The work, with a libretto by American playwright George Brant, is a tribute to Ukrainian women who are fighting to rescue their children forcibly detained by Russian authorities.
Born in 1981, Kolomiiets is a graduate of the National Music Academy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where he studied oboe and composition.
His wide-ranging compositional output includes symphonic, chamber and electronic music.
The Mothers of Kherson is his third opera, after Espenbaum and Nitch.
Asked by Poland's PAP news agency whether music is able to communicate trauma, war and suffering, Kolomiiets said that music itself cannot speak about anything, but it can convey the emotions that accompany various situations and all types of human experience, including war.
"In this opera, music is a vehicle for evoking emotions – the sense of tragedy and pain, as well as love and euphoria, all of which I was trying to convey in the music's colour, melodic line and harmony," he added.
Kolomiiets expressed hope that everyone in the audience will find something close to their heart as The Mothers of Kherson touches upon universal matters.
The opera is a joint commission of the Polish National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson is the music director.
The production, which premiered in Warsaw on Friday night and was also staged on Sunday, is directed by Barbara Wysocka, with sets by Barbara Hanicka.
Further performances of The Mothers of Kherson at the Polish National Opera are on October 23, 25 and 27.
(mk/gs)
Click on the audio player above for a report by Agnieszka Bielawska