In black jacket and pants, Keri-Lynn Wilson does not hesitate to descend from her pedestal to sneak between the empty rows of the Warsaw Opera, listening to her orchestra, in rehearsal in the Polish capital.. “Niet, it’s only then that it’s fortissimo. We’re doing it again! », launches the Canadian conductor, in a mixture of Russian and English. The one who has conducted the greatest musical groups in the world has had ten days to put together from A to Z an orchestra of 74 Ukrainian musicians, some of whom have taken refuge in the European Union since the Russian aggression, while others are out of their country at war just for the occasion. The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra is on tour, from Warsaw to Washington, via the Chorégies d’Orange.
“I was scheduled to conduct the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra in March. Finally, five musicians from this orchestra joined me in Warsaw! »rejoices in her dressing room the conductor, who has been immersed in Ukrainian culture since childhood. “My heart is Ukrainian, and Russian composers are also my favorite repertoire. I had the opportunity to work in Russia as well as in Ukraine”says the 50-year-old, whose great-grandparents had left Ukraine for Canada. “I said to myself that I had to do something, the day after the Russian invasion. I thus had the idea of raising the stick to support these musicians and to give them the means of expressing themselves. »
Peter Gelb, her husband, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, in New York, opened his address book. “Events like this take years to happen, so we had to act quickly”, comments the interested party. The New Yorker then contacted Waldemar Dabrowski, director of the Warsaw National Opera. “It was our logical partner, because Warsaw is close to the Ukrainian border and many Ukrainians have taken refuge there. »
“A dedication to all those who died”
The costs related to the tour will be covered by public-private partnerships, including the participation of the Polish Ministry of Culture, the Ford Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and United Airlines. Online donations will go to funding Ukrainian culture through its ministry. “With this tour, we want to show – no offense to Putin – that Ukrainian culture exists and that it is alive and well”emphasizes Peter Gelb.
After five months of fighting, the moment seems opportune for the American to sound the reminder of solidarity with Ukraine. Among the selected pieces are those of composer Valentin Silvestrov, who, at 84, fled kyiv for Berlin in March 2022. “I chose his Symphony No. 7, composed in tribute to his wife who died in 1996. It begins with violent blows and ends with the use of the breath through the brass, evoking the last breath. As a dedication to all those who died”moves Keri-Lynn Wilson.
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