for freedom and the overthrow of tyranny. In the opera’s finale, Bortnyansky takes liberties with both Sophocles’ tragedy and Coltellini’s libretto, placing the administration of justice in the hands of the people: it is the people who overthrow the regime of the tyrant Creon and elect Antigone as their ruler. This is symbolic, because freedom and democracy are what Ukraine and the Ukrainian people are all about.

This is the first opera by 25-year-old Dmytro Bortnyansky, written in Italy. Its premiere in 1776 at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice was a great success; however, the work was subsequently lost. The opera was rediscovered in 2023 in Portugal and was staged for the first time by Ukrainian performers and musicians in Ukraine whilst Russia was waging a full-scale war against Ukraine, which is symbolic.

Bortniansky was a pupil of the Italian composer Baldassare Galuppi. Our brilliant composer is known throughout the world as the Ukrainian Mozart.