A Unique Event in the World of Opera: The First Studio Recording of Bortniansky’s Creonte Released

On August 17, 2026, the first studio recording of Dmytro Bortniansky’s opera Creonte was presented during an open rehearsal.

The recording was made by the independent British classical music label Toccata Classics, while worldwide distribution is handled by Naxos Records, a global leader in classical music distribution.

The album is already available for purchase and streaming on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and others.

This is an unprecedented achievement in the years of Ukraine’s independence.

“For the first time, a Ukrainian opera has been released as a studio recording on disc”, says Herman Makarenko, author of the project “Returning to the World of Dmytro Bortniansky’s First Opera «Creonte»”. “The work is now accessible to music lovers in countries around the world, which is important for establishing and promoting Ukraine’s cultural heritage internationally”.

The recording was produced under extremely challenging conditions, amid power and heating outages, the wailing of air-raid sirens, and the sounds of explosions. As a result, some passages had to be recorded several times. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian artists successfully completed the project and received high praise from international partners for the quality of the recording.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the team of the L. I. Medved Scientific Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, headed by Professor Mykola Prodanchuk; the entire creative team, including the National Presidential Orchestra of Ukraine and the National Honored Academic Chapel of Ukraine "Dumka"; the talented soloists Olha Fomichova, Serhiy Bortnyk, Danylo Kotok, Stanislav Pashchuk, Margharyta Bilokiz, and Olha Shadrina-Lychak; and the opera’s stage director and conductor, Herman Makarenko, author of the project “Returning to the World of Dmytro Bortniansky’s First Opera «Creonte»”, which is being carried out under the patronage of UNESCO.

Unique Events in the World of Opera for the Independence Day of Ukraine: Theatrical Premiere of "Creonte" in Kyiv and the Release of the First Studio Recording on International Streaming Platforms.

For the first time, the capital of Ukraine will host a theatrical production of the opera "Creonte" by Ukrainian composer Dmytro Bortniansky: the premiere is scheduled for September 3 on the stage of the National Music Academy of Ukraine and is dedicated to the 35th Anniversary of Ukraine's Independence.

On August 17, an open rehearsal took place, where the organizers and participants discussed the creative concept and the reimagining of the work, which had been considered lost for 250 years.

"I saw the priceless score of "Creonte" in 2023; it was found in Portugal. At that moment, I realized that this opera, the first work of the still-young Ukrainian composer, must be staged in Ukraine, and then it must see the world, returning to the European stages where it first sounded in 1776 – this is the ambitious goal we are setting. This is a work about freedom, the strength of the spirit of the people who overthrow a tyrant. Interestingly, Bortniansky himself reimagined and modernized the famous plot of Sophocles, and in the music, he even introduced elements of romanticism that would become relevant in Europe at that time only decades later", noted the conductor-director, author of the modern interpretation of the opera, and UNESCO Artist for Peace, Herman Makarenko.

"The project is highly significant for Ukrainian culture: for the first time in 250 years since its creation, this opera will sound from the stage of our Academy. We are returning unsurpassed Ukrainian composers to the world, and for our students, it is an opportunity to become part of a legendary project, an unforgettable experience", emphasized the co-organizer of the project, Rector of the National Music Academy of Ukraine, Academician of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Professor Maksym Tymoshenko.

"At the time when Bortniansky lived and created, such an opera could only be staged in freedom-loving Venice. After all, it was a period of absolute monarchies in Europe and "autocracy" in the Russian Empire. At the same time, it was the eve of the French Revolution, when Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, and other philosophers and poets were creating, forming a manifesto of freedom and democracy. The opera "Creonte" by 25-year-old Dmytro Bortniansky became the musical component of this manifesto", notes the co-organizer of the project, Director of the L.I. Medved Scientific Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Professor Mykola Prodanchuk. He is convinced that Bortniansky could not return to Russia with a work so dangerous to the "autocracy". Most likely, this very circumstance caused the disappearance of the "Creonte" score for a long 250 years. Probably, the composer himself preserved and securely hid his manuscript.

"Perhaps, Bortniansky intended it this way, so that his opera would be gifted to humanity in the 21st century in an already independent Ukraine – 'in a new, free family'", notes Mykola Prodanchuk.

As the conductor-director emphasized, the musical material of "Creonte" is extremely complex, and the fact that the production in Kyiv is being carried out in a record short time – within four months – is a challenge for the organizers and performers. According to Herman Makarenko, to realize the project of returning Bortniansky's opera to the world between 2024 and 2026, they managed to gather a strong team of specifically Ukrainian artists and musicians and give the 250-year-old opera a new, modern sound in Ukraine. The opera is written in the style of Viennese Classicism, which is considered one of the most difficult to perform, and therefore the mastery and high professional level of the National Presidential Orchestra of Ukraine allowed the production to be carried out in Kyiv under extremely difficult conditions and within tight deadlines.

A particular challenge was finding soloists whose parts require mastery of ultra-complex vocal techniques, conveying the emotional tension and dramatic nature so characteristic of this work by Bortniansky. The part of Antigone is performed by the People's Artist of Ukraine, soloist of the Taras Shevchenko National Opera of Ukraine, Olha Fomichova. The part of Creonte is performed by the soloist of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, laureate of international competitions Serhiy Bortnyk. No less complex are the choral parts, performed by the National Honored Academic Chapel of Ukraine "Dumka".

"I believe that all the artistic forces of our state, including the National Chapel of Ukraine "Dumka", should do a great deal of work to revive our culture – to return the names of its outstanding representatives in all forms and genres of art. This is necessary, first of all, for us – for Ukraine. This is a massive undertaking and a task for all of us. At the same time, working on the creation of today's creative product is also a very large amount of work ahead", emphasizes the General Director and Artistic Director of the National Honored Academic Chapel of Ukraine "Dumka", People's Artist of Ukraine, Academician of the Academy of Arts of Ukraine, and Hero of Ukraine Yevhen Savchuk.

Answering the question of whether this project has prospects on the world stages, Yevhen Savchuk noted that everything depends, first of all, on the quality of the project, the overall performance level, the presentation of the musical material, and the work of all links: the orchestra, choir, soloists, conductor, director, and all the components that make up an opera performance. "And then good advertising, appropriate funding, and so on – only in this case can it claim a place in the global market", the General Director of the "Dumka" choral chapel is convinced.

The project "Returning to the World of Dmytro Bortnyansky’s First Opera ‘Creonte’" began in 2024: the work was staged in Ukraine for the first time during the full-scale war, namely, the first concert performance took place in November 2024, and the theatrical premiere in Chernivtsi in October 2025. This is a joint international project dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the opera, carried out with the support of the staff of the National Music Academy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture, the staff of the L.I. Medved Scientific Center, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the patronage of UNESCO, and is dedicated to the anniversary of Ukraine's Independence.

Another important event took place on the eve of the Anniversary of Ukraine's Independence: a collective of leading Ukrainian artists and musicians under the direction of conductor Herman Makarenko made the first studio recording of the opera "Creonte" – a disc by Toccata Classics was released, which is already available on all global streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and others. International distribution was carried out by the global leader, Naxos Records. Thus, for the first time during the years of Independence, a Ukrainian opera has been released in a studio recording on disc and will be available to connoisseurs from different countries, which is important for asserting the Ukrainian cultural tradition in the world. As Herman Makarenko explained, the recording took place under extremely difficult conditions, during blackouts, without heating; recording a single aria took three to four times longer than usual, but Ukrainian artists accomplished it and received high ratings for recording quality from international partners.

Reference: The opera "Creonte" is based on Sophocles' tragedy "Antigone" and is a manifesto of freedom and the overthrow of tyranny. In the finale of the opera, Bortniansky takes the liberty of diverging from both Sophocles' tragedy and Coltellini's libretto, placing the administration of justice into the hands of the people: it is the people who overthrow the regime of the tyrant Creon and elect Antigone as their ruler. This is symbolic, because freedom and democracy are about Ukraine and Ukrainians.

This is the first opera of the 25-year-old Dmytro Bortniansky, written in Italy. Its premiere in 1776 at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice was a great success, but it was subsequently lost. The opera was found in 2023 in Portugal and staged for the first time by Ukrainian artists and musicians in Ukraine during Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, which is symbolic. Bortniansky was a student of the Italian Baldassare Galuppi. In the world, our genius composer is called the Ukrainian Mozart.

Organizing Committee of the Project