Tears and catharsis as Kyiv premieres opera about Ukrainian children abducted by Russia
The National Opera of Ukraine hosted the premiere of excerpts from 'Mothers of Kherson,' an opera about the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russian forces. The performance moved the audience to tears and received a standing ovation.
At the grand National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv, the premiere of excerpts from 'Mothers of Kherson' took place last Thursday evening. The opera, which focuses on the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russian occupiers, drew a high-profile audience including First Lady Olena Zelenska, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, and Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna. However, the most important attendees were families from formerly occupied territories whose children had been abducted—some had recovered their children, others were still trying to get them back.
The opera was originally conceived about the 2013-2014 Maidan protests, but American librettist George Brant changed course in 2023 when stories of abducted children emerged. Composer Maxim Kolomiiets noted that the topic resonates internationally. The narrative begins in Kherson with an elderly woman, Olena, singing about putting sunflower seeds in a Russian soldier's pocket—a scene based on a real video. Two mothers, Kateryna and Olha, allow their daughters to go to a summer camp in Crimea, only to later struggle to retrieve them.
The work addresses the deportation of children to Russian-occupied Crimea and Russia, where many were given new identities, Russian citizenship, and militarized education. According to the Bring Kids Back initiative, over 20,000 children are estimated to have been deported. Russian Children's Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova and President Vladimir Putin are subjects of ICC arrest warrants for their roles.
The opera was commissioned by Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as an act of solidarity. Keri-Lynn Wilson, of Ukrainian heritage, conducted the excerpts. The fully staged premiere will be in Warsaw this autumn, followed by New York in spring 2028. For the Kyiv performance, the opera was translated into Ukrainian by Myroslav Laiuk.
Producer Sasha Andrusyk, who interviewed affected children and parents, emphasized that characters are fictional but based on real stories. She expressed anxiety about the performance's impact on Ukrainian audiences due to the painful subject. Yet the audience responded with a standing ovation, tears, and flowers thrown onto the stage, demonstrating the cathartic power of the opera.
