The ensemble is composed of leading Ukrainian musicians, most of whom are recent refugees.
The 10-day residency is financed by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, while the tour is a joint project by the Polish National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
In a joint statement issued earlier this year, Waldemar Dabrowski, director of the Polish National Opera, and Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, said: “Music can be a powerful weapon against oppression. This tour is meant to defend Ukrainian art and its brave artists as they fight for the freedom of their country.”
The opening concert in Warsaw on July 28 will be followed by performances at the BBC Proms in London (July 31), Munich (August 1), Orange, France (August 2), Berlin (August 4), Edinburgh (August 6), Snape Maltings, UK (August 8), Amsterdam (August 11), Hamburg (August 13), Dublin (August 15), New York’s Lincoln Center (August 18 and 19), and Washington’s Kennedy Center (August 20).
Proceeds from all the concerts will go to assist the victims of the war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra will perform under the leadership of Canadian Ukrainian conductor Keri Lynn-Wilson.
In a statement for the media, she said: “I look forward to leading these gifted musicians across Europe and to the United States. This tour is an expression of love for their homeland and to honor those who have died and have suffered so much.”
The programme of the tour includes Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov’s Seventh Symphony; Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with Ukrainian virtuoso Anna Fedorova; and either Brahms’s Fourth Symphony or Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony.
Leading Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska will also perform Leonore’s aria “Abscheulicher!” from Beethoven’s Fidelio, a paean to humanity and peace in the face of violence and cruelty.
(mk/gs)