Archeological Opera Chornobyldorf: Safe space for Ukrainian artists to prepare international presentation

The descendants of humanity who survived in a series of disasters,’ reads the artistic statement on the Archeological Opera Chornobyldorf’s webpage, ‘find themselves in a post-society…wandering among the ruins of nuclear power plants, abandoned churches, theatres, and galleries, as they try to recreate the lost civilisation through archaeological performance-rituals’. These prophetic words, written before the war, also evoke the current efforts of the Archeological opera Chornobyldorf: to continue their artistic practice despite and in spite of the ongoing destruction of war.

With the support of European Cultural Foundation’s Culture of Solidarity Fund, the Archeological Opera Chornobyldorf is creating a temporary safe cultural space where the team can come together for a short and productive period and prepare a piece for international presentation.

First, the 20 people artistic team, along with all instruments and scenography, is evacuated. Next, rehearsals are organised in partner institution Musiktheatertage Wien, a space for contemporary music theatre in Vienna, Austria. The performances are then ready to be presented in planned countries: the Netherlands in May, Austria in September, and the UK in November.

We interviewed Olga Diatel, producer of Chornobyldorf opera and co-founder of proto produkciia agency, on the project.

In a nutshell, what is the Chornobyldorf opera Aperta? What are ‘archaeological performance-rituals’?

In 2020 Ukrainian composers Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko created an ‘archaeological opera’ dedicated to research on the imaginary culturological post-apocalypse.

The Archeological Opera Chornobyldorf shows descendants of humanity who survive a number of catastrophes and find themselves in a world after the death of capitalism, opera, and philosophy. Wandering among ruins, they try to recreate a lost civilisation through performances. Once again misinterpreted, symbols and signs gradually disappear into the white noise of nature.

The piece includes video performances that play the role of portals into different places and times, which were created during several video-archaeological Expeditions to Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, Dnipro River near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and others.

Watch a video teaser here.

It seems as though the message of the performance, which was conceived before the start of the war, is as relevant as ever. Does the present circumstance transform the performance in any way?

On the 27th of February, the Russian army entered the Chornobyl zone and began to threaten Zaporizhia nuclear station by pointing their weapons in its direction. Threatening the largest nuclear power station in Europe means threatening the well-being of the world.

This was when I realised that the imaginary reality of Chornobyldorf became much more real. In all those places, we filmed video performances, including the video performance  near Zaporizhia nuclear power station in Dnipro river ‘Elektra’.

Roman Grygoriv, composer and director, says: ’Chornobyldorf was created two years before the full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine. But the relevance of the opera is extreme now. In 2020, nuclear explosion had an abstract meaning for us. But today, the fear of nuclear threats is supported by daily statements in the media. The fictional world of Chornobyldorf is becoming more and more real each day. The context has changed for creators, artists, but also all of the world.’

And to quote Illia Razumeiko, composer and director: ‘Chornobyldorf was created during the pandemic. This opera is an imaginary story of a post-apocalyptic society: humans, their lives, beliefs, rituals and arts after the ultimate catastrophe. In two years, the hell of Russian barbarism fell again on Ukraine. With the reality of the Russian war, we want to speak about Chornobyl again. About its history and the past: as one of the soviet (Russian) regime’s crimes and genocides on Ukrainian soil. But also, as a look into the future: as a story of hope that tells us how nature can survive and correct the terrible mistakes created by humanity.’

I find it poignant that while your characters ‘recreate the lost civilisation’, you too are persisting in engaging in a creative act amidst a time of destruction. Could you tell us about your thoughts on the place of arts and culture in times of crisis?

With my team, we have been discussing war scenarios since January, and the only thing I knew then is that no matter what, we need to keep going, not allow things to fall apart. After some time and rounds of conversations, artists expressed the internal power to be back on the stage. It was not an easy decision during the first months of a full-scale war. But the team did a great job in presenting the opera piece at O.Festival in Rotterdam. This festival was an important place to be seen by possible international partners. Because we made this effort in March-May, we now have tour plans for Austria, Italy, Lithuania, Britain and Brazil.

There is a disparity between what we imagine war to be from a distance and what the reality actually is. It is a very irrational moment. People do not abandon their homes even in very dangerous areas, and they even continue planting vegetables. This is the power of faith. I like the idea that we need to be prepared for our victory and build the country we would like to live in after— and even now.

Today, for practical reasons, the composers and directors of Chornobyldorf are in Kyiv. I do not support them staying in one place so that if the rocket hits, one of them will be alive to continue our work.

Before the full-scale war, I was working a lot with culture and arts, but now it occupies almost all my time. In my opinion, Ukrainian culture is the largest target of this war. They’re destroying cultural sights. In this context, art is used as a weapon. I would not like to use culture and art as a weapon, but in these conditions, it has become a necessity.

Through our project, we want to make our voice stronger internationally, create conditions for future development, and support those who continue to work in Ukraine.

What is the nature of your interaction and exchange with Musiktheatertage Wien?

We started working with Musiktheatertage Wien in 2019 and have kept contact ever since. Georg Steker, founder of Musiktheatertage and our co-producer, called me in March. When he found out that we were looking for possibilities to rehearse abroad and present Chornobyldorf at O.Festival, he directly booked a rehearsal space for us in Vienna.

Chornobyldorf opera will be presented in the frame of Musiktheatertage festival in Vienna in September. For more information: here.