• 2h 21m

Chornobyldorf. Archaeological Opera

Opera Aperta

This is a Ukrainian archaeological opera that ranked among the top six best operas in the world at the 2021 Music Theater Now competition. The title of the performance links Chernobyl and Zwentendorf—two cities united by the history of nuclear energy. In one of them, a terrible disaster occurred, while in the other, a nuclear station was never opened due to the citizens' fear of a similar accident. According to composer Roman Grygoriv, "Chornobyldorf is a whole universe, a global and monumental work. It combines different genres: cinema, choreography, performance, and singing." In January 2024, Chornobyldorf was presented for the first time on a major American stage at the Prototype Festival in New York. Renowned music critic Alex Ross wrote a highly positive review for The New Yorker. The contemporary opera tells the story of the descendants of humanity who survived a series of technological, epidemic, and climatic disasters and now build a post-apocalyptic settlement on the ruins of a nuclear power station. The opera uses unconventional and prepared traditional instruments. The performance also includes pre-recorded performances, filmed in locations such as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, near the Kakhovka Reservoir, and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. These sites have become bridges not only to the history of nuclear energy but also to the current situation in Ukraine: the Chernobyl zone was occupied at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and the nuclear plant