The opera "Gala-24" by Ukrainian composers Illia Razumeiko and Roman Hryhoriv will be featured at the opening of the International Opera, Music, and Theater Festival, O.Festival, in the Netherlands.

In this opera, the authors reevaluate the consequences of human activity, particularly the Russian invasion of Ukraine within the context of a global environmental crisis.

The idea for the plot emerged after Russian military personnel blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station. The explosion caused the largest ecological tragedy in Europe since Chornobyl and impacted changes in the landscape, says Illia Razumeiko.

"An essential part of the opera is a dissonant piano, symbolically representing the notion of 'culture' and the cultural layers that accompany us throughout the history of music and opera," says Roman Hryhoriv.

The project is supported by the National Union of Composers of Ukraine and the National Reserve "Khortytsia."

Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko are an award-winning composers’ duo from Ukraine. They have been working together as composers, stage directors and librettists in the field of contemporary opera and new music theatre since 2015, exploring the boundaries and borders of contemporary opera and music theatre in Ukraine and worldwide.