Ukrainian Artists to Present Bortniansky’s Opera «Creonte» in Europe

An international project promoting the opera «Creonte» by the Ukrainian composer Dmytro Bortniansky in European countries is being launched. The initiative is an important component of the cultural diplomacy of a country at war.

This was discussed during a round table held at Ukrinform on 13 January, which brought together participants of the premiere of this masterpiece of Ukrainian music, as well as state and public figures from Ukraine and Europe.

“I consider the promotion of this masterpiece of European classical music worldwide to be my mission”, said the author of the project, UNESCO Artist for Peace and conductor of the National Opera of Ukraine, Herman Makarenko. He emphasized that the opera was first staged in Italy 250 years ago. The work is about freedom and resistance to tyranny, but the musical score was later lost. In the early 2000s it was found in Europe by Russians, and already during Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine they suddenly decided to stage this work in Europe.

“It was important for us to return Dmytro Bortniansky to European culture, a Ukrainian genius with Polish roots. We managed to gather artists from all over the country, whom we called the Ukrainian opera national team. My nearly 39 years of experience at the National Opera helped greatly. We found an opera theatre in Chernivtsi that almost fully recreates the baroque stage of an Italian theatre of the 1770s, where the premiere during the composer’s lifetime took place. Our Ukrainian premiere was held in October 2025 in Chernivtsi. It caused a strong resonance in the international environment, and we aspire to present this work of European classical music on European stages as a shared cultural heritage”, Herman Makarenko said. He added that this is already his sixth international project to receive UNESCO support, which testifies to the high recognition of the Ukrainian musical tradition.

In his address to the participants of the round table, Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO Ernesto Ottone stated:

“Reviving Creonte has given us the chance to rediscover a cultural treasure and brought it back to life, and this is thanks to the remarkable dedication of the artists and professionals involved with the support of the public authorities and international community. UNESCO is honoured to have supported and granted its patronage to the project, which helped make it possible for this musical masterpiece to reach the stage once again”, Ottone said. He emphasized the role and efforts of the project’s author, Herman Makarenko, who “has been part of the UNESCO family for many years.”

“The arts have the power to foster dialogue and peace, and UNESCO remains deeply committed to preserving and safeguarding cultural heritage”, the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture assured.

Serhii Dvornyk, Directorate General for International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, stressed the importance of cultural diplomacy during the war, at a time when Russia seeks to destroy Ukrainian identity.

“This is precisely the case when the return of a single work means the rediscovery of an entire tradition. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs we are convinced that the international tour of this opera will become a major artistic event and a powerful diplomatic act in promoting our culture and our identity”, the diplomat emphasized. He added that returning «Creonte» to the world as a Ukrainian work restores its true historical context, and that the project “initiated by UNESCO Artist for Peace Mr. Herman Makarenko is exactly the kind of initiative that demonstrates the strength of our diplomacy and becomes a compelling argument in the global conversation about the values promoted by our state”.

English-American writer and television presenter Marcel Raymond Theroux highlighted the unique role of Ukrainian culture:

“For me, as someone who has spent a great deal of time studying the former Soviet Union, it is obvious that we were unfortunately constantly persuaded that Ukraine was the younger brother of Russian culture. Watching Maestro Makarenko’s production of the opera «Creonte» allowed me to appreciate the significance of the Ukrainian composer and the uniqueness and distinctiveness of Ukrainian culture”, the writer noted.

Stephan Burianek, founder of the Austrian publication OPERN•NEWS, emphasized that the outlet regularly reports on Russian cultural propaganda and its representatives in the West. “And this is not easy, because every day I see how strong Russian cultural networks are here, especially in Austria and Italy”, he said.

Mr. Burianek is convinced that public opinion in the West is strongly influenced by the soft power of culture. He shared his impression that Russians have managed to instill their culture in many people in Austria, who consider it irreplaceable, something they do not want to lose, while in reality these works sometimes have nothing to do with Russia. The Vienna based publisher sees his mission as opening up the artistic works of Eastern European countries to Europeans, and the promotion of the opera «Creonte» as an important initiative for the future of Europe itself. He noted that opera is an art form particularly suited to cultural diplomacy, as it brings together all other art forms, and political and economic leaders show great interest in opera.

German reviewer Willi Patzelt said that he was unable to attend the premiere of «Creonte» in Chernivtsi because at that very time Russian drones had paralyzed Munich Airport, which in itself is telling. According to him, both Germany and Ukraine are part of Europe, and culture is one of the greatest sources of shared values that unite them.

“«Creonte» is a very European work, created by a Ukrainian composer in Italy and imbued with the spirit of the Enlightenment. Therefore, I believe it is important to bring this work to Europe, to the rest of Europe, and present it there. Focusing attention on Ukrainian art in Europe will explain what exactly we are defending, what values Ukraine is defending, and what significance freedom has in opposition to totalitarian and dictatorial ways of life”, the German reviewer stated.

Background information:
The Ukrainian premiere of the opera «Creonte» took place on 3 October 2025 at the Olha Kobylianska Chernivtsi Music and Drama Theatre. The project, initiated by Herman Makarenko, received UNESCO patronage, both for the stage production and for its overall implementation, as well as patronage from Europa Nostra, an organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of Europe’s cultural heritage. The project was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, and the communities of Bukovyna. Ukrinform became the general information partner of the project.