STRONG TOGETHER – Concert in Solidarity with Ukraine
About this event
The war in Ukraine has triggered the utmost anxiety around the world. At the same time, it is creating an unprecedented wave of solidarity, especially in the Baltic States. Here, people feel a strong bond with the long-suffering Ukrainian population through their shared history and geographical proximity to Russia.
In Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, people recall the Peaceful Revolution of August 1989, when more than two million people sang and formed a 600-kilometer-long human chain through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The "Baltic Way" went down in the history books and set the stage for the fall of the Soviet Union – peacefully, with music. As a result, Lithuania became the first of the three Baltic countries to declare independence on 11 March 1990, exactly 32 years ago today. By December 1991, all other former states of the Soviet Union followed suit, including Ukraine. It is such memories of the transition to freedom and democracy, as well as concerns about renewed annexation and oppression, that unite these people.
In the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, only a few streets away from the "Baltic Way", musicians from Lithuania and Ukraine are gathering this evening. Once again, with the power of music, they are committed to peace and their hard-won freedom. Together, they set an example so that the dark chapters of European history will never be repeated.
IDAGIO pays 100% of the net revenue to the producer of the program, who will donate it to the UN’s Ukraine Humanitarian Fund supporting Ukrainian refugees.
This event is available to watch until December 31, 2023. The concert is not available to stream in France and Germany.
Artists
Ričardas Šumila, conductor
Margaryta Grynyvetska, conductor
Margarita Levchuk, soprano
Yuliya Tkachenko, soprano
Olesia Shaytanova, prima ballerina
Jonas Sakalauskas, baritone
Edgaras Montvidas, tenor
Dainius Peseckas, violin
Programme
1. Concert – approx. 90 min programme
Repertoire
1. Ukrainian National Anthem
2. Lithuanian National Anthem
3. Speech by Ingrida Šimonytė, Prime Minister of Lithuania
4. Žibuoklė Martinaitytė: Saudade
5. Balys Dvarionas: Ballad of Skudutis from the opera Dalia
6. Speech by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Belarusian opposition leader
7. Mykola Lysenko: Natalka's song from the opera Natalka Poltava
8. Valentin Silvestrov: Symphony No. 8: Movements I, III, and VI
9. Speech by Petro Beshta, Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania
10. Yuri Shevchenko: We are!
11. Juozas Tallat-Kelpša/Rimantas Giedraitis: On the High Hill folk song
12. Myroslav Skoryk: Melodia
13. Mykola Lysenko: Prayer for Ukraine
14. Ludwig van Beethoven: Ode to Joy (final chorus from the 9th symphony)
The concert was filmed live on Lithuania Independence Restoration Day, March 11, 2022, at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Vilnius.
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